Photo Credit: Chicago Steel

Scouting Report written by Josh Tessler

Lukas Gustafsson is a 2021 NHL Draft eligible prospect, who hails from Alpharetta, Georgia. Alpharetta is a northern suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. Per the New England Hockey Journal, before settling down in the Atlanta metro area, Gustafsson was born and spent the first few years of childhood in New Orleans, Louisiana. Gustafsson’s father Marcus, a native of Knivsta, Sweden was playing in the ECHL at the time for the New Orleans Brass (the former affiliate of the San Jose Sharks). Marcus had played for the University of Maine and Division 1 hockey for Uppsala AIS before heading down to Louisiana. After moving to Atlanta, Marcus spent some time coaching in the Atlanta Fire system.

Lukas played youth hockey for the Atlanta Fire before moving up to Massachusetts to play prep school hockey for Cushing Academy. He played alongside a few 2021 and 2022 NHL Draft prospects at Cushing including Bryce Montgomery (2021), Jackson Dorrington (2022), Cameron Lund (2022) and Billy Norcross (2021). After his 2019-2020 season with Cushing, Gustafsson was selected by the Chicago Steel in the sixth round of 2020 USHL Entry Draft.

This season, Gustafsson split his time between Cushing and the Chicago Steel. He played in 14 regular season games for the Steel, in which he recorded one goal and three assists. Gustafsson also played in two playoff games in the Steel’s Clark Cup Finals run.

Next season, Gustafsson is set to return to the Chicago Steel, but for his 2022-2023 season, he will be heading back to Massachusetts to play for Boston College. He will be joining Matthew Argentina (2021), Norcross, Cutter Gauthier (2022) and Charlie Leddy (2022) in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

Player Profile

D.O.B – December 16, 2002
Nationality – USA/Sweden
Draft Eligibility – 2021
Height –5’10
Weight –181 lbs
Position – Defense
Handedness – Left

Gustafsson’s Style Of Play

If you are looking for a versatile a defender, who can serve as a defensive forward, but who possesses the ability to create scoring chances in the offensive zone then Lukas Gustafsson is your man. Similar to my perspective on Halifax Mooseheads forward Robert Orr and Paul Zuk’s perspective USNTDP forward Dylan Duke, Gustafsson is a Swiss army knife. Wherever you need him to be, he will be there and deliver. I could go on and on about his versatility, but he reminds me of former Boston Red Sox fan favorite and now Texas Rangers hitter Brock Holt. Like Holt, Gustafsson will step in and play wherever you desire. 

After conversing with Gustafsson, I learned that he played forward in his days with the Atlanta Fire, but when playing U14 hockey, he shifted over to defense. 

Last season with the Steel, Gustafsson was deployed at right wing, left defense and right defense. Ultimately, it came down to the shift strategy of head coach Brock Sheahan. 

Offense

In the offensive zone, Gustafsson will jumps to the perimeter when there are puck battles down low. But that isn’t the same on every shift. Sometimes, when puck battles are down low in the opposite corner, he won’t just go to the perimeter, he will go to the hashmarks in medium danger.

One of the attributes that I really enjoy when watching Gustafsson is his hunger for the puck. Given his experience as a forward, he’s got the forward like instincts even when he’s being deployed as a defenseman. He will darts into the zone, sees his opponents setting up in the slot, bursts in the slot to shoot off of quick feed from a teammate. Not every shift, but in a lot of his shifts, you will notice that he will go to medium and/or low danger to provide passing lanes for his teammates. When there are teammates battling along the half-wall, he will give his teammates options up the middle. He will collect a pass from the half-wall, cut through the slot and create lucrative scoring chances at net-front. 

You can call Lukas Gustafsson the Brock Holt of the 2021 NHL Draft class.

In this game, he was the 7th D and lined up on the wing. This shift, he sees his teammates engaged in a puck battle, cuts through centered ice, gives his teammates a passing lane and scores. pic.twitter.com/5VkQyOBH4r

— Josh Tessler (@JoshTessler_) July 5, 2021

When stick-handling with the puck, he has excellent reachability. He can play the puck wide and acquire time/space for him to control the puck without fear of tight pressure. Gustafsson also has the ability to lure the goaltender from afar, which leads to the goaltender exposing gaps. With luring the goaltender over, he has freed up gaps on the goaltender’s blocker side and Gustafsson will exploit those gaps with backhand shots to throw the goaltender off-guard.

