The Smaht Scouting team did a mock draft for the first four rounds. Bailey Johnson (NCAA and USHS amateur scout), Paul Zuk (USHL and Southern OHL amateur scout), Alexander Appleyard (Sweden and Finland amateur scout), Jordan Malette (Eastern OHL and Western QMJHL amateur scout) and Josh Tessler (Director of Amateur Scouting) drafted for assigned teams. The below screenshot shows the assignments.

#1 – Buffalo Sabres – Matthew Beniers

Selected by Paul Zuk

With the first overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Buffalo Sabres selected Matthew Beniers (University of Michigan, Center). It’s not the first time that in the last few years that the Sabres took a NCAA centerman in the top five. Back in 2015, the Sabres selected Jack Eichel (Boston University, Center) at second overall. Beniers has proven to be relentless with the puck, possesses strong puck manipulation, is a two-way center and a problem solver in transition.

#2 – Seattle Kraken – Owen Power

Selected by Josh Tessler

With Seattle’s first ever draft selection, they select Owen Power (University of Michigan, LHD). The Kraken are likely to add quite a few solid left handed defensemen in the expansion draft like Devon Toews and Brady Skjei, but they need a top left handed defenseman of the future. Power has proven to be a solid puck distributor at the point, he will pinch and fight in puck battles down low.

#3 – Anaheim Ducks – William Eklund

Selected by Alexander Appleyard

In the last few drafts, the Anaheim Ducks have selected quite a few forwards in the early rounds including Jacob Perreault, Sam Colangelo, Trevor Zegras, Brayden Tracey, Isac Lundestrom and Benoit-Olivier Groulx, but they aren’t done yet. With the third overall pick, they take playmaking forward William Eklund (Djurgården, Left Wing). As Alex notes in his report on Eklund, his vision allows him to be a rather crafty playmaker with excellent vision.

Side note, Mikael Holm of McKeen’s Hockey constantly reminds the folks in Will Scouch’s discord server that Djurgården is the official name of the club and doesn’t require a “s” at the end.

#4 – New Jersey Devils – Luke Hughes

Selected by Jordan Malette

The New Jersey Devils select Jack Hughes’ younger brother, Luke Hughes (USNTDP, LHD) with the fourth overall pick. In the 2020 draft, the Devils went forward heavy in round one with Alexander Holtz and Dawson Mercer, but did add Shakir Mukhamadullin with their third first rounder and Ethan Edwards in the later rounds. Luke Hughes is arguably a much stronger puck moving defenseman than both Mukhamadullin and Edwards. Hughes is the best skater in the 2021 NHL Draft class and possesses soft hands when distributing the puck.

#5 – Columbus Blue Jackets – Simon Edvinsson

Selected by Bailey Johnson

With the fifth overall selection, the Columbus Blue Jackets select Simon Edvinsson (Frölunda, LHD). As Seth Jones is rumored to be leaving the organization when he becomes a UFA in 2022, the organization will need to fill his skates with another highly touted defenseman who can be a consistent threat in the offensive zone. As Alex notes in his report on Edvinsson, the Swede has proven to navigate through “neutral zone traps” and pinch down low into high danger to generate scoring chances.

#6 – Detroit Red Wings – Brandt Clarke

Selected by Paul Zuk

The Detroit Red Wings already had an outstanding farm system before the 2021 NHL Draft with a plethora of prospects including Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider, Theodor Niederbach, Joe Veleno and William Wallinder, but they add another stud at sixth overall with Brandt Clarke (Barrie, RHD). Clarke was set to play for the Barrie Colts this past season, but due to COVID-19, he took his talents across the pond to Slovakia alongside his brother Graeme Clarke (New Jersey Devils prospect). Clarke has shown that he possesses a strong transitional game and is one of the best puck distributors in this class.

#7 – San Jose Sharks – Jesper Wallstedt

Selected by Josh Tessler

The San Jose Sharks land the prospect with the highest upside in the 2021 NHL Draft class. With the Sharks struggling in net over the last few years, they now have a franchise goaltender in the making. Jesper Wallstedt (Luleå, Goaltender) has dominated the SHL at such a young age. The Sharks are netting a patient goaltender and who doesn’t expose much of the net. His glove work is easily the best in this class and controls rebounds extremely well.

#8 – Los Angeles Kings – Dylan Guenther

Selected by Alexander Appleyard

Like the Detroit Red Wings, Rob Blake, general manager of the Los Angeles Kings has done an excellent job building his system. Their farm system includes Quinton Byfield, Tyler Madden, Helge Grans, Brock Faber, Alex Turcotte, Tobias Bjornfot, Rasmus Kupari, Akil Thomas, Gabriel Vilardi and Jaret Anderson-Dolan. The system has a lot of quality two-way playmakers and defenders, but aside from Kaliyev, there isn’t a ton of raw goal scoring talent. By drafting Dylan Guenther (Edmonton, Left Wing), they are netting an excellent shooter who can drain one-timers with ease. Guenther also possesses a strong transitional game and can find gaps consistently in the offensive zone to exploit with a quick timed pass.

#9 – Vancouver Canucks – Kent Johnson

Selected by Bailey Johnson

The Vancouver Canucks have selected the local kid. Kent Johnson (University of Michigan, Center/Wing) from North Vancouver, British Columbia. While Johnson has lined up at center throughout his youth, he’s shown that he is far stronger on the wing during his freshman year in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Johnson has a tremendous amount of flash to his game and is one of the strongest stick-handlers in the class. As Bailey explained in her report, he’s creative and will produce highlight reel plays. So, Vancouver get ready for plenty of Kent Johnson clips on TSN’s Top 10.

#10 – Ottawa Senators – Fabian Lysell

Selected by Jordan Malette

The Ottawa Senators have built a solid youthful core including Tim Stützle, Brady Tkachuk, Thomas Chabot, Shane Pinto, Josh Norris, Erik Brannström, Alex Formenton and Drake Batherson. So, why not add another fun winger to the mix. Senators general manager Pierre Dorion nabs Fabian Lysell (Luleå, Right Winger) with the tenth overall pick. Tony Ferrari of Dobber Prospects yells “Vroom Vroom” when he watches Lysell and Will Scouch of Scouching calls him “The Swedish Roadrunner”. So, obviously skating and speed are a big part of his game. His compete level is exceptional and it shows in his decision making and his defensive play.

#11 – Arizona Coyotes – Forfeit

The Coyotes lost their first rounder for the 2021 NHL Draft.

#12 – Chicago Blackhawks – Chaz Lucius

Selected by Paul Zuk

The Chicago Blackhawks stock up at center and add University of Minnesota commit Chaz Lucius (USNTDP, Center). Fans at the Madhouse on Madison will love Chaz and his goal scoring ability. As Paul notes in his report, Lucius has excellent range on his shot and can be a threat no matter where he is in the offensive zone.

#13 – Calgary Flames – Fyodor Svechkov

Selected by Josh Tessler

The Calgary Flames add Fyodor Svechkov (Togliatti/SKA St. Petersburg, LW/C) at 12th overall. Svechkov is easily the best defensive forward in the 2021 NHL Draft class and has outstanding acceleration, puck manipulation and is rather dangerous down low.

#14 – Philadelphia Flyers – Aatu Räty

Selected by Alexander Appleyard

The Philadelphia Flyers take Finnish forward Aatu Räty (Kärpät, Center) at 13th overall. While Räty is no longer considered the top prospect in the class and has fallen to the teens, he’s shown that he can be a reliable forechecker, possesses a quality defensive game and is strong on the cycle.

#15 – Dallas Stars – Mason McTavish

Selected by Jordan Malette

The Dallas Stars ink Mason McTavish (Peterborough, Center) at 14th overall. Due to COVID, McTavish ended up returning back to Switzerland (where he spent a decent amount of his youth) and played for EHC Olten alongside Brennan Othmann (fellow dual citizen of both Canada and Switzerland). While McTavish was a sniper in the OHL, his shot and offensive production was more well-rounded in Switzerland. He loves drawing the attack to the perimeter and then finding a gap in the slot to exploit. McTavish also possesses a lot of grit in his game.

#16 – New York Rangers – Brennan Othmann

Selected by Bailey Johnson

With Chris Drury’s first selection as general manager of the New York Rangers, they select Brennan Othmann (Flint, Left Winger). Alongside McTavish, Othmann spent the season with EHC Olten in Switzerland. The dual citizen (Canada and Switzerland) consistently finds the right spot in the offensive zone and has one of the best shots in this class. He is an efficient defender and will drop back to regroup when facing tough pressure in the neutral zone.

Rest Of The First Round:

Round	Pick	Team	Traded From	Scout	Prospect	Team
First Round	1	Buffalo		Paul	Matthew Beniers	Michigan
First Round	2	Seattle		Josh	Owen Power	Michigan
First Round	3	Anaheim		Alex	William Eklund	Djurgården
First Round	4	New Jersey		Jordan	Luke Hughes	USNTDP
First Round	5	Columbus		Bailey	Simon Edvinsson	Frölunda
First Round	6	Detroit		Paul	Brandt Clarke	Barrie
First Round	7	San Jose		Josh	Jesper Wallstedt	Luleå
First Round	8	Los Angeles		Alex	Dylan Guenther	Edmonton
First Round	9	Vancouver		Bailey	Kent Johnson	Michigan
First Round	10	Ottawa		Jordan	Fabian Lysell	Luleå
First Round	11	Arizona	FORFEIT	FORFEIT	FORFEIT	FORFEIT
First Round	12	Chicago		Paul	Chaz Lucius	USNTDP
First Round	13	Calgary		Josh	Fyodor Svechkov	SKA St-Petersburg
First Round	14	Philadelphia		Alex	Aatu Räty	Kärpät
First Round	15	Dallas		Jordan	Mason McTavish	Peterborough
First Round	16	New York Rangers		Bailey	Brennan Othmann	Flint
First Round	17	St. Louis		Paul	Cole Sillinger	Medicine Hat
First Round	18	Winnipeg		Jordan	Simon Robertsson	Skellefteå
First Round	19	Nashville		Alex	Oskar Olausson	HV71
First Round	20	Edmonton		Bailey	Scott Morrow	Fargo
First Round	21	Boston		Josh	Isak Rosén	Leksands
First Round	22	Minnesota		Josh	Carson Lambos	Winnipeg
First Round	23	Detroit	Washington	Paul	Mackie Samoskevich	Chicago
First Round	24	Florida		Alex	Stanislav Svozil	Brno
First Round	25	Columbus	Toronto	Bailey	Matthew Coronato	Chicago
First Round	26	Minnesota	Pittsburgh	Josh	Francesco Pinelli	Kitchener
First Round	27	Carolina		Paul	Logan Stankoven	Kamloops
First Round	28	Colorado		Jordan	Ayrton Martino	Omaha
First Round	29	New Jersey	New York Islanders	Jordan	Xavier Bourgault	Shawinigan
First Round	30	Vegas		Jordan	Ville Koivunen	Kärpät
First Round	31	Montreal		Alex	Nikita Chibrikov	SKA St-Petersburg
First Round	32	Columbus	Tampa	Bailey	Sasha Pastujov	USNTDP

First Round Recap

Pick #17 was a great value selection for the St. Louis Blues. The Blues took former St. Louis Blues forward Mike Sillinger’s son Cole Sillinger. Since 2016, the Blues haven’t taken many WHLers, but the allure of drafting Sillinger this late makes it all worth it. He has strong goal scoring and playmaking ability. Sillinger just doesn’t fire at will from low danger. He does the dirty work and looks for scoring chances down low. Following the Sillinger pick, we saw multiple Swedes come off the board with Simon Robertsson heading to Winnipeg, Oskar Olausson to Nashville and Isak Rosén to Boston. All three are excellent additions. Robertsson does an excellent job at finding open ice in the neutral zone and his shot is easily one of the best in the class. His wrist shot accuracy from the point is mouth watering. Olausson is a solid power forward, who possesses excellent reach and that comes in handy for stick-handling around traffic. Plus, he just loves driving play and moving the puck from zone to zone. For Bruins fans, Rosén would become a fan favorite. He finds open ice with ease and will burn net-minders with his one-timers. Rosén’s foot speed in transition and edges make him a true pest for defenders to contend with. The Minnesota Wild grab two prospects, who were projected to go much higher before the season kicked off. Carson Lambos’ offensive production was not as consistent as last year, but there is still a creative play-making defenseman there. Speaking of creative players, Francesco Pinelli is another. He’s deceptive especially with his skating and is a forechecking pest. Towards the end of the first, Logan Stankoven, Ayrton Martino and Ville Koivunen went off the board. Stankoven’s ceiling is slightly higher than Martino’s and Koivunen’s, but if you are looking for three forwards who can be crafty and well-rounded, you will appreciate these three.

