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.

Need a scouting report on a particular prospect, contact us today!

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!

2022 NHL Draft Goalie Dataset

The 2022 dataset will be focusing on danger save percentage, glove saves, rebound control and speed / quickness. To access the visuals on Tableau, please click here.

Speed / Quickness Data

My quickness tableau chart shows up/down time and side/side time. Up/down time is an average of how long it takes goaltenders to go from standing to down on the ice. Side/side time is how long it takes goaltenders to go from side to side in net. These times are an average and they were timed using an iPhone stopwatch. To be transparent, in order to be timed, the goaltender had to face a shot. So, I was not timing a goaltender’s side to side movement without a shot on net. Same with up/down time.

Rebound Data

My rebound tableau chart looks at how goaltenders control their rebounds. I have charts showing where goaltenders are pushing the puck (high danger, medium danger and low danger). For high danger rebounds, I also have a chart indicating where those shots came from (high danger, medium danger and low danger).

Glove Save Data

My glove save data is just showing how many glove saves each goaltender is logging on average. For next season, I will add to this and identify the glove save totals on shots coming from high danger, medium danger and low danger.

Danger Save Percentage Data

For the high, medium and low danger save percentage data, I have used the data that InStat provides for all regular season and playoff games that the goaltender appeared in. I didn’t include any international tournament play.

The Sample

The sample of data (excluding danger saver percentage data) is five games worth of data. Five games per goaltender. Next season, I will hopefully expand that to 7-8 games of data.

Raw Data/Requests

If you are interested in looking at the raw data or are interested in looking at a goaltender who is not on my list, please contact me over DM. My Twitter handle is @JoshTessler_.

Scouting Report: Mitchell Martin

Photo Credit: Luke Durda/OHL Images

Scouting Report written by Austin Garrett and Sebastian Jackson

Last year’s draft could turn out to be a bit of a wild card. It’s difficult to evaluate talent in a season where an entire powerhouse junior league takes a season off; however if you’re a good scout with a good eye, good things will likely come. 

I do feel there will be a bit of a correction in this year’s 2022 NHL Entry Draft. Especially in the 2003 age group.

Lots of quality 2003’s missed out on their rookie seasons in the OHL. That’s why I bring you one of the most interesting players, Kitchener Rangers Left Winger Mitchell Martin.

Martin hails from Sudbury, Ontario. 

Martin played his minor hockey with the Nickel City Sons AAA program, eventually finishing his minor hockey days with the Sudbury Nickel City Capital Wolves AAA program. In AAA he was a solid contributor putting up a point per game totaling 14 goals, 33 points in 23 games. Thus, leading Mitchell to be selected by the Kitchener Rangers in the fourth round (81st overall).  

Mitchells first season removed from AAA and post draft was spent playing Junior A in a nearby suburb of Sudbury, The Rayside-Balfour Canadians of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. Mitchell instantly made an impact putting up 8 points in his first 10 games of Junior hockey and never looked back.

This past year saw Martin’s role gradually increase for the Rangers to the point where he was playing top line minutes in their playoff series. The overager is a developmental project, but perhaps one which could pay dividends to the team that takes a chance on him. 

Player Profile

D.O.B – January 6, 2003
Nationality – Canada
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –6’4″
Weight –209 lbs
Position – Left Wing
Handedness – Left

Offense

The one part of Mitchell Martin’s game that stands out is how often Martin is able to get off a dangerous shot. He has a superb off-puck game in the offensive zone that allows him to find areas of the ice for his teammates to feed him dangerous chances. While his puck skill isn’t very good; he possesses very quick and correct reads on where to move or take the puck. While he didn’t complete many dangerous pass attempts in my viewings; he wasn’t forcing the issue either.  His turnovers in the offensive zone were often trying to make low risk-high reward type plays. Take this play for example:

Martin makes a great play to the outside to create space and work below the goal line. He’s not getting much support coming around the net on the half wall and the defense collapses on his high-danger option out front. He doesn’t really scan the front which is a slight concern, but one that he could’ve read easily out of his peripherals.  Instead of going low-to-high coming out from behind the net and stretching the defense with a pass to the point; he tries to turn into traffic without protecting the puck and turns the puck over.  

