Photo Credit: Mitch Highman/MJOYPHOTOGRAPHY
Scouting Report written by Paul Zuk
Tristan Broz is a talented, two-way forward and a 2021 NHL Draft eligible prospect, currently suiting up for the Fargo Force in the USHL. Broz was born in Bloomington, Minnesota, and rose through the rankings by playing for Minnesota-based prep school Shattuck St. Mary’s, up to the 14U AAA rankings. He was prep school teammates with Mackie Samoskevich, Scott Morrow, and Peter Reynolds, just to name a few.
Following his time with Shattuck, Broz joined the Minnesota high school ranks for The Blake School in Minneapolis, where he was nearly a 2 point-per-game player two seasons in a row. After his time spent at Blake, Broz took his talents to the USHL and joined the Fargo Force, who drafted him in the 9th round, 142nd overall in Phase 1 of the 2018 USHL Draft. He’s spent parts of the last 3 seasons with the Force, and has watched his game improve, as he’s fresh off a 19 goal, 32 assist season for a total of 51 points in 54 games.
For the 2021-22 season, Broz is committed to the University of Minnesota, where he’ll join a loaded Golden Gophers squad, boasting the likes of fellow 2021 NHL Draft prospects Chaz Lucius, Matthew Knies, and Luke Mittelstadt. Broz will be looking to build on a couple of successful seasons in the USHL, under the guidance of Gophers Head Coach Bob Motzko, and hopefully endure continuing success, as Minnesota will be looking to advance farther than the West Regional Finals like they did in 2020/21.
Player Profile
D.O.B – October 10, 2002
Nationality – USA
Draft Eligibility – 2021
Height – 6’0″
Weight – 179 lbs
Position – Forward
Handedness – Left
Broz’ Style Of Play
Tristan Broz is certainly an intriguing prospect. He’s capable of playing anywhere up front, but sees the majority of his ice time on the left wing. He plays an excellent two-way game, and can produce effectively in all areas of the ice.
This past season, Broz led Fargo in points, and was definitely a force to be reckoned with on the power-play. In watching Broz’ games, he was a mainstay on the right side half-wall on the power-play, and was incredibly patient waiting out defenders and goalies to pinpoint the perfect time to shoot. It clearly paid off, as Broz scored almost half of his goals with the man advantage.
Broz possesses an incredibly high motor, and isn’t often disengaged from the play around the puck, regardless of which zone. He also has good vision, especially with the puck on his stick. Broz can execute a zone entry, open up his hips to maximize his puck distribution options, and seek out a high danger chance for a teammate.
Let’s take a more in-depth look at the facets of Broz’ game:
Skating
Generally speaking, Broz possesses good speed, acceleration and agility. He isn’t a consistently explosive skater, but can turn the afterburners on and blow past defenders when needed. Broz also has fairly quick feet, which allows him to get the jump on defenders while breaking into the offensive zone.
Broz utilizes crossovers to build up speed, which helps him to fly through the neutral zone in transition. His edges are also really good, and he can elude defenders relatively easy with sharp, slick footwork.
Perhaps the only drawback to Broz’ skating is the fact he seems to turn it on mainly when there’s an offensive chance that arises. Coaches at the next level will be looking for him to improve on his endurance, and to utilize his skillset at all times during a game.
Offense
Arguably the most impressive aspect of Broz’ complete game is his skills in the offensive zone. In his three seasons with the Force, Broz has racked up impressive numbers with Fargo. Points aside, he’s also quite a talented passer of the puck.
Broz also has a significant amount of patience with the puck, and can wait out defenders and goalies to pick the perfect time to pass and/or shoot. He is also able to pick out a corner and hit it, with moderate success. Speaking of Broz’ hands, they’re sneaky good. He can confuse defenders with a simple deke, giving him space and time to make a decision with the puck.
He’s also very talented and successful at controlled zone entries, especially on the powerplay. Broz can easily draw 2-3 defenders on to his person when entering the attacking zone, helping him to distribute the puck to a teammate in open ice.
Lastly, Broz is a dynamo on the powerplay, and can play anywhere on the ice with the man advantage. As mentioned above, he loves to post up by the half-wall on the right side of the ice, as he’s scored nearly half of his goals this season in that spot. Broz can snap the puck around to teammates, but he’s also quite lethal at putting the finishing touches on a nice passing sequence.
Defense
An underrated and possibly overlooked aspect of Broz’ game is his ability to play defense. Many may look at him and see a two-way player who is solely offensive minded, but that isn’t necessarily the case here.
Broz is a reliable, responsible defensive player. He’s utilized in the defensive zone just as much as any other zone, and can be the catalyst for Fargo’s defensive zone breakouts, when needed.
Broz is also an effective player along the boards in the defensive and neutral zones, and has little to no issue sacrificing his body to make a play. Additionally, Broz commonly pinches down to assist his defensemen in coverage, or to retrieve a contested puck, and he can do so with a decent rate of success.
Broz is also an effective penalty killer. This past season for the Force, he was counted upon in a penalty killing role, more so than the previous season, as he saw his PK time increase by almost a full minute per game in 2020/21. Broz is able to execute poke checks and jar the puck loose from attackers successfully with his active stick.
Improvements
Broz’ game is fairly well rounded. However, there are a couple of areas that could use some work if he’s to succeed at the next level.
The biggest improvement that could be made is to improve his consistency in pretty much every aspect. Broz has moments where it looks as if he can utilize all the tools in his toolbelt, to a great extent. On the flip side, he also has moments where it looks as if he isn’t putting in a 100% effort.
More often than not, Broz has the skills to mask the issue, but as competition gets more difficult, masking the issue just won’t work. Based off his game tapes and the skillset Broz has, it shouldn’t be much of an issue for him to improve this going into next season for the Gophers.
Aside from adjusting his consistency and endurance, Broz is shaping up to become quite a serviceable middle-six forward at the next level.
Overall Outlook
Overall, Tristan Broz looks to be the style of player who can play an effective, two-way game, and be a key contributor to a team’s secondary scoring options. Broz’ versatility makes him an interesting choice for teams looking to add depth and scoring in their middle six forward corps. As mentioned above, Broz is capable of playing any forward position, but his skillset and talents may be best suited as a winger at the next level.
Broz certainly has the vision, talent, and attributes to succeed at the next level, and his development will certainly be aided at Minnesota, a school with a rich history of pumping out forwards who can put the puck in the net. Look for Broz’ game to take a huge jump in the seasons to come, especially if he’s found on Chaz Lucius’ wing in the near future.
Broz will be great value if a team selecting in the mid to late second round is looking to bolster their forward depth, and add a talented secondary scorer. Look for Broz to be off the board somewhere between picks 40-55 in this summer’s Entry Draft.
stats from InStat and EliteProspects
Prospect report written by Paul Zuk. If you would like to follow Paul on Twitter, his handle is @paulzuk_81.
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