From an offensive passing perspective, while Gustafsson does enjoy going down low, don’t expect numerous dangerous passing attempts. Gustafsson prefers to catch the attack off-guard instead of being the play-maker down low. When it comes to his passing, he generally prefers making clean tape-to-tape feeds from the point to teammates along the half-wall instead of keying up dangerous passes. But, with that being said, he will deliver a few quality feeds from the point to teammates in the slot. 

When you look at Gustafsson’s shot, you will notice that he isn’t always accurate and sometimes gets too much height on his shot. If he can further round out his shot, he will only improve his goal scoring abilities. 

If Gustafsson doesn’t have control of the puck, he will put a decent of amount of pressure on the attack. He forechecks just like a forward. Hungry for possession and will utilize an active stick to attempt to trap puck carriers. If he is in a forward deployment and it appears that his teammates have lost a puck battle down low, he will fall back past the perimeter and move close to his defenders. It’s similar to in European football when you have midfielders fall back towards their defenders when there is a change in possession. 

One of the biggest hurdles for Gustafsson is quick decision-making. It is a challenge for him in all three zones, so you can expect a little bit more color in the next two sections. There are times where he won’t a make quick decision when holding onto the puck at the point. After holding onto the puck for too long, that lures pressure to him and he’s forced to vacate the zone to secure possession of the puck.

Transitional Play

When in the neutral zone, he will utilize puck manipulation strategies which allows him to bring defenders to him in transition and then he’ll throw the puck to the other side to bypass the attacker and create clean entries. He’s shown that he can be rather excellent at driving through traffic in the neutral zone and creating controlled zone entries. It’s all about puck movement and Gustafsson knows just how to take advantage of attackers. But, sometimes Gustafsson has to work a little bit harder with his puck manipulation to generate zone entries. For instance, when facing tight pressure from an attacker who was staying stride for stride with Gustafsson, he ended up bringing the puck back towards his blue-line. Then, on a dime, he will complete a well-timed hockey stop, pivots and that completely throws off the attacker. Thus, allowing Gustafsson to create deception through his skating and puck movement and carry the puck up the ice without fear of a turnover. 

Gustafsson doesn’t always complete controlled zone to zone transitions, there are plenty of instances where he feathers diagonal cross-ice zone entry passes and seam passes to push the puck up the ice. In addition, when skating back for loose pucks and bringing an attacker with him, he will utilize saucer passes to get the puck over the attacker’s stick blade and onwards to the desired teammate.

When not controlling the puck but fighting for the puck, Gustafsson will use an active stick to steal the puck off the puck carrier’s rush attempt. He reached his stick out as far as he could while standing up-right and knocked the puck out once he got in range. Occasionally when Gustafsson is following the attack, he will skate forwards with the puck carrier along the boards, use crossovers to garner necessary acceleration and then flip to backwards skating near the defensive zone blue-line to trap the puck carrier and force a turnover. 

If Gustafsson’s defensive partner is covering the puck carrier along the boards and the carrier’s teammate is skating parallel to offer a passing opportunity, Gustafsson will skate in-line and hang with the non puck carrier. 

Gustafsson needs to work on open ice hitting in the neutral zone. He will try to go in for an open ice hit in the neutral zone and mistimed the pressure/the hit attempt. Sometimes, he will make contact and instantly fall as he struggles to control skate balance when going in for a check. Gustafsson will also get out of position at times, challenge an attacker along the boards and teammate doesn’t drop back to support his defensive partner. That has led to a few 2 on 1s.

Defense

In the defensive zone, Gustafsson will start putting pressure on the puck carrier way before the perimeter. Once in position, he deploys quality pressure along the boards at the half-wall and down low in the corners. He deploys an active stick and stays stride for stride with the puck carrier. He will push his arms and stick into the puck carrier to force him to hang at the boards behind the red line. Gustafsson uses his shoulder to lean forward and separate the attacker from the puck when the puck carrier is attempting to drive from the half-wall inwards to the net. 

There are also moments, where he is lightning quick right off the draw. When there is a face-off at an offside face-off dot in the neutral zone, he might let the puck carrier into the defensive zone, but quickly deploys and active stick to cause a turnover and pushes the puck out of the zone.

