Duke is a quick and agile skater who plays at a high tempo throughout the entire game. He is constantly applying pressure in all zones, while contributing offense and creating space for his team. He has quick feet, that allow him to change direction quickly and be very elusive, making him hard to slow down and defend. He has good puck control and was very efficient on the cycle, keeping possession of the puck while creating passing plays with teammates. He protects pucks well and make dekes in-tight to create space where there seems to be none. Duke makes effective passes to teammates consistently and uses his vision to find small passing lanes, hitting his passing target often, even through traffic. He has a great nose for the net and understands where he needs to be consistently, being able to set up in high danger areas for many scoring chances while also being very effective at finishing rebounds. He often supports his teammates while under pressure, giving them a passing option and using his stick actively to retrieve pucks for his team. In the defensive zone he is consistently aware and applies good pressure on the puck carrier. He is active with his stick and looks to take away passing lanes and options while also showing his hunger for the puck, often looking to stick lift and steal pucks away. He’s not a particularly high-end skater because of his shorter stride, but he can win footraces with his determination, energy, and footspeed. He can lack the creativity to get the puck from those open areas to more dangerous areas consistently. In this sense relying much more on brute force than finesse. At the same time, he does show really solid vision with his passing when under pressure and can reliably progress the puck and utilize his competitiveness to create time and space for his teammates and get the puck to them. Duke has some goal-scoring upside because his shot is hard, accurate and comes off of his stick quickly, and he can shoot off the rush with little trouble. However, his combination of size and skating will be a challenge for him and will probably keep his ceiling low, but given his mentality and approach to the game it’s easy to see how he could carve out an NHL career.

– FCHockey’s 2021 NHL Draft Guide