Second Round

Second Round	33	Buffalo		Paul	Sebastian Cossa	Edmonton
Second Round	34	Anaheim		Alex	Olen Zellweger	Everett
Second Round	35	Seattle		Josh	Samu Tuomaala	Kärpät
Second Round	36	Vegas	New Jersey	Jordan	Brent Johnson	Sioux Falls
Second Round	37	Arizona	Ottawa (via CBJ)	Bailey	Jack Peart	Grand Rapids
Second Round	38	Detroit		Paul	Dylan Duke	USNTDP
Second Round	39	Ottawa	San Jose	Jordan	Zachary L’Heureux	Halifax
Second Round	40	Nashville	Los Angeles	Alex	Samu Salminen	Jokerit
Second Round	41	Vancouver		Bailey	Daniil Chayka	Guelph
Second Round	42	Ottawa		Jordan	Jake Martin	USNTDP
Second Round	43	Arizona		Bailey	Tristan Broz	Fargo
Second Round	44	Chicago		Paul	Aleksi Heimosalmi	Ässät
Second Round	45	Calgary		Josh	William Strömgren	MODO
Second Round	46	Philadelphia		Alex	Corson Ceulemans	Brooks
Second Round	47	Dallas		Jordan	Prokhor Poltapov	CSKA Moscow
Second Round	48	Detroit	New York Rangers	Paul	Sean Behrens	USNTDP
Second Round	49	Los Angeles	Vegas (via BUF and STL)	Alex	Zachary Bolduc	Rimouski
Second Round	50	Winnipeg		Jordan	Sean Tschigerl	Calgary
Second Round	51	Nashville		Alex	Zach Dean	Gatineau
Second Round	52	Detroit	Edmonton	Paul	Matthew Knies	Tri-City (USHL)
Second Round	53	Buffalo	Boston	Paul	Cole Jordan	Moose Jaw
Second Round	54	Minnesota		Josh	Benjamin Gaudreau	Sarnia
Second Round	55	Washington		Alex	Anton Olsson	Malmö
Second Round	56	Florida		Alex	Ryder Korczak	Moose Jaw
Second Round	57	Toronto		Josh	Marcus Almquist	HV71
Second Round	58	Pittsburgh		Paul	Bryce Montgomery	London
Second Round	59	Carolina		Paul	Evan Nause	Quebec
Second Round	60	New York Islanders	Colorado	Bailey	Liam Gilmartin	USNTDP
Second Round	61	New Jersey	New York Islanders	Jordan	Artyom Grushnikov	Hamilton
Second Round	62	Chicago	Vegas	Paul	Colton Dach	Saskatoon
Second Round	63	Montreal		Alex	Liam Dower Nilsson	Frölunda
Second Round	64	Montreal	Tampa	Alex	Alexander Kisakov	Dynamo Moscow

Second Round Recap

In the second round, quite a few USHLers went off the board. The excellent puck-carrying defenseman Brent Johnson was taken by Vegas and Detroit grabbed this year’s Bobby Brink in Dylan Duke. If you enjoyed Brink’s play with the USNTDP prior to the 2019 NHL Draft, you will appreciate Duke’s 200 ft game. Ottawa grabbed a potential steal in Zachary L’Heureux. L’Heureux was lower on our board due to four suspensions, but his offensive production makes him worth the selection at #39. If he can be cautious of his on-ice issues and just become an aggressive defender in transition and on the forecheck, he will be very successful with similar minded forwards in Ottawa. Chicago takes Aleksi Heimosalmi, who stick-handles with ease around the forecheck. Quick pivots and he’s off. Winnipeg nets Sean Tschigerl, who possesses strong forechecking especially on the penalty kill, uses his upper body well to separate himself from attackers and has strong defensive awareness. Towards the end of the second round, we saw a few players go off the board like Liam Gilmartin to the Islanders and Liam Dower Nilsson to the Canadiens who both possess excellent compete levels. They give it their all every shift and are puck hungry.

Third Round

Third Round	65	New York Rangers	Buffalo	Bailey	Aidan Hreschuk	USNTDP
Third Round	66	Anaheim		Alex	Wyatt Johnston	Windsor
Third Round	67	Seattle		Josh	Ty Voit	Sarnia
Third Round	68	New Jersey		Jordan	Dmitri Katelevsky	Kazan
Third Round	69	Columbus		Bailey	Trevor Wong	Kelowna
Third Round	70	Detroit		Paul	Tristan Lennox	Saginaw
Third Round	71	San Jose		Josh	Dmitri Kuzmin	Dinamo-Molodechno
Third Round	72	Los Angeles		Alex	Victor Stjernborg	Växjö
Third Round	73	Vancouver		Bailey	Jiri Tichacek	Kladno
Third Round	74	Ottawa		Jordan	Lorenzo Canonica	Shawinigan
Third Round	75	Washington	New Jersey (via ARI)	Alex	Kirill Kirsanov	SKA St-Petersburg
Third Round	76	Montreal	Chicago	Alex	Matvei Petrov	Krylya Sovetov Moscow
Third Round	77	Calgary		Josh	Danila Klimovich	Minskie Zubry
Third Round	78	Philadelphia		Alex	Oliver Kapanen	KalPa
Third Round	79	Dallas		Jordan	Lukas Gustafsson	Chicago
Third Round	80	New York Rangers		Bailey	Ryan Ufko	Chicago
Third Round	81	St. Louis		Paul	Martin Rysavy	HC Prerov
Third Round	82	Winnipeg		Jordan	Brett Harrison	Oshawa
Third Round	83	Nashville		Alex	Vladislav Lukashevich	Yaroslavl
Third Round	84	Calgary	Edmonton	Josh	Samuel Helenius	JYP
Third Round	85	Boston		Josh	Robert Orr	Halifax
Third Round	86	Minnesota		Josh	Ethan Del Mastro	Mississauga
Third Round	87	Montreal	San Jose (via WSH)	Alex	Jack Bar	Chicago
Third Round	88	Buffalo	Florida	Paul	Chase Stillman	Sudbury
Third Round	89	Los Angeles	Toronto	Alex	Peter Reynolds	Saint John
Third Round	90	Minnesota	Pittsburgh	Josh	Shai Buium	Sioux City
Third Round	91	Carolina		Paul	Vincent Iorio	Brandon
Third Round	92	Colorado		Jordan	Redmond Savage	USNTDP
Third Round	93	New York Islanders		Bailey	Hugo Gabrielsson	Frölunda
Third Round	94	Detroit	Vegas	Paul	Verner Miettinen	Kiekko-Espoo
Third Round	95	Buffalo	Montreal	Paul	Justin Robidas	Val-d’Or
Third Round	96	Tampa		Paul	Conner Roulette	Seattle

Fourth Round

Fourth Round	97	Buffalo		Paul	James Malatesta	Quebec
Fourth Round	98	Anaheim		Alex	Jayden Grubbe	Red Deer
Fourth Round	99	Seattle		Josh	Oscar Plandowski	Charlottetown
Fourth Round	100	New Jersey		Jordan	Francesco Arcuri	Kingston
Fourth Round	101	Columbus		Bailey	Topias Vilén	Pelicans
Fourth Round	102	Detroit		Paul	Elias Stenman	Skellefteå
Fourth Round	103	San Jose		Josh	Kalle Väisänen	TPS
Fourth Round	104	New York Rangers	Los Angeles	Bailey	Justin Janicke	USNTDP
Fourth Round	105	Chicago	Vancouver	Paul	Philip Granath	Frölunda
Fourth Round	106	New York Rangers	Ottawa	Bailey	Nolan Allan	Prince Albert
Fourth Round	107	Arizona		Bailey	Kirill Gerasimyuk	SKA St-Petersburg
Fourth Round	108	Chicago		Paul	Ty Gallagher	USNTDP
Fourth Round	109	Los Angeles	Calgary	Alex	Theo Jacobsson	MODO
Fourth Round	110	Philadelphia		Alex	Dovar Tinling	Vermont
Fourth Round	111	Dallas		Jordan	Cameron Whynot	Halifax
Fourth Round	112	New York Rangers		Bailey	Roman Schmidt	USNTDP
Fourth Round	113	Montreal	St. Louis	Alex	Olivier Nadeau	Shawinigan
Fourth Round	114	Vegas	Winnipeg	Jordan	Jackson Blake	Chicago
Fourth Round	115	Nashville		Alex	Logan Mailloux*	London
Fourth Round	116	Edmonton		Bailey	Jimi Suomi	Jokerit
Fourth Round	117	Boston		Josh	Jack Matier	Ottawa
Fourth Round	118	Minnesota		Josh	Jeremy Wilmer	USNTDP
Fourth Round	119	Washington		Alex	Viljami Marjala	Quebec
Fourth Round	120	Florida		Alex	Cole Huckins	Acadie-Bathurst
Fourth Round	121	San Jose	Toronto	Josh	Ruben Rafkin	TPS
Fourth Round	122	Arizona	Pittsburgh	Bailey	David Gucciardi	Waterloo
Fourth Round	123	Carolina		Paul	Noah Meier	GCK Zürich
Fourth Round	124	Nashville	Ottawa (via COL)	Alex	Kyle Masters	Red Deer
Fourth Round	125	New York Islanders		Bailey	Jack O’Brien	Portland
Fourth Round	126	Montreal	Vegas	Alex	Aleksi Malinen	JYP
Fourth Round	127	Montreal		Alex	Joshua Roy	Sherbrooke
Fourth Round	128	Detroit	Tampa	Paul	Dario Allenspach	EVZ Zug

Third and Fourth Round Recap

In rounds three and four, there was a run of prospects who project to be excellent third line grinders with offensive upside. Dmitri Katelevsky was selected by the Devils. Katelevsky has proven to be a forechecking pest in a league that simply doesn’t see a ton of forechecking pressure. Victor Stjernborg to the LA Kings. Stjernborg is a well-rounded forward, who provides the Kings with an excellent defensive forward when covering the point and the half-wall. Aside from the grinders, Jiri Tichacek was selected by the Vancouver Canucks. Don’t let size fool you. There is a solid prospect in Jiri. For a smaller defender, he has excellent gap control and solid physicality. He’ll give you Nick Jensen vibes at times. In round four, there were quite a few defensemen who are true defensive defenseman and can be pests to beat. For instance, Topias Vilén and Jack Matier. The San Jose Sharks drafted two TPS prospects with their fourth round picks. Kalle Väisänen provides the Sharks with a physical power forward who loves finding open ice to key up one-timers. Ruben Rafkin is a Finnish over-ager, who has shown to be excellent in transition and loves to pinch up to run the cycle. 

Note on Mailloux: At the time of the mock conducted, Mailloux was eligible to be drafted before withdrawing.

Photo Credit: Eldon Holmes / Tri-City Storm

Scouting Report written by Paul Zuk

One of the more perplexing prospects in the 2021 NHL Draft Class is Tri-City Storm forward Matthew Knies. Knies was born in Phoenix, Arizona, but holds a dual citizenship for the USA and Slovakia. His parents and older brother Phil hail from Slovakia, but moved to Arizona before Matthew was born.

Growing up, Knies played his youth hockey in Arizona for the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes in the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League, where he was a point-per-game player from the 13U to 16U ranks. Following his impressive youth career, Knies joined the Tri-City Storm in the USHL as an affiliate player at the end of the 2018-19 season. He was drafted by the Storm 38th overall in the 2018 USHL Draft.

For the 2019-20 season, Knies stuck with the Storm, and put up very impressive numbers for a USHL rookie, scoring 14 goals and 31 assists for 45 points in 44 games. A lot of eyes were on the newly-minted assistant captain Knies in 2020/21, hoping that he could lead off where he finished last season. However, that wasn’t necessarily the case. Knies finished the 2020/21 campaign with 17 goals and 25 assists for 42 points in 44 games, a slight dip in production for the USHL sophomore.

Knies has committed to the University of Minnesota for the 2021/22 season, where he’ll line up beside other USHL talents in Tristan Broz and Charlie Strobel. Also joining Knies in Minneapolis will be USNTDP star Chaz Lucius. Knies will look to build on his talented skillset for Head Coach Bob Motzko as he and the Golden Gophers will be looking to make it back to the Frozen Four for the first time in 10 seasons. This past week, Broz, Lucius and Knies were selected to represent the United States at the World Junior Summer Showcase next month in Michigan.