At medium danger or at the perimeter, he will bend his knees and put his stick blade in front of him to try to shut down puck carriers from skating into the slot. That forces ill-advised shots. 

While he does implement quality pressure and stays stride for stride in many situations, there are shifts where he is defending from slightly behind. In that case, he’ll wave his stick at the attacker’s chest to make the attacker believe that he has limited space. But, sometimes he’ll rely a little too much on an active stick for defensive pressure and lets the attack go around him. This past season, there were a few instances in which that happened. For example, Chaz Lucius managed to get around his active stick in a game against the USNTDP.

In general, his defensive positioning is quite sound. When the opposition has two attackers behind the net and has possession of the puck, Gustafsson and his defensive partner align and line up on both sides of the net at the red line to take a way a wrap around opportunity. He’ll cover his defensive partner, drop down for a loose puck along the half-wall if the partner is tied up higher up. When puck battles are along the boards on the other half-wall and defensive partner is engaged at the half-wall, he’ll position himself to the right of the goaltender and that allows him to grab loose pucks if the cycle tries to throw the puck down the boards. That also allows him to cover high danger areas if the attacker manages to hold onto possession of the puck and skates hard toward the net. 

His quickness to defensive recoveries and quick decision-making are areas that need further development. He will shorten up his stride extension length in the defensive zone and look back a bit much at the forechecker, which slows him down and put him into tough situations when collecting the loose puck. When Gustafsson slows down, he puts himself into vulnerable situations where he could get blindsided with a check and loose pucks down low in a physical battle. There are also shifts, in which he hangs onto the puck for too long while identifying a teammate to pass to and that allows the attacker to catch up to Gustafsson. 

Skating

Overall, there is a lot to like about Gustafsson’s skating. He deploys great lengthier crossovers in transition to garner the necessary speed to skate through the neutral zone with ease. His crossovers and edge work not only allow him to amplify his speed, but he also uses his edges to weave around traffic. 

Gustafsson also deploys good pivots when skating up the ice in the defensive zone. If his teammates gives up possession of the puck, he will spot the turnover, quickly react, pivot and dart after the puck.

The Atlanta native also can deploy quality hockey stops on a dime. There are instances where he skates in the offensive zone with control of the puck, sees a defender looking to trap him, deploys a quality stop in order to complete a crisp cross ice pass.

While he does have the ability to deploy quality crossovers, edges and hockey stops, there are situations in which his edges hurt his mobility and balance. Sometimes when transitioning from skating backwards to forwards, he will try to implement outside edges and lose balance. There are also shifts in which he is looking to defend two attackers in the defensive zone and accidentally deploys one inside edge and one outside edge. By doing so, it slows him down and diminishes his mobility. That allows the attack to skate by him with ease. 

But, he does have an excellent stride. His ankle flexion is aligned with the toe of his skate and can generate solid acceleration. When in transition, he will combine his stride with the lengthier crossovers that I mentioned earlier to help drive him forward.

Projection

Second Pairing Defenseman (NHL). But, he can step in and be deployed as a defensive forward.

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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: Rena Laverty

Scouting Report written by Paul Zuk

Next in line for talented defensemen from Minnesota is USNTDP U18 rearguard Jake Martin. Martin was born in White Bear Lake, MN, and played the majority of his minor hockey within Gentry Academy, the private academy which 2021 NHL Draft prospect Chaz Lucius and his younger brother, Cruz’ parents founded. He recorded some impressive numbers in his 15U AAA season, scoring six goals and 12 assists for 18 points in only 13 games.

Martin was recruited for the US National Team Development Program for the 2019-20 season, where he suited up with the U17 squad. He had a solid rookie season, totaling three goals and 12 assists for 15 points in 49 games, while skating just under 15 minutes a game.

This past season, Martin inherited more of a defensive role, although his statistics didn’t show it. Martin increased his goals (4), assists (8), and points (12) totals from the 19/20 season, all while averaging over two minutes less ice time per game (14:54 min/60 in 19/20, 12:43 min/60 in 20/21).