Similar turnover issue here:

Martin is able to get off the wall and move into a medium-danger part of the ice with a defender on his backside. He has a bit of trouble corralling the puck and never picks his head up to scan what’s going on once he got off the wall. If he did he would’ve noticed two options. The first being a safe option back to the point. However if you pause at the five second mark you see a forward calling for the puck in the bottom right of the screen. Had Martin picked his head up once gaining control of the puck and started turning towards the net he has a pretty easy medium-danger, cross ice pass to an open teammate. Instead he doesn’t protect the puck and ends up turning the puck over to the defender he had just left behind.

In transition he doesn’t possess the skill nor pace to be a consistent carry in/out transition player. However, he was very good at making quick, one-touch passes to move the puck up the ice and through the neutral zone like this.

The part of Martin’s game that is most intriguing are the brief flashes of skill and high-end processing plays that the big winger possesses. Take this clip for an example.

Martin toe-drags around the defender and just barely loses control of the puck. In a non-playoff game this is most likely going to lead to a penalty drawn as the inside defender ends up slashing him down just as he lost the puck. These quick glimpses of small area puck skill popped off the screen, but alas it isn’t a consistent part of his game.

Perhaps the area that Martin needs to work on the most is his skating. He is slow off the blocks and is a below average NHL pace straight line skater. He can get a bit heavy footed and his edges and lateral mobility suffer. His initial puck touches really dictate his transition game. When he gets a clean touch he’s a good one-touch transition player. When he gets a bad puck touch defenders are able to get on top of him which causes him to panic and turn the puck over.

If I had to pick one sequence that would describe the best parts of Mitchell Martin’s game it would be this clip.

Martin is able to pick up a puck and launch a high-danger shot, and then bring the puck into the zone and feed a high-danger pass for a goal. Martin was very good in my viewings at finding the puck in the dangerous parts of the ice and getting a nice wrist shot on net. There’s a reason he scored seven goals in twelve playoff games this year. 

Defense

Martin’s defensive game is pretty simple to summarize: he tries hard on the forecheck, his skating limits his effectiveness but he uses his size well, but he has got to improve his defensive and spatial awareness if he’s going to project to the NHL as too often he will misread plays on the forecheck or in the cycle game and it has lead directly to odd-man scoring chances or dangerous shot attempts. In the clip above where he loses the puck exiting the zone one of my first gripes with the play was the lack of effort to get back on a backcheck. However, as I watched more games it wasn’t really an effort or motor issue but rather sometimes late in a shift Martin runs out of gas. Getting his skating to a level where his effort isn’t entirely on generating pace but rather for duration of shift length will help as well.

Here’s an example of his awareness needing to be better on the forecheck. He’s coming in as the left winger in transition in this clip.

You can see here that as the puck drifts towards the boards Martin is caught puck watching and shifting with the puck out of the center of the ice and into the other winger’s lane as #12 crosses in front of him and circles back up the ice. The pass gets through Martin’s area and leads to an odd-man rush going the other way.

This was probably the worst moment Martin had over the course of four games. He doesn’t come onto the screen until the ten second mark where his forward is directing him on where he should be.

If you pause it at the ten second mark you can see four blue jerseys supporting the puck and suppressing the dangerous areas out front. Now pause it at 11 seconds. All of a sudden Martin appears but is covering the point. He creates an overload at an unnecessary point in the defensive structure and leaves a cross-ice pass to an open player in a dangerous area. This led directly to a goal.

Projection

Seb has watched the Kitchener Rangers all year and has been a huge proponent of Mitchell Martin’s development throughout the season. Martin has moved up through the lineup to where he was playing in their top 6 in the playoffs and seeing significant power play time. This was reflected in his point production as he was a point per game player with seven goals during Kitchener’s run. 

Without a draft year he also doesn’t have the data set nor the film to compare the development between his draft year and his post-draft year season. It’s going to be something that we all look back in hindsight with the OHL and how COVID impacted this class in particular. 

I (Austin) see a player that has to get his skating and pace to an NHL level. I do believe he has some versatility to his game to project as a bottom 6 winger, however he’s going to have to improve his defensive zone awareness and skating mechanics to earn an NHL roster spot.  I thought the best part of his game was on the penalty kill and how aggressive he was suppressing space and trying to create offense on the PK. He could also find a role in that capacity in the NHL

stats from InStat and EliteProspects

Prospect report written by Austin Garrett and Sebastian Jackson. If you would like to follow Austin on Twitter, his handle is @BMaster716. If you would like to follow Sebastian on Twitter, his handle is @SebJackson90.

