2025 NHL Draft Profile: Sean Barnhill

I've talked a lot the past two years about trying to find bigger defensemen prospects who have physical tools highly in demand by NHL teams, but who seem like they could have at least some skill outside of just being big. Treliving seems to like his Large Adult Sons, so it's definitely a player type I pay attention to, but I'm not interested in rehashing the previous LAS era.

I don't think bigger players are inherently bad, but I do think bigger players who are not good enough get much longer leashes because it's something that can get over-emphasized.

Today's profile is on a defenseman who definitely has those physical tools that teams like to have, but shows flashes of having a deeper game beyond just being tall.

THE BASICS: STATS AND CONTEXT

• Position: Right-shot defenseman
• League(s): USHL
• Height: 6'5"
• Weight: 214 lbs
• Birthdate: January 8th, 2007

Here are his draft rankings, as of writing this:

• Bob McKenzie: Honourable mention
• Corey Pronman: 77th
• Will Scouch: 47th
• Elite Prospects: 67th
• Scott Wheeler: Not ranked
• Dobber Prospects: Not ranked
• FC Hockey: Not ranked
• McKeen's Hockey: 60th
• HockeyProspect.com: Not ranked

Barnhill has always been bigger than his peers, and he's never been much of an offensive producer. When he was drafted into the USHL in 2023, he was the 16th defenseman taken coming off his career best season offensively at the time – he had 16 points in 48 games in AAA hockey. The next year, he had his actual best offensive season with 26 points in 47 games, which was good for 70th among all 16-year-old defensemen playing in that AAA level. Suffice to say, he'll never be mistaken for Hughes or Makar.

Last year was also when he had his first taste of major junior hockey, once his AAA season was over. He had a 2 game stint for Dubuque in the USHL, and then joined Nanaimo in the BCHL for four games to end the regular season and another four in the playoffs. So this year, when he rejoined Dubuque full time, was his first full year in one of the more competitive junior leagues in North America. His rookie year went well – he was a 2nd/3rd pair tweener on one of the best teams in the league.

It was a pretty good year for Barnhill's progression. He had 4 goals and 12 points in 54 games, then added one assist in 7 playoff games. Playing on such a deep team, he didn't get a top role. Nor did he get any power-play time, but he did get regular time on the powerplay. To start the season, it did seem like he was more of a true third pairing guy, and Dubuque semi-often ran a lineup with more than 6 defensemen. By the end of the year, he was being used more in spite of being on the, on paper, third pair. He was one of the main guys out on the ice to hold leads late in the game, for example.

THE GOOD: SIZE, MOBILITY, POTENTIAL

Barnhill is another one of those defensemen in this year's draft who tick the two boxes that are coveted by just about every NHL team: he's got size, and he's a very good skater. His skating and mobility are his biggest strength as a prospect. Scouts described his skating as having solid multi-directional agility and speed up the ice. He also has impressive evasiveness when he has the puck to elude forecheckers and defenders. At the Draft Combine, Barnhill rated out as one of the most purely athletic players invited – he finished 3rd in the horizontal jump, 11th at the VO2max test, 3rd/4th in the left and right agility tests, 21st in the mean power output test, 9th in the vertical jump, and 8th in the no arm jump.

His skating is the foundation for Barnhill's developing puck-moving and transition skills. He showed improved puck-moving ability through the season, showing flashes of more dynamic passing. He is able to read shoulder check and read forecheckers, deke and accelerate through the middle, and use give-and-go's to move the puck up the ice through defenses. Honestly, I think this area of the game is where he is best as of right now.

Barnhill attempting and pulling off these kinds of plays was a definite sign that he was increasingly confident handling the puck. He was making more quick plays off the wall and leading the rush more often. Again, I don't want to overstate his consistency or the level of his skill here, I just want to emphasize that he was doing this more often and that he is not completely hopeless with the puck.

At 6'5" and 214 lbs, Barnhill definitely has imposing size with room to fill out more and get even stronger. From his EP listing at the start of the year to his measurement at the combine, he's added 10 lbs this year. It helps a lot with his defensive game. He can easily box out opponents in front of the net to keep them from screens, tips and rebounds. He has a high-end defensive range thanks to his skating and reach, and it allows him to defend rushes at a pretty high level. He stuffs skaters trying to attack his side of the ice with speed, thanks to his reach and quick pivots to close the distance and erase them into the boards. He makes solid defensive reads – he clogs passing lanes that he seems open up, identifies secondary threats, and discourages shot attempts around him because of the threatening range he has. He has very good instincts and anticipation so he is not caught out of position very often that I saw.

