Scouting Report: Vladimir Grudinin

Photo Credit: CSKA Moskva/@HCCSKA

Scouting Report written by Josh Tessler

Vladimir Grudinin is a 2022 NHL Draft eligible prospect, who plays in the CSKA Moscow (Moskva) system. Grudinin grew up in Angarsk, Russia and played U16 hockey for Yermak Angarsk before make the trip across the country from Siberia / Irkutsk Oblast to Moscow. Since moving to Moscow, Grudinin has played U16, U17, U18, MHL, VHL and KHL hockey for CSKA Moscow. This season, he has played alongside several 2022 NHL Draft eligible prospects including Artyom Duda and Kirill Dolzhenkov. During his stint in the MHL this season, Grudinin had been one of the top points per game defenders with 0.72 PPG. 

Grudinin has not been selected in any previous CHL Import Drafts, so no one owns his CHL rights.

He is represented by Dan Milstein and Gold Star Hockey.

Player Profile

D.O.B – December 9, 2003
Nationality – Russia
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –5’10″
Weight –159 lbs
Position – Defense
Handedness – Left

Grudinin’s Style Of Play

Offense

Grudinin has excellent lateral crossovers and it allows him to go east – west along the blue line at a good speed. When using those crossovers to garner quality acceleration along the blue line, it allows him to look for open shooting and passing lanes. The speed can also allow him to create lanes should Grudinin net enough to speed to out-match the attacker who is trying to put pressure on him. Grudinin will lure attackers with him when he spots a winger along the boards who the attacker has prevented Grudinin from passing to that winger. By skating to a centered position, he opens up a quality passing lane and a quality medium danger shooting lane for his winger.

With Grudinin’s love to lure attackers in, he uses it constantly to buy open ice. He will see an attacker coming for him, so he slows down his movements and keeps the puck out in front of him. Once the attacker gets to him, Grudinin shifts the puck underneath the attacker’s stick and nets open ice. In the clip below, you will see him pull that off and then fire a saucer pass to his defensive partner at the opposite half-wall.

One of the areas that Grudinin does struggle with is capturing possession of loose pucks. There are instances in which he had a loose puck that had ricocheted off the boards that came to him, but he wasn’t able to trap the puck and the puck vacated the offensive zone. He won’t just struggle with cleanly netting possession of loose pucks, he also struggles with capturing possession of passes from time-to-time and that is an issue in all three zones.

Grudinin will pinch up and get involved in the cycle down low. He pinches up past the perimeter when his teammates are engaged in puck battles or cycling the puck down low behind the red line. When he is in control of the puck, he has found a decent amount of success pinching up. He does a good job of securing possession of the puck, by positioning the puck along the boards and not exposing the puck to attackers coming towards him from open ice. Grudinin will pinch up and wire seam passes to his teammates in medium danger. If he runs out of real estate due to pressure, he has proven that quickly complete a pass to a teammate along the boards to ensure that the cycle remains alive. He can also pivot out of danger and lay down drop passes with ease. In situations in which he looks to want to bring the puck to the slot and the attacker takes away the skating lane to the slot by extending his stick blade out, Grudinin reacts quickly and finds a backup passing option. When he pinches up for a loose puck, he needs to be quicker to those pucks, so he doesn’t put his defensive partner in a situation where the attacker gains possession of the puck and quickly delivers a pass to a fellow attacker in the slot and Grudinin’s defensive partner has to shift over and defend against the puck carrier. If he can be a step or two quicker, he can pick up those loose pucks at the edge of the perimeter and keep the puck in the zone. 

When it comes to his shot, he has tallied three goals during the season and one came on the power play. Unfortunately, the majority of the points came at the start of the season and he hasn’t scored a 5v5 goal since October 1, 2021. In a matchup against HC Almaz Cherepovets on September 28, 2021, he was been able to score a slap shot goal off of a face-off draw. Immediately after netting possession of the puck. His last 5v5 goal of the year came against HC Loko Yaroslavl on October 1, 2021. Grudinin has identified open ice at the perimeter, skated into the lane, captures possession of the puck off of a pass and quickly fires a shot from medium danger. Bar down goal. The clip of the goal can be found below.

