If you only caught the first half of Quentin Musty's draft year, then his placement at No. 12 on our final ranking in the Elite Prospects 2023 NHL Draft Guide might catch you by surprise.

From the start of the scouting season at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup right up until about his 30th game of the season, the Sudbury Wolves winger looked more like a second-round prospect than one of the draft's 15 best players.

His decision-making often left us puzzled, with Musty regularly holding the puck for too long, attempting plays with little chance of success, and applying himself with a dubious commitment to the defensive zone. We didn’t doubt his skill level – that's what made him a productive player in the first place – but it just didn’t serve his team well enough.

That is, right up until the turn of the calendar to 2023, at which point everything seemed to change for Musty. For the better.