Scouting Report: Mattias Hävelid

Photo Credit: Linköping HC

Scouting Report written by Alex Appleyard

Defense is in Mattias Hävelid’s blood, literally. Both his father and his uncle played professional hockey, with uncle Magnus making it as high as the Swedish Allsvenskan, and father Niclas making it to the very pinnacle of the sport. Over a career that spanned more than 20 years Niclas Hävelid played over 600 games in the NHL, and picked up both an Olympic and World Championship gold medal. But Mattias cannot be mistaken for his father. The areas in which they excel are almost diametrically opposed.

Niclas made his name as a defense first player who played hard, block shots, was physical, was a go-to penalty-killer and shut-down defenseman. So far in his young career Mattias has made himself noticed more at the other end of the ice. His performance at the u-18 World Juniors, where he was second in tournament scoring with 12 points in just six games, made the hockey watching world sit up and take notice. For good reason too, given that no defenseman in the tournaments 23 year history had reached two points-per-game before Hävelid.

But bloodlines don’t always matter. And one tournament is just a small snapshot in time that says very little about a future career. More importantly, what are Hävelid’s skills and how does he project at the highest level?

Player Profile

D.O.B – January 1, 2004
Nationality – Sweden
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –5’10″
Weight –172 lbs
Position – Defense
Handedness – Right

Hävelid’s Style Of Play

Offense

The first thing that stands out about the man from the suburbs of Stockholm is his shot. It is not an exaggeration to say that he shoots like a scoring winger. He might not have the “biggest” shot, which is no surprise given his undersized frame, but he perfectly understands how to use what he has to cause havoc for goalies. His slap-shot is above average from the blue-line, and extremely accurate for a player of his age, with a great release that manages to combine accuracy with deception. It is a “good” slapshot, but nothing to really write home about. The way in which he unleashes wrist-shots though? Notable to say the least. He is the kind of player who seems to intuitively understand the movement of both the goalie and the opposition skaters, perceiving where they will be ahead of play and choosing the perfect moment to shoot through a screen, or to shoot as the goalie is slightly off balance. The result is that his shots can sail into the corner of the goal from all distances and all angles.


He combines this ability well with deceptive movement at the blue-line or on the rush, hiding the puck and changing blade position deftly, in turn he rarely ever “tips” the opposition to his shot, and the first they usually know of it is when it is already past their shins and on its way to goal. Furthermore, Hävelid is a defenseman who understands just how to use his team-mates to make his release even more deadly. A good screen is only as good as the shot that is dispatched towards it, and the young Swede seems to capitalise on that regularly. Very few of his shots are not in an area that is tippable or delfectable for a forward. He rarely gets under his shot and 95% of the efforts he directs towards goal are right between his team-mates calves and hips, where it easier to get a stick on. The combination of all this helps explain why Hävelid scores so much for a defenseman without an “express” shot, as few of his shots are blocked, most are on net, most are through traffic and many are awkward for a goalie to deal with.

There are some though who would argue that the Linköping defenseman is an even better passer than he is shooter. His passing ability is not just confined to the offensive zone as well, it starts on the breakout. He sees lanes that are only open for a second and dispatches pucks right to the tape of streaking forwards with regularity. When he is on ice, especially at the junior level, his team rarely spend too much time in the defensive zone as a result of his ability in this area, as clean break-outs are at times effortless for him. Against men at the SHL level he is not quite as efficient in this area, with less time and better opponents occasionally making him force passes that are not there, but still, even at 18 years old he outperforms the majority of his team-mates in that area.

He also effects neutral zone hand-offs with aplomb, choosing the right moment when streaking up ice to off-load a puck to a team-mate and in turn creating zone entries that are at high-speed, hard to defend, and often result in an overload down one side due to a winger getting caught flat footed trying to deal with the Swedish defenseman barrelling down the ice.

In the offensive zone his previously discussed penchant to continually move, hide the puck and realise lanes mean he can be devilish to defend in relation to exploiting passing lanes, especially on the cycle. His ability to read lanes and understand where both his team-mates and the opposition are going to be in the next few seconds can result in beautiful “alley-oop” back-doors plays right through the slot to the opposite circle and goal-line, as well as passes through to unmarked forwards in close that most defensemen would struggle to see, let alone execute.

His puck-skills themselves are not as high-end as his passing or his shot. But he certainly possesses a boat-load of confidence in his hands, even if it might at times get him into trouble. He is never scared to take on an opponent 1v1, no matter what the zone, and in turn he can effect some beautiful plays to leave the other team a man short in the areas where it matters. This can, however, result in some extremely ugly plays, especially at the SHL level. He has too often turned pucks over in areas that make it very difficult for him, or his defensive partner, to get back into the play, and going forward he will need to learn to pick his spots better with the puck on his stick to avoid the ire of team-mates, coaches, and fans.


As can be envisaged from the above, Hävelid is a terror on the power-play, and can dominate on the man-up in a myriad of ways. Alongside his shot, passing and deception, he walks the blue-line beautifully to create space for both himself and others. This is one area where he will need very little work going forward, and could be ready to quarter-back an NHL unit in the next few years, even if the rest of his game is not quite ready for the highest level at that venture.

Defense

With an offensive skill-set as described above, but not universally ranked inside the first round? Well, you can probably guess that some of the black marks against Hävelid are in relation to his play in his own zone.

But the overall picture is not one of neglect for his assignments, or a lack of understanding of tactics, structure or a willingness to work hard in the defensive zone. It is more just small issues in a number of areas that add up to negatively impact his ability to positively impact play at his own end.

First is to address the elephant in the room. A 5’10, European, offense first defenseman? Well, the stereotype would be a lack of physical game. But given who his father was, it should not really be a surprise that Hävelid the younger is not scared to get his hands dirty. Now, he will never be mistaken for a bruiser of any description, but he never shies away from the tough areas of the ice, and is more than happy to deliver the boom when necessary. That being said, he does struggle to win 1v1 battles against men. But that is really just a given at his age, size, in one of the best pro leagues on earth. His frame is certainly not “small” for his height. He has a solid build and can certainly, with age and maturity, at least hold his own in the corners and around the net.

His blue-line play could be described best as “inconsistent”. When he is at his best – often vs peers his own age – he maintains a consistent gap through the neutral zone, wages the angle well, and then pivots to cut off any legitimate path to danger areas, forcing forwards towards the boards or his active stick. The result is either the necessity of a dump play of a break-up that can send the puck the other way. However, at times the righty blueliner seems to err too much on the side of caution, pivoting early and simply trying to maintain his gap ad infinitum.  This can mean that before he knows it he is in a compromising position near his own circles with a forward who has more speed and an array of options at his disposal, I.E. walking himself into a trap of his own making by choosing to do nothing instead of risking losing a 1v1 battle. In theory his gap therefore often looks good to the naked eye, but is in practice ineffective. For a player who excels so much with the puck on his stick trying to make things happen, he needs to transpose some of that mentality to his game when he does not have the puck.

Overall though, the issues that Hävelid has at this venture are correctable. Some will arguably correct themselves simply with the passing of time as he gets bigger, stronger, and sees more hockey at a high level. He will likely never be a defensive stalwart, but he can certainly round out into a player who has a net positive impact at the highest level on his own side of the ice.

Skating

Any analysis of Hävelid’s skating has to be nuanced in nature. First, for the good, and there is a lot of good there. His edge-work can leave opposition players stranded in danger areas and his lateral movement is a beauty to behold, both at speed and at a slower pace when on the cycle. He excels when skating the puck up ice and is the type of player who almost seems faster when the puck is on his stick, partially as he perceives the ice in front of him to such a high level, and partially as when he is dictating play he exudes confidence and is deceptive to the point that few can second guess what he will do next.

As expected with a player who has high-end edge work, this ability extends to his first step, and in turn acceleration. He can change the pace of the play at will, speeding up and slowing down as he wishes and making opponents dance to his tune. He showcases this exceptionally well in the final few feet of the neutral zone when heading up ice, often beating a man clean near the red-line, before virtually stopping play at the perfect time as his team-mates join him over the blue-line as he enters the offensive zone, while the opposition player who he beat not second ago then over-commits getting back into the play and handcuffs themselves into to deep a position to give Hävelid the space to start effectively cycling the puck. So many chances for his team come in the early stages of such cycles due to his ability here. He also pivots beautifully, which can give him time in the defensive zone that many other defensemen cannot afford themselves, and means he is rarely on the wrong side of a play.

The area that the young defenseman needs to improve on though is top end speed. He is at very worst average in that area, but with slightly more speed to burn he would be a true terror to defend, especially on the cycle, and be able to rely less on his hands to beat people in stride. There is really nothing overly problematic with his stride, so there is certainly a hope that with more maturity this will come naturally.

Projection

With really only his size and a few smaller issues to clean up across the rest of his game, Hävelid has a good chance to be an NHL player down the line. Upside wise there will likely be very few defensemen, if any, potentially available after the end of the first round who have what it takes to be better than the young Swede. If everything goes well development wise he could round out into a good number three NHL defenseman who can quarterback a top power-play unit. Furthermore, even if he simply keeps developing at a solid pace he could maybe find a home in the NHL as a #4-5 defenseman who can drive play and pick up points.