When you look at his shot underneath the figurative microscope, you will notice that he has a quick release, but when shooting from further out beyond the perimeter, his accuracy isn’t as good as when he has found himself in situations in which he much closer to the net. The majority of his 5v5 shots come from the point and InStat indicated that only 43% of his shots from the point made it on net (data is from his 2021-2022 regular season play). Even though he takes a lot of shots from the point, he does look for higher percentage shooting lanes by entering into the slot and identifying open ice to key up passing lanes. That has led to quality shooting opportunities in which he tries to catch the goaltender off guard by going with a backdoor shot attempt right after capturing possession of the puck off of a pass.

A lot of his primary assists have come off of deflections in the slot, but there a few assists in which he carried the puck towards the face-off inner hashmarks and completed a seam pass to key up a goal for Krasnaya Armiya. He has the ability with his skating to create quality passing lanes by netting separation past attackers and getting himself into dangerous areas to key up those goals, but he doesn’t do it consistently. With that said, when you watch Russian junior hockey and hockey at the KHL level, it’s evident that defensemen have been told to play conservative and not pinch up. For instance, look at Vegas Golden Knights defensive prospect Daniil Chayka. His game completely changed when he played in Russia last season. He wasn’t trying to create opportunities down low and was relying on his shot from the point. So, while Grudinin hasn’t been as consistent with generating dangers down low, he has shown that he has a desire to pinch up and get more far more involved beyond the perimeter. Also, his passing is soft and crisp. With the combination of soft passing and a drive to pinch up, I do think the primary assists will come when he comes to North America.

Defense

Grudinin is excellent in his own zone. When defending against the rush, he is efficient at preventative defensive measures. When defending the F2 and he sees that the F1 has dumped the puck, he will use good upper body pressure by leaning towards the F2’s chest to slow him down when he is looking to skate for the retrieval. 

In general, Grudinin deploys great tight gap control along the half-wall boards and stays well-aligned with the puck carrying attacker. If the attacker tries to deceptively deviate by pivoting, Grudinin still stays well aligned and pivots right away. When defending a puck carrying attacker, who seems to have the edge in terms of speed, he will cut in, use his shoulder to separate the attacker from the puck. Grudinin stays on his toes and when he notices that his defensive partner is tied up in a puck battle in the opposite corner, he will skate to the net. Should the attacker break free, he he has shown that he is effective at trapping the attacker with an active stick and then leaned in with his shoulder to complete a shoulder check. That allows Grudinin to separate the puck from the attacker. His active stick allows him to trap you and frustrate you. It allows him to put you in low danger and give you no way out. When you are struggling to break free, Grudinin steals the puck with a poke check. When he is at open ice defending against a forward who is trying to sneak past Grudinin on the way to the net, Grudinin manages to keep his stick blade aligned with the attacker’s stick-blade to ensure that the attacker doesn’t have a passing lane to utilize when he runs low on real estate. His active stick has also allowed him to knock players off of the puck when they are both going for a loose puck. In situations where he didn’t have the speed to get to the puck, his active stick has proven to be a good plan B as he extends the blade right on the attacker’s blade to cause disruption. 

But, there are areas in his defensive game that need a bit more refinement. I went back and watched some of his goals against closely and I noticed that sometimes he struggled with decision making in 2 on 2 situations down low. One of the issues that I noticed is that he and his defensive partner both chose to cover the same puck carrying attacker and left the attacker without the puck open with a clear passing lane. Grudinin needs to improve his communication so that he and his defensive partners are aware of whom to cover. If his defensive partner is out of position and Grudinin is alone to defend two attackers, he needs to do a better job targeting the attacker with the puck when defending at net front, but keep himself centered so that he can take away any backdoor passing lanes as well.  

