It’s that time of the year for The Win Column’s NHL Draft Rankings and Draft Profiles! Today, we are going to look at the 33rd-ranked player in the TWC consolidated 2024 NHL Draft rankings. The 2024 NHL Draft will take place on June 28 and 29 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
Who is Luke Misa?
| Player | Position | Handedness | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luke Misa | C | Left | 5’10” | 165 lbs |
Misa’s on-ice production
| Year | Draft Relative | League | Team | GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | D-2 | OHL | Mississauga Steelheads | 62 | 4 | 22 | 26 |
| 2022-23 | D-1 | OHL | Mississauga Steelheads | 64 | 13 | 30 | 43 |
| 2023-24 | D+0 | OHL | Mississauga Steelheads | 66 | 26 | 55 | 81 |
Luke Misa was drafted ninth overall by the Mississauga Steelheads in the 2021 OHL Draft. Since then, the Oakville, Ontario product has played three straight seasons with the Steelheads. In 2021–22, Misa got his feet wet in the OHL and scored 26 points in 62 games.
Misa improved his point totals in 2022–23 with 43 points in 64 games. In 2023–24, Misa tied for 18th in league scoring with 81 points in 66 games. His 1.23 points per game was 21st in the league. Luke Misa is the older brother of Michael Misa, who projects to be a top-ten selection in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Misa’s strengths
Playmaking
Even judging by just the boxscore, Misa tends to lean towards playmaking rather than finishing. And for good reason. Misa is a very effective playmaker. He has great vision. He can find his teammates through cross-seam in the offensive zone, or from breakout passes within his own zone. His passes are crisp and accurate. Misa also processes the game well and can anticipate where to effectively place pucks for his teammates.
Skating
Misa has one of, if not the best, skating mechanics in this draft. He plays an extremely high-tempo game. This helps him be an effective player at all ends of the ice. He can get in and disrupt the forecheck, or catch opponents on the backcheck. His pace is great and he has a great top speed. Unlike most players, the other aspects of your game can begin to fall off as you get closer to your top speed. Misa is able to keep functioning within his toolkit and for the most part, actually looks better as he gets closer to his top speed.
Misa’s areas of improvement
Shot
Misa’s shot is definitely the weakest part of his game. His shot doesn’t need to be the best part of his game given he leans more to the playmaking. However, it will still need to improve quite a bit if Misa wants to be an NHL player. Misa does have a powerful release and can score from in close, but his shot decreases in effectiveness as you move away from the net.
Size
Misa might be one of those guys who falls a little bit in the draft due to him being a tad undersized. However, I look at a guy like Blake Lizotte from the Los Angeles Kings as a very effective undersized player because he is so effective with his speed in all areas of the ice. Misa is not a physical player, but he’s learned to evade and get past defensive opposition.
Misa’s comparables
Misa himself compares his game to that of New Jersey Devils winger Jesper Bratt. Personally, I see a lot of Chandler Stephenson whenever I watch Misa play. As mentioned previously, Blake Lizotte is another comparable in the way both players are undersized, but are still effective due to their high pace.
Fit with the Flames
The Flames need centre prospects, particularly high-end ones. Misa might not be your high-end talent that is projected to play in your top-six for the next ten years; however, he could be a solid addition to the Flames prospect pool. The Flames could use more players in their system who play with pace.
Misa is likely more than a few years away from the NHL, so he could be an addition to the Flames forward group down the line. With Mikael Backlund and Nazem Kadri getting older, there will be opportunities for players to take those spots.
Summary
Misa is a smooth-skating playmaking forward who is projected to be picked sometime between Vancouver’s first-round pick and Calgary’s second-round pick. However, he figures differently in many rankings, and some scouting platforms have him as a third-round talent. Misa plays the game with a ton of pace and is effective in all areas of the ice. He plays centre in the OHL, but it is unclear if he will play centre in the NHL, or transition more to a winger role.
Risk: 2.5/5
Reward: 3/5
Projection: Middle-six forward who can play in all situations
Check out all of The Win Column’s individual player profiles of selected 2024 NHL Draft prospects:
Macklin Celebrini | Ivan Demidov | Artyom Levshunov | Sam Dickinson | Cayden Lindstrom | Berkly Catton | Cole Eiserman | Zeev Buium | Konsta Helenius | Zayne Parekh | Carter Yakemchuk | Anton Silayev | Tij Iginla | Adam Jiricek | Michael Brandsegg-Nygard | Liam Greentree | Igor Chernyshov | Trevor Connelly | Aron Kiviharju | Michael Hage | Ryder Ritchie | Sacha Boisvert | Nikita Artamonov | Maxim Masse | Cole Hutson | Beckett Sennecke | Dominik Badinka | Emil Hemming | Henry Mews | Terik Parascak | Alfons Freij | Charlie Elick | EJ Emery | John Mustard | Luka Misa | Tanner Howe | Lucas Pettersson | Matvei Gridin | Dean Letourneau | Leo Sahlin Wallenius | Jesse Pulkkinen | Cole Beaudoin | Kamil Bednarik | Jett Luchanko | Andrew Basha | Stian Solberg | Adam Jecho | Matvei Shuravin | Veeti Vaisanen
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