With their first pick of the third round and fourth in the draft overall, the Calgary Flames selected defenceman Henry Mews out of the OHL at 74th overall. Mews was considered by some a potential late first-round pick, so the Flames walked away with some great value by grabbing him in the third round.
Who is Henry Mews?
| Position | Handedness | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| D | Right | 6’0″ | 181 lbs |
Mews is a right-shot offensive defender, standing at 6’0″ but a very lanky 181 pounds. With that said, he obviously has plenty of time to add some size and strength to his frame. As mentioned above, Mews was being ranked by some experts as high as the first round and realistically could’ve been a target for the Flames at 28th overall, so you can’t go wrong by gambling on Mews’ talent in the third round.
Mews’ on-ice production
Mews will be entering his third season with the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL in 2024–25. He was the seventh overall selection in the 2022 OHL priority draft, actually 20 spots higher than Flames second-round pick Jacob Battaglia.
| Year | Draft Relative | League | Team | GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022–23 | D-1 | OHL | Ottawa 67’s | 55 | 12 | 19 | 31 |
| 2023–24 | D+0 | OHL | Ottawa 67’s | 65 | 15 | 46 | 61 |
After dominating the GTHL to the tune of 78 points in 52 games in 2021–22, Mews was a top 10 selection in the OHL priority draft. Fun fact: Mews and Battaglia were teammates on the stacked Toronto Jr. Canadiens U16 team that won the GTHL championship in 2022.
During his rookie season in the OHL, Mews made an immediate impact, scoring 31 points in 55 games. The total finished fourth among 67’s blueliners and fourth among rookie defencemen behind only Anthony Cristoforo, fellow Flame Zayne Parekh, and 2023 first-rounder Oliver Bonk.
This past season, Mews’ offence reached another level as his production nearly doubled, finishing the season with 61 points in 65 games. His 61 points were tops among 67’s blueliners by a whopping 36 points. He also finished seventh in the OHL among defencemen for scoring and third among 2024 draft-eligible defencemen behind only ninth-overall pick Parekh and 11th-overall pick Sam Dickinson.
Mews has also been a point-per-game player for Canada at both the U17 and U18 tournaments.
Mews’ strengths
Skating
It’s fair to say that Mews’ greatest strength is his skating ability. He’s arguably one of the best skaters from the entire 2024 draft class, not just on defence, but among every position. He possesses such a smooth stride that he makes moving around the ice look effortless. It’s a trait that immediately makes him stand out when you watch him play and one that will no doubt endear him to NHL coaches.
He’s able to use his strong skating to effortlessly weave through opposing defenders, transition the puck up ice, and walk the line once he’s gained possession in the offensive zone. He’s also able to take risks offensively but still get back into position on defence because of how well he moves and how efficient his stride is.
Offensive IQ
Mews is an incredibly smart player offensively. He reads the game in the offensive zone better than most defencemen, likely because he played as a forward until moving to defence a couple years ago. He’s incredibly crafty and creative when he has the puck on his stick, and he’s able to create chances for himself and his teammates. You won’t find many 18-year-old defencemen who think the game as well as Mews when it comes to offence.
He’s also dangerous on the power play and has the exact profile of a modern-day NHL powerplay quarterback. Below is a great example of his vision on full display as he finds a teammate open in the middle and puts the puck right on his stick for a deflection goal.
When he’s in the offensive zone, he’s constantly looking for ways to attack and beat defenders or thread the puck to teammates in open spaces. Defenders always have to be on their toes when he’s got the puck at the blue line. In the below clip, Mews hands the puck off to a teammate and immediately jumps up ice to get the pass back before sniping it past the goaltender.
Mews’ areas of improvement
Defensive game
Unsurprisingly, the biggest weakness in Mews’ game is his work away from the puck and in the defensive zone. It’s the reason he slipped all the way to the third round of the draft despite his offensive talent. Much like other offence first defenders in junior, Mews is able to get away with cheating for offence and ignoring defence, but that won’t fly in the NHL. To be fair, Mews is only a couple years removed from playing at forward, so he’s still learning on the fly what it takes to defend from the backend on a consistent basis.
He’s also prone to careless mistakes and turnovers as he tries to stickhandle through defenders and attempts to do too much sometimes. He also prefers making dangerous passes through traffic over the safe plays a lot of the time, which will be a major issue when he starts to play pro hockey. There’s no doubt he’ll have to tighten up these areas of his game if he wants to play in the NHL one day.
Mews’ next steps
Mews will return to the OHL for his third season with the 67’s in 2024–25 and should once again lead the team’s blueline and power play. Look for Mews to also finish as one of the highest-scoring defenders in the OHL next year as he continues to gain experience and strength.
He also has an outside shot at contending for Canada’s 2025 World Junior team if he has a hot start to the season.
Projection with the Flames
Mews is certainly more a project pick given his areas of improvement, much like Jeremie Poirier was a few years ago. He’s a prototypical offensive defenceman with tremendous upside but plenty of red flags that could prevent him from making the NHL.
He’s likely still a few years away from making the Flames roster as he continues to round out his overall game, but the upside is obviously there. He carries legitimate second pairing and power play potential if he can work on his decision-making and play away from the puck.
