Gavin Brindley is currently ranked inside the top 10 for Smaht’s final 2023 NHL draft ranking, and he sticks out like a sore thumb when comparing his consensus ranking to our rankings. The Smaht team is considerably higher on Brindley than most.
There isn’t a prospect I’ve watched more this year than Brindley. I tried to catch a game of his every weekend since Michigan’s opening weekend. It’s not that I have an infatuation with the University of Michigan hockey program; it’s that I have been trying to talk myself out of putting Gavin Brindley inside the top 10 all year. Alas, through almost 20 games of notes and 5 games tracked, it’s safe to say that if anything I’ve wanted to put him higher in our rankings.
Brindley is a player of smaller stature measuring in at 5’8 and 165 pounds according to NHL Central Scouting. He started off the year as the second line center between Rutger McGroarty and Jackson Hallum but eventually a mid-year move to right wing alongside Fantilli and McGroarty unlocked a second scoring line for Michigan.
Brindley’s season can be broken up into two parts statistically. The first 14 games Brindley had 1 goal and 6 points total including a nine game scoreless streak. However, in the remaining 27 games, Brindley put up 11 goals and 32 points. While it’s easy to point to the addition of Fantilli for the increase of production (note: the beginning of his offensive explosion happened before Fantilli came to his line); I think it’s important to note that his microstat profile really never fluctuated or was inflated by his linemates. By my dataset I’d argue that Brindley was the primary driver of a lot of play regardless of who was on his line.
Last year, Brindley played for the Tri-City Storm in the USHL and was third in the USHL behind Fantilli and Stramel in terms of points per game. He scored 42 points in 51 games including 14 goals. He grew up playing with Seamus Casey with the Florida Alliance where he fluctuated between playing both forward and defense before sticking at forward.
Player Profile
D.O.B – October 5, 2004 Nationality – American Draft Eligibility – 2023 Height –5’9″ Weight –165 lbs Position – Center / Right Wing Handedness – Right
Brindley’s Style of Play
Offense
Brindley’s offensive game is centered around utilizing his speed and puck skill while being extremely aware of the play going around him to facilitate and dictate where play will go or where he needs to be to make a play. Take the play below (Brindley is #4 in blue/white in all clips).
Brindley comes in to the picture from the top right of the screen to help puck support #71 in a corner battle. Brindley checks over his right shoulder when the puck squirts free to see if there is anyone coming down on him from the blue line that would speed up his decision making when the puck gets to him. He then makes a deceptive fake to the middle of the ice moving #19 in white off the boards and moving his stick to the inside to prevent a pass. Brindley takes the puck and replaces #71 and wheels around the net with his eyes up the entire time and ends up hitting #73 for a medium-danger shot that #2 puts in off a rebound.
These little plays are constantly made by Brindley. In the second half of the season they led to goals and points, but in the beginning of the season they were often fantastic plays that were either not buried or the puck was misplayed once it hit a teammates stick.
Despite his size he’s not afraid of contact and will initiate far more contact than he receives. His motor combined with his fantastic skating makes him a constant puck retriever and once he gets the puck he is able to quickly get plays started.
Perhaps Brindley’s best skill is his ability to transport the puck through the neutral zone with control. He was the primary transition player on his line even when Fantilli was paired with him. The play below is one of the best examples of who Brindley is as a player
In the play above, Brindley breaks up the play at the blue line and puts a nifty move on Matthew Kniews to gain entrance to the zone. Knies backchecks him from behind and then you see, what I consider to be, Brindley’s biggest issue which is his lack of strength as Knies is able to bump Brindley off the puck. However, Brindley is able to get a stick on the puck going to the boards and Michigan regains control of the puck and later in the play Brindly is able to find the puck in a crowd and hits Casey for the game tying goal.
A very similar sequence of events happens in just about every game.
Despite a smaller stature, Brindley plays in close quarters and facilitates play in the offensive zone even if he has to find ways to get to the inside outside of the routes he was initially going to take. I find myself always so impressed with how he always knows where the puck needs to go to make the most optimal play. Between his quick touch pass to Casey who wheels around for a shot or feeding it between a defender’s legs to get to a medium danger shot: Brindley is always giving his teammates opportunities to make plays.
At Brindley’s floor he is a highly involved transition player who has so much in his skating and puck handling tool kit that he can seemingly carve up neutral zone defenses with ease. This play below is one of my favorite examples. He utilizes his elite crossovers to generate speed in the neutral zone and then makes a fake to the middle of the ice and moves the defender off his gap and lane before attacking the outside for an easy zone entry.
What endears Brindley to me is his motor. He just never stops. No matter what’s going on in the play Brindley is going to be in the thick of it, and while his strength can mitigate his effectiveness in the interior of the play in the offensive zone, it doesn’t stop Brindley from continuing to try to make plays regardless if he’s bumped off the puck nor does it stop him from going to the dirty areas of the ice to try to get his shot off. This sequence was one of my favorite Gavin Brindley moments of the entire season
These types of plays by Brindley were made all season, even during his pointless streak.
Brindley is a fantastic skater as he generates great power from his slight frame going north-south and has fantastic crossovers which generates a lot of speed for him as he’s going through the neutral zone. You can tell he was a defenseman growing up in hockey as his backwards crossovers even generate power and he’s able to turn his hips and turn on a dime. His lack of strength leads him to be knocked off the puck, but his balance on his skates helps mitigate the lack of size.
I think he has a tremendous offensive ceiling given his skill, skating, awareness, and motor to get to all areas of the ice. However, there are times in a game where he looks to facilitate plays low-to-high or enters the zone and hits a player outside the dangerous scoring areas where he takes the play off his own stick. He has the skill to hold onto the puck a little longer to be the driver of the primary scoring chance, but sometimes defers to his linemates if he believes they have more time/space to make the play. At the beginning of the year he didn’t have the linemates to make those plays once he gave up the puck, but as the year went on he both started to play a bit more aggressively as well as with linemates who were able to operate in the time and space he created for his teammates.
What the Data Says Offensively
Brindley was involved in 47.6% of all successful, controlled transitions Michigan had and was more involved than Fantilli even when they played together on the same line. Of the NCAA draft eligibles he was the leader in transition involvement, transition success percentage, complete passes per 60, dangerous pass attempts per 60, and percentage of dangerous shots compared to his linemates. All of these stats are at even strength.
He compares almost identically to Oliver Moore in a lot of his microstats. Where the biggest differential is where Moore holds the edge is the percentage of passes intended to dangerous areas of the ice where Brindley’s percentage is lower than a lot of the other top point producers in this draft. However, Brindley facilitated so much of what was going on with Michigan’s offense as he began so many chain linked plays.
Defensive Play
Even if Gavin Brindley’s offensive ability doesn’t translate or project to the NHL like I think it will, his defensive game is outstanding and a reason why I think he could project up and down a lineup for an NHL team.
Brindley is exceptional at suffocating space and is extremely engaged and hard on pucks defensively.
Michigan had a 59% Corsi when Brindley was on the ice, and even when he was playing wing he played as a traditional center in the defensive zone given how defensively responsible he is as a player. He’s not afraid to initiate contact, and has a tremendous stick to break up oncoming rushes at the blue lines as well as generate turnovers to get the puck back.
He was the leader in my dataset in terms of turnovers created in the neutral zone and that is largely because of how persistent he is at hounding puck carriers as well as his excellent anticipation in reading where passes will go during those quick turnover transitions that he can get to pre-scanned areas and know where defensive lapses were anticipated before the player with the puck can beat him with their read.
In the World Juniors he played primarily on the fourth line where you saw him consistently shut down plays and then drive everything for the fourth line for the USA. He would be bumped up occasionally to play in an offensive role, but as a draft eligible he excelled in the checking line role and at driving play to suffocate the oppositions’ top lines from being able to get any sustained pressure when they were on the ice.
Projection
Since early November, Brindley has been stapled inside my top 10 for this draft. His speed, skill, motor, awareness, and ability to be a puck transporter is among the top of this class. It’s really his slight frame and height that is the only real question mark going into the NHL draft for me. He was inside my top 10 even when he was being held scoreless in multiple games I tracked because he was generating so many chances and plays that should’ve became chances that I kept looking at his microstat profile and saying “The points will come.” While I’m happy that his puck luck regressed in a positive manner, I’m not naïve to know that if it didn’t that I’d be talking about Brindley being the steal of the 2nd or even 3rd round going into the 2023 NHL draft.
At his floor Brindley will be a dream on a team’s checking line. He will be able to transition the puck, move the puck with control in the offensive zone, and you will never question his motor or ability to turnover pucks with his skating and never-quit mentality of when he’s attacking the puck.
I see a much larger offensive ceiling than most. As he gets stronger and able to drive play to the dangerous areas of the ice with the puck on his stick, he’s going to be able to get even more dangerous shots off, and use his skill to be the primary driver of scoring chances. As Fantilli and Samoskevich exit the Michigan program, it will be Brindley who will take up the mantle of being the driver of Michigan’s top line and he’ll see an expanded role on the power play. His shot is something I didn’t touch on very much in the report, but his snap-shot beat goalies clean from distance and his wrist shot was super accurate through screens in dangerous areas. With more strength his wrist shot will be able to become a more dangerous weapon.
I believe that if you like Oliver Moore in this year’s draft then you should love Gavin Brindley as well. I think both of them are best when the puck is on the stick, and both of them are some of the best puck transporters in this class. While Moore’s size and strength can get him to dangerous areas of the ice better than Brindley; I love Brindley’s off-puck game and how he’s able to find space in dangerous areas.
I’d project Brindley to be a top 6 winger or a third line center for a playoff team, and possesses an offensive ceiling that could be outstanding if given 2-3 more years in college to develop physically.
I want all of the Gavin Brindley stock in the 2023 draft. Your favorite NHL team should as well.
Latest Update
May 28, 2023
stats from InStat and EliteProspects
Prospect report written by Austin Garret. If you would like to follow Austin on Twitter, his handle is @BMaster716.
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Connor Bedard is an extremely gifted generational offensive talent. Whichever team is lucky enough to have the lottery balls fall their way will be sprinting to the podium on June 28th to draft Bedard. Bedard’s innate scoring ability is one that we haven’t seen in along time, and I could see Bedard as a challenger for the 50-goal mark in most seasons he is not hampered by injury. Chicago won’t be challenging for a Stanley Cup in the next couple years, and the continuous losing may spark a commitment to the defensive side of the game for him, like we saw with Connor McDavid a few seasons back. (Ben Jordan)
Adam Fantilli has every tool that an NHL team would dream of having with their top overall selection. He’s got the physical tools of size, strength, speed and lateral mobility. He has amazing puck skill with the ability to do it at full speed and in small area situations. He can protect the puck, put his shoulder down and power through a defender, or put it under a defender’s stick and put them through the spin cycle.
His vision is high-end with the ability to find lateral teammates and move defenders out of passing lanes to open up new scoring opportunities. He has a heavy wrist shot and a dynamite one-timer. The power play could run through Fantilli or he could be the trigger man. (Austin Garret)
A smart, dynamic goal-scoring winger, Michkov dictates play when he’s on the ice. With constant delays and changes of pace, baiting poke-checks to freeze defenders just enough to get by them, making up for his lack of a high-end top speed. Making give-and-go plays all along the ice, using his teammates effectively, he’s not afraid to turn back in transition in order to maintain possession and open up new opportunities. He finds open ice extremely well and always positions himself to be a great passing option in the offensive zone. All this is designed with the end goal of creating space for himself in dangerous areas to let his lethal shot fly. He may look small, but he’s not easily knocked over, and he doesn’t shy away from physical battles; his physical game has improved a lot over the course of the season as he’s gotten stronger, and it should improve even more from here. There are flashes of great playmaking ability, but it’s not consistent; his ideas and vision are great, but the execution is often poor. Overall, since moving teams, he’s been playing a much more projectable game, and not trying to do everything himself so much, which was an issue before, as well as playing a much better defensive game, though it’s still not a strength of his. He has the potential to be a game-breaking talent, but it’s not a guarantee, although I’m less concerned than I previously was. (Gray Matter)
Carlsson has been played extremely well at the SHL level this season for Örebro. In the offensive zone, he will take over the cycle and will move laterally quickly to shift away from pressure as he sees that if he moves laterally he will skate into a quality passing lane that he can exploit. Carlsson’s vision and stick-handling can get him out of well-pressured jams in all three zones. He will find quality passing lanes in the neutral zone when looking for a teammate in stride to pass to and has no issue with maneuvering the puck around tight pressure. Carlsson hunts for loose pucks with speed and has the physicality to deliver quality checks along the boards to cause puck disruption in tight board battles. Carlsson is a prospect that we see being a reliable playmaker and playing in a line one role at the NHL level. (Josh Tessler)
While I don’t necessarily see Zach Benson reaching the top of the superstar bucket, (Tavares, Kane, Stamkos etc…) I do envision him being a cornerstone piece for the franchise that selects him this June.
When thinking of a player comparison, I get drawn to a few different players. From an offensive skills standpoint, I personally see a lot of similar traits to Cole Perfetti. Great vision, feet always moving, and just very technically sound with every movement. Benson has a motor on him though that never stops running. To me, very similar to watching Brayden Point roam around. There just seems to always be a certain intensity when both of them are on the ice and hunting down pucks. Both great at carving out pockets of space, and tremendous at distributing or finishing plays themselves. (Ben Jordan)
#6 – Will Smith
What makes Will Smith so tantalizing as a prospect is when he has the puck on his stick in the offensive zone. His ability to maneuver around defenders and retain control of the puck and maintain perfect balance in small areas makes him a human highlight reel. He has a great wrist shot, and is able to thread passes and create passing lanes at an elite level. He never was the dominant puck transporter on his line, and his defensive engagement level wasn’t high end even to finish the year. While I question if he sticks at center in the NHL, there is no denying he has one of the highest offensive potentials in the draft. (Austin Garrett)
#7 – Oliver Moore
Oliver Moore has been consistently one of my favorite prospects in this draft class. He was one of the best puck transporters in transition in the entire North American draft class as he utilizes his speed, puck skill, and elite edges to exit and enter the zone. His wrist shot beat goalies clean from distance all year, and he looks to dangerous areas of the ice to make passes. I would’ve liked to see a more well rounded and puck dominant offensive zone game at the end of the year as he had Hagans and Eiserman on his line for a good portion of the second half. He is extremely engaged defensively and is hard on pucks. I think he projects as a perfect 3rd line center on a Cup contending team with the offensive tool kit to develop into a top 6 role. (Austin Garret)
#8 – Axel Sandin Pellikka
Axel Sandin Pellikka has consistently been one of the most fun players to watch this season. He’s an elite skater with quick hands that, combined with a hard shot and fantastic passing ability, make him a nightmare for the opposition. His lateral agility enables him to move freely along the offensive blue line with the puck on his stick, creating passing or shooting lanes with flashes of deception in the form of head or shoulder fakes. He remains patient with the puck and is able to create scoring chances from the back end all on his own. He also already has many professional defensive habits that should enable him to be an effective two-way defenseman in the NHL. He is always scanning the ice and anticipating, which allows him to close on players quickly in the neutral zone and kill transitions. He’s able to eliminate scoring threats before they even begin. His ability to avoid the opposition’s forecheck and start breakouts also improved significantly throughout the year, which earned him more responsibility and ice time in the SHL with Skelleftea AIK. These foundational tools and playmaking ability make him one of the highest ceiling players in this draft class. (SpokedZ)
Gavin Brindley plays the game of hockey exactly how I’d want a player to play. He’s got great speed and very good edges. He was the primary transition player on a line that included Adam Fantilli and Rutger McGroarty for the second half of the year. His lack of point production to start the year was bad puck luck, as he was a great dangerous shot generator and facilitated play extremely well as he earned the second line starting center role on one of the best teams in college hockey. When Fantilli was brought on his line he was able to showcase being a facilitator to two great shooters, and he was rewarded with a positive regression in his point production. He has tremendous awareness on the ice and his ability to read plays and position himself offensively and defensively to continuously make an impact won over my adoration. The only real fault I have in his game is his lack of strength when going by players in the interior of the zone, but with a few years in college and his high-end motor, I don’t see this as a reason to drop him in the rankings but rather just an elongated timeline to get to the NHL compared to other players in the top 10. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Brindley as a Hobey finalist before his collegiate career is over. (Austin Garret)
In my opinion, Simashev is quite possibly the best defenceman in this draft, and by far the best defensive player. He’s fluid on his skates, and very mobile, especially for a guy his size. He shuts down plays before they start; he reads and anticipates play very well, stepping up in the neutral zone with perfect timing to prevent entries without taking himself out of the play. He uses his size effectively and protects the puck really well, extending his long reach and using his free arm to shield off pressure. He’s not the most physical yet, but I think that’ll come when it’s necessary, he doesn’t really need to be right now, and he won’t take himself out of the play to throw a pointless hit. But don’t underestimate his offence either, there’s a lot more potential there than he gets credit for. If he has the puck, good luck getting it away from him; he controls the puck exceptionally well and adapts to pressure instantly, weaving through defences in transition and making it look easy. He’s a breakout wizard, great at escaping pressure with the puck, recovering it along the boards and combining his skating and puck protection to evade incoming pressure; he sniffs out contested pucks and turns them into offensive rushes in an instant. The stats still don’t suggest a very offensively skilled defenceman, but then you’ll watch him pull off like five insane plays in one shift that no other defenceman in this draft does, and you start to really see the potential that he has. To me, his upside is some of the highest in this draft, and I really believe that he can be a good #1 defenceman in the NHL some day. (Gray Matter)
I see Leonard as a winger who can provide teams with top six goal scoring production at the next level. He’s also got grit to him and will use it rather effectively behind the red line in the offensive zone.
He doesn’t have the toolsy flashy handling to dance around pressure that is Kent Johnson or Mitch Marner like, but he’s got tools on his tool-belt to evade the pressure and create separation for himself.
But, I’d like to see Leonard start to come up with plan B or plan C strategies when he has committed to driving the puck to net front. NHL defensemen will start to pick up on Leonard’s playbook and he will need to come up with alternative strategies at a drop of a hat.
In addition, I’d like to see Leonard continue to develop his physicality in both the neutral zone and the defensive zone. He does like to target vulnerable attackers with the puck, but doesn’t always implement the pressure to truly make the attacker feel vulnerable. If he can work on taking away space with more assertion, he will create more and more vulnerability. (Josh Tessler)
Andrew Cristall was the premier playmaker in North America this past year while playing in the WHL. With the puck on his stick he facilitated the entire offense for Kelowna as he used great deceptive skating and puck skill to create passing lanes for himself to create scoring chances. He was no slouch in getting his own shot off either, as he was able to work into the interior to score as well as use his skill to create a rather impressive highlight reel of making defenders look silly. Cristall rarely engaged in the defensive zone in the WHL and struggled to find a consistent role in the u18s. As a smaller player he lacked explosive north-south speed to create separation from defenders. I’d bet on the offensive talent and that I attribute his skating to lack of strength and not skating mechanics in my viewings. (Austin Garrett)
I believe that Musty is a top six winger at the next level.
Musty has an excellent shot from range, distributes quite well off of the rush and does a great job of creating space for himself. His ability to create consistently at 5v5 is a credit to how well he handles pressure. Musty will take advantage of tight lanes when looking to thread the needle and will look to complete drop passes when hitting a wall. He’s got so many tricks that he can rely on to open up space when he is right about to shoot. There are times where he struggles to navigate the puck around tight pressure, but it’s become far less frequent as the season has gone on.