Latest Update

July 6, 2022

stats from InStat and EliteProspects

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

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Scouting Reports: The Rest of the WHL

Photo Credit: Rob Wallator/Calgary Hitmen (photo of Jace Weir)

Scouting Report written by Matthew Somma

We’ve nearly arrived at the NHL draft after what feels like a long season given how short the last season was. I’ve been honored to have the opportunity to scout the WHL this season and there are plenty of players that I have watched this season that I will be unable to profile in the coming days. That’s where this post comes in. Below, you’ll find brief scouting reports on most of the players that I kept track of this season. These will give you a brief understanding of the player and what I like or dislike about the player, as well as what some projectable tools are. I’ll be giving my take on each selection from the WHL on draft day, so be sure to follow along on Twitter for more. I’ll follow along with our final rankings and then go with players that I believe could be drafted at some point.

Jace Weir

Weir has potential as a fifth or sixth defenseman at the NHL level due to his size, physicality and strong passing ability. He’s a smart player that can get the puck out of the zone and initiate a breakout, allowing for his team to turn the other way and create offense. Weir’s skating is average at best and will need to improve in order to keep up with an NHL pace, but the other tools in his game make me believe he’s worth a flyer starting in the middle of the third round. Weir is a capable defender with very few weaknesses other than his skating, so I believe that he could be an NHL defender. His upside is my other question mark. I don’t see a lot of offense in his game beyond the occasional simple pass to a teammate in the offensive zone. He likes to carry the puck and isn’t afraid to shoot, but there’s no one area of his offensive game that makes him a true threat on the power play.

Brayden Schuurman

Schuurman is a player that I’ve liked more and more over the course of the season. After watching more of his games from this past season, I’d feel comfortable taking him in the third round or later. He’s a shifty skater that moves with a ton of pace through the neutral and offensive zones. Schuurman can be a dual threat in the offensive zone with his solid playmaking and goal scoring abilities, but what surprises me the most about him is how strong he is on the puck. A lot of undersized forwards struggle to win puck battles in their draft year, but not Schuurman. He’s a strong player that can hold his own against bigger players, giving him an edge along the boards and in the middle of the ice.

Hudson Thornton

Thornton scares me a bit. I don’t question his offensive game. In fact, I think he’s a great passer and a legitimate power play quarterback at this level. The issue that I have with Thornton is that he is very rough defensively. He struggles with decision making at times and it can lead to turnovers in his own end. There’s upside in Thornton’s game, but the risk with his poor defensive play will cause teams to shy away until the second half of the draft, in my opinion.

Josh Filmon

Filmon has real potential, especially considering the fact that he’s a 6’2″ forward that hasn’t filled out yet. Once he adds muscle, he could be a force in the WHL. I liked Filmon at times this season, particularly when it came to goal scoring. He’s a great shooter with solid hockey sense and can find open patches of ice with relative ease. I do find that he can be inconsistent, and his effort level can dip from time to time. I’m not as worried about his slight frame since he still has plenty of time to add muscle. Filmon has top nine upside, at least in my opinion. I don’t see the ability to truly take over a shift and dominate, but I do see enough offensive skill for Filmon to be a nice complementary piece down the road.

Grayden Siepmann

Siepmann and Weir fall into the same category, in my eyes. Both are defenders whose ceilings max out as fifth or sixth defensemen, but both have enough tools to have relatively high floors. Siepmann is a much better skater than Weir but lacks the physicality that makes Weir such a good defender. They’re both great passers and read the play exceptionally well. There’s more offensive potential in Siepmann’s game than we got to see this season. I think his hockey sense will make him a setup player in the offensive zone and that we’ll start to see him break out next season.

Mathew Ward

Ward is feisty. He’s a gritty player that can create turnovers and be a general pain to play against in the neutral zone. I find that I love how Ward plays in the neutral zone more than the offensive zone because that’s where he is able to be the most effective. In the offensive zone, his size can be a limitation and he isn’t able to gain separation as effectively. In the neutral zone, Ward can catch opponents napping and turn the puck the other way in a split second. He’s typically the setup player once he takes the puck from an opponent in the neutral zone.

Marek Alscher

I watched Portland a good bit this season, mostly for Marcus Nguyen, but I always came away impressed with Alscher. He’s a big, rangy defenseman that is great in all three zones, but I’m most impressed with his defensive play. He’ll knock players off of the puck, break up passes, sacrifice the body to block a shot, and more. Just an all around solid defender that can cover distances quickly. Alscher has some offensive potential in his game, and while I don’t believe that he’ll ever be a dominant offensive player, there’s potential in how he joins the rush and excels at keeping the puck in the zone. Alscher will be a sneaky good selection by some team in the middle rounds of the draft. After watching more film on Alscher in the past few months, I’ve been liking him more and more.

Mason Beaupit

Beaupit is a massive, six foot five goaltender that had a decent season on a middle of the road Spokane team. I see a project here. Obviously, he has his size working in his favor, but I don’t see a lot of strong NHL tools. He’s fairly slow and struggled to track the puck in a lot of my viewings. His rebound control was iffy, and while I do find that he stops a lot of high danger chances, he isn’t as great with ones from a medium danger area. Beaupit has potential as a backup at the NHL level. I don’t see the dynamic ability in his skill set to give him the ability to steal games for his team. I just see a reliable goalie that could play in the NHL.

Tyler Brennan

Brennan is so smart and knows exactly where the puck is going to be at any given time. He’s always square to the puck and makes it difficult for shooters to beat him because he’s already there to take away as much apace as he can. Brennan tracks the puck incredibly well and is arguably one of the smartest goalies in this entire draft. He’s one of the top goalies in the draft because of how smart he is and how easily he projects into an NHL role. I doubt he’s a starter in the NHL, but he’ll play games. The biggest concerns for me are Brennan’s recovery and his puck playing. He isn’t the quickest goalie, nor is he the most athletic, so if he gives up a rebound, opposing forwards can usually get a slam dunk goal. Cross ice passes are occasionally an issue, but he can also predict when a player will pass in order to get over, so he does have that going for him. The puck playing is frustrating. I’ve written down that I will order him bungie cords so he can stay in the net because he either turns the puck over to a player on the forecheck or he’ll throw the puck to an open area where it’ll result in a board battle. Like I said, he should play NHL games, but he’ll need work in those areas first.

Joshua Davies

Davies is one scrappy *redacted* and gives 100% every shift. I’m not sure about his long term NHL upside but he plays hard and his motor never gives out, which will draw the attention of NHL teams. That work ethic and energy could carry him further than it should. Other than that, I’m not sure what I see. He has a solid shot and some offensive skill, but nothing that blows me away. He’s likely a fourth line energy forward at the NHL level, so I wouldn’t draft him until the last round of the draft, personally.

Reid Dyck

Dyck had a fantastic showing at the CHL Top Prospects game, which put him on the radar for a lot of people. He played on a tough team this year, so his stats aren’t fantastic, but there’s real potential. He’s an athletic goalie with size and solid recovery time, which could carry him to the NHL. Out of the three “big” goalie names from the WHL this year, I’d put my money on Dyck having the highest upside. He may not pan out due to his erratic style, but if he does, he’s the only one of the three that I could see being more than just a backup at the NHL level.

Jeremy Hanzel

I didn’t really pay much attention to Hanzel during the regular season. I was much more occupied with watching Korchinski, Schaefer and Gustafson, so Hanzel wasn’t really on my radar since he was an overage skater. After watching Seattle’s playoff run, I decided to go back and watch Hanzel because I believed that he was one of Seattle’s best defensemen during their run to the WHL finals. He was everywhere. Physical, carrying the puck in transition, quarterbacking plays in the offensive zone, you name it. Hanzel showed legitimate NHL upside and competence in all three zones, and I can now say that I’m confident that he’ll hear his name called at the draft. I don’t see top four upside, but he fits the bill of an excellent third pairing defenseman with elite skating.

Yegor Sidorov

He’s a fantastic goal scorer and has one of the best shots out of the players that I’ve watched this year, but I don’t see much else in his game. There’s good skating, but he’s very one dimensional. Other goal scorers from the WHL in this class are able to impact the game in other ways, and I just don’t see that in Sidorov. Or I’m missing something.

stats from InStat and EliteProspects

Prospect report written by Matthew Somma. If you would like to follow Matthew on Twitter, his handle is @Mattsomma12.

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Scouting Report: Jimmy Snuggerud

Photo Credit: Rena Laverty

Scouting Report written by Paul Zuk

Next on the long list of talented, offensive-minded forwards for the NTDP is Jimmy Snuggerud. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because his father Dave played parts of 4 seasons in the NHL for the Sabres, Sharks and Flyers. The younger Snuggerud, however, is poised for a much longer and more successful career and can be found in a WIDE range of rankings, anywhere from 8th overall to the middle of the second round.

Jimmy Snuggerud was born in Chaska, MN, and grew up playing his minor hockey in and around the Chaska area, even playing for Chaska High School in the prestigious Minnesota High School League. He enjoyed a fruitful sophomore season, one in which he racked up 34 points in 23 games, while adding an additional seven points in three playoff games. His strong season caught the attention of the USNTDP, and shortly after Snuggerud made the switch to the U17 team to begin the 2020/21 season.