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!

Smaht Talk: Talking With Marcus Nguyen

Matthew Somma and Austin Garrett interview Marcus Nguyen of the Portland Winterhawks (2022 NHL Draft eligible prospect). Nguyen talks about being named after Markus Näslund, growing up watching Patrick Kane, playing with Rieger Lorenz (Okotoks, 2022 NHL Draft eligible prospect) and Kent Anderson (Green Bay, 2022 NHL Draft eligible prospect) and he gave listeners a scouting report of himself.

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: Julian Lutz

Photo Credit: Peter Schatz / Alamy Live News

Scouting Report written by Alex Appleyard

Julian Lutz is the latest high-end prospect to hail from Germany. 15 to 20 years ago a German as talented as him would be big news in the hockey world, but the fact it is not shows just how far the nation has come in regards to their talent pipeline. Over 14 drafts, from the year 2000 to 2018, there were just three Germans taken inside the first two rounds of the NHL draft, Marcel Goc, Phillip Gogula and Leon Draisaitl. Since 2019? That figure stands at four players, and Lutz has a good chance to be number five in the last four drafts.

However, were it not for a serious injury that he suffered in summer of 2021 then Lutz may have been in contention to go inside the first round.  The injury in question was a fatigue fracture of his lumbar spine, resulting in him missing seven months of hockey and only returning in February. Despite the time missed, Lutz jumped straight into the DEL – Germany’s highest tier of pro hockey – and more than held his own from the get go. He then led Germany in scoring with four points in four games as they were eliminated in the Quarter-finals at the u-18 WJC in April.

While there are injury questions, Lutz has been on NHL teams radars for several years already, being the “star” player for both his junior national team at every level since u-16, as well as being the latest high-end player to roll off the Red Bull Hockey Academy production line, following the likes of Noah Dobson, JJ Peterka and Sampo Ranta. So while he may fall in the draft, don’t expect him to fall too far.

So where does the winger from Weingarten “win” when on the ice? And where does he need to improve in order to carve out a career at the highest level of hockey on earth?

Player Profile

D.O.B – February 29, 2004
Nationality – Germany
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –6’2″
Weight –190 lbs
Position – Left Wing
Handedness – Left

Lutz’s Style Of Play

Offense

It is worth noting that over his young career so far the big forward has played all three forward positions. However, it is hard to see him being a Center at the highest level. He is more effective at wing, which makes sense given the way he plays.

His offensive game is built around three major aspects of his skill-set. Skating, seam-finding and spunk. The skating will be discusses in greater depth below, but he utilises his skills in this area extremely effectively to create space for himself, using his edges and acceleration to be a menace both on and off the puck in the offensive zone. On the puck he can drive opponents crazy with tight turns combined with great puck-protection to create chances from either the walls or on the cycle, while off the puck he causes defensemen headaches all game long due to his ability to get into passing lanes, as well as capacity to pressure opponents without taking himself out of the play.

In turn, Lutz’s forechecking really is a thing of beauty. His skating is the foundation for it, but it is his heart that is the core reason for its success. Every single shift of the game Lutz attacks the puck like it is the last shift of his career. But not only is he relentless in his puck pursuit, he is smart in regards to the way he approaches applying pressure. He has an intuitive understanding of passing lanes, and his quick active stick at times seems to read what the opposition is going to do before they know. The result is that Lutz often backs defensemen into corners that the struggle to get out of, pressures them into turnovers, or simply pursues them into the boards and turns what could have been a routine outlet into a possession battle.

This tenaciousness also transfers into his ability around the net. Lutz seems to relish being involved is physical battles for position around the crease and slot, and even when outmatched physically does not back down or give up on trying to get loose or goal-side of the defender at the key moment. The result of this is that even in battles that he is seemingly losing he can, from nowhere, get his stick free to deflect a puck on goal or surprise the defenseman and get to the blue-paint just as a puck is fired cross-crease. In turn, Lutz is able to cash in on a lot of rebounds, jam plays or loose pucks in close. Such chance creation often translates well to the higher level on smaller ice.