The next step in his development is to work on his physicality. He has the frame and the power stride to get himself into situations where he can shut down puck movement, but a lot of the time, he ends up following through on the check too late. At the NHL level, Musty will be called upon to provide more physicality and so he will need to do a bit more fine tuning next season. Plus, if he can work on building up momentum with his crossovers when changing directions, he will be a handful to deal with when he is bearing down on you. You won’t be able to pivot out because Musty will be able to keep pace and pivot when you pivot. (Josh Tessler)
While Danielson’s development is still in progress, he brings quite a bit of quality tools to the table like his ability to generate quality speed in transition, his manipulation tactics to open up space for himself and quick decision making under pressure. Those tools allow him extremely effective at the WHL level and are going to come in handy once again at the NHL level. I have no doubt that Danielson is going to be an effective NHLer in a middle six role. The vision that Danielson has is going to lead to a lot of quality scoring chances in NHL play. He is going to be able to put pucks into high danger areas consistently because of how quick he is to identify space to use when traffic becomes daunting. Should he run out of options, he has a lethal shot that he can use from range.
At the end of the day, whoever takes Danielson is getting a player with an extremely safe floor and a second line ceiling. (Josh Tessler)
Jayden Perron is an undersized forward in the draft, but doesn’t let that get in the way as he shines offensively. He can serve as a duel-threat attack both as a playmaker and goal-scorer. With the puck on his stick, he is super evasive and fools the opposition with his slick hands and patience with the puck. When Perron uses his mobility and puck-handling skills to enter the offensive-zone, he becomes an immediate threat to the other team. He has good straight-line speed, but could work on developing a longer skating stride, which would make him even more dangerous of a player. His balance and edge work make him very dangerous when you combine that with his stick-handling ability. Perron can be a hard player to knock off the puck as he uses his lower-body and edges to block defenders. On the power play, he can play on the point as the quarterback as well as led the breakout of the defensive zone. The only thing Perron will have to work on in his offensive game is to not be overly flashy at times. (Clare McManus)
Gulyayev has the mobility and the speed to be productive off of the rush, but isn’t really using his mobility to generate open ice for himself. With that said, he really needs to get out of his comfort zone and stop settling for low danger shots. I do believe that the mobility is there and he just needs to deploy it. But, every other facet of his game is well-rounded.
Even if he doesn’t use his mobility more and plays more of a conservative game at the NHL level, he will still earn plenty of minutes because of his defensive pressure, but he won’t have as big of a role. I do see Gulyayev playing in a top four defensive role, but if he doesn’t end up using his mobility more and more, he will likely end moving up and down in the lineup. But, at the same point, Gulyayev has been trained to play more conservatively like quite a few Russian defensemen and there are NHL teams that are looking for more conservative defensemen. Some teams will want Gulyayev to use his mobility and some might ask him to stay put along the blue line in the offensive zone.
He can be an asset on the power play at the NHL level with how well he toes the line to open up space for himself when an attacker is present, but he still needs the mobility to pinch up and drive play into / towards the slot. (Josh Tessler)
I believe that Riley Heidt possesses the characteristics needed to be a high-end, middle six center. His attention to playing down low paired with his hockey sense, are the main attributes I think he can enhance and feed off that will allow him to play center at the next level. Offensively he has outstanding distribution skills that won’t be lost at the next level, and quite frankly probably take away from some of the chatter surrounding his shot and release. The puck is on and off his blade so quickly, and Heidt has an absolute cannon for a one timer. I have no questions as to whether Heidt can play on an NHL powerplay. He most definitely can, and will.
For Heidt, the next step is filling out his body. Adding some muscle will make him heavier on the puck and make it even harder for defenders to strip the puck off of him. This will lead to further grade-A scoring chances. Overall Heidt is a very strong two-way defender who will almost assuredly hear his name called on day 1 of the NHL Draft. (Ben Jordan)
#18 – Eduard Šalé
Šalé is one of the most talented players in a stacked draft in terms of raw skill and physical tools. There is really nothing much on paper that he lacks in order to be a high-end NHLer in the future. His game is built around plus skating, great passing (he is amongst the best playmakers in the entire draft) and an extremely high hockey IQ, especially in the offensive zone. He also has a quick – if at times awkward – release, is dangerous on the cycle, and is solid defensively. So why is he not a nailed on top 10 pick in this draft? There are a few reasons. He was buried in a 4th line role most of the season in the Czech Extraliga, and he played better than the stats suggest. He also struggled both at the Pro and Youth International level with his consistency. Furthermore, he is physically immature despite being 6’1, and is a bit too aggressive when on the wrong side of the puck. But if he falls past 15th overall? With time, patience and maybe a bit of luck? He could well turn out to be one of the steals of the draft. (Alex Appleyard)
#19 – Dalibor Dvorsky
Dalibor Dvorsky had an up and down draft year. He’s a big, strong center with two-way capability and a super high motor. The way he approaches the game at both ends of the ice should allow for him to adapt to the NHL style quickly and be fairly effective early on. In the defensive end, he gets low to support his teammates. He’s aggressive and tenacious, not shy to use his strength to fight for inside ice and win puck battles. He forces attackers to make quick decisions and capitalizes on mistakes. Dvorsky has some playmaking ability, however his strongest weapon offensively is his shot. He has a lightning quick release and can generate serious power. If he can hone in on his accuracy, he has the ability to be a goal scoring threat. There are certainly questions about just how high his ceiling is, but he’s a workhorse who can drive play at both ends. (SpokedZ)
#20 – David Reinbacher
If 18 year olds were the finished product in hockey? Reinbacher would be a nailed on top five pick. He is already a very good player in the NLA, the Swiss top professional tier that is arguably around the level of the AHL. He is better than players like Roman Josi and Mark Streit were at the same age, and is already the best blue-liner on the Austrian national team, and maybe even the best defenseman the nation has ever produced if he never developed from here on out. In terms of safe picks? The rangy right-handed defenseman has an unbelievably high floor. If he does not become at least a good NHL #4 defenseman in the near future it would be a shock. He has virtually no holes in his game, with good skating, good IQ, good gap-control, a great transition game, solid hands, a nice shot. So why is he not higher in our list? The easy answer? He does not have too many stand-out tools, and that likely prevents him from ever being a legit NHL #1 Dman, even if he does have clear-cut #2 potential. (Alex Appleyard)
Sawchyn has excellent vision and does well at taking advantage of situations with limited space. He will get the pass off. Sawchyn is constantly looking to re-position himself as his teammates shift their own positioning so that way he can constantly provide his teammates with quality passing lanes should they need to pass. That has lead to goals at 5v5 for Sawchyn.
I believe that Sawchyn can be a well-rounded offensive asset at the NHL in a middle six role. But with where Sawchyn is right now in his development, I would put deploy him as a winger instead of a center. He doesn’t have a power stride yet. If he does develop a strong power stride, I would definitely without a doubt deploy him at center because the combination of his handling, mobility and strong north-south strides would pave the way for Sawchyn to create more chances on his own with the puck in medium and high danger. In addition, I want Sawchyn to have the ability to create opportunities for himself off puck and he’d have far less of those opportunities mid-cycle in a center role. Also, you have to consider that he is usually isn’t the primary transporter in the neutral zone. But, if he can develop that power stride then I’d want to him to move into a center role as his role with possession of the puck would lead to far more scoring chances at center given the many tools that he has in the toolbox. (Josh Tessler)
#22 – Otto Stenberg
Otto Stenberg has a lot of excellent tools in his arsenal that make him a second line upside day 1 NHL Draft target. He’s shifty, mobile and has excellent stick-handling that he’ll use to get out of tight jams at centered ice. If he runs out of room and simply can’t navigate out with his footwork or handling, he makes use of whatever passing lane he has and more than often at the SHL level that meant passing underneath the stick of the attacker. When he has the puck on his stick, he’ll rely on his crossovers to create the separation to go one-on-one with the goaltender at net-front. If he simply can’t pull away from pressure, he’ll look to pepper the slot with passes. In transition, he won’t force the puck into dodgy situations and will button hook. Stenberg will then identify a secondary lane and take advantage. He’s got great problem solving skills. (Josh Tessler)
I believe that Whitelaw is a top six winger at the NHL level. While he has played center in his youth, if you play him at center in the NHL, you would have to change his puck hunting approach and In my opinion that would be a huge mistake.
I would go with Conor Garland as a player comparison for Whitelaw. Like Garland, Whitelaw is tenacious in his pursuit of the puck in the offensive zone and does a great job with distribution when the pressure is on.
If you draft Whitelaw, you want him to keep developing his physical play in all three zones. He is constantly looking to pounce on attackers for the puck in the offensive zone, but it’s a little bit less prevalent in the neutral and defensive zones. In addition, I’d like to see Whitelaw work on his shot angling and pass to the slot more when pressure closes up on him. If Whitelaw replaces a few of his shots from distance when pressure is present to passes to the slot through tight lanes, his assist totals will go up. (Josh Tessler)
#24 – Samuel Honzek
Honzek is a powerful centreman that uses his plus agility and edgework to get to dirty areas in front of the net. He is great a creating chances using little stick lifts and plays to free up lanes to his stick. With this being Honzek’s first year playing in North America, he has showed that his game is best suited for the smaller ice surface. He has shown a willingness to be dogged on pucks in the defensive zone, but filling out his frame is the next step on route to being a dominant modern day power forward. (Ben Jordan)
Mukhanov is a high upside pick. The tools in his tool-belt will come in handy at the NHL level and I’m confident that he will eventually slot in as a top six winger. As I mentioned a few times throughout the hyperlinked (^^^) report, I believe that his lack of a power stride holds him back from playing center. But, Mukhanov does have excellent distribution and finds gaps to pass through routinely when the pressure is on.
If you are looking for a NHL comparable, I’d go with Andrew Mangiapane. A forward, who is undersized, but tenacious and has a motor that just won’t quit. (Josh Tessler)
NHL head coaches are likely to debate whether or not they would place Yager at center or wing at the next level. Yager’s ability to use his power strides to get into open space to key up back door passing lanes is something that you will see far less of if Yager would be deployed at center at the next level. Instead of looking for opportunistic passing lanes for his teammates to use to feed him the puck, he will have to be the main driver of play and the pressure is only intensifying faster at the next level which means that Yager’s stick-handling in tight spaces will have to improve. If he’s deployed as a winger, he is going to do what he does best and that’s leverage his speed off puck to get into open ice. But, if he is deployed as a center at the NHL level, he will likely have to play more of a conservative role at times and that will mean that he playing further back in the offensive zone. If I’m drafting Yager, I want to leverage his shot and I don’t want him stuck under pressure along the perimeter.
With all of that said, if you take Yager and move him to the wing, I see him being a top six winger at the NHL level. He’s going to create give and go opportunities. Yager is going to score one-timers and backdoor goals. But, I do think that playing center at the next level will hinder his offensive upside. (Josh Tessler)
#27 – Gabe Perreault
Going into the preliminary ranking I was conflicted on what to do with Perreault. There were times he flashed an amazing ability to one-touch pass and spring his linemates open, as well as he possesses a high level of skill to create passing lanes through sudden puck manipulation moves that darted by the defenders stick. However, when the pace of play picked up I found Perreault’s impact on the game began to diminish. When space was not given to him I found that he struggled to slide off defenders to create optimal plays, which often lead to turnovers. However, he was the most involved player in transition on the best line in junior hockey, sported great dangerous passing metrics, and his off-puck ability in the offensive zone found him the recipient of a lot of high danger scoring chances. If Perreault can learn to operate in a faster paced game and create the space and time to do what he does best he’s going to outperform this ranking, however the concerns remain even if he did break Auston Matthews NTDP single season scoring record. (Austin Garret)
#28 – Oscar Fisker Mølgaard
Simply put, Oscar Fisker Mølgaard needs to be talked about a whole lot more than he is right now. The 6’0” 165 lb center didn’t leave his home country of Denmark for Sweden until the 2021-22 season, and less than 18 months later he found himself centering the second line on HV71’s SHL squad. Fisker Mølgaard is a highly intelligent, hardworking center who displays an advanced understanding of inside play both offensively and defensively. He’s a strong skater and is constantly in motion, scanning and surveying the ice in front of him. Despite his slight frame, he’s capable of winning puck battles vs. players far bigger and heavier than he is due to his high compete level and tenacity. Though the tools and flashes of playmaking are apparent and intriguing, it’s unclear just how much point production there will be at the NHL. The playmaking can be inconsistent and he doesn’t boast an NHL calibre shot to this point. There are questions about just how much offensive upside there is at the next level, and that may be a deciding factor in whether he hears his name called on day 1 or day 2. Still, the recent upward trajectory and the high-end tools make him an intriguing player to track as we get closer to June. (SpokedZ)
#29 – Daniil But
But is a power winger who I believe has some of the highest upside in the entire draft. When he’s at his best, he’s dominant; using his massive frame and high-end small area skill to bully MHL and sometimes even KHL competition. From a pure tools standpoint, But is one of the best bets you can make; 6’5” with a ton of skill is always gonna be an enticing combination. He’s always been a good finisher with a good shot, and I’ve wanted to see him become more of a playmaker, because I think it suits his game very well, plus he’s a very good passer when he does do that thing; very good at drawing defenders away, opening passing lanes in a variety of ways, and his actual passing ability is quite good. And through my viewings, I feel like he has trended in that direction; his playmaking has improved and become more frequent over the course of the season, and I’m liking the new But quite a lot. So why 29? Well, the skating is a bit of a mess at times, and for a guy his size, his physical game is not quite where it needs to be; he should work on his puck protection, and using his body more effectively. But more than anything, there are still concerns in terms of the general decision-making area. It has improved, which gives reason to think it can keep improving, but a lack of scanning and awareness, and often just a poor understanding of the game in general it feels like, certainly isn’t what you want to see. Questioning a player’s sense and smarts as much as I do with But is a bit of a red flag to me. At the same time, the talent and potential is undeniable, and it’s difficult to pass up at this point. It’s easy to imagine a world in which he goes top 10 in a re-draft, maybe even top 5; but the risk could be nearly as high as his potential is. (Gray Matter)
Barlow, often referred to as the “Man Child”, has been a man amongst the children in the OHL this season. Barlow can get to inside ice with ease against smaller junior opponents, and once there, use his heavy shot to generate offense. Barlow is also effective off give and go’s where he can find soft pockets of space in and around the crease to free up his stick. Both are the main areas he saw success during his dominant draft year campaign with Owen Sound. He finished the season with 46 goals and 79 points across 59 games. (Ben Jordan)
#31 – Matthew Wood
Matthew Wood is a power forward prospect who just finished his freshman campaign at the University of Connecticut. Wood is particularly good at mopping up loose pucks behind the red line and then making a quick pass to a teammate in the slot. He’s got an excellent shot and is quite good with puck manipulation prior to shooting. Wood will delay, force the goaltender to completely shift over and then strike at the gap that the goaltender provided him. At this point in his development, I really want to see his speed improve. He doesn’t have great pace and he’ll need it for the next level. (Josh Tessler)
#32 – Bradly Nadeau
Bradly Nadeau paired up with his older brother to dominate the BCHL with his speed, shot, and puck skill. He was one of the most involved offensive transition players in my data set, was in the top 10% in terms of passes sent to high/medium dangerous areas, and was a top shot generator. He could be a bit passive in the defensive zone, but his speed, skill, and shot were very notable to track. I question his NCAA choice (Maine with his brother) and the BCHL’s top scorers haven’t produced into top 6 scoring roles recently, but his skill-set is one I’d bet on. (Austin Garrett)
#33 – Calum Ritchie
Ritchie is one of the smarter players in this class, and that’s what puts him into the first-round conversation for us. He is committed to the defensive side of the puck and uses his pro-sized frame to make plays under pressure to break out. When at his best offensively, Ritchie uses his stickhandling superbly to get past defenders and create space for himself. As his game evolves, we would like to see more moves to the inside, and movement from east to west. (Ben Jordan)
#34 – Beau Akey
If there’s a player I’m most likely higher on than most it’s Beau Akey. He took a backseat to Brandt Clarke once he came back to the OHL and thus diminished his power play time and suppressed his point totals. What makes Akey so intriguing is his ability to generate offense by carrying the puck out of the defensive zone and his awareness as a passer to hit players all over the offensive zone. He’s the only player to attempt >35 passes in a game and complete >90% of them. He moves up into the zone to take his shot. He can have defensive lapses and his gap control can get away from him at times, but he’s a great high-upside pick in the late second-third round. (Austin Garret)
#35 – Tom Willander
Tom Willander is a big, mobile, right shot defenseman playing for Rögle BK. He’s a very intelligent defenseman who uses his high-end mobility to evade forechecking pressure and make life easy for teammates with a successful first pass. He’s solid defensively both in-zone and against the rush, and he plays a conservative style that enables him to play relatively mistake free hockey. That conservative style is effective in his own end, but it also limits his projection from an offensive standpoint. He oftentimes will rely on hopeful shots from the point instead of experimenting with the tools in his arsenal, ultimately hindering his ability to be an offensive threat on a consistent basis. I’d like to see Willander occasionally step outside of his comfort zone and add a layer of unpredictability in his offensive game,. (SpokedZ)
#36 – Alex Čiernik
The talented forward had an up-and-down season. The talent is clear to see at every level. A plus skater, he also has excellent play-making ability, is impressive in transition, has great hands and a good release, especially on his one-timer. Additionally, when playing versus players his own age especially he excels at 5v5, driving play and getting to danger areas with regularity. He played on two different Allsvenskan – Swedish 2nd tier – clubs this season, his “mother” club Södertälje, where he had a reduced role and struggled to assert himself, and on loan at Västervik, where he was one of the teams more dangerous players in a bigger role. As potential second round picks go there will not be many with more skill, but to reach his potential Ciernik needs to better understand how to deal with the pressure and intensity of professional hockey, and improve in his own zone. The worry with the talented Slovak is that unless he develops really well he might end up the proverbial NHL “tweener”, with no defined bottom six role. However, he plays at a high-tempo and with a good development path can comfortably become an NHL second line forward. (Alex Appleyard)
#37 – Luca Pinelli
I’ll start by saying that I adore Luca Pinelli. He’s the perfect combination of high skill and creativity, rendering a player who is a joy to watch. He’s a strong puck manager who prioritizes possession and will rarely concede control of the puck. In the offensive zone, he can pick apart opposing defence with deceptive moves to open up passing lanes that he can swiftly exploit before they close. Especially in small areas and along the halfwall, Pinelli can create something out of nothing and it can be remarkable to witness. Listed at 5’9 and 161 lbs, the obvious knock is size. It’s not an obvious limitation, as he doesn’t let it hinder him too much, as he plays with some peskiness and doesn’t get bounced around. However, to find success, he’ll need to add a few extra steps of explosiveness and overall quickness to maintain his style of play at the next level. It’s an upside swing but one that can truly pay off as high-end playmaking wingers are difficult to acquire. (Jordan Malette)
I believe that Barkey ends up on the wing at the next level in a middle six role.
Barkey reminds me a bit of Mats Zuccarello. He has the ability to navigate around pressure in every zone and can identify tight passing lanes to utilize on the fly. Barkey has a playbook full of tactics to get out of pressure and doesn’t hesitate. He executes.