In his gameplay at the KHL level, I noticed that he wasn’t very assertive at defending the slot. I’m confident that he will get to the point in which he will be more assertive with his stick to truly keep attackers out of the slow. But, there were situations in which he gave the attacker a little too much space in the outer edge of the slot and it lead to medium danger goals against. While I noticed this, this can be improved upon, it could just be Grudinin needing a little bit more time getting used to KHL gameplay and how assertive he truly needs to be.

In general, Grudinin has proven that he is very quick to puck movement, especially when he is looking to give his teammates an outlet passing option as he is constantly on his toes and keeps adjusting where he is to keep an open lane alive, but his speed to loose puck defensive recoveries doesn’t match up. He is usually one or two skate extensions too slow and leads to a lot of contested defensive recoveries. He has the pivoting to break loose, but if he is slightly faster to the puck then he doesn’t have to work around threats as soon as he picks up possession.

Like I mentioned earlier on, he does struggle with trapping possession of passes, but if he does capture the puck cleanly, he is usually very efficient at creating the rush. When he does have control of the puck and encounters an aggressive forecheck, he will use body language to be deceptive. For instance, he will shake his knees before turning in one direction to get the attacker guessing the direction that he intends to go with. That allows him to open up ice for himself and then complete a zone exit pass. 

Not only does he have the deception to manipulate and create open lanes, but he is a very effective outlet passer. He will deliver crisp soft passes that are easy to corral and his delivery can be very quick especially when he pivots away from a threat to open up and use a tight passing lane to generate a zone exit. Grudinin has shown shift-in, shift-out, that he can be a reliable passer even when on the move. There is a lot to like about Grudinin’s ability to key up a rush and a lot of tricks in his tool-belt that he will use to secure a successful zone exit.

Transitional Play

Grudinin engages the rush defensively right before his defensive zone blue line and swallows the attack against the boards. He will lowers and widen himself closer at the defensive zone blue line to take away a lot of space for the puck carrier so he makes a rushed pass or dump. 

If Grudinin isn’t facing the puck carrying attacker, that doesn’t mean that he can’t quickly get in position to do so. His forward skate extensions allow him to find the necessary acceleration to trap the attacker before the attacker can get into the offensive zone. There are situations in which it doesn’t truly stop the attacker from entering into the zone, but as mentioned in his defensive play, he does have an excellent active stick that he can leverage to trap attackers. 

In his KHL play, I noticed that he struggled to truly shut down larger opponents with more upper body strength than he was used to defending at the MHL level. The attack managed to get around his shoulder check attempt along the boards and keep possession of the puck, but Grudinin hangs in there and defends the attacker well by positioning himself right at the attacker. Even though the attacker might stay in motion, his gap control allows Grudinin to keep the attacker glued to the boards.  

When Grudinin is in control of the puck in the neutral zone, he can utilize his stick-handling to move the puck with ease around attackers who are extending out their stick to try to take away lanes for Grudinin to exploit. Not only can he be shifty with the puck on his stick, but he also has excellent puck protection. He will positions the puck towards the boards with his backhand which allows him to secure the puck away from the attacker putting pressure on him. Grudinin also won’t shy away from using his back to push the attacker slightly away from him when Grudinin is in control of the puck and has his back turned to the attacker. 

If he runs into traffic at open ice, Grudinin will double back, turn and then completed a cross ice pass to a teammate with plenty of open ice. Should he get into a traffic jam at the offensive zone blue line, he dumps the puck quickly to key up a dump and chase. He isn’t someone who will force the puck into sticky situations.

Skating

Grudinin’s crossovers are truly impressive and are a joy to watch. He will deploy great crossovers when skating backwards in transition to give him the necessary acceleration to keep pace with the rush. Grudinin nets good speed with his lateral crossovers that allows him to trap attackers when defending in the neutral zone at the Krasnaya Armiya blue line. His crossovers allow him to move over to the forward skating along the boards quickly if he is slightly out of position. When he wants to transition from backward skating to forward skating and build up acceleration, he will use quality lateral crossovers to build up the speed before using a forward stride extension.