As one can infer from the abilities that have already been mentioned, IQ is a key aspect of Lutz’s success in the offensive zone. In turn, he has the key ability that most NHL scorers have, the ability to get to high-danger areas of the ice unmarked and into shooting lanes. Off the puck especially he reads the play very well, and in a sport where milli-seconds matter often chooses the perfect moment to make a break into a “soft” area of ice just as a defenseman vacates his post or shifts assignment in zonal coverage. The result is often Lutz with the puck on his stick in close or in the slot. His hockey IQ is also an advantage with the puck on his stick. He is capable of seeing passes that very few players his age can, and is fantastic at drawing opposition players in to create space for his line-mates.


So Lutz is tenacious, fast and has a high IQ, but how to his “skills” stack up? The easy way to put it is that Lutz, in terms of raw skill, is a jack of all trades but a master of none.

His hands? He uses them effectively and can handle a puck at high speed, but he is not the most deceptive or creative with the puck on his stick, and does not excel in using his hands to beat opponents with the puck on his stick, but more his skating, IQ and strength. In the small areas his hands are once again a vehicle for his skating and IQ, and not the other way around, he rarely loses control of the puck, but also rarely does something “special” with it.

His shot? It is certainly above average, and he possesses a decent wrister and a nice one-timer that he uses effectively when on the power-play. But Lutz scores many of his goals on rebounds, in close, or on from tips and deflections, and the majority of his “range” goals are not due to a seeing eye shot that nestles in the top corner, and instead catching a goalie unaware, or capitalising on the moments that a goalie is screened, or when they are committed to a movement and unable to adjust. The impressive technical aspect in relation to his shot is his release, it is not hard, or as quick as others, but he can get the puck off from virtually any position and can coral a puck beautifully from the heel or backhand into the meat of the blade to effect shots that many could not. Again, his IQ is where he wins in relation to his shot as well.

His passing? It is not a technical masterclass full of saucers, one-touch or 100ft stretches to tape… but instead an efficient exercise in awareness and due diligence. Lutz constantly surveys the ice with the puck on his stick, you can see the cogs turning as he evaluates how to break down coverage, where his team-mates will be in a few seconds time, and how to exploit the oppositions weaknesses. The result of this is that several times a game he can spring a line-mate into a dangerous position by simply picking the exact right moment for a pass. His vision also means that from time to time he can make an unbelievable pass that no-one else on ice could have foreseen.


Overall there is a lot to like about Lutz’s offensive game. He might not have the high-end skills to ever be a star player at the next level, but he is well-rounded and plays in a way that in theory should translate well to the smaller ice.

Defense

You would expect that a winger with such a high level motor alongside a good stick, a high IQ, experience playing center and multiple years of pro hockey experience by the time they reached 18 would be a defensive stalwart for his age. However, with Lutz defense has been something that many prospect watchers have highlighted as something that needs to improve.

Firstly, it is important to note that Lutz, for the most part, has the right intentions defensively. Like in the offensive zone you can never really fault his work ethic, and he is not one to shirk any responsibilities on defense. Furthermore, when play is contracted and he has to drop deeper in a more condensed zonal set-up, covering men around the circles and slot, he is very effective, able to use his high IQ to strip pucks and block lanes, and his physical ability to engage puck-carriers and disrupt the play.

His issues on defense, however, come most often when play is stretched on the cycle and the puck is moving D-to-D or high-to-low. In such situations Lutz has a tendency to be too aggressive. You can see him itching to try and regain the puck and send play the other way. This in itself is not an issue. But Lutz needs to pick his spots better. Too often he misses on an aggressive play and the result is a point-man able to walk in 30ft from the blue-line with Lutz hung out to dry. Furthermore, in the defensive zone he does not seem to anticipate plays quite as well as he does in the offensive zone. In turn it seems like he spends more time reacting to what has happened and trying to catch up than being a step ahead.

The result is that there are moments, especially at the pro level, where one poor – but not back-breaking – play defensively from Lutz can compound into something far worse and results in a high percentage chance against. Some of this will certainly improve as he matures, and realises that against men he cannot make the same plays he can against his peers. Given his high IQ you would expect the young German to make the necessary adjustments over time to become at very worst an average or above average defensive winger.