Player Profile

D.O.B – October 17, 2002
Nationality – USA/Slovakia
Draft Eligibility – 2021
Height – 6’3
Weight – 205 lbs
Position – Center/Left Wing
Handedness – Left

Knies’ Style Of Play

Knies is a versatile forward who can play pretty much anywhere up front, but projects more as a LW at the next level. He’s also quite talented in transition, as he can pick up the puck behind the net and absolutely fly through the neutral zone, building up speed using crossovers as he moves through the neutral zone. Knies likes to break the play out wide when entering the offensive zone, cut around the defender, and then drive hard to the net.

Knies has a really high motor when it comes to driving to the net. He’s capable of taking on 3 or more defenders at a time with the puck on his stick, allowing his teammates to exploit the added space in the offensive zone. Though Knies may be considered more of a pass-first player with incredible vision, don’t sleep on his shot. He has a wicked wrist shot that he can deliver with speed and accuracy.

Matthew Knies' ('21) 14th goal of the season.

Grabs the loose puck at the blueline, skates up to hashmarks and scores a top shelf wrist shot goal. #2021NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/eRtFYxB8Q7

— Josh Tessler (@JoshTessler_) April 18, 2021

One trend to Knies’ game that scouts will like, is his ability to be physical enough to not get knocked off the puck when battling in the corners. He uses his size to fend off attackers when in possession of the puck, and can out-muscle them, especially when he’s making a play towards goal, which more often than not results in a scoring chance.

Let’s take a deeper look into the facets of Matthew Knies’ game:

Skating

Knies isn’t one of the most talented skaters in the 2021 class, but, he is talented enough. He loves to utilize his crossovers in the neutral zone to build up speed for controlled zone entries, and can occasionally go end-to-end which results in an attempt on net.

Nice skating deception from #2021NHLDraft prospect Matthew Knies, gives a little spray on his right inside edge, baits the defender into attacking his back hip, then cuts him off using the net for a wraparound opportunity. @EPRinkside @TriCityStorm pic.twitter.com/5GgjiNuCJh

— Joey Padmanabhan (@joeypad2) May 15, 2021

In transition, Knies is able to open up his hips and change directions quickly, which bodes well for him at the next level. While he isn’t overly explosive in his first couple of strides, he is able to build up a significant amount of speed in a short amount of time. That being said, his foot speed is middle of the pack, so to speak.

Knies has more of an upright skating stride, but can still be powerful and strong on his skates. As competition from here on out will only get tougher for Knies, he should be able to develop his skating more when he arrives at Minnesota in the Fall.

Offense

The bread and butter of Knies’ game is without a doubt his skills in the offensive zone. He’s insanely creative with the puck, but sometimes that creativity gets the best of him, which leads to bad decisions and turnovers.

Knies also bodes an impressive set of hands, which helps him as he executes controlled zone entries. He’s able to combine the speed he builds up in the neutral zone with his quick hands to evade defenders and get pucks on net.

Watching some Matthew Knies and he is nice pic.twitter.com/28mfSA4GF2

— Sabremetrix 📊 (@Sabremetrix) November 13, 2020

Knies also has really good vision on the ice, especially in the offensive zone. He can pick out passes to teammates from relatively any distance and complete them with a moderate level of success. He does have some kinks to work out when it comes to accuracy when passing under pressure and at longer distances, but time and experience will surely fix that.

Knies likes to dish the puck to teammates when entering the offensive zone and pressure the defensemen by going between them when driving to the net, buying his teammates time and space to set up and execute their game plan. This tactic proves successful for Knies, as he often is successful in splitting the defense, and receiving a pass from a teammate for a chance in tight on goal.

Defense

While many scouts would say that Knies’ defensive game could use some brushing up, I may be a little higher on his abilities. Knies is able to pinch down and assist his defensemen if they’re under pressure, but could use some more consistency in this area.

He’s able to use his 6’3, 205 lbs. frame to tie up attackers along the boards so his teammates can retrieve the puck, which proves helpful in many roles, especially penalty killing. Speaking of short-handed scenarios, Knies saw an increase this season in his PK time, going from 1:21 min/game up to 2:07 min/game.

Matthew Knies @TriCityStorm (#19) has been climbing up draft rankings and he’s deserving of it.

This was a great PK shift, displaying his soft hands and determination to put the puck in the net!🚨

He’s been 🔥, with now 14 points (7G,7A) in his last 7 games#2021NHLDraft #USHL pic.twitter.com/ac5nxnhZJD

— Dylan Krill (@dylan_krill) April 16, 2021

An underrated aspect of Knies’ game is his willingness and effectiveness to sacrifice the body and block shots. He can do it either by dropping to a knee and filling up the defender’s shooting lane, or by stretching out and deflecting puck into the corner with his stick.

When it comes to Knies’ defensive ability, there are certainly some adjustments he can make to prove himself more useful in the defensive third of the ice, but I don’t believe he’s as far away as others think.

Improvements

As mentioned in the beginning of the report, Matthew Knies is certainly a perplexing prospect. His impressive skills in the neutral zone and offensive zone are hard to deny, but there are definitely a few aspects of his overall game that could use some fine tuning.

First off, Knies can look to become a little more consistent. He started his sophomore season in the USHL a little bit slow, but then went on an absolute tear in the last 11 games, scoring 11 goals and 9 assists for 20 points. As he transitions to the next stages in his career, teams will look for him to be less hot and cold, even if it comes with a miniscule dip in production.

Another aspect where Knies could look to build on is his passing accuracy. His vision and hockey smarts help him know when and where to put the puck, but he struggles with delivering it successfully at times. That could be chalked up to a myriad of factors, but excuses won’t solve the problem at hand. Knies is a creative, talented passer of the puck, if he can get the accuracy down pat, he could be elite.

Lastly, Knies could look to simplify his offensive game. At times Knies can become overly creative, and it leads to some risky outcomes. If he can simplify his game a little bit in the offensive third of the ice, it could pay dividends for his success long-term.

Overall Outlook

Stepping back and taking a look at the entirety of Matthew Knies’ skillset, it’s clear that he can be that talented, middle-six winger who can be a force 5v5, as well as on the powerplay. There are a couple aspects of his game he’ll likely look to improve on at Minnesota in the coming seasons, but for the most part, his offensive skills and overall potential will have teams willing to take a chance on him relatively early in the Draft.

Trying to pinpoint a spot where Knies will be selected in the 2021 NHL Draft has proven to be a difficult task, as there are a lot of variables in play. That being said, there’s clearly enough talent and skill present to warrant a pick in the early stages of the second round. There are also enough points to have him slip a little bit, maybe to the end of the second round/early third round.

Whichever team that selects Matthew Knies will definitely be getting a talented forward who can do pretty much anything in the offensive zone, operate effectively in transition, and can provide offensive production at a fairly good rate. As long as that team can be patient as he works out the kinks in his game, they’ll sure have a really good prospect on their hands.

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stats from InStat and EliteProspects

Prospect report written by Paul Zuk. If you would like to follow Paul on Twitter, his handle is @paulzuk_81.

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!

Photo Credit: Rena Laverty

Scouting Report written by Paul Zuk

Small in size but certainly not in talent, Jeremy Wilmer is a 2021 NHL Draft Eligible Prospect honing his skills for the US National Team Development Program U18 team. Wilmer was born in Rockville Center, NY and played the majority of his youth hockey for the Long Island Gulls and North Jersey Avalanche of the AYHL. From 2016-17 to 2018-19, Wilmer was almost a three point-per-game player with the Gulls and Avalanche, which drew the eyes of a lot of scouts.

For the 2019-20 season, Wilmer linked up with the US National Development Team U17 squad, where he totaled an impressive 17 goals and 30 assists for 47 points in 72 games across all competitions. He also represented the USA at the IIHF Under-17 Championship, where he finished T5 in team scoring.

This past season, Wilmer made the jump to the U18 team, and continued on his success, notching 14 goals and 38 assists for 52 points in 59 games across all competitions. Wilmer played the majority of the season in the bottom six and on the wing, but was still able to rack up some impressive stats.

For the 2021-22 season, Wilmer is committed to Boston University, where he’ll see a familiar face in USNTDP teammate Tyler Boucher. Wilmer will look to bolster a Terriers squad hungry to return to their National Championship appearance form in 2014-15. Under the guidance of Head Coach Albie O’Connell, Wilmer will look to further develop his playmaking and transitional skills which already show to be quite promising.

Player Profile

D.O.B – August 16, 2003
Nationality – USA
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height – 5’7″
Weight – 141 lbs.
Position – LW/C
Handedness – Left

Wilmer’s Style Of Play

Jeremy Wilmer is the modern day, 200ft winger who is a bit undersized. He certainly plays way above his size, and is not afraid to get physical. Watching a lot of his game tape from the past two seasons, he seems to have a little bit of Martin St. Louis in his game, being that scrappy, talented forward who can set up teammates with elite skill and creativity.

Wilmer is a treat to watch in the offensive zone, as he’s always keeping his head up, looking to make an obscure pass to a teammate for a scoring chance. He’s more of a pass-first forward, but definitely isn’t afraid to shoot the puck.

Nice goal from Jack Hughes to give Team USA the lead 4-3. 🇺🇸#WorldU17 pic.twitter.com/sO23G9y1Vt

— Caitlin Berry (@caitlinsports) November 6, 2019

Defensively, Wilmer loves to get into the corners and fight for the puck, and he isn’t afraid to sacrifice the body to make a play for his team. He’s always getting back to assist his defensemen, and is effective at executing a zone breakout.

In transition, Wilmer is prone to dishing the puck to a teammate around the attacking blueline, or to just dump the puck in and chase after it. He does show a fair bit of patience when making a decision, but can be forced into a choice if pressured hard enough.

Let’s take a deeper look into the aspects of Jeremy Wilmer’s game:

Skating

Arguably the strongest aspect of Wilmer’s game, his skating ability is really quite impressive. He’s really strong on his skates, and isn’t knocked off balance very often. He has quick feet, and can generate more speed by using his crossovers.

Before taking a penalty, Jeremy Wilmer created a beautiful opportunity using his lower-body strength to maintain his balance, standing at just 5 feet 7 inches.

That was fun to watch.#2021NHLDraft | #GoBU pic.twitter.com/hjCI5PkD2s

— Raine Hernandez (@BringerOfRaine) February 23, 2021

Wilmer’s edgework is also top notch, as he has little to no difficulty in eluding attackers with minimal space and time to work with. In the offensive zone, Wilmer has the ability to use his skating prowess to wheel around the offensive zone multiple times without being caught.

Wilmer’s transitional skating is a pleasure to watch, because he can effectively change direction without losing speed. Speaking on Wilmer’s speed, he could be even more elusive and dangerous with a little more explosiveness to his first few strides.

Offense

In the offensive zone, Jeremy Wilmer is definitely underrated when it comes to making things happen. He has really effective hands, and can make defenders and goalies pay the price when left with any time and space. His impressive skating abilities allow him to be extremely confident in the offensive zone, even more so with the puck on his stick.

Beautiful pass by Jeremy Wilmer @USAHockeyNTDP (#16) through traffic and perfectly on the tape of Andre Gasseau (#26), who doesn’t make a mistake finishing a nice one-timer!🚨#2021NHLDraft #USHL pic.twitter.com/OacX8blvpu

— Dylan Krill (@dylan_krill) March 14, 2021

Wilmer is such a creative thinker in the offensive zone. He has quite the knack for making some unorthodox passes to generate scoring opportunities, and operates at a decent rate of success. He’s able to keep defenders on their toes at pretty much all times due to his unpredictability.

In terms of offensive production, Wilmer is definitely a pass-first player, and quite often is the driving force in his linemate’s goals, as shown by averaging 0.50 primary assists per game in 2020/21. When it comes to shooting the puck, Wilmer’s shot is under-utilized.

Been kinda finalizing an early Top-31 which should come out soon and going over some 2019-20 tape, and I still don't think Jeremy Wilmer is getting the respect he deserves.

I mean, this goal is hilarious pic.twitter.com/sd9p8RkUtj

— Will Scouch (@Scouching) November 18, 2020

When he chooses to shoot, he can be quite accurate from just about anywhere on the ice, especially in close. He scores the majority of his goals in and around the net, as he thrives on being a net front presence and batting home any loose pucks he can find.