Grudinin has great posture. Keeps his knees bent and his chest lowered. When utilizing his edges, he continues to keep his knees bent and retain the speed that he built up before initiating a turn. Not only is he a really good with his edges and posture, but he is extremely good at shifting his hips, pivoting, shifting his edges and gets a quality hop off of his edges to react to puck movement quickly in the neutral zone. His pivoting also allows him to buy himself open ice when facing tight pressure and it allows him to react accordingly to the puck carrying opposition when they pivot in front of him.

As explained a few times, he has good speed to loose pucks, but he slows down his stride extensions / crossovers too early and that leads to more contested defensive recoveries. However, he does possess an excellent forward stride with quality ankle flexion. His forward stride can bail him out if he is out of position and needs to come back to the defensive zone in a hurry. Grudinin has the straight line speed to get back in position, maintain quality pressure as he can stay toe to toe with attackers and it allows him to be dangerous at getting separation away from pressure when he has the puck on his stick.

Projection

Vladimir Grudinin is a reliable two-way defender, who will need to continue to build up upper body muscle to contend against tougher opponents in the VHL and KHL. He will also need to work on being more assertive and quicker to pucks, but he has shown at the KHL level that he can be a pain to get around. Grudinin will also need to work on developing a stronger inside game, but that might only come when he comes to North America. Even though there are areas which need continued development, I think there is a really good defensive prospect here in Grudinin. There is a smart (sorry… “Smaht”) defenseman in Grudinin who can use excellent skating and mobility to get open ice to facilitate puck movement and key up scoring chances. If things go right with his development, he should be a solid second pairing defenseman at the NHL level.

Latest Update

April 28, 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_.

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Scouting Report: Cole Knuble

Photo Credit: Rena Laverty

Scouting Report written by Austin Garrett

Sometimes when you’re scouting a player there is another player on the opposing team that catches your eye out of your peripherals and you make a note to check on them later. When watching a late September USNTDP game against the Fargo Force I came away impressed with the opposing center who seemed to always be the facilitator for anything good Fargo was doing. That player was Cole Knuble.

Cole Knuble spent the last five years primarily playing for the Fox Motors AAA organization out of Byron Center, Michigan. Last year he played a few games with the NTDP U17 program and one game with the U18 program as well. Knuble was selected to the USHL with the 57th pick in the Phase I 2020 draft. 

Player Profile

D.O.B – July 1, 2004
Nationality – USA
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –5’10″
Weight –175 lbs
Position –Center/Right Wing
Handedness – Right

Knuble’s Style Of Play

Offense

I would say the strength of Knuble’s game is that he is the engine of everything that happens for Fargo at even strength. It is not shocking to me that of players that have scored more than 25 points according to pick224 he sits 5th in the USHL in the percentage of points scored as primary points. He’s ahead of such names as: Logan Cooley, Rutger McGroarty, Adam Ingram, and others in this department. 

The strength of Knuble is the way he processes the game. He’s quick to identify teammates in the offensive zone, knows both his strengths and his weaknesses, and moves to dangerous areas of the ice when he doesn’t have the puck. He is quick to read when he needs to support his teammates along the wall to relieve pressure, finding soft spots within the defensive structure to receive a pass, or move into dangerous areas of the ice for his wrist shot. 

The same can be said is his strength in transition. He’s at his best identifying line-mates at the blue line to spring them for rushes or make sure his team maintains control of the entry into the zone.

As the center he acts very much as a puck transporter in exits, although he can struggle to maintain control through the neutral zone on a blue line to blue line rush. He is very good at finding passing lanes through the neutral zone, but lacks the separation speed and puck skill to be able to maneuver his way through the defense. However, when he does get through, you can see how he springs his forwards again for a rush.

At the USHL level he’s slightly above average in my data set for overall controlled transitions at 67%. The majority of his successful exits are as a pass receiver at the blue line or near the blue to carry out. A lot of his struggles come from when he tries to transition the puck out of the zone on his own as his separation speed and agility isn’t very good at the USHL level. Similarly, his entries don’t go very deep into the offensive zone when he’s carrying the puck for the same reasons. Opponents are able to get on top of him very easily and he’s forced to give up the puck, or Gretzky-turn to relieve pressure and pass back to the point. 