Snuggerud’s U17 season in 20/21 was somewhat of a feeling out process, as he was adjusting to NCAA/USHL competition. He finished the campaign with 46 points in 74 games across all competitions, building a solid foundation heading into his draft year suiting up with the U18’s.

The 2021/22 campaign was really a breakout season for Snuggerud. He finished this past season tallying 89 points in 85 games across all competitions and shined like a diamond in the offensive zone. One of the main reasons for his high offensive production is his shot. It’s incredibly lethal, and he put it on full display in the BioSteel All-American Game, rifling home a laser beam into the top corner to secure Team Blue’s first goal of the game.

In the clip above from the All-American game, Team Blue is breaking out of their zone, and as Cutter Gauthier carries the puck through the neutral zone, Snuggerud is playing the trailing forward on the right side. Once Team blue crosses the blueline, Snuggerud drops back a step or two to give himself some time and space, while Gauthier feeds him the puck. Snuggerud then positions himself in the middle lane, uses the defender as a screen, and rips the puck home, freezing the goaltender in the process. Just a beautiful goal.

Like his grandfather and father before him, Snuggerud is headed to the University of Minnesota for the 22/23 season, alongside his NTDP teammates Logan Cooley and Ryan Chesley. Golden Gophers Head Coach Bob Motzko will be thrilled to be adding such elite talent to his squad for the upcoming season and will be counting on players like Snuggerud to carry the offensive load, with talented forwards Chaz Lucius departing and Matthew Knies’ future uncertain at this point.

Player Profile

D.O.B – June 1, 2004
Nationality – USA
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –6’2″
Weight –185 lbs
Position – Center/Right Wing
Handedness – Right

Snuggerud’s Style of Play

During his time with the NTDP, Snuggerud’s game has truly developed from being a little one-dimensional into a complete, 200-foot effort every night. His time in Plymouth, Michigan has done wonders not only for his overall play, but for the more in-depth traits, such as his skating. He can really dominate and be a thorn in the side of defenders in the offensive zone, his transitional game is fun to watch, and he can be counted upon in the defensive zone to ensure the puck is kept out of the danger areas.

Snuggerud’s also not afraid to utilize his size all over the ice, especially when defending in his own zone, and while on the forecheck. He has no problem being physical when on the forecheck, making opponents uncomfortable with the puck on their stick. When you look at players like Frank Nazar and Logan Cooley, they’re incredibly dynamic playmakers. Snuggerud isn’t necessarily the best playmaker, but he certainly makes up for it with his work ethic and other talents.

Let’s take a deeper look at the facets of Jimmy Snuggerud’s game:

Skating

One of the bigger knocks on Jimmy Snuggerud’s game, his skating ability has some work needed if he’s going to succeed at the next level in the NCAA/NHL. Granted, he’s put a lot of time and effort into it while playing with the NTDP, and it’s shown. He seems to have fine tuned some of his skating mechanics, like his first few steps and his crossovers.

His improvement on these has led to more overall speed and agility, making his ability to change directions and keep up with the pace of play a joy to watch. These skills have aided his ability to play a solid transitional game, as he’s able to gain speed quicker when weaving through the neutral zone and around defenders into the attacking third of the ice.

To generally touch on his skating, he’s quick and agile enough to elude defenders both in the offensive zone as well as in transition. His skating mechanics seem to be on par with the rest of his game, and he’ll only improve on that as he faces older, stronger competition at the University of Minnesota in the seasons to come.

Offense

Without a doubt, the offensive zone is where Jimmy Snuggerud will earn his paychecks once he finds himself in the NHL. There’s just so many aspects to his game in the attacking third of the ice which make him incredibly difficult to silence.

Snuggerud is extremely dangerous from the blueline in and isn’t afraid to use his shot to punish goaltenders. He has a unique ability to vary his shot release, as he can make it as quick or delayed as he wants, making him unpredictable and very hard to stop. Also, his one-timer can be released from just about anywhere with a high success rate.

The clip above shows just how lethal Snuggerud’s shot can be, as he’s able to complete the tic-tac-toe passing sequence with a beautiful wrist shot short side.

Snuggerud’s quick hands also make him quite difficult to contain. When carrying the puck in transition, he can use his new-found speed to power through the neutral zone, make a quick deke or head fake, and stickhandle his way around multiple people. Once he’s entered the offensive zone, his options become more plentiful. Snuggerud can either stop and wait for teammates to get set up, or charge towards the net hoping to either score or generate a dangerous rebound in tight.

As mentioned above, Snuggerud may not possess the same level of playmaking skills as some of his teammates, but that isn’t to say he can’t make elite level plays from time to time. He’s able to generate a large amount of offense from below the goal line and enjoys passing back up ice to his teammates for chances on net, something that usually ends up working out for the NTDP.

When on the ice for the man advantage, Snuggerud likes to hover around the middle of the left circle, trying to find time and space for his teammates to get him the puck.  Alternatively, when in possession of the puck in the left circle, Snuggerud does have a high level of vision and offensive awareness to seek out teammates with some impressive seam passes.

Defense

Aside from developing the offensive and transitional aspects of his game, Snuggerud has also spent the past couple of seasons crafting his two-way game, something the NTDP prides themselves on, and for good reason. Snuggerud’s neutral zone play, and defensive zone abilities have drastically improved over the past 24 months, and he’s been trusted by Coach Adam Nightingale to effectively use his ice time regardless of where he’s deployed out there.

In the clip above, Snuggerud is defending the point when the puck is shuffled back to the defenseman. He quickly works his way towards the defenseman, forcing him into moving the puck quicker than expected. It results in a poorly placed wrist shot, which is blocked by Snuggerud. He then shows off his improved stride, legging out the other defender, and rifling the puck home to get the U18’s back level in the game.

Snuggerud currently sits at 6’2, 185 lbs, and he knows how to use every inch and pound of his body to his advantage when battling for the puck. He can effectively pinch off attackers along the boards and in open ice to recover the puck, simply by using his frame to box them out from the puck. However, when he regains possession of the puck, his decision making could use some work. Snuggerud tends to carry the puck a little too long at times or puts the puck in dangerous situations where there was a much safer alternative.

Compared to his season spent with the U17’s, Snuggerud is seeing almost a third more of ice time on the penalty kill, and it’s certainly earned. He tends to play the high forward role on the PK and loves to pressure the puck carrier to force them into turning the puck over or making a poor pass. When the U18’s are hemmed in their zone for an extended period of time, Snuggerud also loves to help his defenders with puck battles along the boards, in an attempt to clear the puck. More times than not, he’s able to retrieve the puck, and either get it up and out for a change or hit a teammate with a breakout pass.

Improvements

Jimmy Snuggerud has endured quite a solid and successful two-year stint with the NTDP, and as he enters his first draft-eligible season, there are a couple of areas to his overall game he may look to improve as he heads off to the University of Minnesota next season.

As mentioned above, Snuggerud has made some impressive strides in working on his skating ability. In the upcoming season at Minnesota, it will be intriguing to see just how much work he has done, as he faces much tougher, older, and physically stronger competition.

Lastly, Snuggerud may just look to improve on his overall playmaking skills. He is quite capable of making plays from below the goal line, either while cycling the puck to a teammate or hitting a teammate in close with a seam pass. However, if he’s looking to continue his abilities at the next level to make himself even harder for opponents to stop, he may look to improve on his playmaking skills from the attacking blueline in.

At times, Snuggerud has the time and space to deliver a crisp pass to a teammate but may hesitate and miss his chance. While he does have the skill and the shot to make up for the missed opportunity, he may look to be a little more assertive in his playmaking decisions.  

Overall Outlook

While many still believe that Jimmy Snuggerud will be a mid-late first round selection at the 2022 NHL Draft, he offers the sort of laser-beam shot and offensive skillset that teams tend to select quite high. His improvement on his 200ft game over the past couple of seasons has surely caught the eye of several NHL front offices. Perhaps a team with multiple selections in the first round (Columbus, Buffalo, Montreal) will look to take a shot with him, knowing they’ve secured their top pick already, and are looking for a prospect with a high ceiling they can have develop even further in the NCAA.

With much uncertainty surrounding a lot of prospects in the 2022 Class, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see a team take a swing on Snuggerud a little higher than most have him going. When the 2022 NHL Draft rolls around on July 7th and 8th in Montreal, look for Jimmy Snuggerud to come off the board somewhere between picks #15 and #32.

Latest Update

July 2, 2022

stats from InStat and EliteProspects

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

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Smaht Talk: It’s Time For Another Mock

Smaht Scouting’s Matthew Somma and Austin Garrett complete a first round mock for the 2022 NHL Draft in the latest episode of Smaht Talk. Austin also shares some of his notes from the Hlinka Gretzky Cup camp in Buffalo, New York.