Defense

One area of Wilmer’s game that has improved greatly in the past couple of seasons is his play in the defensive zone. Wilmer has developed a strong 200ft game and is commonly the first forward back to assist the defense. He’s a defensively sound player, and isn’t caught out of position too much. Wilmer does have a tendency to vacate the point and pinch down to assist the defenders in the corner, when needed.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of Wilmer’s defensive game is his relentlessness with tracking down attacking players and pestering them. There isn’t a lot of times where he can’t frustrate the opposing player and frustrate them into turning the puck over and/or drawing a penalty.

Wilmer is also willing to do pretty much anything to avoid the puck around his own net. He’s quite talented at breaking up opponent’s chances with a simple poke check, as well as blocking passing lanes with any body part he can. Wilmer’s also not afraid to sacrifice his body in order to redirect a shot.

Improvements

As solid of an all-around player Jeremy Wilmer is, there are still a few aspects of his game that could use some fine-tuning. His controlled zone entries could use a little tidying up, as there are times where he tries to make a challenging pass, or just simply dumps the puck into the corner when there may be a better option. That could just be chalked up to some bad decisions due to fatigue, or perhaps the system the team was utilizing, but only time will tell.

Second, Wilmer could make his offensive game a little more difficult for the opposing defenders to stop by adding a little more explosiveness to his first couple of strides. Wilmer already does have some impressive pace for a 5’7 forward, but with a little more strength in his stride, he could be deadly on the rush.

Lastly, Wilmer is quite a creative player, but sometimes that creativity can end up in turnovers in all three zones of the ice. While it may not be a huge issue at the moment, but as he moves on to the NCAA next season and later on in his career, the talent will only get better, and those turnovers could prove costly. He may look to sacrifice a little bit of creativity for a lot more puck control and possession.

Overall Outlook

Overall, Jeremy Wilmer looks to be a talented, yet undersized forward. With the ridiculous stigma of smaller players not being able to hack it at the next level, these past few seasons seem to be debunking it, with the emergence of talents such as Cole Caufield, Alex DeBrincat and Johnny Gaudreau.

There’s no better time for a player like Jeremy Wilmer to showcase his talented, two-way skillset to the scouts and to carve himself out a nice career. He certainly has the offensive mindset and playmaking ability to do it, as well as the drive and motivation.

Although it’s still extremely early in his career, it wouldn’t be the least bit surprising to see Jeremy Wilmer be that mid-round steal that ends up becoming a solid, middle-six forward who can contribute in all areas of the ice. Whichever team decides to ignore his smaller frame, and give him a legitimate shot, should surely be excited to see him develop over the seasons to come.

2022 NHL Draft Update

After not being selected in the 2021 NHL Draft, Wilmer chose to forego his commitment to Boston University for another season. His rights were traded from the Waterloo Black Hawks to the Tri-City Storm in the USHL on August 3rd, 2021.

Wilmer was quoted as saying this in a post-trade interview: “I feel that I have gotten bigger, faster, and stronger since then, and I’m excited to see it translate into a game setting next year. I also feel I am ready to take that next step in the USHL and be a leader for this franchise on and off the ice. My goal is definitely to win the Clark Cup first and foremost and I think we have the pieces to do that. I want to show I can be a dominant player and also want to be taken next year in the NHL Draft. I will not stop working until I have accomplished those goals, and I am super excited to be able to do that in a Tri-City sweater.” – Jeremy Wilmer

Boy, did Wilmer certainly follow through with the statements he made in that quote. So far this season, he’s been an absolute force for Tri-City. As of April 17th, he currently sits 1st in the entire USHL based off points per game with 1.57. He’s racked up a staggering 23 goals and 68 assists for 91 points in 58 games. It’s simply amazing to see what an extra year of development can do for a player, not to mention the fact he’s been given a much larger role and significantly more ice time this season with the Storm. Wilmer seems to have worked out some of the kinks in his game that may have hindered his play a little bit in previous seasons. He seems to have shored up his struggles with executing controlled zone entries, and he’s reduced the number of turnovers from trying to be overly creative. His skating is good, however his explosiveness is still a work in progress at this moment, but it’s improved from last season.

Looking back on this report from almost one year ago, my prediction still stands true. Whichever team that may select Jeremy Wilmer at this summer’s Draft in Montreal will be getting a player with an incredible work ethic, amazing skills in the offensive zone, and a positive chip on his shoulder. It may still take a couple seasons or so of further development, but there’s a very strong chance we will see him able to carve out quite a nice pro career.

Latest Update

April 17, 2022

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stats from InStat and EliteProspects

Prospect report written by Paul Zuk. If you would like to follow Paul on Twitter, his handle is @paulzuk_81.

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!

Photo Credit: Terry Wilson / OHL Images

Scouting Report written by Josh Tessler

Wyatt Johnston is a 2021 NHL Draft eligible prospect, who hails from Toronto (Leaside), Ontario. For those unfamiliar with the Leaside neighborhood of Toronto, it sits next to the Ontario Science Centre and the Don Valley Parkway.

His older sister, Quinn Johnston plays hockey for Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

In his youth hockey days, Johnston played for the Toronto Marlboros in GTHL (Greater Toronto Hockey League). He played U15 AAA and U16 AAA hockey for the Marlboros. Johnston played alongside quite a few 2020, 2021 and 2022 draft eligible prospects. He played with Jack Beck (2021, Ottawa 67’s), Ethan Del Mastro (2021, Mississauga Steelheads), Tucker Robertson (2021, Peterborough Petes), Artem Guryev (2021, Peterborough Petes), Danny Zhilkin (2022, Guelph Storm), Jamie Drysdale (Anaheim Ducks) and Will Cuylle (New York Rangers).

Following his 2018-2019 season, in which he was fifth in the GTHL U16 in scoring with 94 points in 73 games, he was drafted in the 2019 OHL Priority Draft at sixth overall by the Windsor Spitfires.

In his 2019-2020 season, Johnston made his OHL debut and joined his former teammate, Will Cuylle in Windsor. He tallied 12 goals and 18 assists in 53 games for the Spitfires.

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, Johnston didn’t play in any league games for Windsor in 2020-2021. But, he was part of Canada’s squad at the 2021 IIHF U18 World Championships in Plano, Texas and Frisco, Texas. In seven tournament games, he recorded four points (two goals and two assists).

Player Profile

D.O.B – May 14, 2003
Nationality – Canada
Draft Eligibility – 2021
Height –6’1
Weight –176 lbs
Position – Center
Handedness – Right

Johnston’s Style Of Play

Offense

In the offensive zone, Johnston has proven that he can be a crafty passer. In the U18 game against Belarus, he fired a saucer cross-ice pass to get the puck away from traffic in the lane near the blue-line to get the puck in the hands of Olen Zellweger. The saucer pass allowed Johnston to get the puck over the attacker’s stick blade and over to his defenseman. That ended up leading to a Zellweger assist.

Four assists last night and now a goal tonight? This guy's good. Olen Zellweger gets on the board to put Canada up 2-0 #U18Worlds pic.twitter.com/pm1MBK5hqV

— Josh Bell (@JoshuaBell31) May 2, 2021

Aside from cross-ice saucer passes, he will draw defenders towards him and thus opens up a shooting lane for his defenseman from the point. With the defender shifted over to him, he quickly completed a backhand pass to the point. He will also pick up loose pucks when he is playing an insurance forechecking role and complete a backhand cross slot pass.

In his gameplay with Windsor in 2019-2020, I noticed more creativity from Johnston, which makes sense due to the much larger sample size. He produced tape-to-tape passes with his back turned to the net for primary assists. Johnston completed passes off the rush to teammates in the low slot for assists.

Not only is he a crafty passer, but you will see him excel at getting out of 3 on 1 traps at the half-wall and fires a pass to the point. Johnston uses quick pivots to shifts around the attack. While he relies on pivots, he doesn’t lean on fancy stick-work to undermine the attack. 

On the rush, he will struggle against the more physically gifted defenders. For instance, his faced tough pressure from Simon Edvinsson and David Jiříček at the 2021 U18s. He wasn’t able to push them off with his upper body and play around them. Yet, Johnston learned quickly after a few shifts of playing them man-to-man that he was far more likely to find success in the offensive zone if he cut at the perimeter instead of trying to play them one-on-one down low. 

Ideally I’d like to see Johnston be more assertive on the forecheck. When he is pursuing the puck carrier, he tends to be slower than the carrier. He gives the attacker too much time to assess the situation on the ice and make a decision on which teammate he should pass to in order to instill the breakout. In addition, when on the forecheck and the attacker pivots out, his reaction time is a tad slow and won’t stay toe-to-toe with the puck carrier. Yet, we did some a couple of glimpses of tight pressured forechecking at the U18s. It wasn’t consistent, but for instance, in the game against the Czech Republic, Johnston deployed quality tight forechecking pressure against Stanislav Svozil. 

While Johnston has a bit of development to do on his forechecking, he consistently will utilize an active stick. He will extend his stick out to keep the puck carrier from skating to the blue-line and will attempt to push the puck away from the carrier. Johnston’s stick-handing and active stick doesn’t lead to a lot of stolen possession situations. Instead, Johnston becomes a nuisance for puck carriers.

Keep in mind that Johnston’s forechecking is prevalent when the offensive unit isn’t working the cycle. When they are working the cycle, Johnston will sit at the red line or in the face-off circles in an insurance capacity. But, he will go to the boards to provide support when his teammates are in tight pressured puck battles.

Occasionally, he will struggle to time loose pucks. He’ll mistime the puck, it’ll slip through his fingers and he will fail to keep the puck in the offensive zone. He also need to further round out his stick-handling. Johnston offers decent stick-handling in the offensive zone, but needs to be cautious of his reach as he will try to play the puck too far in front of him and that leads to bobbling pucks.

When it comes to Johnston’s goal scoring ability, you will notice that the majority of his goals come at net-front. He enjoys crashing the net. Johnston will collect rebound goals and look to fool the goaltender with a deke at the edge of the crease.

Wyatt Johnston makes it 1-0 Canada two minutes into the game! #U18Worlds

After not playing all season, Johnston has looks very good through this tournament. pic.twitter.com/TLfokI1Bp8

— Josh Bell (@JoshuaBell31) May 3, 2021

But, he has shown that he has range with his shot. In his 2019-2020 play with the Windsor Spitfires, he scored a few goals from medium and low danger. Delivered snap shot goals from just inside the perimeter and one-timer goals from medium danger. 

Defense

Similarly to his forechecking role, Johnston plays an insurance role in the defensive zone when his teammates are working the back check down low. But, he will drop to the red line to survey the cycle behind the net. He won’t exert face-to-face pressure, but sits and waits incase of a wrap around attempt or incase the puck carrier decides to dabble into medium danger. When at the perimeter, he likes blocking shots and tries to take up as much room as possible when facing low danger shots from outside the perimeter. When he attempts to play closer to the vest, he doesn’t assert dominance and implement tight pressure when he’s the only defender around the attack. Instead, he will lean on his poke-checking. But, like his forechecking, don’t expect Johnston to come away with possession off of a poke-check. He will extend his stick out to interfere with puck movement.

One of the areas in the defensive zone that needs further development is his reaction time. At times, his reaction timing is slow compared to other prospects in the class and his timing will open up passing lanes for the attack as he will lose pace with his pressure. But, that is mainly when he is facing is faster competition. On an even playing field, against comparable speed, he will display good reaction time and will keep a toe-to-toe pace with his pivots.

Ultimately, Johnston thrives at collecting defensive recoveries on loose pucks, grabbing possession and keying up the rush. If he picks up the puck along the boards and has traffic in front of him, he will look to throw the puck up the boards to help start a rush.

Skating

Johnston is a straight line skater when in stride, will use two lengthier extensions to net appropriate speed and shorten up following. For the most part, when deploying lengthy skate extensions, he will display quality ankle flexion. But, occasionally, you will see inconsistent ankle flexion on shorter skate extensions. 

When on the forecheck and in transition, Johnston will rely heavily on his edges. Over time, I’d like to see more of a balance and see Johnston insert crossovers to help drive acceleration. 

His edge work needs some fine tuning. There are times where he will be switching from his inside edges to forward skating stride and at the same time he was extending his stick out to attempt to grab possession of a loose puck, but lost balance due to his footing. In addition, when completing open ice hits, he will struggle with outside edges and his skates will line up in a t-stop formation rather than parallel outside edges. 

