2025 NHL Draft Profile: Ryker Lee

Something that Toronto liked to look for in prospects under Kyle Dubas and Wes Clark was guys who were late bloomers and were finishing their draft years really strong compared to how they started. It was something they specifically mentioned when talking about drafting Easton Cowan, Fraser Minten and Matt Knies.

I don't know if Toronto's newer management and scouting heads will think the same way, but I do know that finding late bloomers is a good way to find players outside of the first round who have a better chance of outperforming their draft position. The idea is that they're still improving in bigger leaps, and could (in theory) keep improving and growing more than other guys who already plateaued – relatively speaking, anyway.

You likely noticed how often I profile players who are more physically underdeveloped. They may already be tall, but they're skinny. To me, this means there's more physical ability and tools they can and likely will unlock once they work with Toronto's fitness and nutrition coaches to add weight and muscle.

All of this is something that fits players I've picked to profile. Zharovsky, yesterday's example, was a perfect example given his development from last season to the very end of this one. Ryker Lee is the next man up in this regard.

THE BASICS: STATS AND CONTEXT

• Position: Right-shot winger
• League(s): USHL
• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 185 lbs
• Birthdate: November 8th, 2006

Here are his draft rankings, as of writing this:

• Bob McKenzie: 58th
• Corey Pronman: 55th
• Will Scouch: 24th
• Elite Prospects: 34th
• Scott Wheeler: 34th
• Dobber Prospects: Not ranked
• FC Hockey: 39th
• McKeen's Hockey: 42nd
• HockeyProspect.com: 15th

Like Zharovsky, Lee is a player that seems more likely to be a second rounder than a third rounder like I had hoped when I was picking my final profile list. You can see he's ranked as a borderline first rounder by public scouting outlets now, but I suspect that the more NHL realistic rankings will be a bit more conservative when their final versions come out.

Lee is an older prospect, with a late 2006 birthday, which can be something that teams hold against players with similar birth ranges. Or rather, what they do is compare how far along they look and what their production is like to other players drafted the previous season, not compared to other draft picks born in 2007 for this year's draft.

Well, let's look at that. Before this year, Lee played on one of the most prestigious programs to churn out NHL players: Shattuck St Mary's. In fact, they had three players on the team last year drafted. Three years ago, on their U15 team, he had 80 points in 61 games, well back of the leaders who had 100+ points. Two years ago, on their U16 team, Lee lead his team in scoring by 23 points – he had 123 points in 57 games. Then last year, he made the jump to their top team, the U18 USHS-Prep league team, and finished second on the team in points with 120 in 71 games.

Finally, this year he made the jump to the USHL and joined the Madison Capitols. He won the USHL Rookie of the Year award with 68 points in 58 games – that was tops among this year's draft group, behind only three others. Two are 20 years old, the other is his Shattuck teammate from last year, Will Zellers, who led that team in scoring and was drafted by the Boston Bruins in the third round.

What's been spurring this development since his U15 season is his physical growth. When he was 15, he was listed as 5'3" and has confirmed this with scouts. In the three years since then, he's had a prolonged continuous growth spurt of nine inches (and all the weight to go with it) to get to the 6'0" he's recorded at today – and he says he's still growing! If true, that would give him an even greater level of physical projection.

THE GOOD: COMPLETE OFFENSIVE THREAT

The advantage of Lee is that he has one of the most well-rounded and complete offensive games with the puck on his stick. He has a very good shot, he has some real nifty mittens to dangle through defenders, and he's a high-level passer and playmaker.

Ryker Lee's offensive game is based around having elite puck handling and creativity – I've seen some scouts state he is considered among the best in the draft this year in this area. He has quick hands to keep it away from defender's sticks, and has that "puck-on-a-string" level of ability to keep it on his stick. He has one of the better highlight-reel packs, where he can stick handle through defensemen in open ice and in tight spaces. This exceptional handling allows him to consistently deceive opponents and launch passes directly out of rapid stickhandling motions.