If you would like to listen to this episode, you can find an embedded link from SoundCloud below. Our podcast can also be found on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

Smaht Talk: Talking With Zach Bookman

Smaht Scouting’s Matthew Somma and Austin Garrett spoke with 2022 NHL Draft eligible prospect Zach Bookman of the Brooks Bandits (AJHL). Bookman talked about playing hockey in New York State, coach Ryan Papaioannou allowing Bookman to be rather creative with the puck on his stick, going to Merrimack College in the fall and growing up a Bruins fan in Buffalo Sabres territory.

If you would like to listen to this episode, you can find an embedded link from SoundCloud below. Our podcast can also be found on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

Scouting Report: Tristan Luneau

Photo Credit: Dominic Charette | Olympiques de Gatineau

Scouting Report written by Josh Tessler

Tristan Luneau is a 2022 NHL Draft eligible prospect and he plays for the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques. 

Luneau hails from Trois-Rivières, Quebec. For those unfamiliar with Quebec geography, Trois-Rivières is roughly the mid-point between Montréal and Québec City.

His father and brother both played junior hockey. Tristan’s father, Dominic played for Cowansville Patriotes (QJHL) in 1993-1994 and Tristan’s brother, Tommy Luneau played for the Princeville Titans (QJHL) and the Québec Remparts (QMJHL). Not only did Dominic play in the Québec junior ranks, but he also served as an assistant coach for several teams that Tristan and Tommy had played for including the Drummondville Jr. Voltigeurs (Tommy and Tristan played for Drummondville), Victoriaville Jr. Tigers (Tristan played for Victoriaville) and Bois-Francs Cascades Bantam AAA R (Tristan played for Bois-Francs).

Tristan had played bantam hockey for Bois-Francs and Mauricie Estacades Bantam AAA before moving to midget. He played two seasons of midget hockey for Trois-Rivières Estacades from 2018-2020. Following the conclusion of his final season with Trois-Rivières, he was selected number one overall in the 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft by Gatineau. He was also selected in the sixth round of the 2020 USHL Futures Draft by the Sioux Falls Stampede, but had decided against going the USHL route and preferred to play in the CHL. Initially he was set on going to play in the USHL and the NCAA. Per Todd Milweski of the Wisconsin State Journal in a June 2020 article, Luneau had orally committed to the University of Wisconsin, but roughly a year after his commitment, he decided that the QMJHL was the best path for his development. 

Luneau made his QMJHL debut in 2020-2021. His debut season was shortened due to COVID-19, but he did make an impact and was fifth in total points for Gatineau. 

This past season (2021-2022), he had the second highest point totals in the QMJHL for a 2022 NHL Draft eligible defenseman. He had 43 points in 63 games and was four points shy of tying Jérémy Langlois (Cape Breton) for total points by a draft year defenseman in the QMJHL. 

Player Profile

D.O.B – Janruary 12, 2004
Nationality – Canada
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –6’2″
Weight –148 lbs
Position – Defense
Handedness – Right

Luneau’s Style Of Play

Offense

Tristan Luneau plays very much a conservative game throughout. In the offensive zone, he will pinch up for loose pucks, but doesn’t look to trap the puck and turn away from the attack. Instead, he pushes the puck back down along the boards to a teammate in the corner to keep the cycle alive. But, Luneau doesn’t pinch up into open ice past the perimeter that often from the point. If he pinches up, he typically plays the puck along the boards in low danger. Typically, he skates from the point to the corner and only if he can identify no one in the low slot will he carry the puck from the corner to the low slot to try his luck at net-front. When he does attack the low slot, he typically will struggle to manipulate the goaltender and net a gap to exploit.

Luneau does look to pinch up when he doesn’t have possession of the puck and will skate to medium danger to open up passing lanes to dangerous areas. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much success at 5v5 this year doing so, but I like that he is trying to tee up lanes down low for his teammates to use. 

When passing in the offensive zone, usually Luneau will look to move the puck across the blue line to his defensive partner. But, his lateral passes have a lot of power behind them and it can make it a challenge for his defensive partner to grab a hold of the puck cleanly. While he will struggle with how much power he puts into his passes, he can generate quality cross ice feeds from the point to teammates in low danger in the face-off circle. Luneau will also use saucer passes to get the puck over traffic and to a teammate just slightly behind the attacker. He does a good job of using whatever space the attacker gives him and thus you will see Luneau utilize tight passing lanes to get the puck to an open teammate by the red line. 

Given his conservative style of play, he doesn’t look to pass to high/medium danger areas from low danger very often. When Luneau passes the puck, he generally look to get the puck into the hands of a forward in low danger, who is closer to the corner. The idea is simple. Get the puck to that forward and either the forward walks the puck in or they feed a passing lane to high danger to use.

One of the areas that Luneau needs to work on is scanning. When Luneau carries the puck into the offensive zone, he walks into traps. He will have passing options to get out of the trap but Luneau plays a very conservative game and the passing options weren’t ones that a conservative puck carrier would take. So, when he walks into a trap, he just dumps the puck. 

Before shooting the puck, Luneau typically likes to keep the attack on their toes by moving the puck gently from forehand to backhand and then on a dime cutting in towards the left. By keeping them on their toes, it gives Luneau the advantage as he will push the attacker to focus on one side and then Luneau peels out on the other side. It allows him to gain a bit of separation and then takes a shot from the perimeter. 

When you look at his shot mechanics, he can be slightly inconsistent. Sometimes he will have good weight transfer on his shot and pushes his body weight towards his knees. But, sometimes, you don’t see him use the weight transfer to generate a lot of power. In addition, he needs to work on aligning his stick blade to the net. Occasionally, he will position the stick blade so it is aligned with the boards and not the net. When he positions the blade towards the boards, the shot goes to the boards and not to the net. Additionally, on some of his shots, he closes his stick blade instead of keeping it open and that impacts his ability to get height on his shot. 

Defense

While Luneau can generate solid speed for himself, he will be a tad slow on defensive recoveries. When he is slow on recoveries / loose pucks, he will struggle to net enough separation for himself after gaining the puck to complete an outlet pass. So, that leads to a lot of pass attempts that just don’t connect as he has to make a very quick pass to avoid the attack laying down a hit on him to trap him.

Luneau needs to work on using his stick-handling to open up lanes for him to use when facing tight pressure off of a defensive recovery. That is one of the fundamentals that he seems to struggle with. While he does do a good job of using whatever space is given to him and will complete saucer passes over the attacker’s stick blade when he sees a teammate just beyond the attack, he struggles with open up quality passing lanes, so he has to resort to riskier passing options. But, given that Luneau is more conservative with the puck, he doesn’t often look to make the risky passes and that leads to him passing up the boards and hoping that he can get the puck to a forward close to blue line. Unfortunately, when passing up the boards, he has far less control of where the puck will eventually end up and you will see a decent amount of his outlet passes fail to key up a rush because he has limited control of where the puck will end up. So, he needs to use stick-handling to manipulate the attack into skating to one side like he does in the offensive zone.

The other area that Luneau needs to work on with his passing is how much power he puts into his wind-up. Like I mentioned in the offensive zone, Luneau will put slightly too much power behind his lateral passes and that can make it a challenge for his teammate to capture possession of the puck cleanly off a pass. 

When aiming to move the puck up the ice and initiate the rush, sometimes his decision-making on choosing lanes can be hit or miss and he will take on an attacker dead on. Luneau will play the puck right to him and get checked. He needs to work on using his peripheral vision, scanning and then identifying attackers so he can move around them and continue driving the puck up.

When it comes to defending against the cycle, he needs to be far more selective on which attacker to pursue and which he shouldn’t. For instance, you will see him up pressure on an attacker who doesn’t have the puck, but do so too far up the boards. Ultimately, that forces his teammate to drop back for him when Luneau should be far closer to the red line. 

Luneau is effective at defending behind the red line, he does a good job of keeping pace and staying aligned to the puck carrying attacker. When defending in low danger along the boards, he does a solid job with his active stick to keep them along low danger, but his active stick isn’t working as a complete trap. His active stick doesn’t sandwich the attacker and force them into a situation in which they need to get rid of the puck on a dime to try to keep the offensive cycle alive. 

While he does use an active stick along the boards and is effective at keeping the attack in low danger, he doesn’t truly trap attackers and that also happens quite a bit at open ice. Luneau will extends his stick but doesn’t force puck movement. Attackers can move around the active stick at open ice and net separation. In order for Luneau to trap attackers at open ice, he needs to determine which direction he wants the attacker to utilize (ideally towards low danger) and extend his stick to the other side to force the attacker to use the lane that Luneau wants them to use. Afterwards, Luneau needs to be quick with his stick and pick the moment in which the attacker is most vulnerable to strike with a poke check. He needs to find the moment in which the attacker isn’t securing the puck. 

Luneau isn’t overly physical with his defending in the corners and in low danger, but he will lay down checks to cause puck disruption. In a loose puck battle along the boards, you can expect Luneau to use a hip check or should check to silence the cycle. In situations in which he is going for the puck from behind, he will use he will use his upper body strength to push into the attacker and stick lift to cause puck disruption to force a turnover. 

Defending against odd man rushes can be a challenge for Luneau. He will give slightly too much space on 2-on-1s by positioning himself slightly too close to the puck carrying attacker and changes his angling slowly. That opens up passing lanes for the opposition. 