Transitional Play

Johnston has shown that he is defensively responsible from a transitional perspective. If a puck gets dumped out of the offensive zone, he will chase down the puck in the neutral zone. For the majority of the time that Johnston is defending in transition, he will play from behind. While he isn’t putting consistent pressure in front of the rush, he still finds ways to stop the rush. You will notice neutral zone pass deflections and puck battles by extending his stick out to catch the attack off guard. 

When facing the rush, I would like to see Johnston work on reaction timing. Similar to what I brought up with his defensive play. Sometimes he will be slightly late when adjusting to puck movement.

From a physical perspective, Johnston does play a physical game along the boards when looking to circumvent the rush. But, needs to acquire the necessary upper body strength to be physically intimidating. 

When his team is moving the puck up the ice, more than often, Johnston is keying up the rush rather than completing controlled zone entries. But, you will see a few controlled zone entries from Johnston in each game.

Projection

With the proper development, Johnston is a bottom six forward at the NHL level.

If he acquires the physicality and the reaction timing, you are looking at a true bottom six guy with playmaking ability down low. 

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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!

Photo Credit: Chris Mast/Everett Silvertips

Scouting Report written by Josh Tessler

Olen Zellweger is a 2021 NHL Draft eligible defenseman. He is a Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta native. It’s the same town that the Dach family (Chicago Blackhawks prospect Kirby Dach, 2021 NHL Draft eligible prospect Colton Dach and Sherwood Park Royals defenseman Callie Dach), Washington Capitals 2018 draft selection Eric Florchuk and former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul calls home.

Zellweger is one of the youngest players in the 2021 draft class. He was born five days before the September 15, 2003 cut-off date.

In his youth hockey days, Olen played U15 hockey for the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers and U15/U18 hockey for the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Edmonton, Alberta. He played alongside several 2021 NHL Draft eligible prospects including Sebastian Cossa, Sean Tschigerl, Kyle Masters and Corson Ceulemans.

After his 2017-2018 campaign with Okanagan Hockey Academy, in which he was point-per-game player, he was drafted 42nd overall (2nd round) by the Everett Silvertips in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft. Once Zellweger’s 2018-2019 U18 season concluded, he made his debut for Everett.

In his first full season in the WHL, he played in 58 games and produced 12 points (two goals and ten assists). This past season was a shortened one due to COVID-19, but he was a point-per-game player and recorded 13 points in 11 games. Zellweger would have played in more league games, but he was invited to join Team Canada at the 2021 IIHF U18 World Championships in Plano, Texas and Frisco, Texas. At the tournament in the Dallas area, he shined and tallied eight points in seven games. His production helped secure a gold medal victory for Canada.

Player Profile

D.O.B – September 10, 2003
Nationality – Canada
Draft Eligibility – 2021
Height –5’10
Weight –174 lbs
Position – Defense
Handedness – Left

Zellweger’s Style Of Play

Zellweger is a left handed defenseman, but he’s shown to be versatile and will play on the right side. Throughout his time with the Everett Silvertips, he has generally been deployed on the right side with a few shifts here and there with him on the left side. At the U18s in Texas, he also alternated between the left and right side. 

Offense

When he’s in the offensive zone, he doesn’t just sit tight at the point. You can expect Zellweger will grab a hold of the puck and skate down low in the cycle and look for a teammate in the corners to pass towards. When on the power play, Zellweger enjoys playing along the half-wall and will drop dow low for support. But, that doesn’t mean that he won’t drop down when playing at 5v5. If there is a puck battle in the corner, you can expect him the move up to the perimeter. Zellweger has shown that the will jump on a dime and skate up from the point to along the half-wall to scoop up loose pucks in the corner. In addition, if one of his teammates is on the forecheck along the boards by the blue-line, Zellweger will sit at the top right face-off circle in the NZ. That has led to interceptions as the attacker attempts to get the puck out of his own zone, immediately fires the puck out of his zone and Zellweger grabs possession.  

From a shooting perspective, If he is in control of the puck, he will pinch up into medium danger. He identifies open ice in medium danger, exploits is and fires quality shots on. 

Prior to this past season, during the stay-at-home order, Zellweger worked on his shot at home. He was constantly working on accuracy and posted a few videos on his twitter profile. 

pic.twitter.com/fJLUbLuVOz

— Olen Zellweger (@OlenZellweger) March 27, 2020

His work clearly paid off. In this past WHL season, he had a two goals. Both of his goals came from low danger. One of his goals was a slap shot top shelf goal against the Portland Winterhawks and the other was a silky smooth wrist shote goal against Tri-City Americans. When I tweeted out the goal against the Tri-City Americans the other day, Donesh Mazloum from Future Considerations made an excellent point about how deceptive Zellweger can be with his shot release. When you look at the below clip, notice how his stick-handing at first allows him to generate the power he needs for his wrist shot. It just seems so fluid and not an average wrist shot wind-up. 

Working on an Olen Zellweger report and I'm loving his silky smooth wrist shot release.

Olen was working on his shot during the pandemic and posted numerous videos on his twitter handle. His work paid off. Two goals in 11 GP in league play and a goal at the U18s. pic.twitter.com/MRZWisfELX

— Josh Tessler (@JoshTessler_) June 22, 2021

When passing in the offensive zone, he illustrated that he’s strong at crisp tape to tape feed pass completion. He will complete quality tape to tape feeds on the power play. Zellweger will walk the line, implements quality crossovers to allow him to move laterally, get to centered ice, pivot and fire a tape to tape feed to his right side. This allows Zellweger to carry the attack with him and open up ice for his teammate. 

But, what really makes Zellweger special in the offensive is his compete level. When he is in the offensive zone, trust me you know he is in the offensive. He is vocal on the ice. Will wave his stick blade in the air and holler for the puck for one-timers. He’s shown to be defensively aware. When a forward doesn’t drop back for a pinching defender, Zellweger will skate towards the other side (the side of the pinching defender), but he will go into the neutral zone incase of a breakout attempt. Even when he is out of position down low after taking a shot from medium danger, he will charge after an attacker who is controlling the puck and looking to instill the rush. He will catch up to the attack and steal possession with his long reach. 

Another fun Olen Zellweger clip. After pinching up and taking a shot down low, he spots an attacker looking to spark a breakout. Uses his reach in a puck battle to regain possession and then delivers a cross ice feed to his winger down low.

Olen is fun. #2021NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/qi3j25gUQO

— Josh Tessler (@JoshTessler_) June 23, 2021

Defense

Zellweger will dart after loose pucks, net defensive recoveries and complete zone exit pass along the half-wall. He’s shown that he can dodge the forecheck with ease and complete a spin move before firing a quick breakout pass. Zellweger has an affinity to utilize an active stick, especially when defending wingers along the boards. He will swing his stick at mobile and strong puck-mover wingers like Seth Jarvis (Carolina Hurricanes prospect) in low danger at the half-wall and steal possession. When the attacker is beating Zellweger with his speed in the defensive zone and is a step or two ahead of him, he will opt to use an active stick to attempt to push play to low danger. If he is defending at the perimeter, he’ll look to square up in front of the shooter, bend his knees and place his stick blade in front of him to try to deflect shots. When he isn’t playing the puck carrier because the carrier is on the left side and his defensive partner is covering him, he’ll stay close to the attacker driving up centered ice. 

While there is a lot to look in the defensive zone, there is still some work to be done with Zellweger’s development. Sometimes in the defensive zone, you will notice some positioning issues. On occasion, he will go too far in when there is a puck battle on the other half-wall. He also needs to be quicker with his decision making when grabbing defensive recoveries as he will wait too long and that allows to forecheck to catch up and trap him. Also, Zellweger doesn’t implement ton of face-to-face pressure in low danger along the blue-line, but does utilize an active stick to force the puck carrier to stay along the blue-line. But, the ultimate goal for Zellweger should be to acquire the necessary upper body strength to push into attackers when they are too fast for him or change directions on him unexpectedly. If he can net the upper body strength that’s needed, he will only become an even stronger defender. No pun intended.

Transitional Play

Just like in the defensive zone, he will use implement active stick defending in the neutral zone, will whip out his stick and play the puck when defending the rush. Even when he’s slightly out of position in the offensive zone, he will drive back at top speed to play the rush from behind the attacker. He will use his active stick to frustrate the attacker and stall him. At that point, the attacker is stuck and is forced to dump the puck into the zone. 

Olen Zellweger (#2021NHLDraft) is fun.

After pinching up, he's slightly out of position, but with two lengthy skate extensions he gathers enough speed to catch up to the puck carrier. Then uses an active stick in the neutral zone to shut down the rush. pic.twitter.com/fdDJJPoulV

— Josh Tessler (@JoshTessler_) June 6, 2021

While he has shown that he can implement quality pressure with an active stick, further development is needed for Zellweger to become a stronger transitional defender. He tends to exert more pressure at centered ice versus at the blue-line. As mentioned, he will use an active stick to push the rush in the neutral zone, but it’s further up in the neutral zone and not at the point of entry for the attack. In addition, I’d like to see Zellweger bend his knees, lower his body and take up more room at the defensive zone blue-line. Zellweger has shown that he can use his stick to trap the rush, but he also will need to rely on his body from time to time to trap the rush. 

When he is in control of the puck, he is an effective puck mover on the power play. He controls the pace from behind his net, good puck movement in the neutral zone and dumped the puck into the OZ to key up the cycle. There are shifts where he prefers to complete controlled zone entries, but his first instinct is to pass. Zellweger thrives at carrying the puck out of his own zone and completing lateral passes to a forward or his defensive partner. 

If he is in possession of the puck in the defensive zone at the blue-line, you can expect him to attempt stretch passes. Unfortunately, Zellweger will struggle with his stretch passes. Most of the time, his stretch passes are slightly off point from his teammate and the defender covering Zellweger’s teammate will deflect the puck, which waives an icing call. I’d like to see Zellweger utilize his crossovers and edge work more to avoid traffic, get into the neutral zone and deliver a quality pass rather than rely on his stretch passes.

Skating 

From a skating perspective, Zellweger will impress with good crossovers when moving laterally in the defensive zone prior to a zone exit/breakout pass and when walking the blue-line in the offensive zone. He will deploy two lengthy skate extensions to gather speed when he’s pinched up and has to catch up to the puck carrier in the neutral zone. Zellweger will utilize that same speed to dart after loose pucks in the corners in the offensive zone and to chase after loose pucks to complete defensive recoveries. 

While he will gather speed when skating forward and deploys solid ankle flexion, he will struggle with acceleration when skating backwards. He needs to work on quick hip movements and crossovers when flipping from backwards to forwards skating. There are also a few shifts per game where you see Zellweger initially start to skate backwards in the neutral zone, but he realizes that the can’t stay toe-to-toe with the attacker. Zellweger will need to work on his developing his crossovers when skating backwards to drive the necessary acceleration to avoid shifting from backwards too forwards. 

In addition, sometimes he will struggle with acceleration when skating forwards. These situations are more rare. But, you will see him use shorter skate extensions in a quick repetitive fashion to try to garner speed, yet that is far less effective than going into a power stride. 

Zellweger will also sometimes struggle with keeping his balance when going in for a check along the boards. This has more to do with edges. When going in for a check, he will shift his body at the point of impact and struggle to keep his inside edges in form. That will also come to light on occasion when pivoting out from the forecheck when he is in possession of the puck along the boards in his own zone. 

Projection

All-in-all, the NHL team who drafts Zellweger at the 2021 NHL Draft is getting a mobile defenseman, who is quick to loose pucks, has a pass-first mentality and loves utilizing an active stick when defending.

He projects to be a second pairing defenseman at the NHL level.

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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!

Photo Credit: Terry Wilson / OHL Images

Scouting Report written by Josh Tessler

Benjamin Gaudreau is a 2021 NHL Draft eligible goaltender, who hails from North Bay, Ontario.

Gaudreau plays for the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, but only played in international play for Team Canada this year due to COVID-19. He was on the 2021 IIHF U18 World Championship roster for Team Canada alongside two other 2021 NHL Draft eligible goaltenders, Thomas Milic (Seattle Thunderbirds) and Tyler Brennan (Prince George Cougars).

In an early May column from Steven Ellis of The Hockey News, he brought up that if/when Gaudreau makes it to the NHL level that he could be the first GNML (Great North Midget Goaltender) goaltender to do so. The only other former GNML goaltender who could beat him to the NHL is Dallas Stars’ prospect Colton Point.

