By: Eamonn McLean | Follow me on Twitter/X @EamonnMcLean44
A recent trend in junior hockey has been the departure of several young American players from the National Team Development Program to pursue opportunities in the Canadian Hockey League. With the NCAA recently making CHL players eligible to play College Hockey, it’s completely changed the landscape of both Junior Hockey as we once knew it, and recruiting as a whole.
J.P. Hurlbert made the decision to leave the USNTDP last summer in order to join the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League. The results were fantastic. Hurlbert finished fourth in league scoring and led the Blazers in points by nine. Could he really be available at #23?
Background
Position: Right-Shot Forward
Birthdate: April 11th, 2008
Hometown: Allen, Texas
Height and Weight: 6’0″, 183lbs
2025-2026 Team: Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
2025-2026 Stats: 68 games played, 42 goals, 55 assists, 97 points, 45 penalty minutes, +13 rating.
NCAA Commitment: University of Michigan (Big Ten)
Where is He Ranked?
EliteProspects.com: 30th
Craig Button/TSN: 22nd
NHL Central Scouting (North American Skaters): 12th
DailyFaceoff: 21st
Sportsnet/Cosentino: 20th
Sportsnet/Bukala: 17th
Profile and Highlights
Hurlbert is very comfortable stickhandling in traffic. Watching him play, it never looks like he’s moving at high speed, but he is. His stride is so effortless and smooth that it almost looks like he isn’t trying to skate fast. Skating isn’t the only thing the Texas native makes look easy, he routinely embarrasses opposition defenders by putting the puck through their skates and sticks, retrieving it on the other side of them more time than not.
His shot is also an asset. Nobody scores 42 goals in the WHL by accident. However, not all of his goals are pure snipes. There are definitely a fair share of those, but a good amount of those tallies are scored in and around the crease and lower slot, a good sign for a player who at 6’0″, 183lbs, is far from the biggest on the ice at any given time.
How Hurlbert’s play and point production will translate next season to a Michigan Wolverines team that will also feature first-round talents Michael Hage and Jack Nesbitt remains to be seen. However, it’s not difficult to envision Hurlbert having a strong freshman campaign for Michigan, which reached the Frozen Four this year.
Why Hurlbert Makes Sense for the Bruins
You always want to draft the best player available, and Hurlbert is likely to be just that if he makes it to #23. Recording a nearly 100-point season in your first year in the WHL, while not turning 18 until April, is very impressive, even if the CHL might not be as strong as it once was, given the changing landscape of Major Junior and College Hockey. The Bruins still desperately need gamebreaking forward talent, and Hurlbert has the potential to be a reliable top-six forward in the National Hockey League.
Why the Bruins Might Go Elsewhere
Hurlbert has a lot going for him as a prospect, and that might be why the Bruins don’t select him, because they don’t get a chance to. Every team in the NHL is looking for young, cost-controlled forwards who can score. I wouldn’t be shocked at all if he’s gone before #23.
The Bruins’ prospect pool is barren when it comes to young defenseman, as the team has not selected one in the first round since 2017, when they drafted Urho Vaakanainen. It’s possible they opt to take a defender instead.
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