Denver Barkey needs some more love

If I told you that a Flyers prospect had just captained one of the most storied programs in Canadian Junior hockey history to a Memorial Cup championship, while scoring well over a point per game in both the regular and postseason and potting two goals in the final game, you\'d think he would be heralded as the most important prospect in the team\'s system.

But in the case of Denver Barkey, that just hasn\'t been the case.

As captain of the London Knights, Barkey basically had the perfect OHL season, scoring 82 points in 50 games throughout the regular season, then 20 in 10 during the OHL playoffs, before finally sharing the Ed Chynoweth Award for most points in the Memorial Cup with his teammate and Leafs prospect Easton Cowan, who also scored seven points in the final five games.

Barkey plays every situation, having earned the utmost trust from Knights head coach Dale Hunter and truly becoming a lynchpin on a team full of current and future first round picks. He has steadily improved his stock with every year he’s played in London, and even when you compare him to other 2023 draft prospects, his production and impact dwarfs most others who were taken before him.

DENVER BARKEY IS THAT DUDE. @NHLFlyers | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/K63pY5xV00

— London Knights (@LondonKnights) April 3, 2025

The elephant in the room, of course, is his size. He is conservatively listed at 5’9, and somewhere between 155 to 170 pounds. That fact limited his draft stock, and even now there is still apprehension around making too many outlandish projections regarding his ceiling until he plays among the pro ranks, whether that be in the AHL or NHL.

But Barkey has done everything everyone has asked of him at the OHL level. Looking at the past Knights’ captains reveals a list of quality NHL talent, from Mitch Marner to Max Domi to Christian Dvorak to Evan Bouchard. When a player becomes captain in London, it usually speaks to the quality of player just as much as the quality of character that individual possesses. The market is more akin to a pro environment than most normal junior hockey cities, there is real pressure to win, and you will be held accountable for your failures. Barkey’s ability to lead a team so smoothly through what ended up being a dominant wire-to-wire campaign shows he has at least some, if not most, of the mettle and mindset required to be an NHLer.

And no, he didn’t do it alone, Sharks prospect Sam Dickinson led the team in scoring from the back end with 91 points, and Leafs first rounder Easton Cowan was well over a point per game, as was Oilers prospect Sam O’Reilly. The Knights defense core in particular had an embarrassment of riches, with the Flyers’ Oliver Bonk leading the charge alongside Dickinson, projected second rounder, (and potential Flyer) Henry Brzustewicz contributing heavily in his draft year, along the Capitals’ Cam Allen and the Kings’ Jared Woolley both in their draft-plus one years.

There was a lot of talent on this roster, a lot of grit, tenacity, leadership, and borderline dangerous plays. And yet, it was the diminutive centerman who was chosen to captain them. Cowan and Dickinson in particular were absolutely lighting the OHL on fire the year prior, and that was before being selected in the first round, while Barkey fell to the third.

On pedigree alone you’d think it’d be easier to just pick one of the more well known names on the roster, but there is just something about Denver Barkey’s 200-foot game that, in spite of his size, allows him to make an impact on every game he plays. He rarely goes long stretches without getting involved, and he has the work ethic of someone who seems to understand the grind he needs to embrace in order to get to the NHL.

Much of the blame surrounding the lack of Barkey discussion stems from his omission from this Canadian World Junior team, which signaled to many pundits and fans that he just was a cut below the rest of the CHL prospects when in reality, he outplayed most of them.

The ensuing face plant that befell the Canadians at that tournament was proof that Dave Cameron is inept as a head coach and player evaluator, and that the leadership at Hockey Canada continues to prioritize relationships and vague archetypes over taking the best players at that moment in time. Barkey has outplayed many who were taken before him at the junior level, and while his size may be a limiting factor, until that comes into play, I think it is safe to get excited about a player who has already accomplished so much.

It is okay to trust what your eyes see sometimes, this was one of the very best players at the Canadian junior level for two seasons in a row, and there is a competitive fire there that may be capable of overcoming any physical deficiencies that may arise in the future.

Denver Barkey is ELITE. @NHLFlyers | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/Wp0e7HtrIK

— London Knights (@LondonKnights) April 13, 2025

Talking Points