There is, however, some real nuance to criticisms of his defense. Over the last two seasons, of the 61 games he has played at club level, just four have come at the junior level. The rest have been split between the DEL, the ICEHL, and the Alps Hockey League, all professional leagues where the majority of competitors are men with years of experience under their belts. While the leagues are not at the level of the KHL, SHL, Liiga or NLA, it is still a lofty expectation for a 16-18 year old to be a plus defensive player, even if they do have good size and a high IQ. This fact, alongside being “solid” defensively this year at the highest level he has ever played at – the DEL – despite being thrown into the league for the first time ever right off the back off a long-term, serious injury, means it is reasonable to expect that Lutz will continue to improve in the defensive zone simply with time.

Skating

As previously touched on, skating is one of Lutz’s strengths. However, there are still aspects in this area that he needs to work on to fulfill his potential.

First, for the good. For an 18 year old playing vs men his strength on his skates is exceptional. He is rarely knocked off the puck and utilises his sharp edge work to excel in the small areas of ice. His feet are constantly moving in such situations and he can make far more experienced players look silly in multiple ways, either by getting low and out-muscling them, or dummying or duking them with the knowledge that few will be able to match him for agility. It is not just on the puck that he uses this aspect of his skating with aplomb. His ability to get to the “soft” areas of ice unmarked is also predicated mainly on his edge work. He loves to lure defenders in to a false sense of security when off the puck, before picking his moment, usually inside the circles, to make a quick move to engage a pick play and get to the slot or net, or to kick out wide and then cut back under the defenseman to get to high danger areas.


In addition to the impressive lower-body strength and clean, crisp edge-work, Lutz can create chances or recover back into plays due to his acceleration. From a virtual standing start he can get to his top speed in a short span of time. Furthermore, as soon as he sees a gap on the cycle he can explode past defenders and turn an oppositions defensive scheme on its head and cause them to scramble to pick up new assignments. This ability to change the pace of the game in a moment, especially when established in the offensive zone, is something that many effective offense-oriented NHL wingers can do. If a defenseman switches off for a second when covering him then it is virtually certain an opportunity will come for his team.

Lutz also carries the puck very well at speed, and is confident in stride with the puck on his stick. In fact, there is virtually no difference in pace for him with or without possession. He uses this confidence alongside his edge-work and acceleration to be effective in transition, and a real threat when bearing down on defenders 1v1, as he can either change up a gear and go past them, or change down a gear, lure them in, then finesse past them with puck-control and lateral skating ability.

In terms of where Lutz can get better, his top-speed, while certainly not an issue, could really improve and make him an even more dangerous player. He has a solid, long, stride without any real technical flaws, something only to be expected from a Red Bull Academy product, with them being known across Europe for their high-end skating development. However, while he gets up to speed quickly at times it seems as though he is effectively “stuck” in fourth gear, and incapable of getting up to where you would expect in full stride, given the high-end nature of the rest of his skating. This sometimes means that he will blast past a player over a 20ft space in the defensive or neutral zone, before being reeled back in up ice. Now, this rarely causes any issues for Lutz, but potentially with more added strength as he matures he could further improve his top-speed and mean a close to spotless skating resume.

Projection

Realistically, given his talent level, skill-set and development so far, it is likely that Lutz high-end upside is that of a good second line winger, who year on year could produce in the range of 50 points. In terms of floor? It is hard to see Lutz becoming less than a very good AHL player. Lutz is also the kind of forward who if he does not reach his ceiling he could still provide real value at the NHL level in a bottom six role given the tenacity he plays with alongside his well-rounded base skill-set.

Latest Update

June 16, 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.

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: Devin Kaplan

Photo Credit: Rena Laverty

Scouting Report written by Austin Garrett

The USNTDP was a force to be reckoned with this year. Every game there was a new player I was making a note about, going back to watch shifts of, and honestly having a hard time ranking forwards and defensemen within the program let alone against the 2022 draft. One of the players that played a lot on the third and fourth lines this past year that continually caught my eye was Devin Kaplan.

Devin Kaplan hails from Bridgewater, NJ and played for the North Jersey Avalanche AAA program before joining the USNTDP program. He’s played primarily with Charlie Stramel and Rutger McGroarty in the games I’ve watched. 

There are a few players I’ve profiled that I really enjoy watching, but when it comes to the player I think will far outperform their draft position in the 2022 draft I’d be betting on Devin Kaplan.

