The offensively-gifted but frustrating Roobroeck provides one of the most unique boom-or-bust profiles in this draft.
There's now just one day remaining until night one of the NHL draft, and all the prospects are focused on heading to Buffalo to see where they'll end up as teams make their selections.
Today's profile is on the mecurial Ryan Roobroeck, who was once seen as a top-10 calibre prospect for this draft, but a tough season has seen him drop down the lists.
Roobroeck, 18, had 58 (30+28) points in 49 games this past season for the Niagara IceDogs, a step back from his 41-goal, 87-point campaign in 2024-25 that really put his name on the board as a top prospect.
Ryan Roobroeck will hope a trade to Guelph will get his offensive game back to where it was, and whoever drafts him will hope the same. (Photo: Natalie Shaver/OHL Images)The London, Ont., native will also have a new home in 2026-27, with a trade last week sending him from Niagara to Guelph, who are loading up ahead of hosting the 2027 Memorial Cup.
Roobroeck has always been seen as a top prospect ever since he was playing with the London Jr. Knights program, and was the second overall pick in the 2023 OHL draft.
That pedigree clung to him, as did a good first two seasons and some solid performances on the international stage with Canada.
But, his draft year really hasn't gone to plan. The questions around Roobroeck's game being too perimeter, too inconsistent, too reliant on junior habits grew throughout the year, and a step back in production didn't help at all.
So, the 6-foot-4 forward dropped from a guy with top-10 upside to what he is now, a wild card who should theoretically go somewhere between the range of 25-75.
A boom-or-bust prospect like Roobroeck is hard to handicap, because it just takes one team that believes in his talent and upside for him to go, but it's always unclear when that team will come around.
There is some reason to believe he can boom, though. He possesses good size, a hard and accurate shot, and a good array of puck skills and playmaking ability that if he can figure out his game, there's a top-six NHL forward in there somewhere.
The question will be how well a team can develop Roobroeck. Can they get him to attack the inside more often? Can they get him to show the right urgency shift after shift? Can they get him to focus on the defensive side of the game, and get his feet moving more often?
These are discussions scouts and development teams alike will have when considering adding this player to their organization. There comes a time where an optimistic team with a strong development staff could be really well-off with grabbing Roobroeck, and if everything goes right, he could very well out-perform his draft slot in the future.
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