When it comes to gap control on attackers who don’t have possession of the puck, Luneau does a decent job on the back check to put pressure on the attacker who is skating through centered ice to give his teammate along the boards a passing lane. Luneau stays glued to him to take him away as an option. By staying well-aligned to the attacker’s back, he takes away any opportunity for the attacker to move the puck once he captures possession. Luneau is right there for the picking. 

Transitional Play

When going back for loose pucks in the neutral zone, he will grab possession and drift towards his blue line to key up an opposition line change and catch the opponents off guard. Luneau does a good job of controlling the pace of play and manipulating the attackers to complete a change. The manipulation tactics open up ice for Luneau to exploit. 

Luneau doesn’t move the puck from zone to zone very often. Like I spoke about in the offensive section, Luneau will take the wrong approach when carrying the puck through the neutral zone and walk right into a trap with four attackers positioned against him. He needs to use his peripherals to see that the fifth attacker is disengaged and peel to the left as there is plenty of open ice. Instead, he gets trapped and has to dump the puck. It’s not the worst move since he would be forcing the attack to go chase after the puck instead of a potential turnover in the neutral zone, but he is still giving his attackers the opportunity to net a change in possession. By using his peripheral vision, he could enter into the offensive zone with control of the puck and create a scoring chance off the rush.

Similar to what I saw in the defensive zone, when Luneau has the puck on his stick and is looking to get the puck into the hands of a teammate closer to the blue line, he struggles with puck manipulation to dodge pressure and will then look to utilize the boards and complete a bounce pass. It does work, but he doesn’t have control over where the puck is going and if the attacker is tracking Luneau will, they could end up with possession of the puck instead of Luneau’s teammate netting possession. 

When defending in the neutral zone, his assertiveness can be inconsistent. There are shifts in which he doesn’t seem assertive in the neutral zone defensively and lets the rush come right into his own zone. He doesn’t use an active stick with his reach to take away space and isn’t aligned with his defensive partner. That provides the opposition with plenty of room and a variety of lanes to use to get the puck in the offensive zone. While there are quite of few oppositional rushes in which Luneau has taken more of a passive role, there are plenty of shifts in which he is well-aligned to his defensive partner and engaged from the moment in which the opposition moves the puck into the neutral zone from their own zone.

Skating

Last up, let’s quickly go over Luneau’s skating. 

He has excellent crossovers that allow him to garner acceleration. Luneau’s crossovers when going backwards allow him to keep pace with rush without losing ground. The crossovers keep him going and he doesn’t get into situations often in which he has to bail out and revert to skating forwards. 

Luneau does implement quality inside and outside edges when shifting lanes up the middle of the ice. But, he will struggle with his outside edges when he tries to shift from skating backwards to playing the loose puck along the boards. He doesn’t always lean on his edges and that hurts his ability to retain speed. When activating off of the turn, he has to gain all of the speed in which he had before the turn. That means that an attacker who skated forwards the entire way up the ice has the advantage versus Luneau who had been skating backwards and had to deviate as there were changes in puck movement. 

Lastly, his stride extensions have decent length, but he doesn’t have the desired ankle flexion and posture to go with it. His back can be hunched over at times and thus he isn’t able to get into a quality power stride. Luneau’s posture doesn’t allow for his knees to sit in tow with the toe of his skates when completing a stride recovery. He needs to push more weight over his knees to improve his ankle flexion, but that isn’t possible with a hunched over back. 

Projection

If Luneau works on his skating and keeps a conservative strategy when controlling the puck, I believe that his projection is a third pairing defenseman. But, if Luneau can adopt a more creative style to puck control, grow his scanning abilities and further develop his skating, his upside only trends upwards. I just want to see Luneau attack in the offensive zone with passes to medium and high danger. While Luneau does pass to medium and high danger, he doesn’t do it with much regularity. He needs to continue to grow his puck manipulation to open up space for himself and not revert to low danger shots. I’d like to see him grow more of an inside game and challenge more. If he does do so, then second pairing upside is possible. 

Latest Update

June 27, 2022

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!

Scouting Report: Dylan James

Photo Credit: Brianna Homan / Sioux City Musketeers

Scouting Report written by Austin Garrett

Dylan James was a part of the Clark Cup champion Sioux City Musketeers and is currently slated to join the University of North Dakota for the 2022-23 season.

James hails from Calgary, Alberta, Canada and spent the last three seasons playing in the AJHL (with the Okotoks Oilers) before moving over to the USHL this season. James rose to draft ranking consideration for me during Sioux City’s run for the Clark Cup where James excelled in the grinding, slower paced game of playoff hockey.

Player Profile

D.O.B – October 19, 2003
Nationality – Canada
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –6’0″
Weight –181 lbs
Position – Left Wing
Handedness – Left

James’ Style Of Play

Offense

Dylan James came onto my radar watching a few games of Sioux City and their top line of Dylan James, Owen McLaughlin, and Bennet Schimek. While McLaughlin did a lot of the heavy lifting in transition; I was always impressed with the role James was able carve out within the Sioux City lineup and how effective he was working within their offensive structure.

However, James proved to be a mystifying enigma scouting and tracking him. He was full of statistical contradictions that were hard to really pin down the causation to them. For example, in the four games I tracked of James he had 6 even strength points including 3 goals and 2 primary assists. In those same four games he completed just 59% of his passes and was successful in his transitions 64% of the time. Most of his transitions were pass receptions or carry-ins/outs without significant defensive pressure. 

Take this play for example:

He takes a loose puck with speed into the offensive zone and shows that he has some puck skill doing so. However, as he beats the defender wide he doesn’t protect the puck and puts it into a position to be swatted away easily. The defender spins with a wild stick check and knocks the puck off James’ stick. I like his process here and the effort he used to get around the defender, but he is going to have to be better at the details 

Similarly with this play:

James comes in with speed on a drop pass and when he receives the pass at the seven second mark there are a multitude of options. He’s coming from behind the play so you’d hope he had scanned quickly to see what to do with puck. When his teammate turns to pass to him and the puck is on the way I see three options for him:

  1. Change pace and directions and either a quick pass to the cross ice player or 1-2 strides into a medium danger shot
  2. A quick move and a feed to the player out front
  3. Beat the defender oncoming to him and then a quick decision out front or to the safety valve on the wall

He chooses to go by the defender but loses the puck and there isn’t any urgency to recover. He ends up turning the puck over to his teammate on the half wall.

While the overall data and the fact that there were more clips representative of those two I just shared than the ones I’m about to talk about; it’s important to note that when James put it together there were flashes of a very good prospect. This play is perhaps my favorite play of the five games I watched of James:

When he takes the time to scan the ice and know where to go with it with confidence and conviction he’s a very good playmaker. While I never saw him dangle anyone out of their skates; he does attempt to make plays that are pretty high-end. The process of knowing where to go with a puck quickly is there, but James just has to work on the execution.

The bread and butter of James’ game is playing as a power forward and passenger in transition who will beat you with his shot. He shoots a lot for a player that doesn’t have the puck too often coming into the zone, and while he shoots more from low danger areas than I’d like for him, he is always trying to get to those areas.

To summarize James’ offensive game: he’s not going to be a player who carrys the puck in transition for your team, he thrives as power forward role in the offensive zone, he has some skill but execution was not great, but there are moments where he operates with a plan and he looks like a second-third round pick. The best clip I can summarize James with is this:

Defense

Dylan James is a fantastic F1 forechecker. He is the first forward on the puck on the forecheck and has a relentless motor to hound puck carriers.

He uses his body extremely well to separate players from the puck and has an active stick in passing lanes. He’s often used in the penalty kill with his ability to win a board battle and constant motor. 

As a winger I find him exceptionally versatile as a prospect. His offensive game is going to have to be refined, but I think he could easily play on a team’s fourth line in an energy role where he would be great at grinding out possessions in either zone.

The only real concern I had with him as a defender is that he could be caught puck watching more than I’d like. While there were more instances of it being a cross-ice option that he wasn’t aware was moving behind him: this play you can see the defender activate while James loses track of them.

Projection

This has been one of the harder projections to make of the reports I’ve written. There’s a definite need for James to improve his skating. He has heavy feet and his lateral mobility needs to improve as well. I think with a longer development plan going to the NCAA and the motor he possesses shift-to-shift he’ll be able to keep an NHL level pace by the time he transitions out of the University of North Dakota.

However, I don’t know if he’ll ever really develop the skill level to project more than a bottom six winger. I am more optimistic than some because the biggest thing I like about James compared to other players within his archetype is that James’ processing of plays is very good and he’s trying to make higher end plays. If he were just bailing out of situations by dumping pucks into the zone in transition or panic shooting at the net in the offensive zone I’d be more apt to put him as a late round pick.

At the time of the final ranking I would’ve said that James fit to me as a second round pick who I would gladly take in the third round for value. Right now I would say that Dylan James sits as a third round ranking and a 4th round value pick as an option for a team.

Before I saw a more definitive middle-six, transition passenger but with skill and scoring touch. Now I’m less sure about if he possesses the offensive acumen to have that ceiling, and in the third round I’d be happy to get an NHL player if he ends up just being a fourth liner, but also I think there’s a lot more that he could be if things can improve over the course of the next year or two.  In our rankings I’d probably move drop him 11 spots to 65.

stats from InStat and EliteProspects

Prospect report written by Austin Garrett. If you would like to follow Austin on Twitter, his handle is @BMaster716.