While he has predominantly played center for the London Knights, I don’t see him playing center at the next level. He has shown that he can navigate around threats with his crossovers at the OHL level, but at the NHL level, he is going to need a power stride as well if he is to be deployed at center. If he can unlock the power stride, he could potentially play center at the NHL level. (Josh Tessler)
Hrabal does project to be a starting NHL goaltender, but there are a few areas in his game that will need refinement in order to get him NHL ready. I’d like to see Hrabal shift quicker to shooting threats who are in back door areas. When in the butterfly, he is struggling to shift over in time and take on shots squared up. With that said, Hrabal is forced to make more desperation saves. In addition, as I just mentioned in the hyperlinked report, he also needs to address reading the trajectory and reacting with a well-placed glove extension on far side shots.
Hrabal does offer great post security, quick re-shifting when standing up, athleticism and the ability to maintain sight lines when traffic intensifies at the crease. Those attributes are exactly what I’m looking for in a goaltender. Hrabal does have some areas to work on, but offers more than others in the 2023 NHL goaltending class.
#40 – Tanner Molendyk
Molendyk is great in transition. He’s got excellent crossovers that spark his coast to coast puck movement. But, should he run into obstacles he’s shown over and over that he loves to give and go. Over the course of the season, I saw his vast improvement with his shot especially at 5v5. It was particularly rusty towards the start of the year, but by mid-March Molendyk was lighting up the lamp routinely. While his shot improved, the next step will be work on shot selection as he is shot heavy from the point. In his own zone, Molendyk will throw his weight to cause puck disruption. Molendyk has a second pairing projection. (Josh Tessler)
#41 – Trey Augustine
Trey Augustine is Smaht’s second highest ranked goaltender for the 2023 NHL Draft and will be playing for the Michigan State Spartans next season. Augustine does a great job of widening his frame in the butterfly to take away as much space as he can. It also allows him to shift from side to side quickly and that comes in handy on backdoor shot. Augustine’s rebound control is great and is able to push pucks routinely to low danger. His puck tracking and glove work are strong as well. Augustine does need to work on overcommitting and going too far out of his net, but he’s a great early day two option for a team that is looking to add to their goaltender pipeline. (Josh Tessler)
#42 – Charlie Stramel
Charlie Stramel projects as a checking line forward at the next level. He uses his size well to trap attackers at both ends of the ice and will lay down checks along the boards to cause puck disruption. Stramel isn’t the fastest north-south skater, but he does like to be involved in transitional play. He will utilize his crossovers to get the speed that he needs to carry the puck up ice, but defenseman are able to trap him before he can get down low with the puck. So, he’ll look to re-distribute in low danger. (Josh Tessler)
Cagnoni is an offensively minded blueliner who is always looking for opportunities to get up into the play. As the season has progressed, he has gotten better at picking his spots, and making the most of the times he activates. As he gets bigger and stronger, his shot will become more of a threat. He’s doing a great job selecting times to shoot and does a great job walking the line to find lanes. Cagnoni’s best attribute is that he creates offense while always moving. This often draws more defenders to him which has opened up more points of attack for Portland down low in the offensive zone. (Ben Jordan)
#44 – Lukas Dragicevic
Dragicevic is one of the more dynamic offensive threats from the backend in this draft class. His passing is superb, and he kickstarts many plays in transition using it. He is best hitting teammates on the move, and this creates many odd-man opportunities for his squad. Skating is another area where Dragicevic separates himself from his peers. He is confident carrying the puck, has great four-way mobility and can maintain these traits while under pressure. In the defensive zone, he will be a bit of a project. He lacks consistent scanning in the defensive zone, and this effects his positioning, and efficiency retrieving pucks in his own end. (Ben Jordan)
#45 – Anton Wahlberg
Anton Wahlberg is another prospect out of Sweden who has recently seen his draft stock rise, and one who I fully expect scouts & GM’s to fall in love with thanks to his 6’4”, 190 lb frame and aggressive style. In the junior ranks, he’s able to use that size and strength to take over games and dominate against smaller players with ease. He’s also a decent skater for a player his size . He’s scored multiple highlight reel, coast to coast goals in the J20 this season due to the fact that nobody can take the puck off him. Now graduated to Malmo’s SHL team, he’s not able to rely solely on his size and strength. He’s learned to play a more calculated, mature game with more of a focus on the finer details. Over time, he’s adapted quite well and started to produce points after his recent promotion to the top six. He continues to take strides defensively as well, and has shown he can be a useful two-way forward. If he can add layers to his game offensively beyond just being a bull in a china shop, he has the foundational tools to become a decent middle-six power forward. (SpokedZ)
#46 – Kalan Lind
Kalan Lind is pure energy that has zero qualms with scoring big goals while engaging physically. He is most dangerous when playing instinctively and crashing the net. Even with a smaller build, he loves to clean up dirty areas and get to places net-front that many others don’t. He is an effective straight-line player that naturally pushes back defenders and up space for himself. As is the case with many of these player builds, Lind is an established and successful forechecker. He has a great stick in tight areas and can secure many free pucks while applying pressure along the wall and behind the nets. In the defensive zone, Lind is constantly hounding the puck carrier and pressuring them intensely with hopes of turning the puck over. (Ben Jordan)
#47 – Aydar Suniev
Aydar Suniev has been lighting the lamp for the Pentiction Vees routinely throughout the season. Suniev has an excellent shot from range even in contested situations. But, he can also create space for himself by pushing play around pressure at open ice and then quickly using the space that he created by putting a quality shot on net. When Suniev is off-puck in the offensive zone, he is looking to establish open ice down low and that has led to quite a few high danger passes coming his way. (Josh Tessler)
#48 – Nick Lardis
Nick Lardis has a fantastic shot which has been at the forefront of his success in Hamilton. Either off the rush or catch and release, Nick is a threat to score from almost any angle or distance. Lardis is always hovering around the offensive zone, looking to find a split second of open space to be open for a pass that will allow him to unleash a shot quickly. He plays at a high pace and can push defenders on their heels, which makes for the occasional highlight reel goal when combined with his slick hands. Not only does he possess the top-end shot and puck skills, Nick is also a fairly creative passer and can connect plays together through quality playmaking. It’s an upside swing, but one that makes sense as we get into the mid to late 2nd round. (Jordan Malette)
#49 – Lenni Hämeenaho
If the young Finn one day makes the NHL, no matter what his role you can be assured he will be a fan favourite. He is the kind of player that incites the old hockey cliché of “playing the right way”, and combines that with a high IQ in each zone as well as a good shot and a decent set of hands. This season he established himself as a good player at the pro level in Liiga – the Finnish top tier – and kept improving as the season went on. He is a North-South player who excels on the boards and is great at getting space around the net. While lacking the high-end skill to be a future top line player he is confident with the puck on his stick and a relentless fore-checker who is good at picking pockets in every zone. His skating is the main area that will need improvement in order to fulfil his potential, but if he can iron out the kinks there he is very likely to be at worst a good NHL bottom sixer, with the upside to play a complimentary role on a second line. (Alex Appleyard)
#50 – Caden Price
Price started out the year as one of my top defensemen and a sure fire first rounder. As the season has played its course, my tune has changed quite drastically. He is a transition darling. He can get the puck up to the forwards quickly and get plays moving north quite effectively. There is some offensive upside with Price as he does generate some scoring opportunities with his above average passing and 4-way mobility. These skills open up lanes to the net for him to create. Defensively he has trouble at times holding a clean gap, but that is in large part because he like to pinch up and squeeze pucks against the wall. Understanding the time to activate and keep plays alive will allow Price to stay engaged in more plays throughout the course of a game. (Ben Jordan)
#51 – Jacob Fowler
Jacob Fowler received a lot of praise this season and rightfully so as he had the lowest GAA in the USHL this past regular season. In the playoffs, he slammed the door shut for Youngstown and recorded a 1.36 GAA / .952 SV% in nine games played. He will be playing for the Boston College Eagles this fall.
Fowler does an excellent job of widening his stance in the crouch when facing a threat in high danger. He’s also quick with his pads and can slam the door shut in the butterfly by shifting over with his pads. While he does do a good job of widening himself and quickly reseting in butterfly position, I’d like to see him work on extending his glove to take away space top shelf. (Josh Tessler)
#52 – Kasper Halttunen
Two years ago the hulking Finnish winger was being talked about as a potential top 10 pick. It is easy to see why. At 16 years old he was 6’3 and over 190lbs, with a booming shot, good hands and who is not afraid to get physical as well as working hard up and down the ice. But over the last year his stock has fell significantly. However, since stepping up to the pro level and not being able to physically bully opponents, he has struggled, and while he has still been able to produce in junior international play there have also been concerns with “how” he has played. He often tries to force plays that are just not there, shoots when he should pass and passes when he should shoot. Versus men he also does not use his size well enough, despite being a modern “power-forward” and liking to get to the net and boards, and seems to get frustrated easily and let that take his mind off the end-game. However, he still has the potential to be a top-six goal-scorer if he develops well, matures and learns to read the game better. (Alex Appleyard)
#53 – Andrew Strathmann
An offensive minded defenseman who likes to be creative with the puck on his stick. The North Dakota commit has a few flaws in his game that will need to be fixed if he wants a shot at the pro level. He tends to give up the puck in dangerous areas which can lead to turnovers. He can skate well and use his shot to his best ability. But sometimes gives up a passing opportunity because of his poor decision making. (Clare McManus)
#54 – David Edstrom
Edstrom is projected third line center at the next level. He has been effective with two-way play in J18, J20 and in the SHL this season. He’s got great side to side speed from his crossovers that allows him to pounce on attackers behind the red line. Edstrom is defensively responsible and sits back in the neutral zone when the oppositional rush breaks out. He’s got an active stick and has good reach to rely on when scooping up loose pucks. Edstrom is solid with his distribution and uses whatever space is given to him. He does a great job of spotting potential passing lanes for his teammates to use and skates into them timely. That has paved the way for goals at net front. (Josh Tessler)
#55 – Aram Minnetian
Minnetian is the one player on the NTDP that soared up my personal rankings these past two months. He’s always been a fantastic skater, but he showed a great progression in his ability to transport the puck from the beginning of the year. Given that he also started to activate with deception the last month as well: he’s a player whose skill-set has begun to break through recently and could continue to develop into a top four player. (Austin Garrett)
#56 – Matthew Mania
Mania is a player whose ability and dataset has intrigued me throughout the season. While he’s fluctuated in his distribution metrics, he’s always been an involved player in offensive transitions for a defenseman. His puck skill to be a potential carry-out/carry-in player combined with flashes of deception and vision makes him an intriguing pick as a potential offensive defensemen. He moves up into the zone and utilizes space to get his shot off, and his defensive game features an active and effective stick when keeping a gap. His lack of physicality in front of the net and his inconsistency in my dataset bump him here, but I think there’s plenty there for a team to develop. (Austin Garret)
The tools that Bjarnason has makes him a rather intriguing goaltender prospect for the 2023 NHL Draft. The athleticism, the glove, the blocker and the puck tracking are excellent. He is showing that he can react quickly to puck movement and shut down scoring chances on routine. He extends his blocker and pads out just in time to push pucks to low danger areas. Bjarnason keeps his head on a swivel and does an excellent job of puck tracking even when traffic builds up at net front is a tool that will come in handy at the NHL level when the opposition is bigger and faster.
The area that I would like to see improvement on the most is his stance. If Bjarnason can improve his crouch and butterfly stance in net to take up more space, those tools are going to blend nicely and thus he has NHL starter potential written all over him. (Josh Tessler)
#58 – Martin Mišiak
Misiak is a player who plays with a high motor, an aggressive F1 forechecker, and makes the right play on a very consistent basis. While I don’t think he possesses a lot of puck skill to be a puck transporter nor do I think he’s going to drive chain-linked plays in the offensive zone; I do believe that Misiak is able to be a one-touch, positive transition player who can feed pucks to dangerous areas and would be a solid middle-six player. (Austin Garrett)
#59 – Ignat Lutfullin
One of the first things you’ll notice when watching Lutfullin is that, well . . . his team is awful. Most of the time I’ve spent watching him, his team is just getting caved in, and he’s stuck playing in the defensive zone for most of the game; not a great environment to evaluate him as an offensive player. But when he’s actually able to gain control of the puck, it quickly becomes clear that he’s—usually—the best player on the ice. He basically drives all the offence for his team, and he doesn’t really get a ton of support, which is why his numbers don’t pop quite as much as some other MHLers on this list. He plays at a high pace; he executes on his plays and passes very quickly, and processes the game just as fast. His creative playmaking is his strongest asset, always making smart reads and creating clever passing plays that could result in much more if his linemates were on the same level as him, and able to drive offence more effectively. Although I’ve found puck control to be an issue presently, he’s a very skilled and quick handler, and he’s good at using his hands to navigate in tight spaces. Overall, he’s very creative in the plays he makes, and I can see him becoming a good playmaking play-driver in the NHL if everything goes right with his development. He’s definitely a swing I would take at this point in the draft. (Gray Matter)
#60 – Roman Kantserov
Kantserov is a skilled and creative dual-threat winger. He’s known more as a playmaker, but I think his finishing ability and scoring instincts are quite strong, and his shot—though nothing amazing—is underrated. On that note, while his shot may not be the best out there, his shot selection and decision-making in general is typically very good I find, which is what makes his finishing potential stand out to me. He’s a very skilled handler and passer; I’ve noticed improvement in his small area skill, and he uses his hands to beat pressure a bit more often than I saw early on in the season. But again, what stands out the most to me is his general sense, awareness, and decision-making. They’re not always executed to perfection, but the plays he tries to make are almost always the right ones. With the puck, he’s always looking to use his skill to create separation, get to the middle of the ice, and either find a shooting lane, or open up more space for him to feed a teammate; I only really see him take low percentage shots as a last resort. With all that, I find it easy to see his game translating to the NHL. Many will point to his size at 5’9” and say he probably won’t make it, and I will point to his size at nearly 180 lbs already and say I don’t think it’s an issue. (Gray Matter)
#61 – Jakub Dvorak
Jakub Dvorak is second pairing projected defensive defenseman. Dvorak does a great job of taking up space with his positioning and has a great active stick that he’ll use to keep attackers at a distance. Typically, he looks to put implement tight pressure on any puck carrying attacker when they get to the perimeter line. He will throw his weight and will look to be physical especially in the corners. Unfortunately, he was hurt for roughly 3-4 months and returned just in time for the U18s. At the U18s, his mobility wasn’t as shifty as it was prior to injury and he was slightly less effective with his distribution, but you have to expect that anyone coming back from that long of an injury will be a tad sluggish from the get-go. (Josh Tessler)
#62 – Theo Lindstein
Once upon a time the Swedish blue-liner was posited as a player who would be the first defenseman off the board in this draft. Not only was he playing in the SHL at 16 years old, his physical skill-set is one that has very few holes. A very good skater in all directions who has a low sense of gravity and is strong for his size, he has everything you want in that area for a modern NHL blue-liner. Lindstein also has plus puck skills, is a good passer, and is intuitive in transition. In the offensive zone he is good at creating space, and defensively he defines himself by impressive anticipation and gap control. However, while he improved as the season went – to the point that over the last month of the season he was arguably Brynäs’s best defenseman – he has a bad habit of giving the puck away in dangerous positions, and is not as impressive in the offensive zone as he is when coming up ice, to the point that there are serious questions as to whether he would ever be a consistent offensive threat in the NHL. Lindstein has arguably fell too far though in consensus rankings, and certainly has second pairing upside at the highest level. (Alex Appleyard)
#63 – Arvid Bergström
Arvid Bergström is another intriguing defenseman in this draft class. The foundation of his game is skating. He’s technically sound with strong acceleration and speed, enabling him to thrive in transition. He can skate the puck up the ice himself with ease, and he’s also an excellent puck mover. Bergström sees the ice well and is always in anticipation mode, and this helps him avoid oncoming forecheckers. His point production and play style don’t necessarily stand out, but this skill makes him a quietly effective player on any team. He also shows great mobility along the offensive blueline, which should allow for him to potentially develop into a powerplay option down the line. (SpokedZ)
#64 – Alexander Rykov
An energetic, smart, and defensively responsible forward, Rykov probably won’t have a massive offensive impact in the NHL, but he’ll bring some decent speed and a good motor, along with a smart, well-rounded, and relatively low-risk game. He doesn’t excel at any one particular thing, but he’s just solid across the board, and he thinks the game well. He’s elusive, especially along the boards, he spins off checks well and accelerates quickly to escape pressure. He’s a good skater, but he plays a bit too fast at times, particularly away from the puck, not slowing down in space and just skating full speed in a straight line; but this isn’t a frequent occurrence in his game, and I don’t see it as a long-term concern. He puts himself in good spots offensively without the puck, and he’s a skilled passer, able to adapt his passes to different situations. A lack of offensive creativity likely limits his upside, but he reads play well, and just makes smart, simple plays all the time, while bringing a great motor; he’s always active and making an effort at both ends of the ice. (Gray Matter)
I project Myatovic to be a middle six winger at the next level. He has the tools to be a power forward on a scoring line at the NHL level. I believe he will more than likely come off the board in the second round. Myatovic’s tools are very projectable to the NHL and he will feel like a safe bet for NHL scouts.