Lee's wrist shot, which I think could be his best single skill, is a legitimate weapon. He has a quick and smooth release that looks effortless and natural. He gets good elevation even in tight, and can put some real velocity on it from mid and long distance. I would not project his shot to be NHL elite, but it could get close. That's because he doesn't just have the mechanics down, it's how he thinks about shooting too. How he sets things up, adds deception, when he chooses to shoot and when he doesn't, all those little things. He uses curl and drag moves like top NHL shooters, he uses defenders as partial screens to shoot through them so the goalie can't pick it up as quickly, make a feint or deke so the goalie move where he wants. He has the ability to fire powerful catch-and-release shots with minimal time or space. He doesn't force low percentage shots too often, compared to other high volume shooters among his peers even though Lee himself had one of the highest shot rates in the USHL.

Then there's his playmaking and vision. He excels at making precise backhand feeds, creative lobbed area passes, and deceptive delay-and-spin moves to find teammates in prime scoring areas. He consistently demonstrates high-level offensive zone play, thinking the game at an advanced level to create opportunities from the rush, on the half-wall during power plays, and by exploiting space in the offensive zone. To me, what makes his playmaking even better is how smart he is with it. He'll draw defenders away with his stick handling so there's a vulnerable area on the ice for his teammates to take an open pass. He'll skate right at a wall of defensemen to freeze them in place before dropping it off before they can swipe at the puck. He'll pass it off and skate aggressively at the net, sometimes drawing multiple defensemen to him instead of the guy he passed to. He does these things to force decisions where communication can break down and opponents forget their assignments.

Lee has been noted for his improving forechecking and work rate. He actively closes gaps with haste, forcing uncomfortable decisions from defensemen and aggressively pursuing pucks. He initiates contact and dives for loose pucks to extend offensive possessions, highlighting a strong compete level. While not a primary element of his game, he's also shown growing physicality and aggression, including landing reverse hits and seeking out contact on the forecheck.

In terms of transition ability, Lee is effective at pushing the puck up ice. He's most dangerous as the F2 on the rush, receiving drop passes and then creating immediate offense with cuts, spins, or passes to trailers. He shows individual carrying and manipulation skills in transition, though he often opts for delays.

Lee's overall hockey IQ is a significant asset, as he thinks the game at a very advanced level – especially offensively. He has a good understanding of how to manipulate opponents and make quick plays under pressure. It's pretty clear to me that he will be able to think the game at an NHL level. Beyond the mental side, he has considerable growth potential in every sense of the term. I mentioned that he's been on a large growth spurt the past few years and, according to his own words (for what that's worth) he's still growing. I'm actually pretty impressed that he seems to have kept his weight up at a normal level for his height, considering how much height he's gained, but if he is still adding another inch or two he'll have more room to fill out and add muscle.

The last thing I'll give Lee a shout out for is that his character is also considered a positive. That's not typically something I mention in profiles but it is something that came up a lot when I read scouting reports on him. He is often described as just a great kid with great energy and enthusiasm for the sport and for improving his game. I think that's one of the reasons why he has been able to improve so much, and how he is pretty candid about his own weaknesses. He knows what he has to work on, and he works hard on it. For example, while his defensive and off puck play needs improvement, I saw some glimpses of improvements that hint at some potential there. He was better at backchecking down the stretch than he was earlier in the season, and he's developing a better awareness in his own end for his positioning and responsibilities.

THE FLAWS: EXPLOSIVE SKATING AND CONSISTENT PACE

The biggest problem Lee has that he'll need to work hard to improve is his skating. The issue isn't that he's slow, because you've likely seen him zip around in the highlights above. The issue that I've seen scouts talk about is inefficient mechanics when trying to accelerate out of cuts and dekes. He has admitted himself that he has troubles keeping up his speed and stamina late in games, where his mechanics are worse off as he gets tired. In fact, his delay game off the rush seems to actually be a product of these issues – it's good to know how to use delays, but he relies on it heavily because he lacks overall speed and explosiveness to pull away from defenders at times. So there's some questions around his projection to higher levels when his skating issues will be more exposed, especially since – as of now – he's still just an averaged sized winger.

Another area of improvement for Lee is his inconsistent physical play and competitiveness. While he shows willingness to engage, and I do think he was better and more consistent at this by the end of the season, it's still something he will need to work on. He won't always battle that hard along the boards, where at times he resorts to just poking around with his stick. There is a similar issue with his defensive play off the puck, which could also use some rounding out. He often reaches and swipes for pucks instead of taking the extra stride to engage physically and get in the puck carrier's face to put maximum pressure on them to make a mistake.

