With the 38th pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, the Buffalo Sabres have taken Connor Hurley from Edina High School in Minnesota.
Hurley is a talented center who stands 6’1” and at just 17 years old is the youngest player in the entire draft. His best skills are his explosive skating and his great ice vision. He’s a playmaker first and foremost, and helped his high school team win the MN state championship.
He plays the game in his own end fairly well for such a youngster, and will certainly learn more of that when he attends Notre Dame in the future. He’s been compared to other solid, two-way playmakers like David Krejci, but is versatile enough to play a different roles if his team needs him to.
Hurley will play next season in the USHL, then is planning on attending the University of Notre Dame after that. He won’t see the NHL for probably two to three more years at the earliest, but after he fills out his body and polishes his overall game, he could be a versatile top-6 forward.
Here’s what the Western College Hockey Blog had to say:
Hurley’s best assets are that he’s an explosive skater, with incredible vision and passing ability. He’s got pretty decent size, and a frame that could still fill out a little more, and he can play the center position, which is always valuable in the NHL. If there’s a downside, it’s that Hurley can be a bit too passive with his play. On a very deep and talented Edina team, there were times where he seemed content to just be one of the guys, rather than the type of standout you’d expect a late first/early second round NHL draft pick to be at the high school level.