Ultimately, I’d like to see Myatovic further develop his physicality in all three zones and look to leverage his long range passing more and more to get pucks to the slot when he is in low danger. In the defensive zone, I’d like to see Myatovic use more of an active stick, but if his physicality improves I believe that it will only translate into Myatovic using an active stick more and more to isolate attackers. (Josh Tessler)
#66 – Yegor Zavragin
If you lost out on Hrabal, Augustine, Fowler and Bjarnason, Yegor Zavragin is an excellent consolation prize. He’s quick and nimble. When in the butterfly, he takes up a lot of space in net. Zavragin has an excellent glove and is rather effective with his glove on high danger chances. His rebound control is quite good and is constantly pushing pucks to low danger areas. (Josh Tessler)
#67 – Noel Nordh
I’m very interested to see where Noel Nordh ends up being selected in this draft. He’s a big, smart winger who is able to be a very useful and effective player at both ends of the ice. He doesn’t have the profile of a point producing playmaker, but his hockey sense and decision making should make him a solid play connector in a middle six role. Defensively, he makes smart reads and uses his size and strength to keep attackers to the outside. Though he’s not the quickest or best skater in this class, he’s still able to carry the puck through the neutral zone and generate entries to set up play in the offensive zone for his teammates. He seems to have a good understanding of what type of player he is. He rarely turns the puck over or makes mistakes trying to make plays he isn’t capable of making. His ability to be useful in all three zones along with his projectable frame should make him an intriguing option for teams in the middle rounds of the draft. (SpokedZ)
#68 – Easton Cowan
Cowan is an excellent two-way forward that has elite vision, passing and hockey IQ. He has a great motor that allows him to be engaged in every play throughout his shifts. Since the Knights acquired Ryan Winterton from the Hamilton Bulldogs, Cowan has been the glue that holds that line of Cowan-Winterton-Barkey together. He is willing to dig pucks out of the corners and uses his great vision and passing to set up scoring chances. He loves to drive the net and pick up loose change that he can bury or turn into second chance offense for his linemates. Defensively, Cowan has an active stick, and is constantly hovering above his opponent looking to strip the puck and get the play started the other way. (Ben Jordan)
#69 – Quinton Burns
Quinton Burns is a solid rush defenseman. He usually maintains good positioning. Burns stays well-aligned with the rush in the neutral zone and looks to force oppositional dump-ins into the Kingston zone. He then uses his lengthy stride to put him on the inside track to the loose puck. When the attacker who is engaged in the loose puck battle with Burns closes in on him, Burns does a good job of utilizing the boards to pass the puck off of. Burns is more of a defensive defenseman and will need to continue to work on developing his east-west speed and pivoting to ensure that he can stay aligned to puck carriers who are rather shifty. I would project Burns to be a second pairing defenseman and hopefully if he can develop stronger east-west speed that will only pave the way for more physical defending and closing out pressure at a faster rate. (Josh Tessler)
#70 – Tanner Adams
Tanner Adams as a puck transporter is a dream. He was over 43% offensive involvement with a 79% success rate. He facilitates play so well, is defensively responsible, but had some of the worst puck luck I’ve seen while tracking a player. The Providence College commit could take a full three years to hit an offensive output that puts him on the NHL’s radar in college, but I like his game enough to bet on him. (Austin Garret)
#71 – Felix Nilsson
Nilsson has all the stand-out traits that teams in the NHL crave when it comes to reliable bottom six pivots. He has an extremely high hockey IQ, links up play fantastically whether it is as a medium between the blue-line and wingers coming up ice, or creating inefficiencies in opposition coverages on the cycle, and is diligent, aware and engaged when it comes to play in his own zone. The Stockholm centre is also not lacking in skills, with good passing, a solid shot, and hands that he shows from time-to-time. The young Swede is also a plus penalty-killer with some grit, even if he could be a bit more physical. There are not exactly many “stand-out” traits in his game, but he is above average in basically every area. As can be imagined from such a skill-set, down the line he could well turn into a solid 3rdline centre in the NHL. (Alex Appleyard)
#72 – Étienne Morin
Étienne Morin in the offensive zone is fantastic. He has great deception on the blue line and creates passing lanes with the puck on his stick. He’s super offensive and operated as almost a fourth forward when he was on the ice in terms of creating offense. However, Morin trying to escape forechecking pressure or making a pass under the threat of being hit was cringeworthy. His gap control wasn’t great and didn’t separate players from the puck at the QMJHL level, which made me feel like he’d struggle to be a positive defensive player in the NHL. I’d bet on the offensive tools and hope that he develops enough defensively to be a top 4 defensemen. (Austin Garret)
#73 – Felix Unger Sorum
The Norwegian born, Swedish registered winger has been a late riser up NHL draft lists. The u-18 World Juniors were a big part of that, as he flashed skill and scoring alongside his good two-way game. He was totally off the radar at the start of the season, despite having already played at the u-20 level since he was 16 years old. This might be because he is one of the youngest players in the 2023 draft, in fact, were he born just a day later he would be 2024 draft eligible. Over the 2022-23 season he put up over P/GP at the J20 level, made his junior national team debut, and then made his SHL debut. The main this that jumps out about his game is his play-making. Not only does he have a wonderful, deft touch to his passing, he can also pick out line-mates from virtually anywhere on ice. Furthermore, for a player who is pass first, he does a lot of damage from the slot, and does not mind going to high-danger areas. He is also very creative with the puck on his stick, and for such a skilled player works very hard in his own zone. His upside is likely a second-liner in the NHL. However, to get there he needs to improve his release, as it sometimes takes him too much time to get shots away, and also work on his skating, as his stride lacks power and drive. (Alex Appleyard)
#74 – Carson Rehkopf
Rehkopf is bigger build with an interesting blend of size and skill. He has a pro level frame and shot already that both project extremely well. He has also shown the ability to play both down the middle and on the wing. Based on past trends and knowing what NHL teams cherish in players, Rehkopf should hear his name called somewhere in the first 50 selections. If able to develop his skill set effectively, there could be a very dominant middle-six forward that can dominate middle ice. He also has the length and active stick to provide value on a penalty kill unit. There are concerns about Rehkopf’s engagement with the play off the puck, as well as his commitment to physical play but many teams may see this an opportunity to further round out his game. (Ben Jordan)
#75 – Koehn Ziemmer
Ziemmer is a power forward build that excels when the puck is on his blade. He’s got a great shot with the ability to change angels quickly and is an great at weaving around defenders with shoulder fakes and quick stickhandles. Defensively he can become mis engaged quite quickly, but he does do a good job intercepting cycle plays and hard rims around the boards. Where Ziemmer slips below his counter parts is the skating. His stride mechanics are extremely wonky, and his being hunched over paired with extreme ankle flexion causes for some trouble to accelerate and the rate needed to keep up at the pro level. (Ben Jordan)
#76 – Tristan Bertucci
Bertucci is your prototypical modern-day defender. He’s got a nice blend of size and skill and has great defensive acumen. He is positionally sound, and always in the right place to break up passes or scoring attempts. I find he as great at retrieving dump ins and pucks from behind his own goal. He uses scanning so effectively and understands body position at an elite level so that he can free his stick and start breaking the puck up the ice. There are times where he lacks aggressiveness in his defending and can let opponents back him up. (Ben Jordan)
#77 – Carter Sotheran
Sotheran has been an effective defensive defenseman for the Portland Winterhawks this season. When his usual defensive partner, Luca Cagnoni has pinched up, Sotheran has fallen back. He’s got excellent gap control and great footwork that keeps himself aligned to the attack. If there is a defenseman that I’m willing to bet on being a solid shut down defenseman at the next level in the mid-rounds, I’m betting on Sotheran. (Josh Tessler)
#78 – Noah Dower Nilsson
The man from the shores of the Skagerrak Strait is, in terms of skills alone, one of the most talented players in the 2023 draft. His hands are close to elite, he has great vision, alongside plus passing and shooting. Alongside his high-end skill he is also not lacking in grit. For a player with a high skill level he is perfectly happy to get in close around the net and work hard on the boards too. The result of this skill-set? Dower Nilsson put up 54 points this year, 7th most in league history for an u-18 player. His upside is certainly that of a top-six NHL player, even if likely at wing. So what are his weaknesses? There are several. His skating needs to improve, with it being merely average for a player of his size. Furthermore, he need to play with more intensity when he does not have the puck, he gets lost in the defensive zone at times and seems to float waiting for play to go the other way. Additionally, far too often he makes low percentage passes that get picked off and send play the other way, and – connected to this – has a habit of panicking when under intense pressure. (Alex Appleyard)
#79 – Ethan Gauthier
Ethan Gauthier is coming off of his second season with the Sherbrooke Phoenix and averaged roughly a point per game. Gauthier projects to be a bottom six forward at the next level and will be called upon to provide grit / physicality in order to cause puck disruption. But, I do want to note that his physicality has been far more prominent on the forecheck than on the backcheck. While he does project to be more a grit / physical forward than a game changer, he will be able to rack up points by using his frame to fight for open passing lanes at net-front and by using his physicality to steal control of the puck on the forecheck and quickly distributing the puck. (Josh Tessler)
#80 – Hoyt Stanley
Hoyt Stanley just finished his last season in the BCHL with the Victoria Grizzlies and is headed to Cornell University in the fall to play for the Big Red. Stanley is a solid puck moving defenseman and was a great distribution from the blue line all season long. While the bulk of his assists, his passes even when they were defense-to-defense, those passes were more strategic. If he saw that he couldn’t get a clear pass to the slot but his defensive partner could, he was going to feed his partner the puck. While in transition, he loves to complete passes off the boards when looking to get the puck around an attacker in front of him and to a teammate further up in the neutral zone. (Josh Tessler)
#81 – Griffin Erdman
Griffin Erdman is a defensively responsible forward and one who projects to be a bottom six forward at the next level. He’s tenacious and has excellent activation that he relies on to go after loose pucks. When in transition, he likes to utilize give and go passing to drive up the ice. In the offensive zone, if he has control of the puck and pressure is keeping him in low danger, he’ll look to distribute the puck and go find space in the trenches so he can provide the teammate that he passed to with a juicy passing lane. (Josh Tessler)
#82 – Coulson Pitre
Pitre is an incredibly smart, versatile forward. His best attribute is his awareness, and this has enabled him to play in any forward slot throughout a lineup and build chemistry with new linemates throughout a game. This trait was shining bright at the CHL top prospects where Pitre saw many linemates and was seemingly able to be the glue of those lines. Pitre also uses his strength to aid his impressive 200ft game where he wins a ton of puck battles. He will be an enticing option come day 2 of the NHL draft in Nashville as he is a very projectable, safe, and versatile forward. (Ben Jordan)
#83 – Ryan Fine
Ryan Fine is the most underrated forward on the NTDP. He’s a great puck transporter and has great skill, his high school highlight reel is insane, and at times was the best player on the Moore/Terrance/Fine line at the u18s. He was stuck on the third line for much of the year at the NTDP in a checking role, but at Harvard, he should assume a scoring role as soon as this year given their departures. (Austin Garret)
#84 – Jesse Kiiskinen
Kiiskinen is one of the youngest players in this year’s draft, and despite that managed to lead all Finnish draft eligible players in P/GP at the u-20 level with 1.39 over the season (43 in 31). He also impressed enough to get a few games in Liiga as the season went on, picking up his first professional point in the process. While he has a solid offensive skill-set, with quick hands, nice passing and a big shot, what stands out most when you watch the young Finn is “how” he plays the game. He is constantly on the move like an Energizer bunny, even when set up on the power-play half-wall he is rotating, adjusting, trying to give the best lane possible. He forechecks relentlessly and is a real pest for defensemen, getting sticks in lanes and finishing checks. Kiiskinen is also rarely out of position in any zone, creates space for team-mates and loves to get to the high danger areas around the net and in the slot. His potential? Likely an all-around middle six winger who can put the puck in the net. He is not without flaws though. His skating needs work, and he is also slightly trigger happy even when line-mates are in a better position than he is. But if he can improve in these two areas? He has a good chance to contribute in the NHL. (Alex Appleyard)
#85 – Matthew Soto
Matthew Soto’s counting production didn’t line up with my four game tracked data. He showed a great ability to generate dangerous scoring opportunities through his passing and he was pretty active in his transition numbers, but his counting stats never materialized. Coupled with his deft puck skill, ability to get by first layer defenders and create plays, and able to play at an NHL pace I think he’s a player that could see a boom in his post draft year in terms of production. He’s an upside swing to make, but the Kingston winger has the skill set, the opportunity to improve his production, and a very late birthday in this class that he could be an interesting mid-late round swing for a team. (Austin Garret)
#86 – Oliver Bonk
Bonk has been a steady force on the London blueline this season. He isn’t the flashiest most dynamic player out there, but he makes all the plays and isn’t talked about much. For guys like him, that is best. He does an extremely good job controlling gaps and has an extremely active stick. He effectively shut down many top OHL units and was also able to chip in offensively with 40 points in 67 games. All those points with just about no powerplay time, which was eaten up mostly by Logan Mailloux and Sam Dickinson. Bonk reminds me a ton of T.J. Brodie, and should a team come away from day 2 of the draft with T.J. Brodie, they should be ecstatic. (Ben Jordan)
He thinks the game so well off the puck, he processes under pressure very well with the puck, and gets to areas of the ice where goals are scored. He is the catalyst of everything good that happens on his line in Fargo. He’s able to jumpstart transitions, thread passes to open teammates, and make a quick small area move to free up a passing lane. (Austin Garret)
#88 – Larry Keenan
Larry Keenan was a smooth-skating, big LHD who also has a cannon from the point. He’s a bit raw in his offensive game and his defensive game was never challenged in my viewings. However, he’s my top prep/HS player coming into this year’s draft. (Austin Garret)
#89 – Carey Terrance
Terrance is a two-way north-south centerman who facilitates plenty of transitions at the OHL level. He shines when he is exploding through the neutral zone at high pace, gets a step by a defender to the exterior, and cuts in for a scoring chance. That sequence alone was a constant theme way back at the Hlinka, however, it was a recurring element I kept spotting every time I watched him with the Otters. Defensively he is frequently in the correct position to deny chances from developing into dangerous chances, further adding to his value as a centerman. There are flashes of high-end skill that you sometimes see shine through that makes me think there is a glimmer of offensive potential in his game. At the very least, Carey has the building blocks to develop into a two-way depth centerman if everything breaks right. (Jordan Malette)
#90 – Gennadi Chaly
Gennadi Chaly is has some neat offensive tools in his tool-kit. He does a great job at manipulating goaltenders from range by positioning the puck to one side to get the goaltender to commit to that side. Then he strikes the other side. He will drag the puck back towards himself from range to drag the goaltender a bit further out from his net to create gaps. His shooting is quite good and I just want to see more and more 5v5 production. Chaly will be back in Waterloo next season and will join the University of Vermont Catamounts in 2024. (Josh Tessler)
#91 – Hunter Brzustewicz
Brzustewicz is great on his edges. In the offensive zone, walking the blueline and finding creative ways to get pucks on net is his strength. In the defensive zone with the puck on his stick he uses his edges to pivot and spin out of passes. Given his ability to make a strong first pass up ice, being able to spin out of pressure is a massive asset. He is committed to both ends of the rink, and never takes a shift off. Going beyond his draft year, I would love to see Brzustewicz add some muscle to fill out his frame. This will help his shot power and his ability to dominate board battles. (Ben Jordan)
#92 – Yegor Klimovich
An undersized skilled playmaking winger, it admittedly may be a bit of a longshot for Klimovich to make the NHL. He plays bigger than he is; his feet are quick, but he’s not the fastest guy in the world, and he often relies on strength and puck protection mechanics to navigate around pressure, which works at the junior level, but won’t be so easy against better competition. But he’s bursting with offensive creativity and skill; it’s hard not to love him. His game is built around just nonstop creative moves and crafty passes to dangerous areas, it’s no surprise that he torched the MHL this season. There’s much risk of his game not translating, for sure, but I can also easily see a world where he’s looked at as a massive steal in a few years. If you’re going to make a bet on pure skill and creativity, he’s one of the best options available. (Gray Matter)
#93 – Andrew Gibson
Gibson was one of the more noticeable defensemen out there for team Canada at the most recent U18 tournament. He has a great first pass and is able to start his team in transition super effectively. Unfortunately, due to different injuries, Gibson was only able to play in 45 games this season for the Soo Greyhounds, but in those games, he showed off his raw skill. This is a prospect that will need some extra time to fill out the frame and understand his body, and how to use it. Through his play this season, there is no question that he is a dynamic skater. He is a great passer and has great vision to thread lanes all around the ice, and in all three zones. He plays physically in the defensive zone and uses his length very well to direct opponents and chances to the perimeter. (Ben Jordan)
#94 – Petter Vesterheim
While one of the older players in the 2023 draft, Vesterheim has only really just started to pop up on draft radars in the last few months. That surge up draft rankings is not just down to one thing. First came his performance in the World Juniors Division 1A, where he led Norway in scoring with 7 points in 5 games as they decimated the competition on their way to five wins from five games and a comfortable promotion to the top level. Then came his promotion to the professional level with Mora in the Allsvenskan, where he helped his side to the semi-finals and did not look out of place. Finally, he made his senior international debut for Norway and went on to play every game at the World Championships, helping them avoid relegation in a depth role. The young center stands out due to his high IQ and high compete level, two things that stand him in extremely good stead going forward. He might not be the most skilled player, but can pass a puck, has a solid release, and also skates pretty well. Defensively he is very mature for his age, and will only get better with time. There are no gaping holes in his game, and if things go well development wise he may turn into a solid NHL 3rd liner down the line. (Alex Appleyard)
#95 – Brandon Svoboda
Brandon Svoboda has a checking line forward projection, but does have the tools to be a rather productive points-wise in the offensive zone. Svoboda does a good job of utilize his frame to get past attackers, keep the puck secure and drive to the net. The Pennsylvania native played lower in the Youngstown Phantoms lineup and as a result was on the ice for less time compared to other Phantoms forwards who are draft eligible. I’m confident with more ice time that Svoboda will score more and more. Next season, he will be player for the Boston University Terriers at Agganis. (Josh Tessler)
#96 – Emil Järventie
Järventie’s best asset is his shot. It’s not perfect, but his shot is heavy, his release is fairly quick, and he usually changes the angle by dragging the puck closer to his feet on release. The shot is the main standout tool in his arsenal, but I would say his passing ability is very good as well, though he uses it far less frequently. Although he’s fallen a lot for me over the course of the season, I still just enjoy watching him play; he brings energy, quickness, elusiveness, as well as an active stick away from the puck. He could stand to add some strength, as he gets knocked over easily, and heavily struggles in physical battles. He’ll probably never be the primary driver of offence on his line, but a complementary winger who will score some goals by being in the right spot, or sniping off the rush, and will play on the power play for you, I can definitely see that. (Gray Matter)
#97 – Brady Cleveland
Brady Cleveland played for the USNTDP this past season and provided the team with an excellent shut down defenseman. Cleveland moves quite well for his size and that allows to retain good gap control when applying tight pressure. When in the corners and along the boards, Cleveland will use his frame and execute shoulder and hip checks with ease. He’ll be suiting up for the University of Wisconsin Badgers next season and I can imagine will be a fan favorite in Madison. (Josh Tessler)
#98 – Tanner Ludtke
Tanner Ludtke is a player that rarely gets mentioned in the public sphere. The 6’0 forward can look a bit awkward in his skating mechanics and his pace of play is a question mark. However, he plays the game so well. He’s very involved as a one-touch puck transporter, is one of the top shot generators in the USHL in my data set, and has enough skill that his pace doesn’t hinder him from making plays. The University of Nebraska-Omaha commit hasn’t produced much in terms of NHL talent recently, but I have a hard time not advocating for him to be on this list given his productivity both in counting and micro stats. (Austin Garret)
#99 – Cameron Allen
At the Hlinka it was widely believed Cam Allen could end up being the top CHL defender in the 2023 draft, but his decision making and passing decisions drove him down my personal rankings. He preferred to take low percentage shots rather than trying to facilitate play, threw pucks out of the zone instead of hitting teammates, and made defensive positioning decisions that I questioned throughout the year. However, there are flashes of skill and deception as well as his skating is a plus aspect of his game. He’s a player that I think would be super interesting if he had a change of scenery next year, but for a team willing to develop his game I could see him playing NHL games. (Austin Garret)
#100 – Juraj Pekarcik
Pekarcik is a fun one to keep an eye on, he’s a bit raw at the moment, and likely a longer term project, but the potential is definitely there, especially as a playmaker. He’s a very good passer, both in ideas and creativity, and in technical skill. His passes are generally quick, hard, and precise; but he knows when to feather one instead, he tailors his passes to the situation effectively, often changing the angle and using his reach to pass around opponents or under sticks. As well, he’s just as good a passer with both sides of his blade, able to thread passes through tight lanes in many situations. He’s also a skilled handler, especially in tight spaces, and can dangle the pants off of anyone in close or on the rush; this combines with the crafty playmaking, and his work-in-progress power game, to shape the foundation of his offensive potential. He plays a pretty good power style, but is lacking in some of the fundamentals he needs to make it a big strength in the NHL. He’ll likely need to improve his skating, and work on his puck protection and better utilising his reach, in order to be more effective in his playstyle at higher levels. His best play has unsurprisingly come in the second tier Slovakian league, where he’s about as dominant as he should be, but in the main pro league in Slovakia, he hasn’t been as impressive, though he’s also had very limited ice time, averaging around 8 minutes a night. Regardless, being largely unproven at higher levels of competition is a big reason why he’s not high on too many lists. But he shined at the U18s, and showed that he can perform just as well against significantly better competition, which at least alleviated some of my own concerns. (Gray Matter)
HMs:
Damian Clara, Kristian Kostadinski, Michael Burchill, Francesco Dell’Elce, Albert Wikman, Dylan Hryckowian, Oliver Tulk, Adam Dybal
Timur Mukhanov is a 2023 NHL Draft eligible prospect, who hails from Glazov, Russia and plays in the Avangard Omsk system. His father, Renat Mukhanov played Russian minor and junior hockey in the 1990’s and has recently coached for Vityaz Podolsk’s U16 and U17 teams.