For the 2021/22 season, Martin will be taking his stellar defensive skillset to the University of Wisconsin, where he’ll join a Badgers squad led by Head Coach Tony Granato. Wisconsin will certainly be looking for redemption after losing the Big Ten Championship to Minnesota, as well as bowing out of the National Championship in the Semi-Finals to Bemidji State this past season. Martin will join a squad which features fellow 2021 NHL Draft prospect Corson Ceulemans, as well Brock Caufield, the older brother of Montreal Canadiens standout, Cole Caufield.

Player Profile

D.O.B – March 18, 2003
Nationality – USA
Draft Eligibility – 2021
Height –6’0
Weight –190 lbs
Position – Defense
Handedness – Right

Martin’s Style Of Play

Jake Martin is yet another product of a stellar program at the United States National Team Development Program. Martin is a defensive-defenseman who can provide a little bit of secondary offense. His game reminds me quite a bit of former USNTDP and current New York Ranger, Ryan Lindgren.

Offensively, Martin is an accurate passer at short, medium and long range passes. He can also find success distributing the puck under pressure. Martin also has an underrated amount of hockey IQ, as he can more often than not see a play developing and deliver an accurate pass before the opponent can pick up on it.

Defensively, Martin is an effective penalty killer, who can clear the zone with ease, as well as shutting down opponent’s PP. He likes to push attackers to the outside edges when they’re breaking into the offensive zone, so he can close the gap and retrieve the puck. Martin uses his size and strength to bring just the right amount of physicality to the game. can surprise opponents with reverse hits battling for the puck in the defensive zone.

Let’s get a little more in-depth with Jake Martin’s game:

Skating

Jake Martin’s skating seems to be the one aspect of his game where scouts arent overly fond of. He’s not a bad skater, but his footspeed and overall technique leaves a little bit to be desired. However, I find him to be a decently agile skater and is slightly above average in his ability to stop and turn on a dime.

Martin’s overall speed ranks about average in his class, but he’s quick enough to keep pace with hard charging opponents most of the time. He uses his crossovers to generate speed from his own zone through to the neutral zone in transition, which can catch opposing teams off guard.

As mentioned above, Martin will more likely than not look to work on his skating mechanics as he transitions to the next level, but to have imperfect skating ability at this level is definitely not uncommon. With the proper training and coaching, he’ll be able to correct these minor issues in no time.

Offense

When it comes to offense, it’s not the first thing you think of in terms of Martin’s most talented skillset. That being said, he does possess one powerful shot, but his accuracy can be a little bit off at times. What surprised me the most about his offensive abilities was his above average hands for a defensive minded blueliner. Martin’s able to stickhandle in tight spaces with moderate success in all three zones of the ice.

One huge factor to Martin’s offensive toolbelt is his effectiveness in transition. He’s able to hit a teammate with a pass or carry the puck himself with a impressive amount of success as he completes a controlled zone entry. When in the offensive zone, he’s quite content to get the puck in deep and chase after it, or stop his rush and wait for some help from his teammates.

With the right development at the next level, there’s a fair bit of untapped potential that Martin can bring to his offensive game.

Oh it's a party…a #MartyParty! 🚨

Three in a row for the good guys!#USAvsYNG pic.twitter.com/RItjkAIT3E

— USA Hockey’s NTDP (@USAHockeyNTDP) March 21, 2021

Defense

Without a doubt the most impressive trait to Martin’s game is his skills and awareness in the defensive zone. More often than not, he can anticipate where the play is headed, which allows him to block passing lanes and break up the opponent’s chances.

Down low in his own zone, Martin likes to play the man, tying them up or knocking them off the puck, while a teammate can corral it and move it up ice. Martin also has a fairly active stick when defending 5v5 or on the penalty kill, although his reach isn’t necessarily the largest.

When defending the neutral zone and his own blueline, Martin thrives on being able to push the attackers out wide towards the boards, closing the gap and usually succeeding in muscling them off the puck. Another noteworthy aspect of Martin’s defensive game is his body positioning when fighting off attackers. He isn’t often caught out of position, which helps him pick the right angles to pressure opponents and hopefully break up a potential scoring chance.

Perhaps my only knock on Martin is that sometimes he might not make the most neat of plays to shut down attackers. However, he can shut them down just the same. It might not always have to look pretty, but if it works, it works.

Improvements

As with pretty much any prospect, there’s always room to develop their skills. That exact statement rings true with Martin. While his defensive game is quite sound, there are a few other areas of his game he’ll certainly look to develop as he attends Wisconsin next season.

