I've seen Noah play a handful of times, but the Titan's Tournament was easily the best I've seen him play. His mobility was on full display, frequently evading pressure and using his powerful long stride to propel himself up ice. While the physical tools were impressive, the application stood out the most. Noah was always active, joining the rush, carrying the puck up ice, or involving himself in the offensive zone, rotating into space. Rarely was Noah stationary, and his choice to always be in motion, in conjunction with his skating ability, combined for a standout performance. Having the tools and mobility is one thing, but Barton used them consistently to gain advantages for the Generals.

Barton once again stood out on the Generals blueline. Simply put, I thought he did a great job at the “little” things that drive a positive transition impact. He was patient with the puck, never rushed his decisions, and always found an open passing target up ice. If Noah was under pressure, he never panicked and had the necessary lateral mobility and puck skills to spin, deke, or side-step his way by the forechecker and keep play flowing up ice. These skills translated to the offensive zone, where Noah frequently was patient at the point, skirted a forward and opened up a passing or shooting lane in the process. Barton found his way onto my most recent rankings, mainly for his play described above, as I think his tools are highly projectable to the OHL level and he is someone I start to consider after the first few rounds pass.

I've previously highlighted that Noah has all the tools I'm looking for, and I thought he could start taking over more, which is what I saw from him over the Steve Richey. While the quality puck moving to facilitate zone exits was still there, he was much more confident and eager to carry the puck out of his zone. If Noah saw an opportunity to activate and carry the puck through the neutral zone and into the offensive third, he took it. As such, he was one of the General's primary play drivers in transition, constantly securing controlled zone exits and entries. He's a very powerful skater who can move laterally to dodge any forechecker, so I always knew he'd be capable of being a more puck-dominant player, so finally seeing it was great. This same aggressive, active mindset was prevalent in the offensive zone, as Noah was constantly applying pressure down the wall, denying zone exits, and keeping pucks in the offensive zone. Noah has all the tools that I am looking for, and I simply thought he did an excellent job of putting them all together to add value in my viewings of the Generals at the Steve Richey.

Barton was another defender on the Gens who consistently added value throughout the weekend. As always, I mainly noted him for his ambition to carry the puck and join up with the rush. So many times, he received the puck in his own end or the neutral zone, Noah exploded up ice, and he carried it end to end. While he wasn't perfect in the execution, and there were some turnovers, as a whole, I thought he was way more successful than not and asserted himself as one of the most involved defenders in transition. He was always looking to carry the puck into the offensive third and spark scoring chances off the rush, notably scoring on one sequence after dangling to split the defence and then firing a shot from the slot past the netminder. Barton is a mobile and powerful skater, making all his success as a puck carrier possible and the key element behind what lands him on my rankings.

Barton displayed an impressive combination of mobility and puck skills that made me optimistic about his game. Especially in retrieval scenarios, Noah was so effective at picking up a dumped-in puck, using his feet and hands to escape pressure, and transitioning the puck out of his zone. He was patient with the puck and didn't hesitate to circle back to ensure he could find a path to a controlled zone exit. Without the puck, I found him to be both aggressive and impactful at closing down opponents and winning back possession of the puck. Though I thought he played well, I think he has the tools to dominate even more. The main area in which I could see improvement is the skills Noah flexed to successfully exit his zone with control, could be easily applied to enter the offensive zone with control. His play was mostly skate over the red line and dumping it in, and based on what I saw, he's more than capable of trying to skate the puck into the offensive zone. As always, the hard part is having the tools to begin with, and there's no reason to think Noah can't start using those tools to dominate even more.