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!

Scouting Report: Christian Kyrou

Photo Credit: Luke Durda/OHL Images

Scouting Report written by Josh Tessler

Christian Kyrou is a 2022 NHL Draft eligible prospect and he plays for the OHL’s Erie Otters. 

Kyrou hails from Komoka, Ontario. For those unfamiliar with Komoka, it’s a 20 minute drive west of London, Ontario. 

His brother is Jordan Kyrou of the St. Louis Blues. Jordan had played for the Sarnia Sting during his time in the OHL and was drafted by the Blues in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Christian played youth hockey for the Lambton Jr. Sting before joining the Elgin Middlesex Chiefs U16 AAA team. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2019 OHL Priority Selection Draft at pick #84 by Erie and made his OHL debut the following season (2019-2020).

This past season (2021-2022), he was third in total points for all OHL defensemen. Hamilton’s Nathan Staios led the league with 66 points. Saginaw’s Pavel Mintyukov was second with 62 points and Kyrou was two points away from tying Mintyukov. But, Kyrou did have the edge on Mintyukov in goals and led all draft year defensemen (playing in the OHL) in goals with 18. Given how strong Kyrou’s offensive game is, it will be interesting to see how he progresses in his development. Let’s talk about his overall game and what is next for Kyrou to refine in his development.

Player Profile

D.O.B – September 16, 2003
Nationality – Canada
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –5’11″
Weight –183 lbs
Position – Defense
Handedness – Right

Kyrou’s Style Of Play

Offense

Christian Kyrou is a solid offensive defenseman. He will pinch up and utilizes quality puck manipulation when looking to drive up in the zone. Kyrou does a good job of drawing attackers and then quickly moving the puck in the opposite direction. Once he has enough separation, he then attempts a pass to the slot. Usually, he has to make a quick pass and can’t hang onto the puck for too long because he has a short stride that prohibits him from getting a ton of separation. So, when he has just the amount of separation that he needs, he looks to capitalize there and then. 

When Kyrou has pinched up and is facing tight pressure in the corner, he will utilize good stick-handling reach when trying to get away from pressure. That allows him to net separation and then drive towards medium danger to attempt a shot or pass. But, he doesn’t just possess have good stick handling reach, he secures the puck nicely by playing the puck wide when looking to shift around pressure. Kyrou pushes the puck wide enough to ensure that the attacker can’t get his stick on the puck. 

When driving up the side of the ice and skating in medium danger, if he draws an attacker to him and he has a teammate skating in front of the attacker on the way to the low slot, he will use his reach to push the puck away from the attacker’s stick and then complete a shovel pass to his teammate. Kyrou does a good job of adapting to the situation at hand and finding a solution rather quickly. So, you will see Kyrou use a lot of tight passing lanes when looking to get the puck to dangerous areas and away from the attacker facing him head on. That has led to quite a bit of 5v5 primary assists. 

When trying to navigate around an attacker in the offensive zone who is implementing very tight pressure, he will try to cradle the puck underneath the attacker’s stick shaft. Given that Kyrou doesn’t have a lot of speed and his mobility needs more refinement, he will struggle with acceleration and that can make it a challenge for Kyrou to get the puck around the opposition without being deceptive with his stick handling. So, I love that he tries to push the puck underneath the stick shaft. He is working with the space that he has. Will it work every single time? No, but you can’t expect it to. Should he try it when pressure isn’t air tight? No, because that gives the opposition time to assess the situation and adapt. He has to do it when facing tight pressure. 

Kyrou will pinch up to grab a hold of loose pucks when they pop up along the boards at the perimeter and then he quickly looks to find a teammate along the perimeter that he can complete a lateral pass to.

Over the course of the last few paragraphs, you’ve read the words “pinch up” quite a bit. Kyrou loves to pinch up to place loose pucks and key up medium and high danger opportunities. While he loves to be engaged offensively, sometimes he will overcommit to puck battles. He just needs to be slightly cautious because if there is already two teammates in the vicinity, he could open up the risk of an oppositional odd man rush should they manage to capture the puck and escape Kyrou and his teammates. Given that he doesn’t have a lengthy stride extension, he can’t just bail out on a dime and get back in position to cover the rush.

When it comes to his shot, he loves to skate up to the perimeter and fire a wrist shot. Sometimes, he will look to shoot from medium danger but it comes to down to how much space he has in front of him. Since he isn’t the fastest skater on the ice, if the attack is defending against his stick-handling very nicely and not opening up gaps, he will struggle to get the puck to medium danger as he doesn’t have strong activation off of his edges to net the separation that he desires. Even though he will struggle to get a good shooting lane in medium danger consistently, he makes the best out of his shots from the perimeter. He has scored quite a few goals this season from the perimeter. While he has found a lot of success with his shot, he has a big wind-up and that can make him very predictable. Attackers will catch on quickly and understand that Kyrou is about to shoot. That allows the attackers to adapt and take away the shooting lane. It works in the OHL, but NHL opponents will catch on. Even though it makes him predictable if you have watched a lot of film on him and have a good read on his shot mechanics, he could utilize his big wind-up and be deceptive with it. Kyrou could fake out attackers and make them believe that he is looking to fire a wrist shot from the perimeter. Then he could cut in and take a shot from closer up. I’d love to see him use his wind-up to create opportunities like that and I think he could pull it off quite regularly too.

For an example of the lengthy wind-up, check out the clip below.

But, as you can see in the below clip, he use that lengthy wind-up to create separation and then drive closer in before shooting.

Defense

At the beginning of the season (2021-2022), his gap control was not preventing attackers from carrying the puck closer to net front. Kyrou wasn’t assertive enough. Over the course of the season, he started to be far more assertive. Unfortunately, his speed prohibits how effective he is when using assertive measures. Right now, Kyrou doesn’t have the foot speed nor the upper body strength to put up a fight against attackers coming to the low slot. He will try to lower his body and take up space when an attacker has the puck in medium danger, but he struggles with picking the right spot to defend from and he will give the attacker just enough room to get the puck past him.

The same positioning issue pop up when he defending along the boards as he doesn’t pick the best position to attack from. Since he struggles with gaining acceleration, he can’t use his lateral crossovers to get himself in place to complete a hip check. Instead, the attacker can skate around him before Kyrou delivers the hip check. By the time Kyrou is in position to deliver the hip check, the attacker is long gone and Kyrou ends up making contact with the boards. 

Not only does his speed hurt his ability to execute checks and hurts his gap control, but it also means that he struggles with puck retrievals / defensive recoveries. With his limited speed, he will struggle to get the inside track to the puck and more often than not he is on the outside. But, even in situations where he can get and keep the inside track, he usually isn’t fast enough to get the puck and the navigate out of pressure. Since he doesn’t have the speed to ensure a clean retrieval, sometimes he doesn’t go for loose pucks in the corner and I think it’s because he knows that he won’t be able to get the necessary speed to go north-south to collect the puck. So, he’d rather put pressure on the attacker who wins possession because he’d at least be in spot where he can trap the attacker if he uses his upper body to push them into the boards.

In addition to his skating speed, Kyrou also needs to work on reaction timing as he will struggle with poke checks and picking the precise moment to use his stick blade to steal possession of the puck. If he mistimes the poke check and the attacker has speed, the attacker can garner quality separation and get himself in possession to attack from more dangerous areas.  

When in possession of the puck and looking to avoid on-coming pressure, Kyrou generally is pretty quick at getting the puck away from danger. When he has an attacker approaching him at speed and he has an open teammate in the neutral zone, he will look to complete a quick bounce pass off the boards to get the puck away from the attacker and in the hands of his teammate. At open ice if pressure is closing on him and he has an open teammate not too far away, he will try shovel passes after pushing the puck far enough from the attacker’s stick blade to ensure that the attacker can’t get his hands on the puck. With his reach, he can also extend the puck far enough out from the attacker to gain separation, but since his speed is somewhat limited, he typically looks to complete a quick outlet feed after pushing the puck away from the attacker. Kyrou will also use puck manipulation to open up space for himself to complete outlet passes by luring the attacker to one side and then quickly cradling the puck to the other side. That allows Kyrou to open up passing lanes that he wouldn’t have had if he didn’t use manipulation tactics. 

Transitional Play

As I’ve mentioned throughout the report, Kyrou’s struggles with speed and mobility prohibits him from moving the puck effectively from zone to zone to zone if he intends to control possession throughout. When skating through the neutral zone and facilitating a controlled zone exit, he doesn’t have the straight line speed and the edges to swerve around on-coming pressure. Even though he does struggle with getting separation speed, he can rely on his stick-handling reach and his deception to get open ice for himself. He use similar tactics that he uses in the offensive zone. In tight pressure, he will look to push the puck underneath the triangle to get around the attacker. So after quickly netting the slightest amount of separation, he doesn’t hold onto the puck for long and looks to complete a pass to a forward near the offensive zone blue line.