While Mukhanov grew up in Glazov (Siberia), he ended up playing U16 hockey in Moscow for Vityaz Podolsk U16 and then ended up going across the country to Omsk to play in the Avangard Omsk youth system.
This season, Mukhanov spent the majority of his time at the VHL level with Omskie Krylia and played 31 games for them. But, his production was double the rate in MHL play during regular season play. Mukhanov had also played in nine playoff games in the MHL, but the production was not at the same rate as it was during the regular season. He was called up to the KHL level around the holidays in December and January for two brief stints, but didn’t play much. Mukhanov played in one game and in only one shift.
Earlier this month, Avangard Omsk and Severstal Cherepovets made a trade in which Igor Geraskin was traded for Mukhanov and cash considerations. With this trade, Mukhanov is doing another cross-country move as he relocates from Omsk (Siberia) to Cherepovets (north of Yaroslavl and Moscow).
Player Profile
D.O.B – June 17, 2005 Nationality – Russian Draft Eligibility – 2023 Height –5’8″ Weight –170 lbs Position – Center Handedness – Right
Mukhanov’s Style of Play
Offense
Mukhanov is extremely good at distribution when the pressure has intensified. He uses whatever space is given to him. Mukhanov will feather backhand feeds over an opponent’s stick shaft to get the puck away from pressure and to a teammate. He will pass underneath the stick shaft with ease.
Check out this feed from a late January game against Loko-76. Mukhanov finds a tight gap and feathers the pass. It leads to a one touch pass in an effort to get the puck to net-front.
Due to his size, he can be phased out when playing the puck at the corners and along the boards under pressure. He isn’t trying to force the puck more inside when he’s below the red line especially when the attack is right at his backside. The pressure is only going to intensify the more and more than he skates towards the net. Instead of facing the intensified pressure, he’ll push the puck towards the half-wall and pass back to the point.
He’s a good facilitator and loves driving the cycle. Thanks to his crossovers, he has the speed to move around with the puck to switch up his positioning in order to create better passing angles. Sometimes, he doesn’t find a passing lane and has to problem solve. That might mean bringing the puck back into the neutral zone to re-group. In the below clip, you will see Mukhanov re-grouping, passing the puck to a teammate at the blue line and then giving that teammate an option in the offensive zone. Mukhanov does manage to deliver a cross ice feed through an extremely tight lane (at the end of the clip).
Mukhanov does a really good job at generating juicy passing lanes for his puck carrying teammates. He will use his crossovers to shift around to keep passing lanes alive when he draws an attacker who is looking to eliminate Mukhanov as a passing option.
Sometimes, he will stop himself and leave a sizable gap between himself and the last attacker to give his teammate a passing option. Mukhanov is wide open and has a clear path to the net. It paid dividends on this goal here.
His ability to quickly shift his positioning has paved the way for many backdoor one-timer shooting opportunities. But, Mukhanov has struggled with his one-timers throughout his draft year. He mistimes the puck and his stick blade doesn’t connect with the puck at the right moment.
In addition to his one-timer attempts, when shooting the puck after receiving the puck from a pass and has pressure on him, he has struggled at times with pulling the puck back right before he is about to shoot. Mukhanov is looking to get some separation but by bobbling the puck, he looses the opportunity to get the shot off that he wanted. If he bobbles the puck, he runs the risk of the attacker completely closing in on him or taking away the shooting lane he was intending on using.
Mukhanov has good shot selection. He doesn’t force shots from too far away and will on take a shot if he has no other option. But, you won’t see him shoot too often because given how well Mukhanov does under pressure with distribution, he more often then not finds a lane that he can utilize to deliver a pass. So, you won’t see way too many low danger shots from Mukhanov.
Not only does he have good shot selection, but Mukhanov’s vision will allow him to pin-point the precise moment to shoot. For instance, in the clip below you will see Mukhanov target the moment in which the goaltender shifts over and starts to commit to the butterfly. At that moment, the goaltender can’t take away space top shelf and Mukhanov takes advantage.
As mentioned earlier when talking about his shot (keeping control of the puck when pulling the puck back before shooting), Mukhanov will struggle from time to time with his stick-handling. His reach will limit his ability to push pucks and Mukhanov seems to be learning with his limitations are with his reach. So, he has failed to re-capture possession of the puck when trying to push the puck around an attacker off the rush.
When it comes to his forechecking, Mukhanov does a good job of maintaining good presence thanks to the speed that he can create off of his crossovers. But, he doesn’t have the physique to win the loose puck in tighter battles. I’d like to see Mukhanov use more of an active stick when on the forecheck especially in situations where he and a fellow teammate are looking to trap an attacker. I don’t believe encouraging Mukhanov to use stick lift makes sense unless he is close enough to the attacker, so I’d like to see Mukhanov use an active stick to lure attackers into traps.
Defense
Mukhanov is usually looking to defend at centered ice. He will defend against the boards and along the point, but since he isn’t overly physical, Mukhanov looks to apply pressure at open ice more often then not. He will deviate from patrolling at centered ice to patrolling at the half-wall, but it’s usually in situations where he can team up with one of his defenseman to trap a vulnerable attacker in low danger. Mukhanov seals off the gap with his positioning and his defenseman engages physically with the attacker along the boards. When he finds himself adjusting his positioning to defending the half-wall after an opposing defenseman pinches up with possession and looks to skate up the boards, Mukhanov uses a bit more of an active stick to try to cause puck disruption. He will use his stick like a wind-mill and try to make contact with the puck in order to poke it free.
Like I mentioned in the offense section, Mukhanov’s reach will limit his ability to cause puck disruption when he positioned slightly further back. When he attempts to stick lift, he usually misses the mark and struggles to lift the attacker’s stick shaft. His reach also limits his ability to grab onto loose puck quickly in highly contested loose puck battles.
Mukhanov does a good job of providing outlet lanes for his defenseman near the red line. When he nets control of the puck via outlet pass deep in his own zone, he is fast with his distribution of the puck. He is quickly completing a pass in an effort to move the puck up the ice before the pressure swallows them up.
Transitional Play
Just like in the defensive zone, Mukhanov is usually defending against the rush at a centered ice position in the neutral zone. Since he has a much smaller frame, it doesn’t make sense to have him work the boards when facing the rush because he doesn’t have the physicality to be rather impactful along the boards. His defensive strategy is to use his positioning to limit space to trap.
While on the rush and in a 2 on 1, Mukhanov times his passes perfectly. When he sees the attacker start to pay more attention to him by changing his angle (so that the attacker is more centered / squared towards him), Mukhanov passes underneath the stick shaft of the attacker to his teammate who is open and not facing an immediate threat. The attacker is now out of position and can’t shift over in time to shut down Mukhanov’s teammate. As I’ve said earlier on, Mukhanov distributes very nicely in tight quarters and it’s no different in the neutral zone. He’ll pass underneath / above stick shafts, complete drop passes and behind the back passes.
Since Mukhanov doesn’t have a lengthy stride, sometimes he will opt to complete give and gos when driving the puck through the neutral zone. It’s usually when the pressure is overwhelming. So, instead of testing each attacker’s east – west speed, he will look to feed the puck to an open teammate and then get himself into open ice near the offensive zone blue line to give his teammate a quality passing lane. It paved the way for this beautiful goal that Mukhanov scored at 4v4 in late January.
Skating
Mukhanov leans on his edges and has well-timed crossovers. He activates quite nicely and can generate quality speed off after deploying his edges. Since his straight line stride extensions are short, he relies on his crossovers to build up and maintain speed.
While he doesn’t have the size to be dominant when looking to apply and maintain pressure on an attacker, he does have the speed. He can keep pace nicely.
Since he doesn’t have a power stride, he will be leaned on as a winger and not at center at the NHL level. On occasion, he will look to implement a few stride extensions while on the go, but will repeat stride extensions from the same leg instead of rotating. The one leg drag ends up slowing him down. It does help re-center his positioning, but in tight loose pucks situations, he needs to avoid using one leg drags as it will cost him opportunities to win possession of the puck.
Projection
Mukhanov is a high upside pick. The tools in his tool-belt will come in handy at the NHL level and I’m confident that he will eventually slot in as a top six winger. As I mentioned a few times throughout the report, I believe that his lack of a power stride holds him back from playing center. But, Mukhanov does have excellent distribution and finds gaps to pass through routinely when the pressure is on.
If you are looking for a NHL comparable, I’d go with Andrew Mangiapane. A forward, who is undersized, but tenacious and has a motor that just won’t quit.
I had asked Smaht’s Russian and Finnish scout, Gray Matter to comment on the recent trade which sent Mukhanov to Cherepovets and what it means for his continued development next season.
“I mean Cherepovets is getting a great young player, I kinda doubt he’ll be a consistent or particularly impactful KHLer next season still though. I think another year spent primarily in the VHL would be the best scenario. It would allow him room to lean more into further developing his offensive qualities, which would be good for him in the long run. If he’s rushed into the KHL next year, I think he likely plays more of a limited checking role, which I do feel is a role he’d excel at, but I think that extra VHL year would do wonders, and he’d be well worth the wait. ” – Gray Matter
Latest Update
May 22, 2023
stats from InStat and EliteProspects
Prospect report written by Josh Tessler. If you would like to follow Josh on Twitter, his handle is @JoshTessler_.
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Mikhail Gulyayev is a 2023 NHL Draft eligible prospect, who hails from Novosibirsk, Russia and plays in the Avangard Omsk system. Gulyayev’s father, Alexander played hockey in Russia in the early 1990’s and has coached Mikhail during his time with the Avangard youth teams.
This season, Gulyayev has played in the MHL (Russian junior hockey), VHL (Russian minor hockey) and the KHL. As you would expect, he put up quite a bit of production in junior play but played more conservatively when called up to the VHL and KHL levels. But, Gulyayev has shined in the VHL and KHL levels in his own zone. His defensive pressure has stayed consistent no matter the level.
Player Profile
D.O.B – April 26, 2005 Nationality – Russian Draft Eligibility – 2023 Height –5’10″ Weight –170 lbs Position – Defense Handedness – Left
Gulyayev’s Style of Play
Offense
When Gulyayev has the puck in his zone, he can be very conservative with his play and generally stays at the point. It doesn’t seem to matter what level Gulyayev is at. If he has open space in front of him that he can use to get around pressure (from a distance), he still won’t budge. Instead of pinching up to get himself closer to the perimeter, he is resorting to taking shot after shot from the blue line. Gulyayev doesn’t have as much control of his shot from the point and thus you’ll see him struggle with getting shots on net. Quite a few of his shots end up going wide. While he does take a good volume of shots from the blue line, he does a good job with toeing the line using his crossovers. By toeing the line, he shifts laterally along the blue line to get himself in a centered position with enough separation for him to take a shot towards net front. With all of that said, most of Gulyayev’s 5v5 points are primary assists on re-directed goals.
While he doesn’t usually pinch up when he has the puck, if he doesn’t have the puck and the loose puck is rolling up towards the blue line, he does a good job of pinching up to the puck to keep the puck in the zone. If its a tight battle to get his mitts on the puck, he looks to push the puck towards the corner.
When Gulyayev is shooting off the rush, he struggles with scanning and fails to identify shooting lanes with enough of a gap for him to get the puck through. That leads to quite a few shots getting blocked. I would like to see Gulyayev change his approach when pressure closes in on him. He has the mobility to shift around pressure, but he isn’t using it. Honestly, I don’t care if Gulyayev gives up the puck every now and then when shifting around the attacker covering him. I want him to take a stab at using his mobility to net separation. Once he has the separation, he’s proven that he has the speed to peel away.
Gulyayev is quite good with his distribution. He has excellent power in his cross ice passes and gets the puck to his target rather quickly. He’ll look to complete cross ice feeds to teammates in a backdoor position. But, most of his distribution is coming from the point and not pinching up. There are a few shifts in every game where he is less conservative and pinches up to make a pass to the slot, but it’s not as consistent as you’d like it to be.
If he does intend to be more of a conservative defenseman when it comes to pinching, I would like to see Gulyayev work on manipulating his opponents by drawing attackers who are puck watching to one side. After he pulls the attackers to one side, he can then create a passing lane to utilize. For instance, in the clip below, you will watch him settle for a low danger shot on net. But, I’d like to see him try to fake the shot, shift left, pull the attack and complete a cross ice pass to #28 in white.
Defense
Gulyayev is very good defensively and has excellent gap control. He stays well-aligned to puck movement in low danger. No matter what league he is in (KHL, VHL and MHL), he’s quick to adjust to puck movement and maintains his positioning nicely in the corners. While he is mobile, shifty and always on guard, he isn’t shutting down play. He isn’t using his physicality to truly trap attackers. Instead, he looks to apply enough pressure to keep the opponent skating around in low danger, but doesn’t completely trap the attacker.
His positioning is quite good. For instance, when his defensive partner deviates and attends to puck movement in the opposite corner, Gulyayev quickly shifts to cover the slot. But, should he find himself out of position, he has the foot speed to get himself back into position to defend against puck movement.
Gulyayev does have an active stick and extends his stick out to trap attackers along the boards and when they are approaching the perimeter. He will push his stick blade out towards the attacker who has possession of the puck to keep the attacker further back. It doesn’t matter what league he is in, Gulyayev is quite assertive with his active stick deployment and he uses it quite nicely to instill traps.
Not only does Gulyayev have a great active stick, but he tracks pucks well and has great reaction timing. He does a good job of identifying the precise moment to extend out his stick an intercept passes.
In a 2 on 2 situation, where the oppositional puck carrier is skating through the face-off circle in low danger (Gulyayev’s teammate is covering the puck carrier) and a teammate of the attacker provides a passing option in medium danger, Gulyayev will extend his stick blade out to eliminate the attacker as a passing option for the oppositional puck carrier. Gulyayev will do a good job of maintaining presence and knows that he can deploy his stick in the other direction to shut down the oppositional puck carrier should the carrier move into the slot.
When it comes to puck retrievals, he needs to be faster to the puck. It’s not that he doesn’t have the speed to get to the loose puck, it’s the opposite. He has the speed, but he is slowing down and coasting before capturing the puck. Since he is slowing down, the attacker who is also vying for the puck can close in and force Gulyayev to quickly pass the puck after retrieval. With that said, when an attacker is behind him and Gulyayev is now vulnerable, he is forced to pass the puck along the boards towards the red line. I’ll discuss this a bit more in the skating section.
Gulyayev utilizes the boards quite regularly when he looks to pass and there is an attacker who is standing in front of him to separate Gulyayev from his teammate further down in the Avangard defensive zone. But, should Gulyayev be at more of a centered position on the rush (not along the half-wall boards) and pressure intensifies, he’ll complete saucer passes to get the puck through tight gaps. He is a solid stretch passer as well and can complete long range passes with ease.
In his KHL sample, I’ve found him to be very conservative and timid with his zone exit methods. Even when he has space to activate and quickly get into stride, he doesn’t and opts to immediately pass. For instance, look at how much space he has here and still looks to pass.
Transitional Play
As mentioned a few times throughout the scouting report, he does a great job of staying well aligned to puck carriers no matter the zone or level. It’s no different in the neutral zone. He will deploy quality edges and crossovers to keep pace. If he isn’t in the same lane as the puck carrier when the carrier enters into the neutral zone and is in more of a centered position at open ice, he will use his crossovers to move himself laterally.
Should he be a bit further away by the time the attacker gets in range, Gulyayev will use an active stick in a last ditch effort. He’ll extend his stick out to slow down the rush.
In tight loose puck battles at open ice in the neutral zone, you will see Gulyayev widen his stance when he has the upper hand on the puck to ensure that he can capture the puck cleanly.
At times, Gulyayev decides to intensify his pressure when in the neutral zone and looks to pounce on a puck carrier immediately after they cross the blue line. You don’t usually see a defenseman be that assertive and it’s interesting to see Gulyayev want to be assertive with taking away space when on the flip side when he has the puck and open space in front of him he tends to be less assertive.
I’ll talk about this a bit next in the skating section, but when Gulyayev has the puck on his stick in the neutral zone, he has the skating speed to get around pressure and drive up into the offensive zone. But, more regularly than not, you will see Gulyayev complete a zone exit pass in his own zone instead of driving the rush through the neutral zone.
Skating
Gulyayev manufactures excellent speed with his crossovers and lengthy stride extensions. When under pressure, he leverages both his crossovers and straight line extensions to net the speed that he needs to blast by the attacker.
As I mentioned in the defensive section, there are plenty of instances in which Gulyayev is chasing after loose pucks, but stops short. When stopping short, he ends up coasting towards the puck and that allows the attacker also vying for the puck to sneak up on Gulyayev to give him no room once Gulyayev captures the puck. I’d like to see Gulyayev work on keeping his feet moving towards the puck instead of slowing down. If he does, he will win loose pucks, escape and drive up the ice with the puck.
His activation off of pivots allows him to keep strong pressure when facing a puck carrier who is trying to pivot out of pressure. His activation allows him to stay toe to toe with the opponent. In scenarios in which Gulyayev slightly out of position or when there is a drastic change in puck movement, he will activate his speed nicely off of the hop.
Projection
Gulyayev has the mobility and the speed to be productive off of the rush, but isn’t really using his mobility to generate open ice for himself. With that said, he really needs to get out of his comfort zone and stop settling for low danger shots. I do believe that the mobility is there and he just needs to deploy it. But, every other facet of his game is well-rounded.
Even if he doesn’t use his mobility more and plays more of a conservative game at the NHL level, he will still earn plenty of minutes because of his defensive pressure, but he won’t have as big of a role. I do see Gulyayev playing in a top four defensive role, but if he doesn’t end up using his mobility more and more, he will likely end moving up and down in the lineup. But, at the same point, Gulyayev has been trained to play more conservatively like quite a few Russian defensemen and there are NHL teams that are looking for more conservative defensemen. Some teams will want Gulyayev to use his mobility and some might ask him to stay put along the blue line in the offensive zone.
He can be an asset on the power play at the NHL level with how well he toes the line to open up space for himself when an attacker is present, but he still needs the mobility to pinch up and drive play into / towards the slot.
Latest Update
May 11, 2023
stats from InStat and EliteProspects
Prospect report written by Josh Tessler. If you would like to follow Josh on Twitter, his handle is @JoshTessler_.
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William Whitelaw is a 2023 NHL Draft prospect, who played for the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms past season. Whitelaw was selected first overall by the Phantoms in the 2021 USHL Futures Draft and made his USHL debut the following season. Prior to playing for the Phantoms, he played at Shattuck St. Mary’s, the MN Rangers 14U AAA squad and the MN Bruins 15U AAA squad.
This season, Whitelaw was nearly a point per game player. He had 61 points in 64 games for the Phantoms. In addition, to this point, he has played in two playoff games for the Phantoms this year and has registered two points in those games.
The Rosemount, Minnesota native is committed to the University of Wisconsin and will be wearing a Badgers jersey next season.