First, Martin could be a little more patient with the puck at times, especially transitioning out of the defensive zone. Watching film on Martin from this past season, he’s definitely improved on this as he’s seemed to acclimate well to USNTDP/USHL play. That being said, Martin has had instances where he’s thrown the puck haphazardly up ice and it’s resulted in turnovers in the defensive zone. Look for him to polish this up in the near future.

Perhaps the biggest flaw scouts see in Martin is his skating. His footwork and overall speed could use some work, as he can sometimes be caught a bit flat footed when defending against more agile and quick forwards. However, some adjustments to his overall mechanics should be able to correct the majority of the issues here. With the right guidance and development, Martin can certainly become an above average skater.

Lastly, Martin’s shot accuracy could use some work, as he can sometimes be a little off the mark when getting pucks on net, which leads to the puck exiting the offensive zone. That being said, there are times where his shots get blocked, but he may look to improve on this by being a little more patient in shooting, or dishing the puck off to a teammate elsewhere in the offensive zone.

Overall Outlook

When taking a look at every aspect of Jake Martin’s game, it’s clear to see that the tools are there for him to develop into an excellent top-4 defensive defenseman, who can also provide some secondary offense. Arguably, his floor seems to be in a bottom-4 defender, most likely in a shutdown role.

Jake Martin is an underrated name that's been catching my eye so far for the USNTDP, right-shot defenseman who's committed to Univ. of Wisconsin.

So far, I've found him to be a smooth transition player and a very capable two-way presence, someone to keep an eye on #2021NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/WZd3rOO729

— Brandon Holmes (@BHolmes_Hockey) October 16, 2020

Perhaps the most impressive facet of Martin’s overall game is his defensive skills and general awareness in his own zone, which are among the best in the Draft Class. There’s still some work to be done in terms of his offensive production, his shooting accuracy, and his skating mechanics and footwork.

Martin will without a doubt benefit from attending the University of Wisconsin, as they have excellent staff and are generally considered one of the better NCAA men’s hockey programs. If a team is looking for that shutdown type of player, with an added bit of offense mixed in, look no further than Jake Martin. He’s been scattered around in most Draft rankings, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see a team select him somewhere in the second or third round.

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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: Mikko Taipale / Jokerit

Scouting Report written by Alexander Appleyard

When you superficially examine Samu Salminen’s game he has all the hallmarks of a player who should find himself near the very top of the 2021 NHL draft. Domestic statistics?

Check. In both 2019-20 and 2020-21 he out produced each and every one of his Finnish peers in the u-20 league. Aatu Räty, Samu Tuomaala and Ville Koivunen are all talented players who may well go in the first round… but their production over the two years paled compared to Salminen. In fact, in the last 15 years the only Finns to produce more than Salminen’s 1.53 P/GP at under 18 years old? Mikael Granlund, Joonas Donskoi, Teemu Pulkkinen, Teuvo Teräväinen and Jesse Puljujärvi. Four/five have gone on to NHL success.

International play? Check. At the WHC-17 and WJC-18 he was over P/GP, played a strong two-way game, and was even named his nations captain at the u-18 World Juniors.

Physical attributes? Check. Salminen is already 6’3 and over 190lbs.

So why is it that the consensus has him going in the mid-to-late second round?

Player Profile

D.O.B – April 9, 2003
Nationality – Finland
Draft Eligibility – 2021
Height –6’3
Weight –190 lbs
Position – Center/Left Wing
Handedness – Left

Salminen’s Style Of Play

Unusually we will talk weaknesses first. Afterall, why is it that a man with the stats and frame that Salminen has does not seem in serious contention to go first round?

First is a big one. His skating. In the modern NHL there is more emphasis on skating that ever. The league is fast and furious, and it is therefore rare to find players who are visibly sub-par in this area to even suit up for a team. Salminen’s skating is not pretty. Not only is his stride short and choppy, he also skates in a very upright manner that seems to even further limit both his acceleration and top speed. But it is not just his technique that is a concern. He struggles to keep his feet moving and often glides in every zone. It is hard to say that this is due to any innate level of laziness, as he constantly tries to get into the right spots, but nevertheless going forward there needs to be more intensity to his skating alongside improved technique.