Player Profile

D.O.B – January 10, 2004
Nationality – USA
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –6’3″
Weight –198 lbs
Position – Right Wing
Handedness – Right

Kaplan’s Style Of Play

Offense

Devin Kaplan’s strength is his transition game. He has very good small area puck handling ability and good edges to maneuver through the neutral zone. He was the catalyst for transition on the McGroarty/Stramel line for the games that I tracked which included two games against Big 10 NCAA teams and two USHL games. During those games he was a part of 51% of all successful transitions for his line which is an astounding percentage of involvement. Even crazier: he was successful on almost 83% of those transitions. It is rare for Devin Kaplan to have an opportunity to enter/exit the zone and for the USNTDP to not do it with possession. 

Let’s take this clip below as a perfect example of Devin Kaplan’s offensive game:

You see first that Kaplan loses the puck on a touch and then backchecks at the blue line and is part of the turnover that occurs as 27 in blue retrieves the puck in the defensive zone. Kaplan gets a puck in his skates and is able to maintain control on a soft forecheck coming at him at the defensive blue line with a quick move. Then the hallmark of Kaplan’s transition game occurs with one quick deceptive fake on #56 in white and he’s now created a 3-on-2 entering the offensive blue line. After gaining the zone he sees he’s on a 2-on-2 with #13 dropping back and #28 not really a passing option on the wing, so he drops it back and #13 take a low danger shot attempt. 

This isn’t just a one off type of event for Kaplan. He is consistently gaining the zone and then dropping the puck back to trailing forwards or defensemen, or making a move himself to get into dangerous areas of the ice. His hands for being 6’3 are top-end in this draft

Kaplan is just such a smart and controlled offensive zone player. Take this shift below:

Kaplan reads the defenseman’s pass as he tries to go d-to-d behind the net and turns the puck over on his forecheck. Going into the corner he picks his head up to scan his outlet as he has two players coming in to pressure him and gets the puck out to the point for a low-to-high cycle start. A bad pass/first touch back to him and he still is able to feed #24 behind the net who is then setting up #10 for a high danger shot. Kaplan then supports the forecheck across the ice, picks up loose puck, and feeds a beautiful high danger pass for USA’s first goal in the Gold medal game. 

He has the ability to forecheck hard as the F1, is smart on the wall as the F2, and possesses the brain and the hand-eye coordination to really excel as an F3 forechecker as well. His speed allows him to suffocate space and he’s not afraid to use his size and physicality to separate players off the puck.

Another example of his amazing ability to turnover a puck on the forecheck and then the beautiful backhand pass to #5 for him to activate off the wall.

Kaplan’s offensive data just screams a player that needs more opportunities with the elite players on the NTDP and we’d be talking about a mid-late first round pick. He completed 77% of all of his passing attempts including 57% of his dangerous pass attempts in the offensive zone. He shoots from dangerous areas of the ice almost 70% of the time and scored on 12.5% of his shot attempts. There’s a lot of good processing indicators from his passing decisions to his shot selection to his success rate in transition. 

Offensively I think there are two areas of improvement that could be a catalyst for him breaking out as a scoring winger in the NHL. The first is working on accuracy with his wrist shot and getting more power behind it so he can beat goalies from distance. His shot really wasn’t a weapon, especially from outside high dangerous areas of the ice. The second area is just a more aggressive nature when he enters the offensive zone with the puck. I think he was too deferential, playing a low-to-high type structure and not attacking as much as he could have off the rush. He’s great at keeping plays moving, but sometimes I wish he’d have looked to make a more risky play that would’ve had a higher reward if he connected than the safer plays of chipping it behind the net or sending it back to the point.

Defense and Skating

Kaplan shows very good effort in his pursuit of the puck, especially as a primary forechecker. While he is often successful using his size, other times he can turn completely to the side trying to pin a guy on the boards and get out maneuvered by his opponents. He is better using his stick first when being physical to try to break up the puck, and when playing just the body can put himself into low-leverage positions to not be able to stop an oncoming forward. However, when he is able to get on top of a player he is able to turn the puck over with ease and is exceptionally dangerous at taking loose pucks off the forecheck and creating opportunities offensively for his team which is why this was mentioned often in the offensive section.

As a winger Kaplan shows exceptional awareness and closing speed to mitigate pressure from the points in the defensive zone. He scans constantly and earned a role as a penalty kill defender as well on the USNTDP. Rarely is he caught out of position and has a very good motor in puck pursuit and backchecking. More than a couple of times he’s chased people down after being caught deep in the offensive zone in my viewings. 

