“Potter made the big decision to go to college early, and it paid off. He played around 20 minutes a night at ASU, and scouts were impressed with his play-driving abilities. He’s 5-foot-9, but his pure skill and ability to make things happen with the puck should keep him high in the draft conversation. Overall, I like his commitment to playing in all three zones, and he anticipates plays and gets himself where he needs to be better than most of the draft class. I think the ceiling is higher for Potter than many others around this part of the draft, but he needs to show he can handle the physical challenge. Fast-tracking to play at ASU early was an absolute genius move for his development and helped him push up draft boards.”

“Potter is an undersized forward who’s very explosive in open ice leading the rush. He’s not tall but he’s very strong for his stature. In my opinion he leans shooter more than distributor, but he sees the ice and is definitely a playmaker. Cullen averaged 20 minutes of ice time at the college level. Nearly all of his shifts came at even strength and on the power play. His transition pace pushes opponents back off their blue line and leads to clean zone entries and potential scoring chances. Cullen produced 13G-9A in 35 games at Arizona State.”

“Projects to go in an area of Round 1 when teams will be looking for one major standout element to a player’s game. Potter’s skating is that element. He floats around the ice backing off defenders, but also shows the ability to change pace by edging laterally quickly. Combined with his handles, he does project to have at least secondary offence once he arrives in the NHL.”