Beau Akey’s game is all about mobility. He can keep pace with just about any of his peers, and that skill has been applied to the defensive side of the puck in his case. The 6’0” blue-liner plays his position by shadowing his opponent, and he’s become proficient at entry prevention in his teenage years to shut down rush attacks.
In his second OHL season he made an effort to add more of an offensive element. Already with an effective defensive style of play to lean on, he’s slowly rounding out his game at the opposite end of the ice, and his progress in that area is helping to boost his draft stock.
Birthplace: Waterloo, Ontario
Date of birth: February 11, 2005
Shoots: Right
Position: Defence
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 170 lbs.
Team: Barrie Colts (OHL)
Akey credits Barrie Colts teammate Brandt Clarke for the growth of his offensive output as he has been able to observe the older defenceman’s tactics on the ice. Clarke was the eighth overall pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2021, already seeing nine games in the NHL and five more in the AHL this year, bringing even more lessons back to the Junior ranks this winter for Akey to learn from.
After producing just 16 points in 61 games in his rookie season in the OHL last year – typical production for a player who is more of a defensive specialist – Akey had 11 goals and 36 assists in 66 games in 2022-23. A significant portion of that offence came on the power play as he became a top special-teams option in the absence of Clarke, and maintained a role even upon Clarke’s return following the World Junior Championship.
With the speed element to his game, he and his coaches in Barrie recognized that not only could he be trusted on the man advantage, he could play higher in the zone and still have the ability to recover defensively from missed passes or interceptions that could start breaks the other way.
Perhaps from those power-play minutes, he learned that he could take more risks on offensive rushes, and gained the confidence to join his forwards on those excursions. He could get himself into good position by trailing the play, sneaking into quiet areas to find space for his release.
The tracked stats show he wasn’t a player who took a great number of shots at five-on-five this season, but he was often up in a dangerous spot when he did get his looks, registering one of the highest expected-goal marks of the draft class. In a league where most defencemen tend to fire pucks from the blue line – and find some success versus opponents who fail to block shots and goalies who aren’t adept at fighting to see the shots – Akey was found more around the circles and up near the net looking for his offence, and got his points that way.
He recorded assists from some of those shots that were left for rebounds and quick bumps to teammates, but his passing game could still use some work if he wants to be a complete offensive player. He’s already better than an average playmaker, so there is something for him to work with to flesh out that part of his attacking game.
The deficiencies in his passing show up more in his lack of a transition game. He has some of the talents necessary to be a transporter of the puck – the speed to escape from forecheckers and the sense to join the play at the right moments – but doesn’t have the ability to connect with his teammates to start the play from his own end. Like his offensive game, that may be mostly a matter of growing confident in a new ability. Working with him on becoming comfortable with the puck on his stick will be one of the main tasks for the development staff of the NHL team selecting him.
Preliminary Rankings
Dobber Prospects: N/R in Top 50
Elite Prospects: #33
FCHockey: #55
Hockey Prospect: #50
Hadi Kalakeche: #58
McKeen’s: #38
Bob McKenzie (TSN): #55
NHL Central Scouting: #33 (North American skaters)
Corey Pronman (The Athletic) N/R in Top 34
Scott Wheeler (The Athletic): N/R in Top 64
There isn’t a lot for him to address on the defensive side. Along with the entry prevention, he’s very good at keeping tabs on his man in the defensive zone, sticking to him to prevent an open shot and using his stick to break up plays.
At 170 pounds, he’s not big enough to go into the corners to steal the puck away from opponents, but as with about 95% of draft-year prospects he won’t be staying that size forever. Added strength will benefit him in that area, and if he also has an improved transition game at that point, he’ll be able to single-handedly turn defence into offence for his team.
Even without the puck retrievals, he’s a sound defensive player, suffocating opponents in the more dangerous areas around his own net. He’s shown significant improvement on the offensive side, still growing into that part of the play, and has a base on which to build a transition game. There’s a good defensive player to be selected in Beau Akey, but with the proper development an NHL team could have a versatile top-four right-shot defenceman from a second-round pick.
Anton Rasegård