Kaplan can be caught scanning the ice without moving his feet and engaging in what he’s reading. Sometimes he’s looking at multiple scans/options and doesn’t commit to a space or player and can have a puck move past him. Other times, since he’s the team’s primary transition option at forward on his line, he can fly out of the zone a little too early and if the first pass doesn’t connect or get out of the zone he can create an odd-man situation on the turnover. This is a rare occurrence. 

He moves well up and down the ice for being a 6’3 forward. His north/south speed is above average and his lateral mobility is superb compared to a lot of players his size. I don’t see any real concerns about his mobility projecting him to the NHL, and at times I thought he was among the best skaters on the ice against good competition.

Projection

We have Devin Kaplan ranked 36th overall and I’d honestly pound the table to push him higher if I could. I know we’re probably amongst the highest on him in the scouting community, and in my opinion this is THE player in North America who has the ability to way outperform their draft position due to a lack of opportunity in playing time/role in the 2022 draft.

I say this because, for instance, let’s take the eye test: he’s 6’3, moves well, has a motor defensively, has really good puck skill/transitional ability/passing ability, has a great brain, and uses his size to be physical. I would describe him, without data, as the type of player I’d expect administrators in the NHL to drool over. With data? My goodness is Kaplan just screaming upside. So many great indicators outside of his point total including shot differentials, work rates, passing data, transition data, and defensive blue line data in my data set. Even better microstats with some of the public sphere scouts who have tracked Kaplan as well. 

I’m not going to sit here and promise he’s going to be a top-6 winger. However, if it happens I’m not going to be shocked at all. I think Kaplan projects conservatively as a middle-six, transitional winger who will be hard on pucks and a great facilitator at starting or managing chain-linked plays in the offensive zone for an NHL club. I think an aggressive projection would be a top 6 winger who can carry the puck and feed pucks to your scorers as well as score around the net. If he is able to develop a shot that can beat goalies from medium distance; we might be talking about a top 10-15 player in a redraft in 5 years.

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!

Smaht Talk: Mock Draft Analysis

Smaht Scouting’s Matthew Somma and Austin Garrett talk about the mock draft that our team completed a few weeks back. In addition, they provide in-depth analysis on a few North American prospects including Reid Schaefer (Seattle), Devin Kaplan (USNTDP), Matthew Seminoff (Kamloops), Mikey Milne (Winnipeg), Jace Weir (Red Deer) and Cole Knuble (Fargo).

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: Paul Ludwinski

Photo Credit: Robert Lefebvre/OHL Images

Scouting Report written by Jordan Malette

Paul Ludwinski is a 2022 NHL draft-eligible prospect who plays for the Kingston Frontenacs in the Ontario Hockey League. Ludwinski and fellow draft-eligible teammate Shane Wright have combined to make Kingston a must-watch team for those interested in the NHL draft. At times throughout the season, they have even been paired up as linemates forming a high-end duo of draft-aged prospects for those in the scouting world to enjoy.

If you’re looking for a mix of high energy and puck skills, you’ve come to the right place as Paul Ludwinski is all gas, no brakes. His non-stop energy sets him apart from the pack as he’s constantly motoring around the ice every shift. He applies relentless pursuit and routinely catches the puck carrier, forces a turnover, and begins the transition in the other direction. Ludwinski also has solid puck skills and a strong ability to detect open space and time into that opening as a passing option. His work rate and skills make him an intriguing prospect that offers a safe floor and the upside to be more than just an energy player.

Player Profile

D.O.B – April 23, 2004
Nationality – Canada
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –5’1
Weight –183 lbs
Position – Center/Left Wing
Handedness – Left

Style of Play

Every shift, game after game, the re-occurring theme with Ludwinski is non-stop energy. He’s constantly applying pressure to puck carriers to take away time and space all over the ice. You will often notice Ludwinski as the F1 on the forecheck, causing problems for the opposition attempting to regroup and exit their defensive zone. You will also quickly see how often he completes a back check and deny opportunities from materializing for the opposition. He isn’t one to throw a devastating hit, but he certainly isn’t afraid to use his body which works in tandem with his relentless pressure to dispossess opponents. Some nights it can even be tiring to watch him zip around the ice endlessly.