However, given the limitations that his skating presents, it’s almost remarkable how he’s able to work around it to be a productive USHL player. He’s in the top 10 for shots per game for draft eligible players in the USHL, and in my data set, 67% of his shots were coming from dangerous parts of the ice at even strength. He’s also connecting on 66.67% of his dangerous pass attempts. The brain to be able to make productive plays is there even if his skating is holding him back.

He is a constant scanner of the ice. He processes his surrounding areas very well and is quick to move the puck and see passing lanes. While his puck skill isn’t high-end, a lot of that is due to his inability to separate. In small area situations he’s able to protect the puck and then move it to a position to maintain possession and then quickly find outlets to relieve pressure. I’d like to see an ability to escape pressure situations more often with the puck on his stick, however he does find ways to keep plays alive and the puck moving. 

Skating

I don’t often address skating as its own section in scouting reports because the nuances of skating are plentiful, and as long as the player can move about the ice at NHL pace then I only address what is high-end or deficient with their skating mechanics.

With Knuble I’m making an exception because it is, by far, the one thing holding him back in this draft process. 

There’s a lot to unpack with Knuble’s skating and I believe with proper development could be overcome. The most obvious skating technique that has to be fixed is his posture within his stride and and the length of his stride. He can either be standing upright trying to break into his three-step agility skating or he’ll bend over at the waist to try to make up for his poor start off the blocks. By not having proper knee bending and posture he shortens his stride and loses power, as well as by hunching over reduces the amount of blade that makes contact to the ice. These two compounding factors greatly reduce the energy needed to make an efficient skater.

His crossovers aren’t clean and do not generate power coming through the completion of each crossover. Instead it can look like he’s about to lose his balance (and does more times than I’d like to see) when trying to do so at a high pace. He lacks balance on his edges and gets knocked around far too much on the ice.

As fellow Smaht Scout Josh Tessler also made me aware of: this impacts his decision making on loose pucks. Often realizing that he lacks the foot speed or lateral mobility to maneuver if he were to win the puck battle; Knuble will oftentimes slow up and play defense as opposed to being hard on the puck. 

Defense

One of the traits I love about Knuble’s defensive zone play is that he is always scanning the ice as a center. When pucks go into the corners he will look before engaging to know where players are on the ice and move himself into positions if the puck battle is lost to mitigate any odd-man situation that could develop from the play.

He often plays as the high F3 on the forecheck and his scanning and awareness allow him to be able to put pressure on outlet passes as well as break up zone exit attempts. While his size along the boards (as well as balance issues talked about above) keep him being a truly impactful player there; he does a good job of pressuring play at those junctures before most forwards have the opportunity to scan and read where the next pass should go.

Like his father he doesn’t shy away from the physicality of playing in front of the net, and battles hard to move players out from rebound areas. He is always in puck support in the defensive zone, and thus earning a prominent role on the penalty kill as well where he’s able to use all of his strengths of reading plays, scanning passing options, and admirable tenaciousness to clear pucks.

Projection

I can see a world where Cole Knuble is seen as a late-2nd to 3rd round pick, and I also can see a world where he’s a 6th or 7th round pick. His skating is going to be the biggest talking point when NHL General Managers and their scouting departments get together to assess his draft position.

My own biases love the game Knuble plays. He thinks the game so well off the puck, he processes under pressure very well with the puck, and gets to areas of the ice where goals are scored. He is the catalyst of everything good that happens on his line in Fargo. He’s able to jumpstart transitions, thread passes to open teammates, and make a quick small area move to free up a passing lane. Like I said earlier: even through four games and the ancillary viewing of an NTDP game he’s still the one making everything happen. Despite the skating limitations.

I’ve landed on that he’s a project I’d be willing to bet on. He’ll play in the USHL for another year before going to the NCAA (currently committed to Notre Dame for the 2023-24 season). He’s a July birthday, and a lot of the aspects to his game that he needs to work on are mechanical.  I hesitate to label him as a center given his skating issues, but if they improve drastically he could play there in college and in the pros. I’d label him more as a right wing as of now, and ideally I’d like him to be the fourth player coming off my board if I were an NHL team, but could see myself swinging on him in the late third depending on the quality of my team and/or prospect pool.

