We resume the prospect series with an entry on a 2027 NHL Entry Draft eligible, 16-year-old blue chip. Whether or not this launches another min-series is a matter I am undecided on at the moment, but we will see how it plays out. Never mind that, though. Let us talk about the player at hand. Currently playing American AAA, the Canadian youngster is highly coveted by the CHL constituent league whose eligibility region he was born and raised in. I am impressed by his skill level and can see a considerable amount of potential in him already. Without further ado, let us take a look at his playing style and achievements to this point.

James Scantlebury was born in Montreal, Québec on January 15th, 2009, and raised in nearby Chateauguay. He began playing ice hockey at age two due to the influence of his father, a high school hockey coach. As noted in the previously linked article, he was cultivated in his hometown of Chateauguay’s minor hockey system before taking his next steps within the ranks of Lac St-Louis Arsenal. He performed well with Team Québec and Lac St-Louis in arguably the two biggest youth showcases of them all, with 5 goals and 2 assists in 6 games at the Brick Invitational in the summer of 2019 with the former and 6 goals and 4 assists in 6 showings at the Quebec International Pee-Wee Tournament in February 2022 with the latter. Overall, he had 63 points in 37 games over the course of his AAA career with Lac St-Louis, spread out over the course of the 2021–22 and 2022–23 seasons. In 2023–24, he made the move to the Rochester, NY region to play AAA for Bishop Kearney Selects, one of many strong athletics programs run by Bishop Kearney High School (at which he is also of course receiving an education).

Scantlebury began the season playing 14U, which he was clearly quite prepared for, putting up 64 goals and 66 assists in 55 games. He subsequently posted 9 points in 9 games in 15U and 1 goal in 4 appearances with the 16U team. In this current campaign, he began with the 16U squad and put up 30 goals and 49 assists in 49 games played before receiving the call-up to 18U, where he currently has 6 points in 8 games. He is a fast riser in a way that possibly suggests an early blooming.

How Scantlebury has accomplished what he has is definitely a sight to behold. I definitely see him as a player with strong positioning and body manipulation skill with both his upper and lower halves. He has excellent situational and spatial awareness, seemingly having a sixth sense for where his teammates are at all times. This is especially evident when considering the times his tape show him finding the smallest of seams with backhand passes. His shooting isn’t the most powerful at this stage, but he has pretty impressive accuracy and mechanics, seemingly getting it to where he wants on a whim even when moving at high speed and on one-timers. Watching him in open space, his skating stride looks a bit choppy, but his acceleration and his body control help him get where he wants exactly when he wants despite that. It seems as though he excels in specific areas and possesses such a high skill level that any deficits he may have can be easily overcome. Using this to his advantage, he has positioned himself well to be taken first overall in the QMJHL draft this year. I will not be surprised if that occurs, and I won’t be shocked if he has a very strong D-1 in his first season of major junior hockey next year, either. It should be curious to see how the next couple of seasons go for him in cultivating his draft stock for the NHL in 2027. A first round pick seems like a fait accompli. Just how high is where the question lies, but his ceiling looks pretty impressive. I will most certainly be rooting for him to hit it.