At the root of his effectiveness in this department is his skating. Ludwinski has a quick first few steps that allow him to gain separation from defenders or close down gaps between the puck carrier in no time. He can reach and maintain high speeds while appearing almost effortless. I don’t rely much on in-person viewings, but my one key takeaway from a live viewing this year of Ludwinski was just how quick he was. He was the fastest player on the ice every shift, and at times it can be tough to decipher just how fast he was relative to other people through video viewings, so this in-person viewing truly put things into perspective.

Unfortunately, with many players who fit the description of a good skater and high work rate, the list of what else they bring to the table can be limited. Relying on speed and an up-tempo play style is not attractive enough to be considered a high-end prospect in and of itself. As players progress to higher levels, the speed that was once a tremendous asset will slowly be less valuable as the competition will now be faster as you climb the hockey ladder. Fortunately, Ludwinski has a set of tools that stack on top of his constant work rate and skating ability that all work together to make him an intriguing prospect.

Ludwinski isn’t a flashy player by any means, but he possesses practical puck skills that he frequently uses to beat a defender or open up a passing lane to exploit. In addition, his hands and speed cause him to be a difficult player to defend off the rush and in one-on-one situations. This skill set allows him to be effective off a turnover on the forecheck and in small areas to corral a loose puck and make a play with the puck.

Ludwinski’s ability to find open space and be a target for a dangerous pass is one of his many noteworthy traits. He constantly rotates into space during offensive zone possessions to be a passing outlet for a teammate. This understanding of rotations allows him to be a positive contributor off the cycle and keep the possession alive for his team as he is putting himself in the right spots to be an option for a teammate under trouble. On rush sequences, he is exceptional at timing his routes to maintain a passing angle and put himself in a threatening shooting position. He’ll frequently come to a complete stop to find the soft spot in the defense and catch a defender off guard who thinks he’s going to drive the net.

The cherry on top is his versatility. Ludwinski is a player any coach would love to have on their bench as an option for any game situation, which is evident in his usage this season. Throughout the season, he has played center and wing, power play and penalty kill, defending a lead and when they need a goal. For example, midway through games where they were trailing, you could count on Ludwinski to be called to move up the lineup onto Wright’s wing in an attempt to score a late equalizer. Of course, a coach’s usage of a player isn’t always an accurate representation of their talent level, but it conveys how they view that player. In Ludwinski’s case, this sentiment towards Ludwinski is most definitely unanimous among anyone who has or will coach him. When Ludwinski jumps over the boards, a coach knows what they will get from him every shift.

If you were to watch one of Ludwinski’s games, you might think he was snake-bitten that night as he was buzzing around the offensive zone and had multiple scoring chances but no results. Every game, he has numerous high-danger opportunities that he can’t seem to find the back of the net. The more you watch him play, the more it becomes a re-occurring theme that his ability to finish the high-danger chances may be a genuine concern.

There certainly is a risk of a bias at play here. As noted above, Ludwinski is exceptional at finding open space and putting himself in a prime position for a high-danger pass resulting in a scoring opportunity. However, the sheer amount of high-danger shots he creates for himself may work against him in that even if he converts on them at the same rate as other prospects, this will result in the “wasted” opportunities to add up. With the data available in the CHL, it is challenging to decipher whether it is a valid concern or noise that we should ignore. Regardless of whether it’s a bias or his finishing talent is suspect, Ludwinski creates so many chances through his awareness that there is an opportunity for him to rack up the goals if he can convert on the chances he gets.

Projection

A reasonable projection for Paul Ludwinski is a middle-six winger who can fill the puck retriever / F1 role on a line with more offensive-leaning players. He excels at applying pressure, creating turnovers, and retrieving/maintaining puck possession. In addition, he has solid puck skills and a good sense of spacing in the offensive zone that will allow him to find holes and be available for a high-danger pass. This combination of skills and habits makes him a great candidate to complement the game and generate excellent results paired with highly skilled players.

He could fill a depth center role as he is defensively engaged and a strong transition player. However, this complimentary winger archetype described above will likely be the role that allows him to offer the best value to his team. Whether he is used as a winger or center regularly, he is a player that can be called upon to move up or around the lineup when injuries happen or the game state changes. He truly is a Swiss army knife type of player that offers plenty of options to his team.

Latest Update

June 12, 2022

stats from InStat and EliteProspects

Prospect report written by Jordan Malette. If you would like to follow Jordan on Twitter, his handle is @jordanmalette.

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!