Position: LW, Shoots: L
H/W: 5-foot-10, 160 pounds
Date of Birth: 2008-04-17
Since being picked 7th Overall by the Owen Sound Attack in the 2024 OHL Draft, Pierce Mbuyi has been an offensive driver for Owen Sound, despite the team seemingly being mediocre and this year being among the streakiest teams in the CHL. As a rookie in 2024/25, the diminutive winger (Mbuyi checks in at 5’10”) led the OHL in rookie scoring with 29 goals and 52 points, also finishing with the second highest point total on his team, behind overage forward and Attack captain Landen Hookey. This past season, the team had its ups and downs, starting the year 9-2-0 and looking like a contender early on, and completely falling apart down the stretch. It also became apparent pretty quickly that Owen Sound was now Mbuyi’s team. He bumped his production up to 32 goals and 75 points, leading the team in scoring as a 17-year-old. He established himself as a menace on the powerplay in particular, where he led the OHL with 19 goals on the man-advantage. He also had some cold stretches that mirrored his team’s struggles. In March, he was unsurprisingly named the captain of the Attack.
Mbuyi is projected to return to Owen Sound next season and is currently committed to Penn State for the following season, where his focus will no doubt be on improving his strength. Given Mbuyi’s high motor, competitiveness in battles, and skill level, if Mbuyi can get stronger and add another gear speed-wise, he could turn out to be a useful 3 third line winger at the NHL level.
Skating
As a 5’10” winger, Mbuyi is a good but not great skater, which is a primary reason why he isn’t viewed as a first round candidate. A strength of his as a skater is his edgework, he is constantly using cuts, spins, and changes of direction to find open space and avoid defenders. The effort is consistent, he works hard and is competitive enough to get to dangerous areas. His acceleration is slightly above average, but will need to continue to improve as he levels up. The biggest issue is the fact that he lacks the high-end top speed that small forwards usually need to succeed as NHLers. Improving his strength and explosiveness will be the focus for the next few years for him as he tries to reach the NHL.
Here you can see how Mbuyi can straighten up a bit while skating, which shortens his stride and limits his power. When his teammate commits to the middle lane, the backchecking Mbuyi locks back in and finds another gear to tie up the opposing winger headed for the back door.
Mbuyi is always making himself an option in the offensive zone, it’s clear that he wants the puck. In this clip he showcases his weight transition on his edges to always remain available for a pass, and when he finally gets it, he makes no mistake.
He’s not a burner, but Mbuyi does a good job creating space on the rush here. After picking up the puck, he showcases some nice acceleration before cutting inside to avoid the defender and delay long enough for his teammate to get to the net.
Grade: 52.5
Shot
Shooting is a strength in Pierce Mbuyi’s game, unsurprising given his 19 man-advantage goals this past season as the centrepiece of Owen Sound’s powerplay. Mbuyi is not shy about putting pucks on net from anywhere in the zone, and his ability to get the puck off quickly and without needing a lot of space resulted in him beating OHL goalies from range a lot. His wrister is very accurate but not hard enough for him to be a long-range goal scorer in the NHL, so he will need to focus on getting to more dangerous areas to put pucks on net as a pro. He also uses his slapshot frequently, and was the primary one-timer on the Attack powerplay. His slapshot is a bit unorthodox as he keeps his hands really close together, but this allows him to disguise the shot before a pass gets to him or adjust on the fly if he gets a bad pass. His slapshot again isn’t the hardest shot in the world, but his accuracy makes it a real threat. He likely won’t be a major shooting threat on an NHL powerplay, but could be useful in a bumper role.
Mbuyi comes off the wall with a ton of confidence here despite a much larger opponent barrelling down on him. A tight cut downhill evades the defender and Mbuyi lets a wrister go from range and beats the goalie, something he does with regularity in junior. It will be interesting to see how he adapts this as a pro, as long range wristers aren’t really a sustainable way to score goals in the NHL.
The OHL’s most dangerous goalscorer on the man-advantage this past season, Mbuyi’s home is at the top of the right circle, his offhand side. Normally this is where he rips one-time slapshots, but on this occasion he lets a quick wrister go after catching the pass a bit behind him.
Here’s a good look at Mbuyi’s slapshot, which is a key part of his powerplay arsenal. He keeps his hands pretty close together, but still is able to get a lot of torque on his stick and he consistently scores with shots like this.