Ellis also noted in his column that “Gaudreau had an opportunity to play in Oslo, Norway while the OHL was on hiatus, but didn’t have his passport renewed in time before the opportunity was gone”.

Last season was Gaudreau’s first season in the OHL. He was drafted the summer before by the Sarnia Sting at 7th overall. In his 2019-2020 season, he played in 28 games and posted a GAA of 4.34 and a SV% of .890.

At the 2021 IIHF U18 World Championships in Texas, Gaudreau was dominant. In five games, he recorded a 2.20 GAA and a .919 SV%. Gaudreau was awarded the Directorate Award for Best Goalie of the tournament.

Player Profile

D.O.B – January 11, 2003
Nationality – Canada
Draft Eligibility – 2021
Height –6’2
Weight –174 lbs
Position – Goaltender
Catches – Left

Gaudreau’s Style Of Play

Skating, Stance and Post Security

When Gaudreau is facing shots from between the corners to the post, he will drop into a butterfly position. Roughly 65-70% of the side of the net is protected. Gaudreau protects the posts well and will utilize RVH over VH. Throughout his tournament play at the U18s, he illustrated just how dominant he is when facing scoring chances at the posts.

If he is standing tall and protecting the posts, he doesn’t leave any openings except for a thin sliver between his blocker/glove (depending on which post) and his shoulder. But, regardless if he is standing tall or in a butterfly, he will position himself slightly outwards from the net and his pads overlap the lower half of the posts. In addition, depending on the post, his blocker or glove will also overlap the post.

In medium and high danger situations, he will deploy a lowered stance and depending on the situation, he will vacate the net and position himself on the outer edge of the crease. For an example of Gaudreau’s lowered stance, check out the below screenshot.

When standing up-right and moving side-to-side, Gaudreau deploys excellent edges/pivots when shifting around the net. If there is puck movement behind the net, Gaudreau will extend his pads out. Each pad will sit at the posts and that allows him to quickly shift his entire body to one post when the attack lures the puck to net front.

While his stance is one that is normally very secure, he needs to work on how far he will drift away from the net. Gaudreau will position himself near the front of the crease and that will lead to a few vulnerable situations when facing medium danger scoring chances. When he vacates the net, it makes it easier for the opposing shooter to go with a low glove/top shelf glove side shot and find the back of the net.

Athleticism and Speed

Gaudreau prefers to shift from side to side while standing tall. Unlike goaltenders like Yaroslav Askarov, who thrive at pushing off of their pads, Gaudreau has shown that he will opt to jump from the butterfly instead of using his pads for acceleration. With that being said, Gaudreau will tend to be a little slower when going side-to-side if you compare him against fellow draft eligibles like Jesper Wallstedt.

Yet, he is quick on his feet when he is facing a shot at net-front. He will overlap the post, plays low to the ground with his stance and quickly shifts over more to the left when it’s clear that the shooter is going to the left.

Not only is his foot work in good form, but his reaction timing is strong too. He will display good reaction timing when the puck carrier misses the net and an attacker’s teammate who is on the right of the attacker, grabs a hold of the puck and Gaudreau shifts over to nab the glove save just in time.

Gaudreau constantly showcases quality athleticism, in a U18 tournament game against Russia, he was knocked down after facing a squared save, the rebound ended up in high danger, but he was able to secure the save with his glove when he was down.

Another fun Benjamin Gaudreau clip. Gets knocked down accidentally (in a friendly-fire incident), the initial shot rebounds into high danger, but Gaudreau manages to glove Ilya Ivantsov's backhand shot while lying down.

Great athleticism.

Stay tuned for my report on Gaudreau. pic.twitter.com/Tp2yzK9xvo

— Josh Tessler (@JoshTessler_) June 19, 2021

Vision

While Gaudreau isn’t the tallest goaltender draft eligible prospect, he still possesses quality vision. He is quite strong with traffic in front him as he has no difficulty spotting the puck and controlling rebounds. When being screened, he has a watchful eye on the point and can complete glove saves on low danger shots.

When watching puck movement behind his net, Gaudreau he keeps a watchful eye and that only makes him stronger at post protection.

Glove Saves

One of Gaudreau’s strongest attributes is his glove work. Gaudreau can execute quality glove saves with traffic screening him at net front, low glove saves on backhand shots and he can glove shots at medium and low danger with an open air glove.

Working on a Benjamin Gaudreau scouting report that should be out in the morning.

While Gaudreau didn't get a ton of playing time this year due to COVID, he showed at the U18s in Texas exactly how dominant he is. Especially with his glove work. Take a look at this clip. pic.twitter.com/8dpx6XXGbn

— Josh Tessler (@JoshTessler_) June 18, 2021

When he doesn’t have his glove extended out, he will use his chest to support the capture of the puck. The North Bay native tends to complete more glove saves when squared up to the puck carrier versus when he is going side-to-side. He will struggle a bit when attempting to glove shots when he shifts from left to right. During his play at the U18s, he let in a few side-to-side goals including one from Leksands forward Isak Rosén.

While he has shown great development in his glove work, he needs to open up his glove a bit more at times. There will be a few shots over the course of a game, in which his glove appears to more closed than open.

Rebounds

When it comes to controlling rebounds, Gaudreau shines and is one of the best in the 2021 NHL Draft class. Gaudreau will utilize his blocker, glove, pads and stick to control rebounds. He won’t just rely on one or two. Gaudreau can push rebounds to low danger with his glove when he can’t grasp the puck with his glove. Similarly, when facing shots on his blocker side, he has fared well at rebound control.

He will consistently have his stick covering his five hole and is effective at deflecting shots with his stick blade and shaft. Not only will he execute controlled rebounds with his stick, but he also has proven that he can retain possession of the puck when it appears that the puck is its way to high danger. He will backhand the puck back to his glove to capture possession. 

Stick-Handling/Passing

Stick-handling and passing is one of the areas that needs more development. Occasionally, you will see Gaudreau be a tad slower on his decision making and allows the forecheck to catch up to him when he is behind his net in the trapezoid. There have been some close calls where the forechecker was one or two seconds out from capturing the puck before Gaudreau attempted a pass. There are also instances where Gaudreau attempted to pass the puck and mistimed the pass. Over the course of his U18 tournament play in Texas, InStat logged his pass completion percentage at 73%. So, there is room to grow with his stick-handling and passing.

Goaltender Metrics

As I mentioned earlier, in his 2019-2020 season, he played in 28 games and posted a GAA of 4.34 and a SV% of .890. While the GAA and SV% appear to be on the higher (GAA) and lower (SV%) end, keep in mind that OHL goalies tend to have higher GAA and lower SV% than goalies at the NHL level. In fact, there were only nine goaltenders in 2019-2020 that had a SV% over .900. In comparison, fellow 2021 NHL Draft eligible goaltender, Tristan Lennox of the Saginaw Spirit owned a .876 SV%. To be honest, I don’t base any scouting decisions on GAA or SV%. It can be inflated or deflated based on the league. But, I will look at SV% when it comes to saves on high danger (HDSV), medium danger (MDSV) and low danger shots (LDSV) as that will give you a better understanding of a goaltender’s performance than the generic SV% statistic. In fact, here are Gaudreau’s HDSV, MDSV and LDSV numbers from the nine games of his that I have tracked.

Based on the games, the average HDSV, MDSV and LDSV for Gaudreau are:

You will notice that I’ve included a few other 2021 NHL Draft eligible goaltenders to show how they performed in comparison to Gaudreau. Gaudreau posted a higher HDSV, MDSV and SV% then the average. For LDSV%, he was .18% lower than the average. But many goaltenders that I have tracked own a LDSV% under 95% including Emerik Despatie, Jacob Goobie, Lennox, Gerasimyuk, Juuso Helmoaa, Kaiden Mbereko and Tomas Suchanek.

Rebounds Metrics

Below you can find his high danger versus low danger and medium danger versus high danger rebound rates. You will notice that Gaudreau fares extremely well in both graphs against his fellow 2021 NHL Draft eligible goaltenders.

Quickness Metrics

For quickness, you will see below that his up/down timing is strong and owns a similar timing to Jesper Wallstedt and Maxim Motorygin. But, his side-to-side timing is a bit slower.

Projection

Starting Goaltender (NHL)

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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!

Photo Credit: Mitch Highman/MJOYPHOTOGRAPHY

Scouting Report written by Bailey Johnson

It’s been quite the last 12 months for Jack Peart.

When the season started in November, the Grand Rapids, Minn. native went to Fargo to play for the Fargo Force in the USHL. Peart played the first 16 games of the season with the Force, tallying 11 assists, then headed back to Minnesota for the high school hockey season.

In 18 games for Grand Rapids, Peart put up an eye-popping 11 goals and 24 assists for 35 total points — and picked up Minnesota’s Mr. Hockey award. After returning to Fargo, Peart scored his first regular season USHL goal and proceeded to score two more goals in the playoffs as the Force made a run to the Clark Cup finals.

The left-handed defenseman will begin his college career at St. Cloud State in the fall, where his elite defensive skill — he was arguably one of the best pure defenders in the USHL this year — and offensive upside should make him an impact player right away.

Player Profile

D.O.B – May 15, 2003
Nationality – USA
Draft Eligibility – 2021
Height – 5’11”
Weight – 181 lbs
Position – Defense
Handedness – Left

Peart’s Style of Play

Defense

There’s no question that Peart is a modern, two-way defenseman, but while a lot of two-way defensemen these days lean much more heavily toward the offensive side of their game, Peart’s bread and butter is his defensive play.

The overall impression of watching Peart defend is one of a calm, poised hockey player who knows where he needs to be. He’s rarely out of position and almost never panics, allowing him to make simple, smart plays to shut down the opposition.

He controls his gap well and is efficient at shutting plays down before they become true threats. On the occasions where he is beat or has to hustle to shut down a rush threat, his skating allows him to cover ground easily and he almost always gets back to where he needs to be.

He uses his stick well, both on the rush and in defensive zone coverage, and is a skilled penalty killer because of his patience and high-level vision. When it comes to breaking the puck out of the zone, you can almost guarantee he’ll find the right passing lane up to his forward — if he doesn’t take it himself, which he shows a willingness to do.

Peart is still on the smaller side, but the strength coaches at St. Cloud State will surely help him add a little size. The one area where his size shows up is in the relative lack of physicality in his game, but he’s not unwilling to play the body when required. It seems likely that the physicality will come as he adds strength and gets into a more physical league, which the NCHC certainly is.  

Offense

Peart’s offensive game is less developed than his defensive game, but there’s plenty of reasons to believe that growth will come. His performance at the high school level — though disclaimers about the quality of competition apply — demonstrates that he has some offensive tools.

In Fargo, he played mostly on a pair with Ryan Siedem, who took on the more offensive role of the two. But at St. Cloud State, Peart will likely have the opportunity to display more offense and we’ll get a look at how far that side of his game can come.

The same high-level vision that makes Peart so strong defensively also comes into play on the offensive side of the puck. He might not grow into the kind of defenseman like Quinn Hughes or Cale Makar who can make a highlight-reel play off the rush, but his breakout passes will always be in the right place at the right time, and he’ll set his teammates up for success.

Peart walks the blueline well and displays impressive patience. Particularly on the power play, you won’t see him bombing away from the top of the zone and hoping a puck hits the net — he’s much more likely to wait, find the right lane and shoot a puck that’s much easier to tip in for a goal.

His shot isn’t overly heavy, but it isn’t a detriment at this point, and will only improve with added strength as he grows his frame. At times, he displays impressive creativity with the puck — a sign there’s more offensive upside to his game than it may seem.

Skating

Peart’s straight-line speed won’t blow you away, but he’s an agile, fluid skater who certainly isn’t held back by his lack of top-end, elite speed. His backward skating may be even more fluid than his forward skating, which serves him well as a defenseman, and he changes directions with ease.

He uses his edges well, which allows him to stick with his checks and break the puck out of the zone efficiently.

Projection

Top-four defenseman, possibly second-unit power play

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stats from InStat and EliteProspects

Prospect report written by Bailey Johnson. If you would like to follow Bailey on Twitter, her handle is @BaileyAJohnson_.

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!

Graphics done by Dylan Griffing

Bailey Johnson, Sam McGilligan, Alexander Appleyard, Paul Zuk, Jordan Malette, Sebastian Jackson and Josh Tessler combined their draft rankings and put together the official Smaht Scouting 2021 NHL Draft Final Rankings.

The rankings are below and our scouting reports are hyperlinked. Just to note, we are still working on some more 2021 NHL Draft scouting reports for public consumption. Stay tuned for those.