When he doesn’t have possession of the puck and is defending against the rush, he ends up gliding quite a bit in the neutral zone and using short stride extensions. By gliding, he loses any speed that he had before gliding and thus he has to regain the acceleration to contend against oppositional puck movement. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the activation needed to gain enough speed after gliding to implement tight pressure. He will need to cut down on his gliding to keep himself well-aligned to puck movement. 

Like I mentioned in the offensive section, Kyrou will overcommit to puck carrying attackers from time to time and it is also prevalent in the neutral zone. He will overcommit to puck carrying attackers playing close to the offensive zone blue line, but due to his speed, he will struggle to get close enough to the puck carrier to implement pressure. So, his defensive partner has to cover for both of them when the attacker is able to find open ice to continue the rush.

When in close range of the attacker in the neutral zone and the attacker has control of the puck, but has secured the puck so that it isn’t exposed to Kyrou,  Kyrou will slap his stick blade at the attacker’s stick blade to try to force puck disruption for the attacker. But, this only works when Kyrou is in close proximity to the rush. As I mentioned in the defensive section, he will struggle with positioning himself properly to counter the oppositional puck movement and it’s the same situation in the neutral zone.

Skating

I’ve talked about his skating quite a bit throughout the report, so I’m going to keep this section rather short. 

He doesn’t have great skating posture and his stride extensions are short. That puts a limitation on how much speed he can gain when skating in a straight line. At the end of the year, I did notice that Kyrou was experimenting with longer stride extensions from time to time. He was gaining solid speed with those extensions, but he wasn’t using lengthy extensions on each shift. 

He can manufacture some speed off of his crossovers when looking to move laterally and when he looks to shift into straight line skating after a turn. But, he isn’t getting all of the speed that he needs. Kyrou really needs to work on speed activation off of turns to ensure that he can move the puck away from pressure at the NHL level. Unfortunately, he doesn’t crossovers consistently when looking to acquire acceleration off of turns and sometimes will go right into a shortened stride extension off of the turn. But, he doesn’t just need to work on using his crossovers more consistently after attempting turns. He also needs to work on leaning on his edges to retain speed that he had before attempting to turn. Without leaning on his edges, he loses the speed that he had before the turn and if he isn’t using crossovers to activate then he truly can’t net much separation after turning. The attacker will be able to adjust his positioning to keep themselves aligned with Kyrou when Kyrou has the puck on his stick. In addition to leaning on his edges, I would also like to see Kyrou cut down on gliding as it only makes it harder for him to develop speed when puck movement changes in direction. Without the activation needed, he will struggle to get himself well-aligned to the attacker.

Projection

If Kyrou can work on his skating, I do believe that he can be a bottom four defender at the NHL level. He has the offensive skill-set to be rather productive at the NHL level, but he needs the separation speed to truly have an impact. But, it isn’t just about acquiring the speed to be competitive in the offensive zone, he also needs the speed to counter oppositional puck movement. While the skating might sound concerning, it is addressable. There are plenty of draft eligible prospects that have issues with acceleration and with refinement they make an impact at the NHL level when it’s time to make the jump.

Latest Update

June 25, 2022

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.

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Scouting Report: Alexis Gendron

Photo Credit: Sébastien Gervais / Blainville-Boisbriand Aramada

Scouting Report written by Josh Tessler

Alexis Gendron is a 2022 NHL Draft eligible prospect and he plays for the QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. 

Gendron is from Côteau-du-Lac, Quebec (~45 minute drive south of Montréal and right next door to Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec).

His father, Martin Gendron played in the NHL. Martin was drafted by the Washington Capitals and played in 30 NHL games for the Capitals and the Chicago Blackhawks. After a couple of seasons in the NHL, Martin crossed the pond and played for several clubs in Europe including the Frankfurt Lions, EHC Olten and HC Bolzano. After his playing career, he turned to scouting. He scouts for the Philadelphia Flyers and had previously scouted for the Minnesota Wild. 

Alexis played bantam hockey for the Lac St-Louis Grenadiers and midget hockey for Collège Charles-Lemoyne Riverains. He was selected in the seventh round of 2019 QMJHL Entry Draft at pick #119 by the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. Gendron made his QMJHL debut the following season. 

Player Profile

D.O.B – December 30, 2003
Nationality – Canada
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –5’10″
Weight –174 lbs
Position – Right Wing
Handedness – Left

Gendron’s Style Of Play

Offense

Gendron does an excellent job using the space that is given to him. If he doesn’t have a ton of open ice in front of him to utilize, he will pass underneath the stick blade of the attacker when the attacker tries to close in on him when Gendron is skating into the offensive zone along the boards. He will pass underneath the triangle / the stick blade on long range and short range passes. In addition to utilizing the space that he is given, his decision making is quick. If he has a quality passing lane to use, he doesn’t think twice. 

Gendron is always scanning and looking for good passing lanes to leverage. When driving up the wing and he spots a teammate with more speed coming down centered ice, he will complete a quality feed to that teammate. He loves to find passing lanes to the backdoor. But, he isn’t picky. Any passing opportunity to high danger is good with Gendron. When he picks up possession of the loose puck behind the net and looks to skate around the net, he looks for potential passing lanes to high danger even very tight ones. He won’t get the puck to his teammate every single time but he is looking for the danger areas. When skating up towards the slot, he looks to pass to high danger areas. Again he doesn’t always connect but is looking to pass to open attackers at the doorstep. 

When facing tight pressure along the boards, he will try behind the back long range passes to the slot. It doesn’t matter if the pressure is air tight or not, Gendron is looking to get the puck into high danger. In situations with extremely tight pressure, he doesn’t always net a pass completion but I love that he is trying to get the puck down low. 

When looking to shift around an attacker and gain separation to get further into the offensive zone, he will look for the moment in which the attacker extends his stick blade out towards the puck and then Gendron pushes the puck to the other side. It allows him to move around with ease. 

When on the forecheck, I’d like to see Gendron to work on cutting to the inside more consistently when going after loose pucks. You will see him struggle to push past the attacker in tighter battles. He has the speed from his skate extensions that allow him to get into the position to win puck battles, but he just needs to work on pushing in with his upper body towards the attacker’s shoulder to force the attacker to sit on the outside looking in.

Gendron has excellent range on his shot. He can generate snap shot goals from medium danger, deliver wrist shot goals from the perimeter, capitalize at the doorstep after setting himself up at the backdoor and he has good puck manipulation at the crease that forces the goaltender to open up gaps for him to use. Gendron gets height on shots from range and transfer his weight over his knee to net the power he needs to rip shots. 

While he does possess a great shot, Gendron works hard to create those goal scoring opportunities. He does so even when he doesn’t have possession of the puck. For instance in a late April game against Gatineau, I noticed that he was constantly scanning and looking for oppositional puck watching. When he sees the opposition puck watching, he skates to the backdoor and no one saw him except for his teammates. 

Defense

He won’t be rather assertive when defending. That’s just not his style, but he does a good job of  grabbing a hold of loose pucks and driving the rush out from the defensive zone. 

His vision allows him to track puck movement and then he adjusts his positioning to get himself in range to connect with the loose puck. When in range of the loose puck, Gendron needs to work on being more assertive and sneaking inside when facing a larger attacker.  I’d like to see Gendron use his upper body to push into the attacker’s shoulder and move them away from puck. Box them out. 

But, Gendron has shown that he can be assertive on attackers that have a similar build. He will cut inside, grab control of the puck, pivot out and then make a pass. Check out this clip of Gendron having to cut inside twice on the same attacker, then he grabs separation and scores under the blocker. 

Gendron uses his stick extremely well when defending. If he is skating behind an attacker who has the puck, he will stick lift and try to annoy the puck carrier with his blade. When defending at the point, he looks to extend his stick blade out to eliminate a passing lane that the oppositional defenseman could use to pass to the other defender. Gendron also works the boards and looks to pick on vulnerable attackers who seem to struggle with generating space with their stick-handling. He will cut inside and poke check. 

When Gendron has control of the puck in his own zone, he looks to complete a zone exit pass instead of skating the puck from zone to zone himself. When he doesn’t have a lot of space as an attacker is closing in on him, Gendron will pass underneath the triangle. He doesn’t just go under the triangle. He will go over the triangle as well with long range saucer feeds when pressure closes in on him and he is looking to get the puck to an open teammate in the neutral zone. His spacial awareness allows him to be incredibly sneaky.

While he does possess quick decision making in the offensive zone when looking to get the puck into high danger areas, he does seem to struggle with consistent quick decision making in his own zone. By waiting a tad too long, sometimes when pondering he is next move, he will allow the attacker to realize that there is a gap and seal it up. 

Transitional Play 

When defending in the neutral zone and not in position to put pressure on the oppositional puck carrier, he can utilize a few lengthy skate extensions to get himself in range to put pressure on the attacker. When he gets in range, he will extend his stick out to put pressure on the attacker and force the attacker to dump the puck in. Even though he has speed, if the defender at point doubles back out of the offensive zone, if the defender can pick up speed in the neutral zone, he can easily get around Gendron and carry the puck back in the offensive zone. Gendron will struggle with keeping himself aligned when attackers use pivots. He will pivot out as well, but he will be slightly late with when he implements the pivot and that allows the attacker to net open ice. 

