NHL Draft Profile: Nate Misskey
Victoria, B.C. – With the Royals 2023-24 season coming to a close, blueliner Nate Misskey has his sights set on the 2024 NHL Entry Draft at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada, which will take place from June 28th – 29th.
On Tuesday, Misskey was ranked 89th amongst North American Skaters by NHL Central Scouting in their Final Rankings ahead of the 2024 NHL Draft.
His overall placement of 89th from Central Scouting projects him to be a mid-round pick in the upcoming NHL Draft, while also being the 30th highest ranked defenceman among North American draft-eligible players.
Misskey acknowledged the significance of the ranking as he reflected on a successful 2023-24 campaign.
“It’s awesome to be recognized for the hard work I put in over the (2023) summer, especially coming off last season,” said Misskey. “I really focussed on my game this year, and I feel like it showed well during this season.”
Standing at 6’3” and 210 lbs., the product of Melfort, SK, had his 2023-24 season interrupted when the calendar flipped to 2024, missing 24 games between January and March. Prior to the injury, Misskey was amongst the upper echelon of scorers from the blueline, sitting in seventh place in the WHL for defenceman scoring at the time of his injury.
Misskey said his determination looking towards the future of his career was imperative as he went through the mid-season injury.
“I was out of the lineup for a bit with an injury, but I didn’t let that stop me with my determination to move forward to the rest of the season and draft.”
Misskey returned from his injury on March 15th against the Prince George Cougars, giving him four games to gear up for the postseason. During that stretch of games, he scored once and added an assist as he prepared for the Royals’ first playoff appearance since 2019.
Misskey finished the 2023-24 season with seven goals and 27 assists for 34 points in 44 games played. Outside of point production, and logging large minutes for the Royals, Misskey saw a massive jump in +/- between his first and second full season, jumping from -19 to +11.
Misskey quickly got back to game speed during the Western Conference quarter-finals as the Royals squared off against the Portland Winterhawks. During the matchup, Misskey contributed one goal and added two assists for three points in four games.
Now, Misskey can shift his focus to elevating his game leading into the 2024-25 season, with two main goals in mind: honing in on specific skills, and building muscle through the gym.
“My off-season will be similar to last summer, staying focused on the process and not keeping my mind solely on being drafted,” stated Misskey. “I got to be better every year, and come back as a better player. I will focus a lot of my energy on finding the small parts of my game to improve on to take me to the next level, while also getting bigger, and stronger in the gym.”
While Misskey looks ahead to the upcoming NHL Draft, he will bring experience from last summer when he attended the Edmonton Oilers Development camp.
Looking back on his experience with the Oilers, Misskey felt his size was able to help him fit in comfortably.
“You have to use your skill set to your advantage.” mentioned Misskey. “So using my size and physicality out there to my advantage was crucial for my time in Edmonton.”