Just to note, honorable mentions are in no particular order.

Picks	Prospect	Position	Team	Nation
1	Matthew Beniers	C	University of Michigan	USA
2	William Eklund	LW	Djurgårdens	Sweden
3	Owen Power	LHD	University of Michigan	Canada
4	Luke Hughes	LHD	USNTDP	USA
5	Brandt Clarke	RHD	Barrie	Canada
6	Simon Edvinsson	LHD	Frölunda	Sweden
7	Jesper Wallstedt	G	Luleå	Sweden
8	Dylan Guenther	RW	Edmonton	Canada
9	Fyodor Svechkov	LW/C	SKA St-Petersburg	Russia
10	Kent Johnson	LW/C	University of Michigan	Canada
11	Fabian Lysell	RW	Luleå	Sweden
12	Chaz Lucius	C	USNTDP	USA
13	Mason McTavish	C	Peterborough	Canada
14	Aatu Räty	C	Kärpät	Finland
15	Cole Sillinger	LW	Medicine Hat	Canada
16	Oskar Olausson	RW	HV71	Sweden
17	Isak Rosén	RW	Leksands	Sweden
18	Simon Robertsson	RW	Skellefteå	Sweden
19	Stanislav Svozil	LHD	Brno	Czech Republic
20	Carson Lambos	LHD	Winnipeg	MoCanada
21	Mackie Samoskevich	RW	Chicago	USA
22	Francesco Pinelli	C	Kitchener	Canada
23	Scott Morrow	RHD	Fargo	USA
24	Sebastian Cossa	G	Edmonton	Canada
25	Brennan Othmann	LW	Flint	Canada
26	Nikita Chibrikov	RW	SKA St-Petersburg	Russia
27	Ayrton Martino	LW	Omaha	Canada
28	Logan Stankoven	C	Kamloops	Canada
29	Matthew Coronato	LW	Chicago	USA
30	Ville Koivunen	F	Kärpät	Finland
31	Samu Tuomaala	RW	Kärpät	Finland
32	Dylan Duke	LW	USNTDP	USA
33	Sasha Pastujov	RW	USNTDP	USA
34	Xavier Bourgault	C	Shawinigan	Canada
35	Zachary L’Heureux	LW	Halifax	Canada
36	Samu Salminen	C	Jokerit	Finland
37	Brent Johnson	RHD	Sioux Falls	USA
38	Zach Dean	C	Gatineau	Canada
39	Daniil Chayka	LHD	Guelph	Russia
40	Tristan Broz	C	Fargo	USA
41	Olen Zellweger	LHD	Everett	Canada
42	Jack Peart	LHD	Grand Rapids	USA
43	Zachary Bolduc	C	Rimouski	Canada
44	Jake Martin	RHD	USNTDP	USA
45	Artyom Grushnikov	LHD	Hamilton	Russia
46	William Strömgren	LW	MODO	Sweden
47	Benjamin Gaudreau	G	Sarnia	Canada
48	Anton Olsson	LHD	Malmö	Sweden
49	Aleksi Heimosalmi	RHD	Ässät	Finland
50	Sean Behrens	LHD	USNTDP	USA
51	Corson Ceulemans	RHD	Brooks	Canada
52	Tristan Lennox	G	Saginaw	Canada
53	Marcus Almquist	RW	HV71	Denmark
54	Prokhor Poltapov	LW	CSKA Moscow	Russia
55	Liam Gilmartin	LW	USNTDP	USA
56	Bryce Montgomery	RHD	London	USA
57	Cole Jordan	RHD	Moose Jaw	Canada
58	Sean Tschigerl	LW	Calgary	Canada
59	Dmitri Kuzmin	LHD	Dinamo-Molodechno	Belarus
60	Evan Nause	LHD	Quebec	Canada
61	Matthew Knies	LW	Tri-City Storm	USA
62	Ty Voit	F	Sarnia	USA
63	Liam Dower Nilsson	C	Frölunda	Sweden
64	Ryder Korczak	C	Moose Jaw	Canada
65	Victor Stjernborg	C	Växjö	Sweden
66	Danila Klimovich	C	Minskie Zubry	Belarus
67	Dmitri Katelevsky	F	Kazan	Russia
68	Trevor Wong	C	Kelowna	Canada
69	Aidan Hreschuk	LHD	USNTDP	USA
70	Ethan Del Mastro	LHD	Mississauga	Canada
71	Ryan Ufko	RHD	Chicago	USA
72	Jiri Tichacek	LHD	Kladno	Czech Republic
73	Colton Dach	C	Saskatoon	Canada
74	Samuel Helenius	C	JYP	Finland
75	Martin Rysavy	F	HC Prerov	Czech Republic
76	Kirill Kirsanov	LHD	SKA St-Petersburg	Russia
77	Redmond Savage	C	USNTDP	USA
78	Conner Roulette	LW	Seattle	Canada
79	Justin Robidas	C	Val-d’Or	Canada
80	Lorenzo Canonica	C	Shawinigan	Switzerland
81	Lukas Gustafsson	LHD	Chicago	USA
82	Vincent Iorio	RHD	Brandon	Canada
83	Cameron Whynot	LHD	Halifax	Canada
84	Robert Orr	C	Halifax	Canada
85	Oscar Plandowski	RHD	Charlottetown	Canada
86	Jack Bar	RHD	Chicago	Canada
87	Verner Miettinen	C	Kiekko-Espoo	Finland
88	Peter Reynolds	C	Saint John	Canada
89	Oliver Kapanen	C	KalPa	Finland
90	James Malatesta	LW	Quebec	Canada
91	Matvei Petrov	RW	Krylya Sovetov Moscow	Russia
92	Shai Buium	LHD	Sioux City	USA
93	Topias Vilén	LHD	Pelicans	Finland
94	Kirill Gerasimyuk	G	SKA St-Petersburg	Russia
95	Brett Harrison	C	Oshawa	Canada
96	Alexander Kisakov	F	Dynamo Moscow	Russia
97	Hugo Gabrielsson	LHD	Frölunda	Sweden
98	Nolan Allan	LHD	Prince Albert	Canada
99	Chase Stillman	C	Sudbury	USA
100	Justin Janicke	LW	USNTDP	USA
101	Kalle Väisänen	F	TPS	Finland
102	Wyatt Johnston	C	Windsor	Canada
103	Viljami Marjala	F	Quebec	Finland
104	Vladislav Lukashevich	LHD	Yaroslavl	Russia
105	Philip Granath	RW	Frölunda	Norway
106	Ty Gallagher	RHD	USNTDP	USA
107	Elias Stenman	C	Skellefteå	Sweden
108	Francesco Arcuri	C	Kingston	Canada
109	Roman Schmidt	RHD	USNTDP	USA
110	David Gucciardi	LHD	Waterloo	Canada
111	Maxim Motorygin	G	Dynamo Moscow	Russia
112	Jeremy Wilmer	C	USNTDP	USA
113	Cole Huckins	C	Acadie-Bathurst	Canada
114	Jimi Suomi	LHD/F	Jokerit	Finland
115	Theo Jacobsson	C	MODO	Sweden
116	Atte Lehikoinen	LHD	KalPa	Finland
117	Niko Huuhtanen	RW	Tappara	Finland
118	Jack O’Brien	C	Portland	USA
119	Eetu Liukas	F	TPS	Finland
120	Caedan Bankier	C	Kamloops	Canada
121	Linus Sjödin	C/RW	Rögle	Sweden
122	Ruben Rafkin	RHD	TPS	Finland
123	Jack Matier	RHD	Ottawa	Canada
124	Noah Meier	LHD	GCK Zürich	Switzerland
125	William von Barnekow	LW/RW	Malmö	Sweden
126	Dario Allenspach	F	EVZ Zug	Switzerland
127	Victor Sjöholm	RHD	HV71	Sweden
128	Jakub Brabenec	C	Brno	Czech Republic
129	Lukas Pajer	F	Hradec Králové	Czech Republic
130	Aleksi Malinen	LHD	JYP	Finland
131	Jonathan Myrenberg	RHD	Linköping	Sweden
132	Ryan Winterton	RW	Hamilton	Canada
133	Oliver Moberg	RW	AIK	Sweden
134	Jackson Blake	RW	Chicago	USA
135	Dmitri Zugan	C	CSKA Moscow	Russia
HM	David Ma	LHD	Chicago	USA
HM	Tyson Galloway	LHD	Calgary	Canada
HM	Tomas Suchanek	G	HC Frydek-Mistek	Czech Republic
HM	Dmitri Kostenko	RHD	Togliatti	Russia
HM	Christopher Merisier-Ortiz	LHD	Blainville-Boisbriand	Canada
HM	Tyler Boucher	RW	USNTDP	USA
HM	Pavel Tyutnev	RW	Yaroslavl	Russia
HM	Semyon Vyazovoy	G	Ufa	Russia
HM	Owen Bartoszkiewicz	G	Wichita Falls	USA

Photo Credit: Robert Murray / WHL

Scouting Report written by Josh Tessler

Ryder Korczak is a 2021 NHL Draft eligible prospect, who hails from Yorkton, Saskatchewan.

He is the son of Chad Korczak and Tricia Korczak. Chad is the general manager of the Yorkton Maulers U18 AAA team and played collegiate hockey in the United States for the University of Illinois-Chicago and Michigan Technological University.

His brother Kaedan Korczak played in the WHL for the Kelowna Rockets and was drafted in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by the Vegas Golden Knights.

Ryder and Kaedan both played U18 hockey for the Yorkton Maulers U18 AAA squad before making their WHL debuts. Ryder was initially drafted by the Calgary Hitmen at 29th overall in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft. He played one full season with Calgary before being traded to the Moose Jaw Warriors in a trade for Jett Woo (Vancouver Canucks prospect).

TRADE: The Warriors have acquired Ryder Korczak (02), Vladislav Yeryomenko (99), a 1st RND pick in 2019, a conditional 3rd in 2020, & a 2nd RND pick in 2021 from the Calgary Hitmen in exchange for Jett Woo (00).
The 1st round pick in 2019 is the 11th overall pick in the draft.

— Moose Jaw Warriors (@MJWARRIORS) May 2, 2019

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, Ryder didn’t get to play a full season for the Moose Jaw Warriors this season. But, he played in 17 games and recorded 16 points (three goals and 13 assists). The bulk of his primary assists came on the powerplay.

Korczak is one of a few draft eligible prospects on the Moose Jaw Warriors. Eric Alarie, Cole Jordan and Max Wanner are also 2021 NHL Draft eligible prospects. They also have a couple notable 2022 and 2023 NHL Draft eligible prospects in Brayden Yager (2023) and Denton Mateychuk (2022).

Player Profile

D.O.B – September 23, 2002
Nationality – Canada
Draft Eligibility – 2021
Height –5’10
Weight –159 lbs
Position – Center
Handedness – Right

Korczak’s Style Of Play

Offense

This past season, Korczak’s points on the power-play increased when you compare them to his 2019-2020 power-play points. In his 2019-2020 season, 18 of his 49 total assists came on the power-play. In addition, Korczak netted five power-plays goal that season. When you add up all of his power-play points from 2019-2020, you see that 34% of his total points came on the power-play. In 2020-2021, 43% of his total points came on the power-play. It’s also worth noting that the majority of his primary assists from this past season came when up a man.

While I’m bringing up production, keep in mind that Korczak played far fewer games this season than the previous one due to COVID-19. Some players take longer to heat up and produce. Some players are quick starters. So, it’s hard to tell what type of production Korczak would have posted in a full season.

In general, Korczak is a perimeter passer. What that means is that he attempts a lot more passes from the perimeter than down low and/or in the slot. But, while he will cross the perimeter at times to complete a pass, keep in mind that sometimes he doesn’t go that far in to attempt a pass. Throughout the 2020-2021 season, I noticed that Korczak recorded multiple primary assists when he skated slightly past the perimeter. In Korczak’s 2019-2020 campaign, in which he played nearly a full season, five of his 26 primary assists came from the perimeter. But, it’s clear that there was a massive uptick in perimeter pass attempts this past season.

Let’s stay on passing in the offensive zone for a bit longer. Korczak will work the cycle and determine the best spot for him to skate in order to identify a passing lane. He will scour high and medium danger, find a gap and might utilize behind the back passing to be sly. When he’s working the cycle, he will wrap the net to seek out any gaps at net front to exploit. Korczak has proven that he can thread the needle through tight lanes with a cross ice pass with ease.

