The Top 20 countdown of our 2025 Cult of Hockey Prospect Series resumes. Players only fall off the list once they:
-Make the NHL
-Get dealt to a different organization
-Age out, or…
-Drop off the map.
#7 – Beau Akey
(Voters: David Staples, Kurt Leavins, Jim Matheson, Ira Cooper).
The right-shot defender was drafted in Round Two, #56 overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2023.
Akey stands an even six-foot and weighs in at 185 LBS. Not huge by any standard but big enough considering his other skills.
He broke into the OHL with the Barrie Colts in 2021-22, and showed very well for his age, going 5-11-16 in 61 GP. He then took a significant step forward in his draft year, going 11-36-47 in 66 GP. Selected by the Oilers, the talented D-man appeared on his way. An impressive Oilers Rookie Camp seemed to confirm the club may have latched onto a good one.
But then, fourteen games into the 2023-24 OHL a mid-ice collision turned into a serious shoulder injury that required surgery and a long road back. Returning to health in 20-24-25, it took Akey a while to get back into the flow. But after a couple months he started to look like his old self and ended up 6-26-32 in 52 GP. Akey added five assists in 16 playoffs games. Not the eye-popping numbers that might have been projected for his nineteen-year-old year.
Finally, Akey played five games for Canada at the World Juniors and was +1.
Here is what the scouts say:
Oilers Sr. Director of Development Kalle Larsson:
– “A healthy Beau Akey is an elite skater, he can break the puck out well and he has offense. In junior hockey he was a two-way defenseman, leaning a little bit more towards offense. I think in pro, he’ll be a two-way defenseman that will need to be more reliable defensively.”
Elite Prospects:
– “With his precise and powerful footwork, he can shadow attackers and push them to the outside, pinch on opponents in the offensive zone before they can break out the puck and absorb and box out attackers rushing to the slot. Some of his best work comes off his ability to anticipate players on the rush and use his stick to poke pucks away, as well as while chasing puck carriers in his own end.”
The Hockey Writers (Colin Newby):
– “A gifted skater with the skill set to become a key offensive catalyst and power-play contributor for an NHL blue line. His all-around game doesn’t come without question marks, but his ability to create offense from the back end and his ceiling as a dynamic two-way defenseman make him a valuable commodity”.
Dobber Prospects:
– “Smooth-skating blueliner who moves the puck efficiently. Potential as a top four defenseman if he continues to improve his overall processing speed.”
Other pluses:
-Playing on a Barrie Colts Squad in 2024-25 that featured a couple more talented blueliners allowed Akey to play in all situations and improve his two hundred foot game.
-Seeing international competition at WJC’s will not have hurt. Helps make up for some lost development time.
Where he needs work:
-He needs to make up for a lost year of development. The injury was no fault of his own. But he nonetheless lost valuable time. And he will be trying to do so against men in the AHL this season. It should be a sturdy test. One hopes he plays in all situations there.
-His calling card is skating and offence. But unless he can be elite at the NHL level in those areas, he will need to continue to grow his defensive skills.
General observations:
-He is a Ken Holland pick. Does that work for or against him? Don’t know.
-In interviews, Akey talked about how much he learned from watching games from the stands during his rehabilitation. While that is no replacement for playing and getting lots of reps, good on the kid for taking what he can out of a tough situation. Says something about his character.
Projection:
-AHL Power Play D-man with a shot at NHL games with the big club…likely not this season, but in 2026-27. Once he arrives, bottom to middle pairing pairing minutes, maybe even some second unit PP time.
Next up…prospect #6 from my Cult of Hockey colleague David Staples.
Now on Bluesky @kurtleavins.bsky.social. Also, find me on Threads @kleavins, Twitter @KurtLeavins, Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, and Mastodon at KurtLeavins@mstdn.social.
This article is not AI generated.
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