Player Profile
D.O.B – February 5, 2005 Nationality – American Draft Eligibility – 2023 Height –5’9″ Weight –172 lbs Position – Center Handedness – Right
Whitelaw’s Style Of Play
Offense
Whitelaw has excellent puck manipulation that he will use off of the rush when driving to the net and facing pressure. He will draw attackers to one side to open up ice for himself on the other side. While along the boards mid cycle, Whitelaw doesn’t use his stick-handling to get himself out of sticky situations. Instead, he looks to pivot out from the pressure.
Not only does Whitelaw possess solid puck manipulation, but he also has good positional manipulation. When skating into the offensive zone with the puck and there is a decent amount of pressure waiting for Whitelaw from the get go, he’ll skate to a centered position along the point, that pulls the attacker with him and opens up an open lane on Whitelaw’s side for his teammate skating into the zone behind Whitelaw. Once his teammate is in range, Whitelaw then hits the teammate in stride or he will try a behind the back pass from a slightly angled position to get the puck to the open teammate.
Whitelaw loves to forecheck. Throughout the course of the season, Youngstown had deployed him as the #1 in 1-2-2 forecheck scheme. Whitelaw can net quality speed off of his crossovers to fight for loose pucks and to put himself into situations in which he can trap attackers along the boards with the puck. Once Whitelaw is in range of the puck carrier along the boards, he will close them off completely with a check and look to force a turnover in possession. He is constantly battling behind the red line and finishing checks whenever he can get to the attacker in time. In addition, Whitelaw does a good job of identifying those puck carriers who seem to be a bit vulnerable and will use his physicality to shut them down.
Whitelaw really likes to get under your skin. He can be like a shark when on the forecheck. He will bump elbows and make his presence known. Watch this clip and focus on #8 in white.
When without possession of the puck in the offensive zone, Whitelaw is wired to go to net front and get open ice for himself to collect pucks from the point that were meant for him or collecting rebounds. In those situations in which he is driving with the puck to net off of the rush, he will look to force the goaltender into playing low so he will drive the puck with his backhand once entering the low slot. The goaltender will drop low to take away the five hole, but Whitelaw is looking to manipulate the goaltender into doing so because he can that opens up a lot of space up. But, also it can lead to five hole goals like this one against Madison from March 24th.
Another example of what Whitelaw can do with manipulation at net front. Goal against Cedar Rapids from April 15th.
While Whitelaw does generate a lot of quality scoring chances at net front, I’d like to further fine tune his shot from range. He isn’t putting enough weight transfer into his shot, isn’t elevating his shot and needs to work on shot angling. Sometimes his shots from range are going wide because Whitelaw doesn’t have the stick blade aligned with the net. I’ve seen quite a few shot attempts across the games that I’ve watched in which Whitelaw is struggling to get his shot on net from the perimeter. When Whitelaw tries to complete a shot immediately off of a turn, he isn’t transferring enough weight when doing so and that is limiting the power that the shot could possess.
Speaking of angling with his stick blade, I have seen Whitelaw struggle with angling his stick blade and lining it up with a puck that is destined to come to him. Since the blade isn’t directly on the ice and not angled with the puck, you aren’t going to trap possession.
Whitelaw’s distribution is quite good when in tight situations. For instance, check out this primary assist on a Martin Mišiak goal. Whitelaw found a tight lane and feathered the puck through it. Plus, check out Mišiak’s Jaromir Jagr salute towards the end of the clip.
He can also be extremely deceptive with his puck distribution. Should he run out of room and looks to distribute the puck to teammates behind him, he will complete behind the back passes.
While Whitelaw does a great job at distributing when the pressure intensifies, he doesn’t look to pass to the slot regularly when pressure comes into play. He ends up shooting quite a bit.
Defense
Since he’s usually being deployed as the #1 in a 1-2-2 forecheck for Youngstown, he is usually the last one back into the defensive zone for the Phantoms. When he gets back to the zone, he looks to skate into space and take away a skating lane to the slot when he sees an attacker looking to flee with the puck from the half-wall boards. Whitelaw will extend his out stick to cause puck disruption when in range. He will look to stick lift the shaft of the attacker’s stick to shake the puck free. Should the puck end up in the hands of a teammate, Whitelaw will skate into space and that allows his teammate to pass the puck towards Whitelaw. The teammate is stuck trying to ward off the attacker who lost possession of the puck and so Whitelaw having open ice in front of him is an attractive option.
While Whitelaw will use stick lift to cause puck disruption, he won’t shy away from using physicality to win possession of loose pucks. When a puck breaks loose and he is in position to make it a challenge for the attacker to grab a hold of the puck, he will use his physicality to do so and even at open ice.
When in control of the puck in his zone and runs into pressure, he looks to pass and has no issue passing through tight lanes. If he has a tight lane to use, he won’t hold back if he is trying to thread a cross ice feed. But, if he can’t find that tight lane to pass through, he audibles and looks to complete a behind the back pass to get the puck away from pressure and to a teammate behind him.
You won’t often see Whitelaw use his stick-handling to shake free nor try to manipulate the attacker’s position. He either looks to make the pass or dumps the puck down the ice.
Transitional Play
As I mentioned in the defense section of the report, Whitelaw has usually been deployed at #1 in the 1-2-2 forecheck for Youngstown and that means to more often then not Whitelaw is the last Phantoms forward back in the neutral zone when the attack is driving the rush. But, when gets into position, his hunger for the puck is evident immediately. He looks to take away space and put pressure on attackers closer to the opponent’s zone. Should oppositional puck movement shift from side to side on a dime, Whitelaw has shown that he has the speed via his crossovers and edgework to put himself into a slightly more centered position to defend against the puck carrier. Since he is taking a centered position, he forces the attack to drive along the boards and that allows his defensemen to trap the attacker at the defensive zone blue line.
Whitelaw uses his crossovers nicely when driving up through the neutral zone when he attacks the middle of the ice and encounters multiple attackers that he has to shift around to complete the transition. But, if pressure becomes far too intense, Whitelaw is quick with his decision making off of the rush. When on the move and facing pressure, he’s shown time and again that he can quickly distribute the puck while skating up through the zone. He looks to get the puck into the hands of a teammate at the offensive zone blue line to complete a give and go zone entry. By completing a give and go zone entry, that will allow him to transfer possession of the puck and then skate up into slot to create space for himself. That then leads to the teammate completing a controlled zone entry and firing a pass to Whitelaw.
When he doesn’t have possession of the puck in the neutral zone, but the Phantoms do have possession, he looks to create the intriguing passing lane that leads to successful zone entry for the Phantoms by parking himself near the offensive zone blue line.
Skating
Whitelaw’s skating is quite strong. He has excellent straight line extensions and crossovers to generate speed. Whitelaw does a good job of leveraging both when looking to beat an attacker to a loose puck when he is slightly further back then the attacker who is vying for the puck with him. By leveraging both crossovers and straight line extensions, he can build up the acceleration through his crossovers and shift his angling before adding to his speed with a lengthy power stride. Constantly, you will see Whitelaw use his crossovers to get himself into position to put tight pressure on attackers when reacting to sudden changes in oppositional puck movement.
When the Phantoms are pushing the puck up the ice and he is leading the rush, he uses his crossovers to avoid pressure by shifting his direction. If he doesn’t have possession of the puck, he will use his crossovers nicely to shift his positioning quickly east-west to open up passing lanes for his teammate to use.
Projection
I believe that Whitelaw is a top six winger at the NHL level. While he has played center in his youth, if you play him at center in the NHL, you would have to change his puck hunting approach and In my opinion that would be a huge mistake.
I would go with Conor Garland as a player comparison for Whitelaw. Like Garland, Whitelaw is tenacious in his pursuit of the puck in the offensive zone and does a great job with distribution when the pressure is on.
If you draft Whitelaw, you want him to keep developing his physical play in all three zones. He is constantly looking to pounce on attackers for the puck in the offensive zone, but it’s a little bit less prevalent in the neutral and defensive zones. In addition, I’d like to see Whitelaw work on his shot angling and pass to the slot more when pressure closes up on him. If Whitelaw replaces a few of his shots from distance when pressure is present to passes to the slot through tight lanes, his assist totals will go up.
Latest Update
May 3, 2023
stats from InStat and EliteProspects
Prospect report written by Josh Tessler. If you would like to follow Josh on Twitter, his handle is @JoshTessler_.
Looking for other scouting reports? Check out the Prospects tab for our other scouting reports.
Need a scouting report on a particular prospect, contact us today!
Ryan Leonard is a top American 2023 NHL Draft eligible prospect and he hails from Amherst, Massachusetts (the home of UMass). Leonard played for the USNTDP over the past few seasons and before that he played for Pope Francis Preparatory School and the Springfield Rifles 14U / 15U AAA squads.
Leonard’s brother is John Leonard, who plays in the Nashville Predators system (originally draft by the San Jose Sharks). John had played for the Green Bay Gamblers before coming back to Amherst to play for UMass. Unlike John, Ryan will not be wearing a Minuteman jersey. Instead, when Leonard suits up in the NCAA this fall he will be wearing a Boston College (later on will refer to Boston College as BC, don’t mean British Columbia) Screaming Eagles jersey. Ryan Leonard will be joining several current USNTDP teammates in Chestnut Hill, Mass. His line mates, Gabe Perreault and Will Smith are both committed to BC. In addition, Aram Minnetian, Drew Fortescue and Will Vote will be joining Leonard at the Conte Forum next season.
Player Profile
D.O.B – January 21, 2005 Nationality – American Draft Eligibility – 2023 Height –5’11″ Weight –181 lbs Position – Center Handedness – Right
Leonard’s Style Of Play
Offense
Leonard has lengthy reach that allows him to loose pucks in the offensive zone in a highly contested situation. He will grab onto the puck and then use his reach again to push the puck away from the attacker. Once securing the puck, should pressure shift over to Leonard quickly, he will then look to complete drop passes to teammates skating towards him. After completing the drop pass, Leonard typically looks to skate to the slot and set himself up at the doorstep. He’s drawing pressure away, looking to catch attackers puck watching and sets himself up at net front to provide an intriguing passing option for the teammate that he passed to. Not only does Leonard create the passing option in high danger, but he also is in position to tip-in / deflect pucks or capitalize with rebound goals.
His primary assist totals this season at 5v5 were low. Leonard had two primary assists at 5v5. The majority of his assists at 5v5 were secondary. You won’t see Leonard attempt a lot of passes to the slot and that’s mainly because over the course of the season he has struggled with passing in tight lanes. Leonard’s game for the most part is very north – south and he is usually heavily involved in the rush. When pressure comes into view, he will look to pass underneath the attacker’s stick shaft to maximize any space that he has in front of him. But, since Leonard is on the move, the attack is on the move and he has to complete the pass quickly. Sometimes, he struggles with his depth perception, doesn’t see an attacker skating into space and tries the passing lane anyways.
When he draws pressure after skating into the offensive zone off the rush and if he doesn’t have any other options due to pressure by the time he gets to the red line, he will try a shot from low danger. Just like when he is looking to pass through a tight lane, he will look to use whatever space is given to him and that usually means looking to shoot above and below the stick shaft of the attacker. He has capitalized a few times from range with pressure in his face and shooting above the stick has helped him secure those goals.
Here is another!
When Leonard is skating with the puck into the offensive zone and headed for net front, he looks to take the most direct route and looks to attack the middle. Should pressure approach him, he has good reach to rely on to extend the puck out to secure the puck. Leonard will use a mixture of crossovers, edges that retain speed and quality power stride extensions to get separation from an attacker. The separation allows him to drives to the net and finds a gap to exploit. But, not only does Leonard find a gap, he will manipulate the goaltender by skating towards the short side and having the goaltender commit to the short side. At that point, he will leverage his handling to get the puck around the goaltender and into the back of the net.
While Leonard is successful off of the rush, sometimes if he starts to face pressure when he approaches medium danger and the pressure intensifies he will end up trapped behind the red line along the boards. When the pressure is tight, I’d like to see Leonard start to call some more audibles and try to pivot to shake off the pressure. What you don’t want is NHL defensemen to start picking up on your playbook because then they will be prepared to close you off. Leonard needs to work on coming up with those alternative strategies when pressure starts to intensify.
Leonard typically puts up a big fight on the forecheck. He stays well-aligned with pivots when the puck carrying attacker tries to pivot out of pressure. He can be rather gritty. Leonard won’t shy away from open ice checks and finishing checks in the corner.
When he looks to get the inside track in a loose puck battle in which the attacker vying for the puck is staying toe to toe with Leonard, he will lean in with his shoulder in those contested battles to slow down the attacker.
Sometimes when looking to create space for himself on odd man rushes in which Leonard is leading the way, he will integrate delays to create separation. By stopping and delaying, Leonard makes the goaltender and the attack believe that he intends to complete a pass to his teammate, but then he will quickly rip a shot to the blocker side.
Sometimes when shooting the puck immediately after collecting a cross ice pass, he will let the goaltender completely reset when they are shifting over and thus the goaltender is more likely to stop his shot as he is squared up. I’d like to see Leonard become slightly quicker with his decision making and get the shot off immediately after receiving the puck.
Defense
Leonard is usually following the rush, but does skate back to help with loose puck recoveries. But, in those instances in which he is facing the rush, he will look to be physical when attackers are driving the puck along the half-wall boards.
Should the attack drive the puck behind the red line and look to setup the cycle, he coasts to net front, but when the cycle is alive and kicking, Leonard is usually patrolling the blue line from the perimeter line.
If one of his defensemen grab control of the puck behind the red line and are dealing with an intimidating forecheck, he will drop back to the red line and provide an outlet lane for said defenseman to use. Once in control of the puck, he doesn’t hold onto the puck for long and quickly completes a pass to a teammate further up in the zone. If there isn’t much pressure for his defenseman, he will park himself towards the blue line to open up wide lanes for that defenseman to pass through.
When it comes to dealing with pressure amounting in the defensive zone, he will execute shovel passes should the pressure intensify and he has no where to go but there is a teammate in range. You can also expect him to pass off the boards when pressure is daunting. But, when he has a bit more space to potentially get around an attacker, he will look to draw pressure to one side and use the other side for his escape path. Leonard has the foot speed to break away and then looks to execute a pass to an open teammate closer to the blue line or a teammate open in the neutral zone. The only type of pass that Leonard seems to be more inconsistent with is long range passes from deep in his own zone to teammates in the neutral zone, but when shifting away from pressure, he builds up excellent speed with his crossovers and straight line skate extensions to get himself far enough up in the defensive zone to complete a shorter pass. He only will try those long range passes when the pressure doesn’t get fooled by his manipulation strategies.
Transitional Play
When defending in the neutral zone, he doesn’t assert much pressure at open ice. He’s there, but isn’t being assertive with his approach. Instead, he looks to take away space in the neutral zone with his positioning when looking to eliminate open ice for the attacker to use to breakout the rush from the opposition’s own zone. There are shifts in which he is slightly more physical against the rush at open ice, but it’s usually when the puck carrier has slowed down the pace and is skating right at Leonard.
As I mentioned earlier on in the report, Leonard has excellent reach that he will use to trap loose pucks that are slightly further away from him. He can use that reach to grab onto pucks and beat attackers to the puck. The attacker still gets in range to put pressure on Leonard, but it’s after Leonard was able to trap possession and quickly get rid of the puck by completing a quick shovel pass or drop pass to an open teammate.
Should his defensemen look to drive the puck a bit further out from the red line and move the puck up through the defensive zone, Leonard does a good job of grabbing open ice and providing a zone exit passing lane. Should pressure intensify and he is closer to the boards, he will sometimes find himself giving up possession immediately after trapping the puck. In those situations, I would like to see Leonard incorporate more shoulder checks / head checks to identify how far the opposition is from him especially when he has his back turned to the attack.
Skating
As I mentioned a few times throughout the report, Leonard has a lengthy stride and excellent crossovers. He pairs them nicely to build up speed to create passing lanes right near the offensive zone blue line for his teammates to use and to create separation for himself when the pressure is on. Should Leonard need to shift directions when reacting to changes in puck movement or to react to attack staying toe-to-toe with him, he can use he will use crossovers to shift east-west and build up speed.
There are sequences of play in which he relies heavily on his crossovers for momentum and sometimes when he has enough space in front of him to skate to the net hard, he doesn’t deploy lengthy extensions to crash the net. Instead, he shortens his stride extensions and that leads to Leonard losing speed and allows the attack to close in on him. Those are sequences in which if the attacker can match the speed, Leonard will ultimately be closed off from proceeding towards net front. He needs to use integrate his lengthy extensions to break away.
Projection
I see Leonard as a winger who can provide teams with top six goal scoring production at the next level.
He doesn’t have the toolsy flashy handling to dance around pressure that is Kent Johnson or Mitch Marner like, but he’s got tools on his tool-belt to evade the pressure and create separation for himself.
But, I’d like to see Leonard start to come up with plan B or plan C strategies when he has committed to driving the puck to net front. NHL defensemen will start to pick up on Leonard’s playbook and he will need to come up with alternative strategies at a drop of a hat.
In addition, I’d like to see Leonard continue to develop his physicality in both the neutral zone and the defensive zone. He does like to target vulnerable attackers with the puck, but doesn’t always implement the pressure to truly make the attacker feel vulnerable. If he can work on taking away space with more assertion, he will create more and more vulnerability.
Latest Update
April 27, 2023
stats from InStat and EliteProspects
Prospect report written by Josh Tessler. If you would like to follow Josh on Twitter, his handle is @JoshTessler_.
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If you’re looking for defense in this draft, there’s no better option than Dmitri Simashev, and I don’t think it’s particularly close. He’s a monster defensively at every level, brings some spectacular skating, and though he might not be as dynamic offensively as some of the other top d-men in this draft, he’s always making good things happen for his team at both ends of the ice, even if the points don’t show it. He’s got some really promising play creation ability, and I believe that he could end up as a good #1 defenseman in the NHL, if everything goes right.
Simashev scored 1 goal and 10 points in 29 regular season games with Loko Yaroslavl in the MHL (Russian junior league) this year. As well as 2 goals, 6 points in 10 MHL playoff games, in Loko’s run to the semifinals. His production picked up towards the end of the year—for a while he was running on just a single assist—but nonetheless, the numbers are rather underwhelming considering the low level of competition in the MHL.
His superb defensive game also earned him 18 games with the KHL (Russian pro league) squad, where he went pointless, but put on an outstanding defensive performance against pro competition, which is quite an accomplishment.
Opinions on Simashev are all over the shop. He’s a big defenseman who’s struggled to score points this year; and for many it seems, that’s where the story ends. In this report, we’ll take a look at Simashev’s game, a few too many clips, and talk about why that shouldn’t be the case, as well as the reasons why he’s divisive as a prospect.
Player Profile
D.O.B. – February 4, 2005 Nationality – Russian Draft Eligibility – 2023 Height – 6’4″ Weight – 201 lbs Position – Defense Handedness – Left
Simashev’s Style of Play
Offense
The offense tends to be the subject of conversation, especially among those who haven’t watched Simashev play. The numbers certainly don’t jump off the scoresheet, and his statistical profile doesn’t appear representative of an offensively skilled defenseman. But Simashev is one of the cases that I believe best exemplifies the notion that points should be taken lightly.
Simashev’s offensive game might not be as obviously potent or high-skill as some other top defensive prospects in this draft, but dig a little deeper, and you’ll find a load of untapped potential that I’d argue can stack up against any of them, in one way or another. Yes, he’s huge, and known primarily for his defensive proficiency; but he has an offensive toolkit that not many have, and it’s not ‘good for his size’, it’s just good.