A couple 2021 #NHLDraft prospects showin' us how it's done – Ryder Korczak connects with Eric Alarie & it's 1-0!@MJWARRIORS | #SubwayWHLHub pic.twitter.com/lA9NJeN4QW

— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 20, 2021

His goal scoring numbers were down this year and that was going to happen due to the amount of games played, but his goals per game numbers were down too. In 2019-2020, he had a 0.29 goals per game. This past season, he averaged 0.18 goals per game. His three goals this past season were a mixed bag. He scored a snap shot goal from the perimeter on the power-play, a deflection goal off of a shot from Mateychuk and a goal at net-front after gaining possession of the puck from a successful forecheck. Ultimately, Korczak’s shooting style isn’t likely to generate a plethora of goals. He gets his shot on net, but doesn’t generate the height with his stick blade and needs to open up his blade a bit more. Korczak also will struggle with shot placement. A decent amount of his shots are aimed at the opposing goaltender’s chest.

When driving to the net, you will see Korczak struggle especially against more physical daunting defensemen like New York Rangers prospect Braden Schneider. He will struggle to work around them and the gap cancels out rather quickly. Korczak needs to grow and develop his upper body strength in order to push off defenders to open up space for himself.

On the forecheck, Korczak typically supervises/provides support and insurance when his teammates are in the trenches. This allows Korczak to provide his teammates with an open man should they win the puck battle.

When Korczak does get more involved in puck battles, he will look to be physical but will struggle with causing hits with impact. His checks don’t follow through and won’t lead to many turnovers. Korczak’s physicality reminds me of the same challenges that SKA St. Petersburg forward Nikita Chibrikov has.

Skating

Korczak utilizes good outside edges to shift around defenders in transition and when in the offensive zone. While he does have strong outside edges, his inside edges need further development. He will face challenges with inside edge stability.

He will utilize a lot of crossovers in transition for acceleration. In addition, he will use multiple one skate short extensions in repetition to keep his feet moving. It’s similar to what Colorado Avalanche prospect Colby Ambrosio does to garner acceleration. Ultimately, Korczak will lean on crossovers as he doesn’t have a lengthy power stride. But, there are instances where you will see Korczak widen his skate extensions.

His ankle flexion is solid when he does so, but in normal stride, Korczak’s ankle flexion needs slightly further development. His knees won’t always line up with the toe of his skates.

Stick-Handling

From a stick-handling perspective, Korczak can complete windmill stick-handling through the legs. Korczak displays quality puck-handling and will carry the puck along the middle of his stick blade.

But, there are times where he will cough up the puck and displays some puck security issues. This has to do with Korczak’s reachability and upper body strength. When Korczak acquires the necessary upper body strength for physicality as we mentioned before, he will more than likely inherit the ability to widen his reach.

Transitional Play

When in transition, Korczak will skate along past puck battles at the boards to supervise and provide an outlet. It’s similar to how he plays on the forecheck. As a center, you don’t want him jumping into too many puck battles. You want him driving play and he does that quite well. He completes a lot of controlled zone entries. In most cases, Korczak will gain possession of the puck in the neutral zone off of a pass from a defender. On the power-play, you will see Korczak gain possession of the puck in the neutral zone on a tap pass from a defender. He will use crossovers to gain momentum and acceleration. When instilling the rush from the defensive zone, most of the time, Korczak will opt to complete zone exit passes to get the puck into the neutral zone.

Ryder Korczak – @MJWARRIORS

A prime example of the his strength. Awareness in transition. High-level puck control. Deceptive passing. He has the ability to anticipate passing lanes and facilitate with creativity and poise. #2021NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/C2DnUFWwo7

— Puck Preps Western Canada (@PuckPrepsWestCa) June 5, 2021

When defending in transition, Korczak will often be behind the rush. This has more to do with skating then defensive awareness. With his stride length being slightly inconsistent, it becomes a challenge for Korczak to gain the necessary acceleration to be in front of the rush.

Defense

In the defensive zone, Korczak will join his defenders and put pressure on the puck carrier along the boards, not a lot of pressure but enough to box him in. Korczak looks to implement trap defense in low danger and find an opportunity to strip the puck away with a poke check. Korczak will enter into puck battles along the corners when his teammates lose vision of the puck and skate off to other spots in the defensive zone leaving the puck carrying attacker with a lot of open ice. Instead of hoping that another teammate steps up, Korczak takes ownership and implements pressure on the attacker. Not only will Korczak cover down low, but he will push up to the blue-line to defend the point. In addition, he will position himself in the slot when his defenders are in the slot as well and the attack is working along the half-wall with two attackers in the slot. Korczak will try to keep the attack away from the slot and surprise the attackers in the slot should they get possession of the puck off of a pass. It’s all about eliminating passing lanes.

The only area in the defensive zone that needs further development is his physicality and upper body strength. He will face challenges when obtaining loose pucks and countering a more physically-gifted forward.

Projection

Top 9 Center

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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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Photo Credit: Mitch Highman/MJOYPHOTOGRAPHY

Scouting Report written by Paul Zuk

Tristan Broz is a talented, two-way forward and a 2021 NHL Draft eligible prospect, currently suiting up for the Fargo Force in the USHL. Broz was born in Bloomington, Minnesota, and rose through the rankings by playing for Minnesota-based prep school Shattuck St. Mary’s, up to the 14U AAA rankings. He was prep school teammates with Mackie Samoskevich, Scott Morrow, and Peter Reynolds, just to name a few.

Following his time with Shattuck, Broz joined the Minnesota high school ranks for The Blake School in Minneapolis, where he was nearly a 2 point-per-game player two seasons in a row. After his time spent at Blake, Broz took his talents to the USHL and joined the Fargo Force, who drafted him in the 9th round, 142nd overall in Phase 1 of the 2018 USHL Draft. He’s spent parts of the last 3 seasons with the Force, and has watched his game improve, as he’s fresh off a 19 goal, 32 assist season for a total of 51 points in 54 games.

For the 2021-22 season, Broz is committed to the University of Minnesota, where he’ll join a loaded Golden Gophers squad, boasting the likes of fellow 2021 NHL Draft prospects Chaz Lucius, Matthew Knies, and Luke Mittelstadt. Broz will be looking to build on a couple of successful seasons in the USHL, under the guidance of Gophers Head Coach Bob Motzko, and hopefully endure continuing success, as Minnesota will be looking to advance farther than the West Regional Finals like they did in 2020/21.

Player Profile

D.O.B – October 10, 2002
Nationality – USA
Draft Eligibility – 2021
Height – 6’0″
Weight – 179 lbs
Position – Forward
Handedness – Left

Broz’ Style Of Play

Tristan Broz is certainly an intriguing prospect. He’s capable of playing anywhere up front, but sees the majority of his ice time on the left wing. He plays an excellent two-way game, and can produce effectively in all areas of the ice.

This past season, Broz led Fargo in points, and was definitely a force to be reckoned with on the power-play. In watching Broz’ games, he was a mainstay on the right side half-wall on the power-play, and was incredibly patient waiting out defenders and goalies to pinpoint the perfect time to shoot. It clearly paid off, as Broz scored almost half of his goals with the man advantage.

Broz possesses an incredibly high motor, and isn’t often disengaged from the play around the puck, regardless of which zone. He also has good vision, especially with the puck on his stick. Broz can execute a zone entry, open up his hips to maximize his puck distribution options, and seek out a high danger chance for a teammate.

I had to slow down this clip to really appreciate the vision and patience shown here by Tristan Broz. He’s a special player who is going to start getting the recognition he deserves. #2021NHLDraft #USHL pic.twitter.com/LO7Yn1EjCX

— Dylan Krill (@dylan_krill) December 23, 2020

Let’s take a more in-depth look at the facets of Broz’ game:

Skating

Generally speaking, Broz possesses good speed, acceleration and agility. He isn’t a consistently explosive skater, but can turn the afterburners on and blow past defenders when needed. Broz also has fairly quick feet, which allows him to get the jump on defenders while breaking into the offensive zone.

Broz utilizes crossovers to build up speed, which helps him to fly through the neutral zone in transition. His edges are also really good, and he can elude defenders relatively easy with sharp, slick footwork.

Perhaps the only drawback to Broz’ skating is the fact he seems to turn it on mainly when there’s an offensive chance that arises. Coaches at the next level will be looking for him to improve on his endurance, and to utilize his skillset at all times during a game.

Offense

Arguably the most impressive aspect of Broz’ complete game is his skills in the offensive zone. In his three seasons with the Force, Broz has racked up impressive numbers with Fargo. Points aside, he’s also quite a talented passer of the puck.

Broz also has a significant amount of patience with the puck, and can wait out defenders and goalies to pick the perfect time to pass and/or shoot. He is also able to pick out a corner and hit it, with moderate success. Speaking of Broz’ hands, they’re sneaky good. He can confuse defenders with a simple deke, giving him space and time to make a decision with the puck.

He’s also very talented and successful at controlled zone entries, especially on the powerplay. Broz can easily draw 2-3 defenders on to his person when entering the attacking zone, helping him to distribute the puck to a teammate in open ice.

Lastly, Broz is a dynamo on the powerplay, and can play anywhere on the ice with the man advantage. As mentioned above, he loves to post up by the half-wall on the right side of the ice, as he’s scored nearly half of his goals this season in that spot. Broz can snap the puck around to teammates, but he’s also quite lethal at putting the finishing touches on a nice passing sequence.

We’ve seen this once or twice before🤩 @tristanbroz pic.twitter.com/QUr8gdusdd

— Fargo Force (@FargoForce) May 2, 2021

Defense

An underrated and possibly overlooked aspect of Broz’ game is his ability to play defense. Many may look at him and see a two-way player who is solely offensive minded, but that isn’t necessarily the case here.

Broz is a reliable, responsible defensive player. He’s utilized in the defensive zone just as much as any other zone, and can be the catalyst for Fargo’s defensive zone breakouts, when needed.

Broz is also an effective player along the boards in the defensive and neutral zones, and has little to no issue sacrificing his body to make a play. Additionally, Broz commonly pinches down to assist his defensemen in coverage, or to retrieve a contested puck, and he can do so with a decent rate of success.

Broz is also an effective penalty killer. This past season for the Force, he was counted upon in a penalty killing role, more so than the previous season, as he saw his PK time increase by almost a full minute per game in 2020/21. Broz is able to execute poke checks and jar the puck loose from attackers successfully with his active stick.

Improvements

Broz’ game is fairly well rounded. However, there are a couple of areas that could use some work if he’s to succeed at the next level.

The biggest improvement that could be made is to improve his consistency in pretty much every aspect. Broz has moments where it looks as if he can utilize all the tools in his toolbelt, to a great extent. On the flip side, he also has moments where it looks as if he isn’t putting in a 100% effort.

This one shift highlights so much of what I like and don't like about Tristan Broz's game. He occasionally falls in love with playing the perimeter so much that he's completely disengaged. At the same time, it's hard to argue with his finishing ability. #2021NHLDraft #USHL pic.twitter.com/7MOJbvMxm5

— John Gove (@PodStreetGove) April 29, 2021

More often than not, Broz has the skills to mask the issue, but as competition gets more difficult, masking the issue just won’t work. Based off his game tapes and the skillset Broz has, it shouldn’t be much of an issue for him to improve this going into next season for the Gophers.

Aside from adjusting his consistency and endurance, Broz is shaping up to become quite a serviceable middle-six forward at the next level.

Overall Outlook

Overall, Tristan Broz looks to be the style of player who can play an effective, two-way game, and be a key contributor to a team’s secondary scoring options. Broz’ versatility makes him an interesting choice for teams looking to add depth and scoring in their middle six forward corps. As mentioned above, Broz is capable of playing any forward position, but his skillset and talents may be best suited as a winger at the next level.

Broz certainly has the vision, talent, and attributes to succeed at the next level, and his development will certainly be aided at Minnesota, a school with a rich history of pumping out forwards who can put the puck in the net. Look for Broz’ game to take a huge jump in the seasons to come, especially if he’s found on Chaz Lucius’ wing in the near future.

Broz will be great value if a team selecting in the mid to late second round is looking to bolster their forward depth, and add a talented secondary scorer. Look for Broz to be off the board somewhere between picks 40-55 in this summer’s Entry Draft.

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stats from InStat and EliteProspects

Prospect report written by Paul Zuk. If you would like to follow Paul on Twitter, his handle is @paulzuk_81.

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