When hunting for loose pucks in the neutral zone, Gendron can rely on his puck tracking and speed to get himself in position to claim those pucks. It all starts in the defensive zone. In the defensive zone, he sees that his teammate is getting ready to dump the puck out of the zone, so he skates in the neutral zone to find open ice to provide a north-south passing lane. After collecting the puck, he will skate into offensive zone and put a quality shot on net. 

Gendron does a good job with activating his speed with length skate extensions in the neutral zone to win the puck cleanly and then cuts in front of the last defender before scoring top shelf at net front.

When it comes to his decision making / processing, he will on occasion hold onto the puck for slightly too long when he had pressure closing in on him. He ends up losing passing lanes that he could have used to get the puck away from danger or to get the puck further up in the neutral zone and closer to the blue line. Gendron needs to be slightly quicker with his decision making because if he doesn’t, he will more than likely end up losing possession.

Skating

Gendron’s skating makes him elusive. He has good posture, lengthy crossovers and excellent straight line speed. When he accompanies stride extensions with lengthy crossovers, he can get up to maximum speed. That blend allows him to hunt after loose pucks and get himself in position to key up passing lanes quickly for his defenders who are looking to complete a stretch pass. Gendron loves using his lateral crossovers behind the red line to wrap around the net. His crossovers can manufacture the speed needed to catch the opposing goaltender and other attackers off guard. By doing so, he can open gaps to exploit with a well-timed pass or shot. When hunting for loose pucks, Gendron will rely on his crossovers to activate speed off the hop after completing a turn. His activation off of turns paves the way for quality forechecking behind the red line and in the corners. 

Gendron does a good job of leaning on his edges and can pivot out to create space for himself when he has possession of the puck. The only time in which he struggles with his pivots is when he is defending, but that has more to do with reaction timing than his ability to pivot out. 

Projection

In terms of a projection, I can definitely see Gendron being effective in a middle six role at the NHL level. He has the speed and vision to consistently get himself in the right spots in the neutral zone to gain control of the puck and then gain separation from attackers to create a breakaway opportunity or an odd man rush. On top of that, he has the desire to penetrate the slot with pass after pass to create high danger opportunities. 

The next step in his development is to become slightly more assertive and physical to get himself in position to pick up loose pucks when facing an attacker with a bigger build. If Gendron can acquire that assertiveness, he will earn more and more ice time.

Latest Update

June 23, 2022

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!

Scouting Report: Ben Hemmerling

Photo Credit: Kristin Ostrowski / Everett Silvertips

Scouting Report written by Matthew Somma

For some players, their draft years can be a bit of a struggle for ice time. Some players have all of the talent in the world but play on a deep team and may not get the ice time that they deserve. Some players may be good enough for their pro teams but are relegated to being the extra player in their lineup. For Ben Hemmerling, he fell victim to the first group. The Everett Silvertips were a deep team this season, and despite having a ton of skill, his ice time fluctuated. Hemmerling is a player that has stood out to me as being one of the smartest passers in the WHL’s 2022 draft class. He can make passes at a high pace of play and showcases some impressive puck skills as well.

Hemmerling is a player that I have on my list of breakout candidates for next season. As the season went on, he was able to establish himself as a very good offensive player with a few elite qualities. He’ll have more of an opportunity to grow into his role next season and it wouldn’t surprise me if he ends up leading his team in assists this time next year. I was a major advocate for Hemmerling during our rankings meeting. I felt that this was a player that was too good to pass up on in the third round due to his skating, hockey sense and upside.

Player Profile

D.O.B –April 21, 2004
Nationality – Canada
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –5’10″
Weight –159 lbs
Position – Center/Left Wing
Handedness – Right

Hemmerling’s Style of Play

As I mentioned above, the biggest thing that stands out in Hemmerling’s game is his ability to make decisions at a high pace. He’s a cerebral player that can make changes on the fly if he has to. He’ll predict the way a defender will react to a certain play, and if something changes, Hemmerling is able to react quickly enough to make that change a non issue. This year’s class of prospects from the WHL all have a very high level of skill, but only a few of those players can separate themselves from the pack when it comes to their hockey sense. Hemmerling may not be as skilled as a lot of the top players in this draft class, but he’s absolutely one of the smartest.

Even though Hemmerling loses the puck, he sticks with the play and makes a smart pass. This type of play happens a lot with Hemmerling, and while it may not always result in a goal, it shows me that he has the elite vision necessary to make plays at an NHL pace. His quick thinking results in a large amount of high danger scoring chances.

I like this play for two reasons. First, Hemmerling utilizes his strength to take the puck away from a Portland defender. He’s not the biggest player, but he’s able to make a power move and strip a player of the puck. Secondly, I really like the assist he makes. There isn’t a lot of space to put the puck on the tape of a teammate here, but Hemmerling is able to make it happen for a really nice assist.

Hemmerling is an excellent playmaker from below the goal line. He excels at finding gaps in the defensive coverage and exploiting blind spots in order to create offense.

Hemmerling plays at a quick pace and skates at a good level for an undersized forward. I wouldn’t call Hemmerling an elite skater, but he is able to move at a quick pace and make plays in transition. Despite playing more on the perimeter in the offensive zone, Hemmerling takes an active role in Everett’s transition play and is usually the player that carries the puck and makes a pass either right before a zone entry or immediately after.

Nothing too fancy here, but he does make a nice pass right as his team enters the zone.

I mentioned that Hemmerling isn’t an elite skater, but rather, a good one. This clip highlights his skating for a little bit, and what I’m seeing is that his acceleration is above average but his top speed is only average. He’s able to keep pace with Everett in transition here, but his speed isn’t going to allow for him to gain separation from a defender. Hemmerling will need to get at least a step or two faster in order to keep up with an NHL pace. There’s a certain shiftiness in how he plays, and some of the clips I’ve used have shown that Hemmerling’s puck skills are high end. That can make him gain more separation in the WHL, but the NHL is all about pace.

I see a lot of tools in Hemmerling’s game that could help him earn a top nine role in the NHL someday. His hockey sense, vision, play in transition and playmaking ability are all strong tools. He’s a competent defender that can defend on the penalty kill if given enough time to develop. In my viewings of Hemmerling, what has held him back from higher upside is the lack of dynamic ability. Hemmerling doesn’t dominate a shift or have the “wow” factor that most top prospects usually have. He’s a great complementary winger that can set up some of his team’s goal scorers, but I’ve rarely seen Hemmerling be truly dominant. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though. There are plenty of complementary wingers in the league, and his elite hockey sense could make him a more dominant player with more development.

One other area in which I’d like to see Hemmerling improve is his shooting. Most playmakers are at least able to score a handful of goals at the NHL level. As of right now, I feel that Hemmerling is mostly a pass-first player with a below average shot. Ten goals in 57 games as a draft eligible forward isn’t going to inspire a ton of confidence in how his goal scoring translates as he moves to the pros. Hemmerling’s shot release is fine, but his placement is poor and I’d like to see him make better selections with his shots. Most of the time this season, I’m seeing Hemmerling rush in to take a shot from the perimeter that goes straight into the goalie’s chest pad.

Lastly, I’d like to see Hemmerling attack the middle of the ice more consistently. There are some games where he is able to do just that, but there are games where he’ll be limited to the perimeter exclusively. Hemmerling has the puck skills to penetrate the defense and create space or passing lanes, but he isn’t able to get to the middle of the ice on a consistent basis. Improving his skating will help in that regard. He’ll be able to quickly turn on the jets and gain a step of separation, which is all that he’ll need in order to create space for himself in the middle of the ice. If Hemmerling is able to attack the middle, he’ll be a much more dominant player in the offensive zone.

Projection

I see Hemmerling as a player that is capable of 30-40 points at the NHL level. Most of those points will be primary assists, and he may see power play time on the second unit. The lack of a true dynamic element in his game will likely keep him from being a top six winger at the NHL level, but he’s a player that I could see making an impact in a lesser role. Hemmerling has elite hockey sense and playmaking ability and could be a great complement to a team’s third line if they’re looking to get some of their other players to score more goals. He’s a great setup man and can help move the puck and get it to high danger areas. His skill in playmaking should help to carry him to an NHL game, but he’ll have to work on a few areas of his game in order to get to that point. Like I mentioned in the previous section, Hemmerling will need to get to the middle of the ice more and he’ll also have to get a step or two faster. In addition to these two things, I’d also like to see Hemmerling get stronger on the puck. He’s able to separate players from the puck with his stick, but if he gets stronger, he’ll be able to throw his weight around and be even more of a danger on the forecheck.

Hemmerling came in at 81 on our final rankings. We believed that Hemmerling has the upside and skill set that teams look for in third round picks and that he’d be a strong addition to any team’s pipeline. He may be a little raw in some areas, but Hemmerling’s ability in the offensive zone gives teams something to work with. By the time he finishes in the WHL, he’ll have emerged as one of the league’s top playmakers and will be ready to take the next step and turn pro.

Latest Update

June 22, 2022

stats from InStat and EliteProspects

Prospect report written by Matthew Somma. If you would like to follow Matt on Twitter, his handle is @Mattsomma12.

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!