There are some positives to his skating ability though. He uses his edges nicely. This is especially noticeable around the net and on the boards. For a big man he pivots well and has some elusiveness to his game in tight spaces when the pace of the game is slower. Therefore, it may be that with some technical corrections alongside adding more strength to help move his big frame, his skating could round out to an acceptable level quickly.

Another negative is that for a player who has spent a lot of his career at center, his defensive game can be inconsistent. That is not to say he is “poor” defensively, he has some excellent games where he shuts down the oppositions top players. But for a player with a high IQ, who is excellent and reading lanes and utilising his long stick to break up plays, there are too many games, periods and plays where he gets out of position or does not pick up a trailer. For a big man he can also be reluctant to use his body in the defensive zone in situations where it would be more appropriate than a stick-check. Some of this inconsistency though is certainly linked to his skating. And if that improves his defensive work with become more consistent as well.

Now for the positives, and there are many with Salminen.

First comes his IQ. Especially in the offensive zone. He understands coverage in a way most NHL forwards don’t, and as a result creates space for himself near the net or in shooting lanes from no-where. This leads to both tap-ins for himself, as well as high-danger shots on a regular basis from inside the circles. This IQ is also utilized when picking out team-mates. He seems to have an instinctive knowledge of where his line-mates will be at all times, and can also manipulate opposition players into doing what he wants them to in order to open up lanes for his passing. When it comes to his passing ability he does not lack confidence, and is very comfortable on either his fore-hand or back-hand when it comes to threading passes through coverage.

Samu Salminen (2021) added a nice primary assist on the power play in Jokerit's 3-5 loss against SaiPa in the U20 action. Salminen is now up to 8 goals and 22 points in 14 games this season. #2021NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/YEsIkorU9M

— Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) October 24, 2020

But he is not just a play-maker. In-fact Salminen might be more dangerous as a shooter than a passer. He has great hands that allow him to get a puck in a position to shoot extremely quickly. He rarely double-clutches and even a pass behind his body or in his skates cannot be dismissed by a goalie, as he is still able to get it on goal quickly. His wrist-shot is impressive, but his slap-shot from the right side is one of the better ones in the draft class.

We're level again as the Finns strike back! #U18Worlds

🇫🇮 Samu Salminen (#2021NHLDraft) has his first shot stopped but gets a nice feed to finish off his second chance on the power play.https://t.co/gtfPFYtqPF pic.twitter.com/hkdWQfUuFS

— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) May 6, 2021

On the power-play Salminen is a menace, and it would seem that in this game-state any team would love to have two of him on the ice. Not only is he a fantastic net-front presence, who uses his size and high-end hand-eye coordination with aplomb to out-battle defensemen and get tips and re-directs on pucks that many NHL power-forwards would be proud of, he also plays well on the right half-boards. When playing on the right side, he uses IQ to find free lanes and sneak into the circles, before unleashing his howitzer of a shot to leave goalies frozen while the net ripples. He has ran the power-play at junior levels from this spot as well, and done a great job with his passing ability dissecting opponents with regularity.

Also in the land of doubles, @leijonat Captain @salminen_samu also picked up 2️⃣ goals against @deb_teams 🚨🚨 #U18Worlds #NHLDraft #Leijonat #Suomi #Finland pic.twitter.com/1Ho78JuVnD

— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 1, 2021

While Salminen can penalty-kill, and has been used the both for the national team and Jokerit u-20’s, his speed limits his effectiveness up ice. He anticipates lanes extremely well, just like at 5v5, and often intercepts cross-ice passes as a result, but such plays often fizzle out in the neutral zone due to his lack of explosivity. However, when he does get an opportunity he can create something special due to his combination of shot and IQ.

Samu Salminen (2021) makes it 2-0 for Finland Blue with a short-handed breakaway effort. Miko Matikka (2022) with the primary helper. #U18fi #2021NHLDraft #2022NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/xdaNMkDK58

— Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) February 2, 2021

If Salminen can improve his skating and clean up some inconsistencies in his game he could be a middle-six forward at the NHL level, either at center or at left wing. As such, it would not be a shock to see an NHL team fall in love with his game and potentially take him early in the second round.

Comparison

Artem Anisimov, Center, Ottawa Senators

The Russian and the young Finn share a lot of similarities. Both are high-IQ, high-skilled players who are fantastic around the net, and don’t only score but also dish out nice passes to line-mates. Additionally, while both possess big bodies, neither are the most physical player. They also both have great releases and a knack for popping up in high-danger areas without a defenseman in sight.