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: Beau Jelsma

Photo Credit: Terry Wilson / OHL Images

Scouting Report written by Josh Tessler

Beau Jelsma is 2022 NHL Draft eligible prospect, who plays for the OHL’s Barrie Colts. He grew up in Brownsville, Ontario. If you aren’t familiar with Brownsville, it’s southeast of London, Ontario and not far from the Highway 19 and Highway 3 interchange/roundabout. 

Jelsma played 14U AAA and 15U AAA hockey for the Buffalo Jr. Sabres and had a stint with the Brantford 99ers U16 AAA. During his time with Buffalo and Brantford, he played alongside a few 2022 NHL Draft eligibles including Owen Mehlenbacher (Muskegon Lumberjacks) and Gavin Bryant (Owen Sound Attack).

Jelsma was selected in the third round of the 2020 OHL Priority Selection Draft at 55th Overall by Barrie. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, he didn’t get his DY-1 (draft year minus one) season, but he has had an excellent OHL rookie campaign this season.

Player Profile

D.O.B – April 28, 2004
Nationality – Canada
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –5’10″
Weight –174 lbs
Position – Left Wing
Handedness – Left

Jelsma’s Style Of Play

Offense

Jelsma does an excellent of job of creating space for himself. Jelsma constantly looks to go to the low slot and provide passing options at net front. If a teammate is behind the net with possession of the puck, he goes to the low slot to offer a one-timer passing option. When his teammate is working the cycle around the boards and the opposition is puck watching, that is when Jelsma sneaks past them to the low slot. By the time the attackers notice, it’s too late.

Since Jelsma is always looking to create passing lanes most of the time, he usually doesn’t opt to carry the puck into the slot himself. Instead, if he is control of the puck beyond the perimeter, he will opt to complete a deceptive drop pass to a teammate behind him and then skates into the slot to give that teammate a passing option.

Occasionally Jelsma will make the extra pass when he has a lot of open ice in front of him, but generally speaking, he is an underrated playmaker in this class. He will attempt to complete passes to the slot if he can spot a usable lane. Sometimes he will miss target especially when he is in the corner facing tight pressure. But, for the most part, Jelsma has proven that he can wire quality passes to the slot. He doesn’t just look to complete passes to the slot, he looks to complete passes to teammates at the backdoor. Jelsma is trying to catch the goaltender off his rhythm but feathering a quick pass to his teammate at the backdoor and hoping that his teammate can get a clean one touch or one-timer shot off before the goaltender can shift over to his teammate. When attempting that pass and he has pressure on him, you can expect Jelsma to pass underneath the stick or over the stick if he can’t use his reach to open up a passing lane. 

Jelsma has good upper body strength to push past attackers while on the forecheck and has the speed to stay active and aggressive when staying aligned with oppositional puck carriers. His upper body strength allows him to cut inside when going for a loose puck on the forecheck. By using his upper body to push past the attacker, he is able to beat the attacker to the loose puck.

While Jelsma is very good in loose puck battles, he is slightly more inconsistent when looking to put pressure on puck carriers who are along the boards. He won’t shy away from hunting on the forecheck in the corner against someone who is not in his weight class by a long shot. But, he struggles with applying enough pressure to truly shut down the oppositional puck movement. I’d like to see him truly use his upper body strength to sandwich attackers into the boards.

He also needs to work on using his back to push traffic off of him while working the cycle / controlling the puck along the boards when facing rather tight pressure. Sometimes, he can be rather shifty and he will pivot to shake off an attacker. But, he struggles to do that consistently. 

When he is at open ice, sometimes he won’t have the stick-handling reach that he needs in tight gap control situations to turn around the defender and cut to the net. But, when defenders match up well with him, he won’t try to force the puck in. Instead, he looks for an open teammate to pass to. 

