Bio
Stats
Scouting Report
Siri – show me a Dylan Duke highlight that encapsulates his style of play:
After two seasons playing a supporting role to the likes of Matty Berniers, Luke Hughes, Kent Johnson, Adam Fantilli, and Owen Power, Duke, who was named an alternate captain, is going to be looked at as one of the leaders for the Wolverines as they continue their quest to win a national title. It seemed they were primed to do it last season but they lost in the semi-finals to the eventual winner – Quinnipiac. It would have been a great story if Duke could have lifted the trophy in the arena where he might lace up his skates in the NHL, but it wasn’t to be.
Michigan might not be as loaded as they had been in the past, but along with Duke there are nine other NHL-drafted prospects on the roster including blue chip players Rutger McGroarty (Winnipeg) and Frank Nazar (Chicago). Dylan will also have the opportunity to play with his brother Tyler, who transferred from Ohio State over the summer (and also skated with Dylan at the Lightning’s development camp).
So, what does Dylan Duke bring to the University of Michigan, and hopefully the Crunch and Lightning in the future? A tenacious effort in the offensive zone and the ability to fight his way to prime scoring areas despite not being the biggest guy on the ice. Of course, compared to some of the other Lightning prospects in the system, standing 5’10” almost makes him a giant.
The college junior has had decent productivity through two seasons at Michigan, especially considering all of the talent eating up minutes around him, as he’s recorded 28 goals and 23 assists in 82 games for the Wolverines. By the end of last season he had worked his way up to Michigan’s second line and provided some nice depth scoring. He also added 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) in 7 games at the 2023 Men’s World Junior Championships where he represented the United States.
Watching the highlights, the first comparison for Duke would be Ross Colton (although Ross the Boss was a slightly better skater). Both players work hard in the offensive zone and defensive zone and manage to put up points despite not excelling at any particular aspect of the game. Duke has a solid all-around game and doesn’t hesitate to go into the dirty areas to get the puck or put up a scoring chance.
While most of his goals come from batting in rebounds or tips in front of the net, he does have a decent wrist shot. One aspect of his game that he’ll need to work on is getting the release time down. Slow shots in the pros are blocked shots.
As with a lot of the Lightning prospects, he profiles out to a middle-six forward and is versatile enough to find himself on the penalty kill and power play units. While he’s listed as a center, his path forward will likely be at the wing position, a role he’s played at Michigan quite a bit.
There is a good chance that Duke plays out his entire college career before turning pro, but there is no rush for him at this point. He’s in a program that expects a high-level of performance and has been a factory for churning out NHL players. It won’t hurt his development to stay there for two more seasons. The big question will be if he can continue to produce once he does make the jump to professional hockey where the players he’s battling with in front of the net are bigger and faster than his current competition.