Physically, Barnhill smothers opponents along the boards, using his long stick to contain them and his high-end strength to pin them. He's also good at angling rushers to the boards with his reach to keep them to the outside, away from the middle of the ice. More often through the season, he showed he was capable of landing poke or sweep checks with his stick and then following up with a hard check into the boards or with a clean open ice hit. He is capable of crunching guys trying to skate past him on the rush, on pinches, and to break up cycles in his own end. His confidence in playing physically aggressive looked like something that was ramping up all year.

Again, I want to emphasize that he is not an elite defenseman right now. He has the tools, he has decent instincts, but his defensive projection is based a lot on his physical tools (size, reach, skating) and how easily that projects to the NHL and a hope/expectation that he can learn to refine his defensive skills.

Barnhill's overall potential and upside are consistently emphasized by scouts. He can activate, catch the puck in space, and pass to open teammates, and has demonstrated the ability to go coast-to-coast, using his reach to handle pucks and keeping his feet moving. He's also effective at shooting from the point, moving through receptions, and walking into space. His willingness to try plays, combined with his ability to toe-drag, set up entries with saucer passes, and look through the forecheck for options, underscores his growth with the puck.

The important thing is that Barnhill's size, skating, and defensive ability likely gives him the tools to have an easier path to the NHL than most in his range. He also has a high likelihood of reaching a third-pair NHL level and all the tools to become a physical bottom-pairing presence whose physicality and range become crucial in close-quarters postseason contests. His offensive skill and growth are seen in his ability to effectively shoot from the point by moving through receptions and walking into space. He has the foundation to make a bottom-pair, maybe middle-pair guy if he is one of the few players to have a big developmental leap. He will specialize as a defensive defenseman, but with mobility and a modicum of puck skill to not make him a complete liability in that regard.

THE FLAWS: SHOT, SCORING, SIZE

The problems with Barnhill are that he is, as of now, raw and needs development in a lot of areas. I feel like a broken record since I've said the same things about pretty much all the other prospects, but that's the truth for anyone ranked at this range.

Barnhill's biggest areas for development is obviously with the puck. While he improved through the season, he's still not a high end passer or puck manager. This is true on transitions and in the offensive zone. Accuracy and decision making still needs to be improved more. While he shows some creativity in things he tries to do, that's only a good sign when the "tries" turns into "successfully completes" on a consistent basis. With some improvements, he could turn into a Simon Benoit-like third pairing defenseman. With more significant improvements, he could turn into a low-end second pairing guy, like an inferior version of Jake McCabe.

The other thing that Barnhill needs to work on improving is his defensive details. His physical tools are better and more refined than his teammate, Edison Engle, but his decision making and details are further behind. His gap control can be better, and he occasionally drifts to the perimeter in his own end and leaves passing lanes to the middle of the ice undefended. He could also be more engaged physically on retrievals when it comes to things like boxing out opponents as they try to beat him to the puck.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

I like Barnhill more than most of the other "big defensive defensemen" archetypes in this year's draft. The others that I like more, or like as much, are the other guys I've profiled so far. That said, I would definitely be more comfortable with him being taken in the third round than in the second. Others simply have more refined elements of their game, or have longer periods of showing the same consistency and high level of their flashes of skill than Barnhill did.

While I do definitely think that Barnhill showed improvements with the puck down the stretch – especially moving it up the ice on transitions, but with cross-applicable skills in the offensive zone as well. His defense is not as refined, but he has a strong foundation from his physical tools that can make up for defensive decision making and instincts that aren't as high end – at least, not yet.

As of writing this, Barnhill was an honourable mention on Bob McKenzie's draft ranking, just outside of the 80 players he did rank. Corey Pronman didn't rank him at all, but he only covered about 35-40 players. Both of them have yet to release their final rankings. NHL Central Scouting, on the other hand, has released theirs and they had him 64th among North American skaters. So unless Barnhill really has some late draft hype, which I do not have the impression that he does from following other scouts, a third round pick is a realistic range to expect him to be taken.

Thanks for reading!

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