Salminen has the potential to be better defensively that Anisimov has been over his career if he can be more consistent.

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stats from InStat and EliteProspects

Prospect report written by Alexander Appleyard. If you would like to follow Alex on Twitter, his handle is @alexappleyard.

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: Candice Ward/Calgary Hitmen

Scouting Report written by Josh Tessler

Sean Tschigerl is a 2021 NHL Draft eligible prospect, who plays for the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen. He is initially from Whitecourt, Alberta, which is approximately a two hour drive northwest of Edmonton, Alberta. Highway 43 connects Whitecourt with Edmonton and Grande Prairie, Alberta.

Tschigerl played youth hockey in the Whitecourt Minor Hockey Association and with the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Edmonton. While at the Okanagan Hockey Academy, he played U15 and U18 hockey. Tschigerl played alongside several 2021 draft eligible prospects including Cole Dubinsky, Colton Dach, Owen Pederson, Corson Ceulemans, Kyle Masters, Oscar Plandowski and Olen Zellweger. In addition, he played with Montréal Canadiens prospect Kaiden Guhle.

After his 2017-2018 U15/U18 season at Okanagan, Tschigerl was selected fourth overall in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft by the Calgary Hitmen. He made his WHL debut in 2018-2019 and was featured in eight games that season for Calgary.

This past season was a shortened one due to COVID-19, but he did play in 21 games for Calgary, in which he recorded 13 goals and eight assists. Before the WHL season began, he had played in one AJHL game for his hometown Whitecourt Wolverines.

Player Profile

D.O.B – April 11, 2003
Nationality – Canada
Draft Eligibility – 2021
Height –6’0
Weight –181 lbs
Position – Left Wing
Handedness – Left

Tschigerl’s Style Of Play

Offense

Tschigerl is a gritty forechecker. You can expect him to exert his upper body strength to put pressure on the puck carrier and look to create a turnover. When deploying the forecheck and not looking to complete a bodycheck, he might hunch over from time to time, put the stick shaft or blade in front of the puck to manipulate the puck carrier into dumping the puck. On the penalty kill, he will forecheck hard, pounce when you play the puck towards him, deploys an active stick, nets possession and then he is one on one with the goaltender. 

Sean Tschigerl is awesome.

Forecheck on the penalty kill. As soon as the defender motioned the puck towards him, he pushed the defender down, grabbed the loose puck and went top shelf.#2021NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/1wpbqqerhf

— Josh Tessler (@JoshTessler_) July 2, 2021

While he has good upper body strength on the forecheck, he will struggle when playing the puck and utilizing upper body strength. Tschigerl will struggle at getting around the last defender, especially if they are more physically built. He has proven to be an efficient stick-handler, so I am just assuming that he will put it together soon. 

When he doesn’t have control of the puck, sees a teammate in a puck battle, he will move towards them and given them an option to pass towards. 

On the flip side, when he has the puck and is facing pressure from an aggressive backchecker, he will pivot out and drop to the half-wall to execute a pass. If Tschigerl has room to breathe, but facing the backcheck, he can efficiently stick-handle around the pressure. You can expect him to skate along the half-wall deceptively as if he intends to pass the puck back to the point, but then passes the puck up the ice to a teammate down low. There have also been times where he stick-handles around the goaltender and finds a small gap to exploit at net-front for a goal.

Sean Tschigerl is a player that is definitely better than the production for Calgary would indicate. Effort is consistent, only a matter of time before he breaks out. Speed, tenacity, and goal scoring potential. Check the change of pace attack here. pic.twitter.com/h9CMzECMlZ

— OHL Prospects (@BrockOtten) April 19, 2021

Mid-cycle, if he sees teammates engaged in puck battles down low, he’ll skate to the crease and offer an open teammate at net front. That has also paved the way for deflection goals at the crease. When entering the offensive zone on a 2 – on – 1, he’ll spread out and that makes it more of a challenge to the defender to adjust if a pass is made. That has led to great scoring chances and goals. For instance this season, he recorded a snap shot top shelf right side off of a 2-on-1.