His size certainly contributes to it though; adding total and masterful control of his enormous reach to get pucks out of danger on the backend, as well as creating a robust foundation of puck protection mechanics, which leads into his terrific puck control, and possession-oriented offensive game. All while being one of the best, most mobile skaters in the class. A deadly combination which is highly coveted by NHL teams, and should take him to the first round at the draft. The skating, the puck control, the puck protection / physical skills, are all bordering on an elite level.
He won’t always wow you with his hands—because he doesn’t need to—but he certainly has the ability. Although he generally keeps the handling to a minimum, his control over the puck and his reach is exceptional, and his hands are deceptively quick when they need to be, especially when it comes to moving the puck across his body to evade incoming pressure. In that vein, the fun part comes when he just completely undresses a guy out of nowhere without a moment’s notice, leaving jaws on the floor in the process. Isolated moments of pure brilliance, enveloped by simple and highly effective play in all areas; that’s the essence of Simashev’s game as it is now.
In the offensive zone, he processes play well, and possesses some great creativity and offensive instincts. Although he doesn’t always activate into the play when he could—which is something I’d like him to work on—he tends to do something special when he does, and he times his activations well; rarely getting caught too deep and behind the play. As well, he rarely hesitates to pounce on loose pucks, and he knows exactly what he wants to do once he’s got it.
He reads opposing breakouts very well, recognising their next move in order to pinch with perfect timing to cut it off when possible, while ensuring he’s not endangering his team in doing so. He does this frequently and to great effect to restore possession for his team. His awareness and recognition / processing of play are major strengths that contribute hugely to his high-impact overall game, both offensively and defensively.
If there’s one thing lacking in Simashev’s arsenal, it’s his shot; it’s not awful, but it’s certainly nothing to write home about. His release is fairly basic and not particularly quick, and the overall quality of his shot is a bit hit-or-miss. But frankly, I don’t really care; a great shot is a useful tool, but it’s not what I look for in a quality defenseman, what matters more is how they use it and how they play to their strengths.
And on that note, Simashev uses his shot quite well I’ve found. He doesn’t use it too frequently, but when he does, he often looks to aim for tips or other good shot-pass options—or at least ensures that there’s traffic in front—rather than taking lower-percentage looks with his underwhelming shot. That to me is more promising than a prospect with a great shot, who just shoots to score from the point without traffic all the time. That said, of course I still think he should work on improving his shot; if he can add that threat to his offensive repertoire, it could unlock a myriad of new opportunities for him.
For fun (and because I have too many clips that I wanna show), here are some of his better shots from afar:
His passing in transition and on breakouts is quite strong—as I’ll touch on later—but in the offensive zone, his passing game is a bit less impressive; especially on the power play. While there are moments of deceptive passing, in general, his offensive zone passes are somewhat predictable. He has a tendency to look directly at his target, and his passing motion is a bit drawn out, leaving too much room for opponents to react; something that will only become more prominent at higher levels of play.
I’m not too worried about this in general, as he makes up for it in his creativity; stepping down from the blue line and manufacturing plays in which this is a non-issue. But it’ll limit his offensive potential if he doesn’t address it, so it’s something for him to work on. And at the very least, this—and his lack of a real shot threat—brings into question his ability to quarterback a power play.
All that said, I wouldn’t worry about the lack of production one iota; all year I’ve seen him setting up teammates with golden opportunities left and right, that just seem to always find a way to not get to the back of the net. But I find it hard to believe that the failure to convert on those opportunities has anything to do with Simashev’s play, or that that information says anything other than positives about him as a player.
This shift I find to be a good example of Simashev’s overall offensive game as it is right now:
This is the sort of shift you’ll see decently often from him; not overly flashy, but just bringing a very positive impact to his team in all areas of the game. He retrieves the puck in his own zone and makes a nice move to get by the first forechecker, then hands his teammate the easy zone entry. He operates the point to facilitate the cycle, then recognises and attacks open ice to set up a teammate with a tap-in that just misses, which is—as previously stated—a bit of a trend among Simashev’s nice setups. As also seen in the next clip, where he performs a beautiful delay and fake pass to bait the defender and open space to centre the puck.
The truly exciting offense mostly comes out in flashes; flashes of high-skill moves to beat guys one-on-one, great fakes, really nice slip passes, impressive manoeuvres to get the puck to the middle of the ice, or just taking over a shift and dancing around the offensive zone. It’s all there; sometimes he just makes you stop and say “wow”, and ask yourself where all his points are. Here’s some of that cool stuff:
And my personal favourite:
Few players have the creativity, confidence, and awareness to think to make this move, let alone attempt and realise it. Moments like these really stand out, they may not be incredibly frequent, but they show up enough to get an image of what he could be. Whether or not he’s showcasing his offensive talent like that, you can see the processing speed that he has to recognise the play in front of him and the plays available to him. His offensive instincts and creativity are pretty high-end; I think he just needs to listen to them a bit more. I might like to see him take more risks, make some mistakes and find his limits for himself, rather than boxing himself into a safer playstyle.
When I first watched him earlier on in the season, I was really impressed, then saw that he had only one MHL point on the year, and I was convinced that I was looking at the wrong player’s profile. The main thing holding him back from reaching his true potential is just consistent regularity and refinement of these flashes; attacking more often when he has the opportunity, maybe taking some more risks, and just generally leaning more offensively sometimes. It might take some time, but I think he’s heading in that direction, which is what gives me so much optimism about his future.
Defense
Simashev is the best defensive player in this draft, full stop. His defensive game is more refined than any other in the class, and more so than most in any class, to be frank. And that plays a big role in him holding the top defenseman spot on my list at the time of writing. An already stellar defensive foundation is rare to find among 17–18 year old prospects, and it gives Simashev what I would consider to be the highest floor among defensemen in the draft, while boasting one of the highest ceilings in that group as well.
As long as Simashev is on the ice, you can sit back and relax, knowing that close to nothing is gonna get by him. His defensive game is very advanced for his age; he leads with his stick, extends his reach and establishes strong body positioning to angle attackers to the boards and minimise their options. He applies pressure to the puck with his stick first, and uses the blade and his body to block any attempt to get the puck to the middle of the ice, often cornering the attacker and forcing a turnover.
This way, he avoids taking himself out of the play or allowing a pass by him by attempting to play the body, as many big defenders tend to. His positioning is extremely solid, and unwavering; he so rarely overcommits and gets beat. It doesn’t matter how much skill or speed he’s facing up against, whatever tricks they may pull, attempting to capitalise on a speed differential, it hardly matters; it’s nearly impossible to beat him one-on-one. That’s incredibly impressive for a draft year player in the KHL.
When defending against the rush, he holds a strong gap and keeps himself well aligned to the puck-carrier. If the attacker sticks to the outside, he closes the gap by angling them towards the boards and usually kills the play just like that. If they try to cut to the middle, Simashev pushes off with his outside leg to close the gap and glues himself to the attacker, relentlessly hounding them with his stick, while utilising his strength and excellent skating to retain body positioning over them, eliminating nearly every option the attacker has, and typically knocking the puck away in the process.
If the incoming attacker doesn’t have much speed, Simashev will step up into the neutral zone to challenge them and knock the puck away. He does a very good job of preventing zone entries, while avoiding throwing himself out of position.
If he’s caught behind the opposing rush, he targets the puck-carrier and uses his lengthy powerful strides to catch up, and he’s usually successful. Once he catches them, he sticks to them and leads with his stick, keeps them to the outside, and when possible uses his strength to step in front and cut them off.
Where Simashev really shines—at least in the MHL—is defensive retrievals and breakouts. And I’m grouping these together for a reason, because oh man, he is magical when it comes to turning loose or contested pucks into breakouts for his team quickly.
He does a fantastic job of fending off and escaping pressure with control, and he brings a very strong defensive mind; he’s very smart with his approach to different situations, as seen in the previous clip. He times his cutbacks perfectly to shake off forecheckers on retrievals, then immediately turns to his forehand and skates up ice to look for an outlet play.
In the KHL, he can struggle at times especially under intense pressure on retrievals, and shows a bit less of his usual calm demeanour because he hasn’t fully adapted to the higher pace of play. But he’s already progressed a lot since the start of the year in terms of keeping up with KHL pace, and I doubt it remains an issue once he gets some more consistent KHL time. Regardless, he still plays a very strong overall defensive game against pro competition, which is quite an impressive feat.
Transitional Play
Simashev thrives in offensive transitions; combining smooth skating with his good hands and long reach, his outstanding puck control shines when rushing up ice, allowing him to weave around opponents in the neutral zone with relative ease. But he doesn’t lock himself into one solution in transition; he has strong problem-solving skills that enable him to navigate complex situations as they present themselves. This—combined with the aforementioned excellent skating and puck control—makes Simashev a truly dangerous option in transition. While skating up ice, he’s constantly scanning, reading the ice and the play in front of him very well on the fly, and adapting his decisions of carry / pass accordingly. When he sees an opening, he rarely passes up the opportunity to do it all himself, creating numerous beautiful solo rushes.
With the puck in transition, he generally likes to get to the middle in the neutral zone, in order to open up more avenues for the zone entry. If he’s on the rush and hands the puck off to a wing for the entry, he’ll typically continue his momentum and drive the middle through the offensive zone to draw the defenders back and create space, or be a passing option. Otherwise, when rushing the puck in himself, he doesn’t get angled to the outside too often; he’s fairly inside driven and tries to take the puck to the middle whenever possible, rather than trying to power his way around the outside.
His passes in transition are generally crisp and precise—although there is the occasional soft pass cross-ice, which probably won’t fly in the NHL—but timing is the real key to his passing game. On breakouts, he deceives opponents by delaying with the puck on his forehand, and the moment a lane opens up, he strikes precisely without hesitation. In general, I almost never see him try to force a pass if he doesn’t have a good option, and he tends to find the best option available to him. He has great awareness and sees passing lanes extremely well; he spots quality lanes the instant they appear, and capitalises on them more often than not. As well, he’s not afraid to use the boards to his advantage on outlet passes, and he’s quite accurate with them too.
Skating
Simashev’s size / skating combo is at the top of this draft; he’s a borderline elite skater; the word that comes to mind is ‘fluid’. He’s a really fluid, agile skater in all directions; he looks effortless on the ice, and brings great lateral mobility which lends itself to strong rush defense, and excellent separation ability. He’s very smooth in his movements, and has really strong mechanics / fundamentals: good first steps, exceptional balance, really great edgework, great with pivoting, changing speed, and shifting directions or transitioning between backward and forward motion.
Due to his size, he can appear less fast than he is, but you’d be surprised by how much ground he can cover quickly when he needs to. He uses long powerful strides to generate enough straight line speed to catch even some of the faster players if he’s caught behind the play. When he’s not skating in a straight line, his stride is more quick and short, and he instead uses crossovers to generate speed and create separation.
Projection
It’s difficult to find clear flaws in Simashev’s game; he’s already a very sound, solid player overall. In my mind, there’s no doubt that he’ll be a top-4 defenseman in the NHL, it’s just a question of how much more, and how far the offense will come. It’s more a game of projection and development rather than translatability with Simashev, which is what makes him a tricky one to evaluate, and the reason why some can look at him and declare him a pure defensive defender, and others like myself can look at him and claim he has some of the highest upside in the draft; it’s all especially subjective in cases like his.
Obviously, if you’re putting much weight on production, you won’t be as impressed with him as someone who’s more interested in the eye test, but ultimately it boils down to how you value and project different aspects in a player like defense, offensive flashes, physical tools and how they’re used, among others; things that can be all over the scale of value depending on the scout. Which is why someone like me might have him as high as 5 on my board at times, and others may have him outside of their first or even second round. Don’t get me wrong, I think he has no business going outside the first round, but barring a late-season surge in interest, it’s certainly possible. Regardless of when he goes, I can’t shake the feeling that he could be something special.
At the same time, I feel that there’s a decent chance that the team who picks Simashev is inclined to mould him into your typical physical shut-down defender with limited offense, and that’s a damn shame. There’s so much more beneath the surface with Simashev, and I would love to lean towards developing the offensive side of his game, because I think he has the potential to be one of the better overall defensemen in the NHL one day. Will he get there? Time will tell, but don’t count him out just yet.
In conclusion, I see Simashev developing into a solid #1 defenseman for many teams. He probably won’t put up mind-blowing offensive numbers, but I think he’ll still bring a very good offensive output for a defenseman, on top of a tremendous defensive game. That’s an incredibly valuable asset to have on your team, and worth a look in the top 10.
Latest Update
April 12, 2023
stats from InStat and EliteProspects
Prospect report written by Gray Matter. If you would like to follow Gray on Twitter, his handle is @grismatter.
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Nico Myatovic is a 2023 NHL Draft eligible prospect, who plays for the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. Myatovic is from Prince George, British Columbia and played with the Cariboo Cougars organization. He was taken in the sixth round of the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft by the Seattle Thunderbirds and made his WHL debut the following season (2020-2021).
This season, Myatovic tallied 30 goals and 30 assists in 68 games. The majority of his points were at 5v5 (49 points out of 60 points were at even strength). Myatovic does a good job of using his frame to establish presence in the slot and that has led to quite a few re-direction and rebound goals.
Player Profile
D.O.B – December 1, 2004 Nationality – Canadian Draft Eligibility – 2023 Height –6’2″ Weight –181 lbs Position – Right Wing Handedness – Left
Myatovic’s Style Of Play
Offense
As I mentioned in the introduction, Myatovic generates quite a few points off of rebounds and deflections and he does so by cementing space for himself in high danger. He usually looks to position himself in the slot when his teammates are running the cycle in low danger. When his teammates are against the corner boards and facing a lot of pressure, Myatovic looks to provide a passing option along the boards. But, if you are watching Myatovic mid-cycle, more often then not he will be at net front screening the goaltender. This season, Myatovic has had quite a bit of success with rebounds, deflections and tip-in goals and it can be largely credited to his positioning.
Here is a rebound goal against Everett.
In the below clip against Victoria, he skates behind Kevin Korchinski and provides him a passing lane in the slot.
The bulk of his 5v5 goals at the WHL level this season have come as a result of positioning in the low slot, but if Myatovic is carrying the puck behind the red line he’ll look to try his luck on wrap around far side goals.
In the clip below, he scores off of a wrap around backhand shot against Red Deer.
Here is another wrap around goal. This time around against Kamloops.
Myatovic’s shot selection is an area in which I would like to see a bit more fine tuning. Sometimes, he will end up shooting from long range at the point when he has enough space to skate to the perimeter. If he can get the puck to the perimeter, he has a far better chance of getting puck past the net-minder. If Myatovic has the puck closer to net front, but still in low danger, he will look for the precise moments in which a teammate of his is screening net front.
When driving the rush, if he draws tight pressure immediately, he will look to complete drop passes to teammates who are skating right behind him. In situations in which pressure is there but light, Myatovic will struggle at winning separation north – south and thus he will look to pivot out on a dime to draw that separation.
If he is behind the red line with the puck and pressure has picked up to the point where the attack is on his back, he has shown that he can use his upper body strength to get out of danger. But, he’s not consistent at navigating out of that type of pressure. Regardless of whether or not he can ultimately fend off the pressure, Myatovic does an excellent job of keeping the puck secure in those vulnerable situations.
When mid-cycle and he has the puck in low danger along the half-wall boards, if a teammate is skating into space down low, he will look to hit them in stride with a pass. But, should he have possession of the puck at the point, he will usually try to pass the puck to a fellow teammate in low danger. He doesn’t look to complete a dangerous pass from that far out. If he doesn’t spot anyone with open space in low danger, he will end up putting a low danger shot on net. I would like to see Myatovic test his long range passing ability to try to hit teammates in stride when he is at the point and he sees a teammate skate towards open space in the slot. I understand the drive to get the puck to a teammate in low danger because the chances of turning over the puck are far less, but I’m ok with the occasional turnover if it means that he tried to get a puck through a tight lane to a teammate skating into space down low.
Myatovic’s forechecking is quite good.
Myatovic is good at taking away space on the forecheck and using an active stick to trap the attacker skating up the boards with the puck. He does a good job of using his lengthy crossovers to build up speed and close in on attackers who are trying to drive a breakout. Myatovic’s reach allows him to have much quite a bit of a range when extending his stick out to take away space for the attacker on the breakout. Not only will he extend his stick out to take away space when in range, but he will poke check to cause puck disruption. If he is skating behind the rush, but is making a last ditch effort to put pressure on the attacker, he will swing out his stick to cause puck disruption. With all of that said, Myatovic has an excellent active stick and uses it quite nicely on the forecheck.
He works hard along the boards in low danger / behind the red line to put quality pressure on the puck carrier. Myatovic will finish checks, but doesn’t complete the check in time to cause puck disruption. But, he does force the attacker to complete a quick pass with danger closing in on him.
If he sees a teammate tied up in a puck battle that he is clearly struggling with, Myatovic will help out the teammate by positioning himself on the other side of the attacker and poke-checking the puck free.
Defense
In his own zone, Myatovic gets into position to apply pressure up at the point. But, he does drop back to support his goaltender and defenders with an extra man at net front. Myatovic comes to net-front to take away space for attackers in high danger. When one of his defenseman is out of position because they had pinched up in the offensive zone, he defends center ice well in their absence and takes away space so an attacker who grabbed control of the puck off of a pass couldn’t skate to net-front. Myatovic took away space from behind.
While Myatovic uses an active stick to take away space in the offensive zone, he doesn’t use his stick all that much to take away space defensively. He will extend his stick out, but he isn’t taking up space with it. Instead of using an active stick defensively, he looks to leverage his frame more and more when defending.
Speaking of using his stick, should loose pucks break free, Myatovic uses his reach to grab a hold of pucks quickly. His reach also allows him to extend his stick out further and grab onto pucks when they are slightly further out.
Should his teammates be engaged in tight puck battles, Myatovic does a good job of providing an outlet lane for said teammate. When he gets his hands on the puck and draws pressure, he can pivot out of pressure and finds another lane to use instead of forcing the puck into pressure. If he is up along the boards with the puck and pressure is taking away space for him to use to skate away from the boards, he will look to distribute the puck off of the boards to a teammate further up in the neutral zone.
Transitional Play
Usually he is facing the oppositional rush in the neutral zone. Myatovic will regularly drop back and cover for his defenseman when they are out of position. As mentioned earlier on, Myatovic is very good at taking away and does so once again in neutral zone. He takes away space regularly and forces attackers to dump the puck into the offensive zone when they are looking to storm in.
When leading the rush from zone to zone to zone, if he runs into a heavy wall upon entering the offensive zone he will dump the puck and go chasing for it to try to regain control and hope for enough separation down low. Should pressure intensify at his side and those he doesn’t have much breathing room, he will look to pass underneath the attacker’s stick shaft to keep the puck moving up the ice by getting the puck closer up to the offensive zone blue line. If he has bit of ice to work with while driving up the ice, he will extend the puck to the opposite side (away from pressure) or position the puck further out in front of him to secure the puck when pressure has drawn to him but he intends to push the puck up the ice.
Skating
Myatovic has excellent pivots and crossovers that make him dynamic in transition when he has possession of the puck. He can shift around pressure and drive away. Myatovic will react to puck movement changes quickly, pivot and go into full stride on a dime to keep alignment.
