J.P. Hurlbert has barely gotten started on the road to pro hockey, but Detroit’s prospect ranking says the Red Wings are already paying close attention.
After a rookie Western Hockey League season that produced 42 goals and 97 points, Hurlbert enters Detroit Hockey Now’s Red Wings Prospect List at No. 10. The plan is to keep watching him through December and adjust from there, but the early read is clear: there’s enough here to put him in the conversation right away.
The 18-year-old forward’s offensive numbers jump off the page, especially for a first-year WHL player. He’ll also spend this fall with an elite Michigan team, giving Detroit another chance to evaluate him before the list gets reshuffled again. With Sebastian Cossa traded, everyone from No. 6 on up has moved one spot higher, which is why Hurlbert lands in the top 10 from the start.
Scouts aren’t just reacting to the scoring totals. Detroit prospect Carter Bear, who has faced Hurlbert and now shares a room with him at Red Wings development camp, liked what he saw.
“Obviously (Hurlbert) can score for sure,” said Detroit prospect Carter Bear who played against Hurlbert “He’s quick with the puck and can handle the puck well and he has good smarts for the game.”
Bear said the two are still getting acquainted, but the early impression has been a positive one.
“Just getting to know him now,” Bear said. “He’s a great person. . . it’s going well so far.”
Detroit used the No. 23 pick in the first round on Hurlbert, though some draft analysts had him even higher - as high as 11th, according to The Hockey News’ Ryan Kennedy.
The production is rare enough to make people take notice. The Blazers are one of Canada’s most storied junior programs, and Hurlbert is only the third rookie in Kamloops history to score 40 or more goals. Detroit doesn’t have another forward prospect with that kind of scoring line.
Still, nobody is rushing to stamp him as a sure thing. Hurlbert wasn’t a top-five pick, and he still has work to do.
His skating needs improvement, and his game will have to hold up as he moves from junior hockey to college and eventually the pros. The point is not that he’s finished.
It’s that the tools are worth tracking.
“He shows real good offensive instincts - he knows how to score goals,” Detroit assistant general manager Kris Draper said. “He can make plays.”
Hurlbert also brings a solid build and a concentrated approach. Among Detroit’s forwards, the list around him includes Michael Brandsegg-Nygard at No.
1, Carter Bear at No. 5, Nate Danielson at No.
7, Max Plante at No. 8 and Carter Mazur at No. 9.
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