When you look at his shot, Jelsma needs to work on shot release when on the move. He has got slightly too much of a cradle and that can give away that you intend to shoot while on the move. But, he has done well with one touch shots from medium danger at the inner hashmarks going top shelf far side. However, the bulk of his scoring success has come down low backdoor. He grabs a spot in the low slot, nets a passing lane and quickly scores immediately after capturing possession off of a pass.

One of the things that I really like about Jelsma is he has the capability of utilizing quality crossovers and has good puck protection at the same time on the rush. When deploying both together, it makes him tough to handle for the opposition. He can utilize his crossovers to net good acceleration to get past slower attackers and will secure the puck nicely with his backhand as he turns around the attacker. Once he gets to net front and slightly past the goaltender, he finds a gap and uses his forehand to get the puck in the back of the net.  

Defense

Generally speaking, Jelsma deploys quality defense in his own zone. He is a responsible defender. He will drop down low to support his teammates who are trapped in puck battles behind the red line and he will play a support / insurance role when his teammates are engaged in puck battles on the side boards. Jelsma has good defensive positioning when the puck is along the opposite half-wall as he will skate over to centered ice to defend the slot. 

Jelsma will also look to bail his teammates out. If he sees that one of his defensemen are struggling in a tight puck battle along the boards, he’ll skate to them to give them an opportunity to complete a drop pass to him and the get the puck away from danger.

In addition, he will go defend net front if one his defensemen is looking to put pressure on an attacker coming out of the corner and plenty of open ice opens up at net-front. When he sees an open attacker with the puck headed to the net and no defender in sight, he quickly follows in pursuit. Jelsma will attempt to throw his weight to silence puck movement, but given his frame, that only works against attackers of similar size. He is constantly scanning the defensive zone and making sure that he is in the best spot to defend against oppositional puck movement. 

When defending against the puck carrying attacker at the point, he lowers and widens himself to take up a lot of space and forces ill-advised non dangerous shot from the point. But, there are instances in which he will look to use an active stick when defending at the point, but he needs slightly more reach to truly disrupt puck movement. If you are a shifty defender, you should be able to navigate around Jelsma’s active stick. 

Aside from working on his active stick, I would like to see his reaction timing to moving pucks improve. There have been instances in which he had the opposition pass the puck in front of him, he easily could have intercepted it, but the puck went right by him to an attacker in the slot. If he was quicker when reading the route of the puck, he might have been able to snag the puck and neutralize the threat.

In those situations in which he is in control of the puck, he has shown that he can move the puck even in situations in which he doesn’t have a ton of breathing room. When he doesn’t have a skating lane and he’s skating north / south along the boards and he has an attacker in front of him, you can expect him to go backhand to forehand with the puck quickly to catch the attacker puck watching and that allows him to pass the puck down the boards to a teammate closer to the blue line.

Transitional Play

When Jelsma is being paired with San Jose Sharks prospect Ethan Cardwell, Cardwell usually is the one carrying the puck from zone to zone. But, we do see instances in which Jelsma is effective at moving the puck up the ice. Instead of looking to navigate around traffic obstacles in the neutral zone with shifty pivots, instead he will look to manufacture quality passes for zone entries. There have been shifts in which he will complete a backhand bounce pass to his teammate when he was skating up centered ice. He noticed that his teammate was much closer to the blue line and Jelsma then flipped him the pass. The only instances where Jelsma has difficulty netting a zone entry pass is when he attempts long range diagonal feeds.

When he does have possession of the puck, he is keeping a keen eye on the attackers in front of him and watching their stick movements. Jelsma will watch for the moment that the attacker looks to trap him and at that moment he cradles the puck to the right to escape the pressure. He can be very quick to react with the puck on his stick. It’s when he doesn’t have the puck on his stick and he is tracking from further out is when he has some challenges with reaction time.

When defending, he is most often behind the rush. If he is slightly further back from the puck carrying attacker yet still in range, he ill extend his stick out towards the puck with one hand to try to force puck disruption. It doesn’t lead to a turnover in most situations, but at least he can slow them down along the boards and that might mean that his defenders can then trap the attacker somewhere in the defensive zone along the boards. 

