Carter Bear 2025 NHL Draft Scouting Report

Vitals

Position: Left Wing

Age on Draft Day: 18

Height, Weight: 6'0", 179 lbs

2024-25 stats (WHL): 56 GP, 40 G, 42 A

Scouting Report

We watch a ton of players each year, and outside of analysis and rankings, sometimes we find a guy we just really love to watch. For me, that guy is Carter Bear this year.

His mechanics may not be the best, but he creates a captivating kind of magic when he steps onto the ice that ensures your eyes are on him. 

The number one thing to love about Bear's game? His motor. He's relentless and doesn't have an off switch.

Any time the 18-year-old is on the ice, he's extremely engaged and looking to get involved in play. Whatever it takes—throwing a hit, winning a battle, driving through opponents to get to the net—you can bet he's willing to do it. That level of engagement is so valuable; it's the kind of thing that could make or break a game.

Though he was taken out in March by a lacerated Achilles, he stayed near the top of the WHL leaderboard most of the season. His hockey sense and playmaking abilities are the reasons why.

Although his hands can sometimes struggle to keep up with his brain, his offensive instincts fuel his playmaking through high-level passes, the ability to slow down and change his pace to look for the right opportunity, and the ability to deceive and manipulate opponents. He doesn't look for lanes; he creates them. He uses his stick to fake and send an opponent one direction so his actual pass can go another.

And he's not making the same play over and over, either. His awareness gives him the ability to read his options and tailor his decision-making to the situation at hand.

He's constantly making different types of plays rather than relying on the same tricks because of that ability to process game action at top speeds. He's such a dynamic player that it makes the flaws in his game seem less important, because you know he's going to be effective every night regardless.

Bear's main drawbacks are his mechanics. His skating is quick and generally effective, but he gets a little clunky sometimes and can lack good posture. As noted above, his hands can sometimes struggle to keep up with his brain.

Even with all that in mind, though, he's been locked in the top 10 for B/R for a while. That said, before his move to the next level, we would like to see some development on the aforementioned mechanics.

Draft Outlook

We don't see Bear dropping it out of the top 10 on Friday. He's too interesting, too fun to watch, too high-octane offense. Once the gimmes of the round are gone in the first five picks or so, someone is going to snag Bear and feel good about their night.

He'll head back to the Everett Silvertips next season, presumably all healed up, and get right back to tearing apart the WHL.

Don't be surprised if you see him right around the top of the league in scoring. His motor is driven by a sense of competitiveness that comes out whether he has the puck or not; it's the playoffs every night for Bear.

He's one who could surprise us and end up in the NHL before other guys who go around the same pick—not next season, perhaps, but sooner than people might imagine.

Loose Stylistic Comparables

Seth Jarvis

Brendan Gallagher

Logan Stankoven