Lastly, Lee's shot-release mechanics are also something I've seen some scouts say is a bit of a weakness. He has good velocity on it, but when he's at middle or long range he tends to telegraph the shot with a big, dramatic pullback to get more power on it. But that also tells goalies and defenders when a shot is coming, so it's easier to defend. He'll need to work on making his shot more compact even at distance, and add some deceptive elements to it so it doesn't need to have maximum power all the time.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

In a lot of ways, Lee is a similar prospect to Zharovsky who I wrote about yesterday. They're both among the more skilled players in this draft. They both hadn't been getting that much love for most of this season because they're lagging behind in some physical development areas, mainly their strength and skating. They both have questions around if they have enough tools outside of the flashy skill to make it as pro hockey players. And they are both more recently getting some draft hype because of how strong they finished their seasons.

I like Zharovsky a bit more, because he's already shown he can have a positive impact in a limited run in the KHL and already has a better physical profile. Lee has only played in junior, but I also think he may have more all-around skill as a better shooter and slightly better passer. Lee is also a bit older as a late 2006 birthday, but he's already having a great USHL season that would be worthy of other 2006 birthdays who were already drafted last year.

So here's where I talk about why I'm not concerned enough about Lee's issues, and as a result why I think he'd make for a good second or third round pick. First, he reportedly told some scouts that he was 5'3" when he was 15 years old, and he's had a prolonged continuous growth spurt since then to get to the 6'0" he's recorded at today – and he says he's still growing! He himself has mentioned that he loses his skating form when he gets tired later in games. There is some evidence to support that too. At the start of the year, he was listed as 5'10" and 170 lbs but as of the NHL draft combine he attended, he was listed as 6'0.25" and 185 lbs. Even if the 5'10" was his height that was measured the previous year, he's still grown two inches over the past year and a bit.

Him adding even just one or two inches on top of the 6'0" and a bit he's at now will help a lot. I also think that his skating issues are not enormous – I don't think it's as bad as, say, Chadwick's was when he was drafted. His skating overall is above average before he apparently gets tired and his mechanics fall apart. Toronto has excellent skill coaches to iron out as many of his mechanical kinks and help him find greater consistency and efficiency. If he was already a top USHL player in his draft year with those skating issues, imagine how much more effective he can be if he saves more energy from having those better mechanics.

Another thing that I think is a good sign in Lee's favour is his pure athleticism, skating mechanics and endurance aside. At the Combine, he had the best vertical jump, the 13th best no arm jump, the 10th best left hand grip, and the 17th best consecutive pull ups. I think the long lasting endurance and mechanical issues are things that will get figured out by working with skills and strength coaches. As he gets older and settles into whatever height and form he finishes at, and improves his fitness, that issue will go away and he can add more endurance and power to his skating. That's the main reason why I'm less concerned over his skating issues than with others, because it isn't as much of problematic mechanics that can be hard to overcome, but there is an easier fix that will come almost naturally with time.

Now, looking at Lee's rankings as of now, Bob McKenzie had him as a late second-round guy in his mid-season ranking. I won't know his final rankings until right before the draft itself. Corey Pronman didn't rank him in his first round plus a few others, and NHL Central Scouting listed him as the 28th best North American skater. That does seem to make him more of a second round guy than a third rounder, contrary to what seemed to be the trending thought on him before his late season rising hype. But if Toronto takes him with their second round pick? I'd dig it, a lot actually.

Thanks for reading!

I put a lot of work into my prospect articles here, both for the draft and Toronto's prospects. I do it as a fun hobby for me, and I'd probably do it in some capacity even if PPP completely ceased to exist. But if you like reading my work, some support would go a long way! I pay for a few streaming services (CHL, NCAA, USHL, the occasional TSN options for international tournaments that are broadcast) to be able to reliably watch these prospects in good quality streams. I also pay for some prospect-specific resources, such as tracking data and scouting reports from outlets like Elite Prospects, Future Considerations, McKeen's Hockey, The Athletic, and more.

Being able to get paid for this helps me dedicate more time and resources to it, rather than to second/third jobs. And whatever money I make here, a lot of I reinvest back into my prospect work through in those streaming and scouting services. Like I said, I'd be doing whatever I can afford for this anyway, so any financial help I get through this is greatly appreciated!