With his shot, he has shown to have difficulty at generating height on shots from low danger. His stick blade is closed instead of open. Yet, when he skates into medium danger, he can then generate the necessary height to beat goaltenders. From medium danger, he can drain top shelf one-timer goals.

From a passing perspective, he doesn’t generate a ton of primary assists. But, he doesn’t have any issues with passing execution in the offensive zone. Yet, I do believe if he’s paired with speedy and excellent reaction timed forwards, that he will generate plenty of primary assists once he gets control of the puck off of forechecks.

Defense

Tschigerl is a strong defender when playing the point. He will execute poke-checks at the point, steal the puck from the defender and start a rush. When not looking to complete a poke-check, Tschigerl loves to skate up to the defender on the point, put pressure on them to force a rash decision. He will often lower his stick blade and stick shaft to force rash decisions. Tschigerl implements a quality active stick.

However, Tschigerl doesn’t often exert the same pressure along the half-wall on wingers that he does on the point with defenders, he will drop down to provide insurance for loose puck recoveries created by his teammates and serves as an outlet to drive the rush. While he doesn’t put a tremendous pressure on wingers along the half-wall, if the defenseman he’s covering pinches, he will skate hard towards the defender and box him in along the boards.

From a puck movement standpoint, when in possession of the puck, there are times where he holds onto the puck too long, draws pressure and doesn’t make a quick pass before the pressure hits him on the boards. At that point, it’s too late.

Transitional Play

In the neutral zone, right off the center ice draw, he’s aggressive to the puck, enters puck battles immediately. If he sees a puck carrier burst through the neutral zone into the offensive zone and no one is covering, he’ll pick up the speed and utilize an active stick in the defensive slot to silence the attack. 

Can't wait to see which NHL team drafts Sean Tschigerl.

The defensive awareness that he possesses is outstanding. He'll spot that there isn't a ton of pressure on the puck carrier and immediately dart after him. Utilize an active stick to shut the rush down. pic.twitter.com/tuqyvnwfM1

— Josh Tessler (@JoshTessler_) June 30, 2021

He will stay toe-to-toe defensively with the puck carrier to cut down passing lanes. He also thrives at putting pressure on the puck carrier by coming at them, he’ll play close to the vest and force them to rashly dump the puck. But, he isn’t always quick to defend the rush, there are plenty of shifts where he will skate after the rush. The cause for that has to do mostly with acceleration and speed. 

Tschigerl has good reach when grabbing loose pucks in the neutral zone that are further out on his left or right side. He’s shown that he can throw the puck around the defender and garner the necessary acceleration to re-take possession. You can expect him to complete zone exit passes with ease and will utilize a backhand pass to get the job done. He will look to be deceptive with his zone entry pass attempts. Tschigerl will toe the line in the neutral zone, skate to one side and open up the right side/a spot for his teammate on the right side and then fire a crisp pass for a zone entry pass.

Once he has control of the puck, he thoroughly enjoys skating into the offensive zone in an effort to create many offensive zone entries. But, he needs to be cautious about rushing into the offensive zone with three attackers glued to him, he will get into the zone and immediately coughs up the puck when facing that kind of pressure.

If he is in tough puck battles in the neutral zone, he’ll push you down as he has quality upper body strength to push pressure.

Skating

When initiating his stride, he will kick things off with a crossover for acceleration. Tschigerl will also utilize quality crossovers in the neutral zone for further bursts of acceleration. But, he will sometimes revert to rapidly deploying a repetitive stride for acceleration. Yet, that doesn’t work at gathering acceleration. It’s not consistent, but is an area that needs further development. 

Tschigerl does have some ankle flexion issues. He has a bit of a knocked knee. So, you will see shifts in which he can’t deploy inside edges as his leg isn’t bent far enough. Ultimately, his knees are not in line with the toe of the skate in stride. That hurts his speed, especially when he doesn’t help use crossovers for acceleration mid-stride. In addition, it also doesn’t help at skating in a straight line when in full stride.

But, he doesn’t seem to have ankle flexion issues when he is looking to go at full speed. When going at full speed, you will see him hunched over, knees bent and knees above his toes.

He’s shown that can he deploy crisp hockey stops with lots of snow when skating to the boards behind the net. If he has to stop on a dime as he is in a clear passing lane, he will deploy the stop in an effort to secure the puck and generate a scoring chance.

Projection

Top 9 Winger (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_.

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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.

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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!