His lateral crossovers have helped him to quickly activate and take away space in each zone. Check out this clip of Myatovic using his lateral movements to shift over when reacting to oppositional puck movement. Takes away space and neutralizes the rush attempt.
While Myatovic does possess lengthy stride extensions, he does hunch over a bit when in full stride. That hurts him in 50-50 loose puck battles in which the attack is neck-and-neck. His speed allows him to keep in pace, but he doesn’t have the speed to get the inside track to loose pucks in those tight battles.
Projection
I project Myatovic to be a middle six winger at the next level. He has the tools to be a power forward on a scoring line at the NHL level. I believe he will more than likely come off the board in the second round. Myatovic’s tools are very projectable to the NHL and he will feel like a safe bet for NHL scouts.
Ultimately, I’d like to see Myatovic further develop his physicality in all three zones and look to leverage his long range passing more and more to get pucks to the slot when he is in low danger. In the defensive zone, I’d like to see Myatovic use more of an active stick, but if his physicality improves I believe that it will only translate into Myatovic using an active stick more and more to isolate attackers. But, right now, I’m very content with tools that I see in Myatovic and I would bet on him at the NHL Draft in round two.
Latest Update
April 11, 2023
stats from InStat and EliteProspects
Prospect report written by Josh Tessler. If you would like to follow Josh on Twitter, his handle is @JoshTessler_.
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Denver Barkey is a 2023 NHL Draft eligible prospect and plays for the OHL’s London Knights. He grew up just north of Toronto in Newmarket, Ontario.
Prior to joining the London Knights, Barkey had played with the Markham Majors U14 AAA and the Toronto Titans U15 AAA squads. Due to the pandemic, Barkey never had his U16 AAA season, but the Knights front office was satisfied with what they saw in his OHL DY-1 season (draft year minus one). Barkey was selected by London with the #16th overall pick in the 2021 OHL Draft.
This season is Barkey’s second season with the Knights and he’s been rather effective at 5v5. The majority of Barkey’s 57 points have come at 5v5 (stats of March 26, 2023). He does such a good job of utilizing his handling to net separation in tight pressured situations to create more space for himself prior to shooting. That’s led to a few medium range goals this season. Barkey also is quick with his distribution and constantly completes one touch passes. He keeps his head on a swivel to make sure he knows exactly where his teammates are even when he doesn’t have possession of the puck.
Player Profile
D.O.B – April 27, 2005 Nationality – Canadian Draft Eligibility – 2023 Height –5’8″ Weight –174 lbs Position – Center Handedness – Left
Barkey’s Style Of Play
Offense
Barkey plays a very high tempo game and he is very shifty. His crossovers and edge work allow him to change skating lanes on a dime and retain speed. Barkey’s mobility and edges come in handy when he has to navigate around pressure. He will pivot out of pressure and complete a quick pass on routine.
Check out the below clip in which he pivots out of pressure near the corner and completes a pass to Jackson Edward along the perimeter.
Here is an example of Barkey using his mobility to shift around an attacker at the offensive zone blue line. He wasn’t able to get the puck away from danger at the end of the clip, but there was no way that he was going to get away from three opponents in close proximity.
Not only does Barkey do a good job of using his mobility to get the puck around pressure, but he also does a good job of identifying and taking advantage of tight passing lanes when pressure intensifies. He will complete passes above and below the stick of the attacker when driving up the wing and looking to get the puck in the hands of an open teammate skating into the slot. He’s been able to key up quite a few London Knights goals this year by passing underneath or above the stick / triangle.
Exhibit A.
Exhibit B.
If he runs out of real estate and has a teammate in close proximity, he will look to complete a drop pass. That allows him to reset his own positioning to create a passing lane to high danger for his teammate to use. But, even if the teammate is slightly further back Barkey has no trouble completing a behind the back pass.
When on the forecheck, Barkey does a good job of keeping himself aligned to the oppositional puck carrier. He has good east – west speed thanks to his crossovers and that allows him to keep pace when the puck carrier looks to shake free. In closely contested loose puck battles, Barkey will extend out his stick blade to lift the attacker’s stick. He catches the attacker off guard and manages to secure the possession of the puck.
If his teammates are engaged in puck battles behind the net, Barkey looks to provide lateral passing lanes should his teammates win control of the puck. Usually, Barkey will look to redistribute the puck immediately and pass to a teammate in the low slot in hopes that his pass will lead to a high danger scoring chance.
When it comes to his shot, he has found the most success at 5v5 in the low slot. Barkey constantly looks to key up passing lanes to the low slot for his teammates to utilize. For instance, check out Barkey’s backdoor goal against Owen Sound from late February. Easton Cowan feeds the puck through a rather tight cross ice passing lane and Barkey puts a quick shot on net.
While most of his goals have come as a result of Barkey establishing open ice without the puck down low, he has capitalized on a few goals off the rush at even strength this season. His crossovers allow him to change lanes quickly when he spots an attacker looking to skate towards him at speed. The attacker is looking to force Barkey to skate towards low danger once entering the zone, but Barkey’s crossovers and edge work can net him the separation needed to get him into high danger. That has led to goals like this one.
Defense
Barkey does a good job of taking away time and space for an attacker looking to enter into the slot when he is further away from the attack. He will skate towards the attacker and once he gets in range he extends his stick out to completely take away space. When behind the red line and along the half-wall, he looks to put pressure on vulnerable attackers who has their back turned to him. Barkey then extends his stick out to make contact with the attacker’s stick to force the puck free.
Barkey does a good job on mop up (retrieving loose pucks) duty. Should an opponent dump the puck in or a turnover is created at the blue line and the puck breaks free, he is quick to the puck and quick to distribute the puck to an open teammate. Once he has possession of the puck, should he draw tight pressure, he will look to complete a give and go with one of his defensemen to get the puck away from pressure and start the rush. If the pressure is light and he spots a teammate open further down, once he grabs a hold of the loose puck, he will quickly fire a backhand feed to said teammate.
Transitional Play
When defending against the rush in the neutral zone, Barkey usually skates at center ice so that way he can react to puck movement on either of the wings. Barkey does a good job of reacting quickly to puck movement and uses his crossovers to keep pace with the puck carrier. Once he has the pace he looks to close the door by eliminating space to the inside and forcing the puck carrier to skate along the boards.
Barkey does an excellent job of constantly providing potential passing lanes for his teammates to utilize as bail out passes should the pressure get too daunting. He will look for open ice down by the offensive zone blue line so that his defensemen can send him stretch passes that lead to odd man rush and breakaway opportunities.
When in possession of the puck and driving the rush, Barkey does a good job of finding tight passing lanes in transition and using them especially when under immediate threat. Should the pressure seem light, Barkey will either look to use his crossovers to shift lanes to avoid the threat or use his reach to shift the puck past the attacker. When he does look to extend the puck out with his reach, he goes from leveraging his crossovers to leveraging his forward stride. His forward skating stride extensions are short and thus when using his reach to push the puck around pressure he doesn’t have the escapability with his forward stride. But, he can use his crossovers to shake free.
Skating
As mentioned earlier on, Barkey is shifty and agile. He gains all of his power and acceleration through his crossovers. His crossovers power him up the ice when he is in possession of the puck and driving the rush. Barkey will lean on his edges to retain speed and then redeploy crossovers when looking to shift lanes away from pressure. When he doesn’t have possession of the puck, sometimes he will coast into each zone once presence in the zone has already been established by his linemates. But if he knows that he can get enough speed to react to a counter attack, he can quickly shift into gear with his crossovers.
In the transitional play section, I briefly touched on Barkey’s forward stride and some of the limitations that he has with it as a result. Since his extensions are short, he struggles with north – south speed and with the said sometimes he doesn’t have the separation speed when attacking the slot straight on. But, Barkey seems to be well aware of his limitations with his forward stride and knows that he can use his pivots and edges to shake free of pressure.
Projection
I believe that Barkey ends up on the wing at the next level in a middle six role.
Barkey reminds me a bit of Mats Zuccarello. He has the ability to navigate around pressure in every zone and can identify tight passing lanes to utilize on the fly. Barkey has a playbook full of tactics to get out of pressure and doesn’t hesitate. He executes.
While he has predominantly played center for the London Knights, I don’t see him playing center at the next level. He has shown that he can navigate around threats with his crossovers at the OHL level, but at the NHL level, he is going to need a power stride as well if he is to be deployed at center. If he can unlock the power stride, he could potentially play center at the NHL level.
Latest Update
March 31, 2023
stats from InStat and EliteProspects
Prospect report written by Josh Tessler. If you would like to follow Josh on Twitter, his handle is @JoshTessler_.
Looking for other scouting reports? Check out the Prospects tab for our other scouting reports.
Need a scouting report on a particular prospect, contact us today!
Quentin Musty is a 2023 NHL Draft eligible prospect and plays for the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves. Musty is from the Buffalo suburb, Hamburg, New York. He spent his youth in the Buffalo area and played for the Buffalo Jr. Sabres 13U AAA and 14U AAA squads.
For his 16U AAA season, he played in four games for the North Jersey Avalanche squad. He got hurt doing his 16U AAA and missed more than 75% of the regular season. According to Ted Goldberg of Spectrum News 1, Musty had suffered “a torn labrum in his left shoulder (the same shoulder that experienced a growth plate injury and a dislocation in the previous two years)”,
The Sudbury Wolves drafted Musty following his 16U AAA season with the first overall pick in the 2021 OHL Draft. Musty made his OHL debut the following season and is now in his second season with the Wolves. This season, he has averaged 1.44 points per game and 78.6% of his points have come at 5v5.
Player Profile
D.O.B – July 6, 2005 Nationality – American Draft Eligibility – 2023 Height –6’2″ Weight –205 lbs Position – Left Wing Handedness – Left
Musty’s Style Of Play
Offense
There is a lot to cover in this section. But, let’s kick things off with looking at how well Musty does at adapting to pressure because its been one of the drivers behind his ability to regularly create at 5v5.
When he runs into traffic at the perimeter that seems daunting, he’ll look to redistribute and quickly identifies the open lane to use. For instance, here is a lateral feed that he completed to Kocha Delic once he hit a wall of multiple attackers. It ended up being a primary assist.
But, he doesn’t just loop to use lateral feeds for distribution when he is in a pinch due to increased pressure. He will look to complete drop passes and/or complete passes through the legs when he runs of breathing room.
Here is a pass that he completed through the legs against Sault Ste. Marie.
While he will deviate from the positioning of the attacker(s) and look the pass away from pressure, if a teammate finds open space past the attacker(s), he will pass through tight gaps to get the puck to the open teammate. Check out this pass in which Musty managed to get the puck through a very tight lane to Sudbury teammate Evan Konyen.
His stick-handling can be very inconsistent. Musty will bobble pucks when at open ice and trying to pull the puck around a defender. His struggles with bobbling pucks happen more and more when trying to navigate the puck in tight. While he does bobble pucks in tight, he has good reach and he will use it to push pucks away from pressure. That has allowed him to pass the puck out of tight pressure when along the boards. He’ll push the puck the puck to the opposite side when the attacker engages and then sends the puck along the boards to a teammate in the corner. When the attacker engages, he doesn’t use his size to push back on the attacker to open up separate and then using his handling to shake himself free.
When he is facing tight pressure from an attacker, but this time at open ice, he will test the defender with his stick-handling. As long as he isn’t taking on multiple attackers, he will look to dangle. Check out this clip of Musty dangling against a defenseman in a matchup with Sarnia.
I briefly talked about his reach when it comes to his ability to secure the puck against tight pressure along the boards, but his reach also allows him to grab onto loose pucks that go slightly wide of him. He will skate into loose pucks, grab possession quickly and can use his reach to nab pucks quicker then opponents who are skating in tow. After securing the puck, should he find himself with an uncontested shooting lane at range, he will rip a shot top shelf far side. When you give Musty an open shooting lane, he will burn you. He does a good job of identifying how far pressure is from him and shoots the puck before the attacker can completely close in on him.
Should he have an attacker on him, but Musty just wants a bit more room before taking the shot, he will complete a toe drag to get just the separation he needs to put an accurate shot on net from range. That’s come in handy quite a bit. But, that’s not the only trick up his sleeve. He will leverage slap shot fakes to buy space as well. Check out this clip from a game against Owen Sound.
He will also curl and drag too. As I said, he’s got plenty of tricks up his sleeve.
Got another clip to check out. Musty delays the shot to open up slightly more space for himself in this sequence against Sault Ste. Marie.
Musty does a great job of cementing himself in high and medium danger areas when off puck in the offensive zone. That’s allowed him to capitalize on one-timers throughout the season. Check out these one-timers.
Here is one against North Bay in early March.
And here is a one-timer in a game against Sault Ste. Marie from mid March.
Musty’s forechecking is a bit of a work in progress. He has the speed to attack north – south to close in on attackers with control of the puck, but he is stopping a second short of the attacker and that gives the attacker enough time and space to skate away from Musty. Musty also struggles to retain speed and build upon when changing from skating north – south to skating east – west. Thus, he gives up a bit too much spaces to puck carrying attackers when they decide to move east – west once Musty skates towards them at speed.
When going for loose pucks and an attacker is fighting for the puck along side him, Musty will look to push into the attacker with his shoulder to deter the attacker and get the inside track to the loose puck.
When Musty brings the puck into the offensive zone and encounters pressure at the point, sometimes he will struggle with his decision making. Sometimes he seems slightly too eager to pass the pass and that has led to passes missing target. For instance, I’ve witnessed Musty carry the puck into the zone on the wing, encounter pressure and immediately pass to center ice. The teammate who Musty intends to hit on stride is still further enough back in the neutral zone and thus he won’t be able to hit the teammate in stride. There are also instances in which Musty carries the puck into the zone, but doesn’t really have a plan to get around the pressure at open ice. He ends up skating towards the boards and hoping that he will be able to create space for a teammate to find a centered spot in the slot by deviating his positioning and drawing the pressure to him. But, by the time Musty is in position to make the pass, the pressure closes in on him along the boards and he is trapped.
Defense
When it comes to defending in his own zone against the rush, he has excellent north – south speed that he can rely on to put himself in a situation where he can defend the slot and take away a passing option down low. By targeting the attacker without possession, he forces the puck carrier with possession to deviate from passing to high danger.
But, Musty doesn’t implement the same pressure on every oppositional rush. If Musty is further down the ice compared to his line-mates, he will coast into the defensive zone and let his line-mates handle the first few interactions off of the rush.
While the opposition is running the cycle, Musty will shift his positioning from defending the point to skating down to the red line to provide an outlet lane should one of his teammates pick up possession of the puck. When Musty gets to the red line, he doesn’t look to be physical. He is simply providing the outlet passing lane.
When Musty is looking to cause a change in possession, he leans in with his reach to either knock the puck off of the stick of an attacker or to grab a puck quickly before an opponent can. His reach allows him to cause puck disruption even when he isn’t completely aligned to the attacker. If he is a step or two back, his reach has enabled him to grab a hold of pucks cleanly.
When in control of the puck and looking to create a breakout, should forecheck pressure amount, he does a good job of problem solving and finding a method of distribution that he can use to get the puck away from the threat. In the clip below, you will see Musty push the puck through his legs and simultaneously turn his back to the attacker. With his back turned to the attacker, he then looks to skate east – west to see if he can find enough separation to peel away. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen, but since he drew the attacker and ended up skating east – west, he managed to find an opportunity to complete a drop pass to a teammate who had quite a bit of breathing room.
When Musty gains control of the puck, he doesn’t like to hang onto the puck for long. Instead, he looks to distribute the puck quickly to a teammate in the neutral zone. He won’t shy away from attempting passes through tight lanes and will attempt saucer passes when facing impending pressure and doesn’t have the ability to net enough separation after being in a stand-still position. If Musty is along the half-wall with possession and his back is turned to pressure closing in on him, he does a good job of identifying teammates in stride who are skating towards the neutral zone and hits them in stride with a backhand pass.
Transitional Play
When it comes to defending in the neutral zone, Musty leverages his north – south power stride to maintain quality alignment with the oppositional puck carrier driving the rush. While he isn’t rather physical in either the offensive zone nor the defensive zone, Musty does use his frame from time to time in the neutral zone to take away space. When he skating hip to hip with the puck carrying attacker, he extends his shoulder towards the attacker’s back to make it difficult for the puck carrier to continue using that lane to go the offensive zone.
Another example.
When applying pressure along the boards in the neutral zone, Musty will look to be physical, but most of his checks are coming too late. He makes contact with the puck carrier but after the puck carrier has re-distributed the puck. There are some checks in which Musty extends the shoulder or hip sooner to neutralize the threat, but he isn’t consistent with it.
Similarly to his play in the offensive and defensive zones, Musty does a good job of utilizing his reach to cause puck disruption when skating north – south. He will look to target attackers who are skating up the boards with the puck as they are bit more limited with where they can put the puck.
When it comes to moving the puck from zone to zone, Musty is called upon regularly to drive the rush. But, he doesn’t always look to complete controlled entries. When skating up towards the blue line, if he sees a teammate skating up to the blue line with who has more pace then he has, he will look to hit them in stride. Should he decide not to pass and instead complete a controlled entry, he has the reach and the handling to swerve his way through pressure in the neutral zone. But, should pressure increase as he gets near the offensive zone blue line, he will dump pucks in to initiate a dump and a chase.
In those shifts in which Musty isn’t leading the rush, he looks to grab open ice near the offensive zone blue line to tee up an intriguing passing option for the teammate with control of the puck. That has led to a few breakaway goals.
Skating
I’ve talked about his skating throughout the report. So, I really want to keep this short and sweet.
Musty has an excellent power stride. He will use it quite regularly to keep speed on the breakout and maintain positioning (both when Sudbury has the puck and when they don’t). But, Musty can be selective at times on when he uses his stride to react to puck movement. If he is further back behind his teammates, he usually decides to be the last one back into the Sudbury zone and coasts in.
When it comes to his east – west skating, Musty struggles with retaining speed once shifting from north – south. His crossovers aren’t picking up a lot of momentum and thus he struggles to get the necessary speed to hang with the attack should they deviate from north – south. With that said, that limits Musty’s ability to forecheck / backcheck east – west unless he initially went into stride going east – west.
Projection
I believe that Musty is a top six winger at the next level.
Musty has an excellent shot from range, distributes quite well off of the rush and does a great job of creating space for himself. His ability to create consistently at 5v5 is a credit to how well he handles pressure. Musty will take advantage of tight lanes when looking to thread the needle and will look to complete drop passes when hitting a wall. He’s got so many tricks that he can rely on to open up space when he is right about to shoot. There are times where he struggles to navigate the puck around tight pressure, but it’s become far less frequent as the season has gone on.
The next step in his development is to work on his physicality. He has the frame and the power stride to get himself into situations where he can shut down puck movement, but a lot of the time, he ends up following through on the check too late. At the NHL level, Musty will be called upon to provide more physicality and so he will need to do a bit more fine tuning next season. Plus, if he can work on building up momentum with his crossovers when changing directions, he will be a handful to deal with when he is bearing down on you. You won’t be able to pivot out because Musty will be able to keep pace and pivot when you pivot.
Latest Update
March 28, 2023
stats from InStat and EliteProspects
Prospect report written by Josh Tessler. If you would like to follow Josh on Twitter, his handle is @JoshTessler_.
Looking for other scouting reports? Check out the Prospects tab for our other scouting reports.
Need a scouting report on a particular prospect, contact us today!
