Meet Henry Mews, Flames’ converted forward and defensive rookie

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Henry Mews’ development as a defender was sidetracked by a multi-season stint as a forward.

And while that means his defensive game still needs some fine-tuning, it also explains why Mews – a standout player for the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67’s and a third-round draft pick of the Calgary Flames the NHL 2024 – offers such a unique skill set.

It’s only been three years since he returned to patrol the point.

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“The plan was always to be a D,” Mews told Postmedia. “I started out playing D, but my team couldn’t score goals, so they moved me up front and we started winning games and scoring more goals. So I decided to stay that way for the rest of my minor hockey career and just develop my offensive skills and stuff like that. And then COVID happened, so two years of no hockey. That kind of delayed the change. But I ended up going back to D, and that’s where I am now.”

“I’m happy with my change. I continue to progress as a player. I think I still have a lot of potential and a lot of potential left. »

The Flames feel the same way.

Calgary director of amateur scouting Tod Button told reporters in Las Vegas that Mews was a “pure value” pick at No. 74 overall. In fact, Button revealed the Flames debated between Mews and right wing Jacob Battaglia at No. 62. They ended up with both.

Mews had 61 points, including 15 goals and 46 assists, in 65 regular-season games with the 67’s while they were draft-eligible. His stat sheet included 19 power-play assists. He also helped Team Canada win gold at the World Under-18 Championship this spring.

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Like Flames player MacKenzie Weegar, Mews is from Ottawa. And like so many kids from that area, he idolized former Senators player Erik Karlsson as a kid.

Scouts appreciate his composure, his intelligence and his ability to distribute the puck. This rising right-hander is 6 feet and 187 pounds.

“I love playing quarterback and being able to see everything in front of me,” Mews said. “I think my vision is probably one of my best strengths in my game and it allows me to make plays and make my teammates around me better. That’s all I love to do from the back end.”

“I would describe myself as a versatile defenseman who likes to move the puck up the ice and make my team play more in the offensive zone. And I’m not afraid to score goals and make plays, whether it’s five-on-five or on the power play. That’s the type of player I am. »

There are a few players like that in Calgary’s future pipeline, and that doesn’t seem like a bad thing.

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Of the seven defensemen who recorded 60-plus points last season in the OHL, three of them — first-round pick Zayne Parekh, trade acquisition Hunter Brzustewicz and Mews — are now Flames prospects.

Parekh accumulated 96 points, four more than Brzastewicz. (Since Parekh will likely return for another winter with the Saginaw Spirit, he should have a chance to score triple figures in 2024-25. Brzustewicz, 19, will begin his professional career in the fall.)

“I’m really looking forward to learning from them and obviously getting to know them better and playing alongside them,” Mews said. “It’s going to be awesome. We’re going to build something great here, and I’m really excited to be a part of it.”

“You need defenders to win and go far, right? I think that’s what Calgary sees in adding me to the club. I think we will have a great group in the future. »

There is no doubt that there is no shortage of competition for future jobs on the major league blue line.

The system also has offensive players like Étienne Morin and Jérémie Poirier, as well as home players like Artem Grushnikov, Axel Hurtig, Joni Jurmo and Yan Kuznetsov.

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With their final pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, the Flames added local prospect Eric Jamieson, who hits hard but also showed off some soft mitts. The left-hander, previously a student/skater at the Edge School, had 32 points and a plus-34 rating last season with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips.

Shortly after hearing his name called at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Mews mentioned that he had been to Calgary several times for tournaments. He called it a “great hockey town.”

To make it his future hockey home, this converted forward knows he will have to address concerns about his defensive shortcomings.

“I recognize what I need to work on,” he told the Ottawa Citizen before the draft. “That’s all I can fix and turn into a strength.” Every interview I’ve had with teams, I say, ‘You haven’t seen the best of my game.’ I know I feel better. I still have a lot of ceiling to go. »

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