Rolling puck? No problem. After moving the puck from behind the net, Mbuyi keeps moving, floating into the netfront then sliding back out to open ice where he receives a rolling pass, and that one-time slapshot is still deadly.
Grade: 55
Skills
Mbuyi showcases skill in a lot of different ways in his game. Yes, he has good hands and can beat opponents one-on-one, but he also is great at knowing exactly when to move the puck. He loves to draw the attention of opponents, particularly on the rush, where he easily identifies lost backchecking assignments and moves the puck accordingly. He also is good at picking up the puck in tight space, whether it's fishing the puck out of a battle or kicking the puck to a teammate as he takes a hit, he is tough to truly contain. Battle skill like this will only continue to improve as he gets stronger, and this could make him a very effective NHLer.
Here, Mbuyi challenges a defender directly, showcasing some nifty puckhandling skills and drawing attention from a second defender. This opens up the trailer for a good chance.
The defender bobbles the puck here and Mbuyi pounces. Instead of immediately shoveling the puck on net, he delays and draws the goalie across the crease before sliding it to a teammate backdoor.
Mbuyi identifies a shorthanded opportunity and takes it, following his own rebound and showcasing some impressive hand-eye coordination to bat this one in.
It’s the elusive skill on plays like this that are going to be so important for Mbuyi if he is going to make it as a regular NHLer. Being fearless and tenacious in battles, spinning off of larger opponents, and making decisive plays with the puck.
Grade: 55
Smarts
Reading the game is another strength that is easy to see with Mbuyi. Without the puck, he has a strong understanding of defensive-zone coverage and often covers for the blown coverage of his teammates. Offensively, knows where to find open space and stealthily gets to dangerous areas, or he draws attention and provides more space for his teammates. When he has the puck, his head is always up, scanning the ice and moving the puck decisively. He’s also very aware of his size disadvantage and passes quickly when he knows he’s about to get overpowered.
He doesn’t touch the puck on this play, but the goal doesn’t happen without Mbuyi. After slicing through the offensive zone to the netfront, he casually backs into the defender, allowing his teammate space to get to the net.
Mbuyi sneaks below the netfront D here and uses his body to shield the puck, making this play in a tough area look incredibly easy for the small winger.
Constantly in motion, Mbuyi is always finding space in the offensive zone and eventually gets a great chance here.
Mbuyi has a surprisingly good understanding of defensive zone responsibilities as a sophomore winger known for offensive production. Here, after his stick is knocked from his hand, his centre switches with him and Mbuyi plays coverage as a centreman. However, when the time logically comes to switch back, the centre doesn’t go back to the middle, instead choosing to chase the point into the corner of the zone. When the puck comes back around, again it makes sense to switch back but the centre chases the point into the corner of the zone. At this point Mbuyi realized that his teammate was not prepared to take the middle of the ice back so Mbuyi slid back as the centre. Unfortunately a lack of communication with Owen Sound as a group results in the puck not getting out of the zone, and Sarnia getting a really good chance.
Grade: 52.5
Physicality/Compete
Physicality is surprisingly a strong category for Mbuyi despite his slight stature. He is highly competitive and is not afraid of getting into the dirty areas and battling hard, often leading the forecheck. He frequently gets outmuscled, but he is also very elusive, often slipping and spinning out of checks while remaining engaged in the play. All of that considered, he really needs to get quite a bit stronger if he wants to play in the NHL.
This goal happens because of Mbuyi’s forecheck. His pressure on the D forces a turnover, and he finds a teammate in a scoring area.
Mbuyi has the confidence and wherewithal to make the right play, even when he’s getting outmuscled by a larger opponent. Here he sees the defender coming and absorbs the hit, kicking a pass to his teammate when the defender fully commits to him.
Again here, Mbuyi knows when to engage physically and when he’s at a disadvantage due to his size. He slips out of the check with a nifty spin and immediately drives to the net to receive a pass for the goal.
He competes hard, but sometimes Mbuyi’s lack of size makes him relatively easy to contain for a larger defender. Here, he gets manhandled on the wall before getting tied up all the way to the net, never really breaking free to make himself a threat.
Grade: 52.5
OFP: 53.5
A note on the 20-80 scale used above. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.