In situations in which he is facing the rush, if he notices an attacker who is wide open and skating through the neutral zone, he will skate after him. When closing in on him, he lowers his body to take away as much space as possible. But, he does struggle to defend against shifty and mobile puck carriers. When the puck carrying attacker pivots, he is slightly delayed and it opens up enough time / open ice for the attacker to utilize to continue on the rush. 

Skating

When you look at Jelsma’s skating underneath the microscope, there is a lot to unpack and a lot to like. His forward stride is in great shape. Jelsma has good activation when in a stand still position and that allows him to be dangerous on the forecheck. It allows him to kick off the rush and get to top speed pretty quickly when in transition. Jelsma deploys lengthy skate extensions and has quality ankle flexion that allows him to keep quality pace with his teammates when they are moving the puck up through the neutral zone into the offensive zone. 

Not only does he have an excellent forward stride extension that allows him to push up the ice with speed, he also has excellent crossovers that allows him to get up the ice with quality speed. He gains so much acceleration with his crossovers and it allows him to keep quality pace with the puck carrier. When looking to acquire necessary acceleration to keep pace with his puck carrying teammate on the rush, he uses multiple crossovers to get his feet moving and then launches into stride. It allows him to make up ground if he slightly further away from the puck carrier initially. He will also use good backward crossovers in order to drive speedy lateral movement. Jelsma will look to utilize those backward crossovers when he is trying to find open ice in the offensive zone without the puck. Also his crossovers allow him to activate quality speed / acceleration to win loose pucks and that has led to goals like this one, which he scored against Peterborough in November.

His edge work is the only portion of his skating that can be inconsistent. When pivoting out without the puck, he will struggle to maintain balance. Jelsma needs to work on his inside edge and outside edge stability when turning out of pivots. One of the biggest issues with his edges and pivoting is how far his skates are from each other. When his skates are wider than the torso and he deploys his edges, he ends up falling forward. He needs to be cautious about skate placement as that will hurt his mobility and balance. Sometimes he will need to apply his hand on the ice to maintain balance on a turn. In tighter situations like behind the red line, his edges have been of quality and he can stay neck and neck on the forecheck, but when he has a lot of open ice he then tends to extend his skates further out wide.

Projection

Jelsma is someone who I believe will provide solid secondary scoring at the NHL level. He is going to be an effective forward, who can alternate between wing and center and still maintain the same forechecking pressure and defensive play that you have come accustomed to seeing from him on the wing. He is going to hunt for open ice in the slot and open up vulnerable passing lanes for the opposing goaltender. I believe he can be an effective third liner in the NHL with second line upside.

Latest Update

April 17, 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: Luca Del Bel Belluz

Photo Credit: Robert Lefebvre/OHL Images

Scouting Report written by Paul Zuk

Arguably the clubhouse leader in terms of amazing 2022 NHL Draft prospect names, Mississauga Steelheads center Luca Del Bel Belluz is one of the more intriguing prospects currently playing in the OHL this season. Like most draft eligible CHL players, he unfortunately missed a very crucial development season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Del Bel Belluz was able to benefit from the missed season and worked on some of the imperfections in his game, as well as working on his overall physique, as he’s added roughly 30 pounds on his frame since his OHL rookie season in 2019/20.

Del Bel Belluz was born in Woodbridge, Ontario, and grew up playing his minor hockey within one of Ontario’s best leagues, the GTHL. He was drafted by the Steelheads with the 51st pick of the 2019 OHL Draft, after quite an impressive U16 season. One which saw him put up 53 goals and 48 assists for 101 points in 101 games across all competitions for the Toronto Red Wings. While many view the 2018/19 Don Mills Flyers as a powerhouse team, having Shane Wright, Brennan Othmann and Brandt Clarke, the Red Wings also fielded a solid amount of talent in the 2018/19 season. Joining Del Bel Belluz for the Red Wings that season was Francesco Pinelli, Adam Fantilli, and Ryan Gillespie.

As play resumed in the OHL for the 2021/22 season, Del Bel Belluz has shown the work he’s put in on almost every occasion possible. Not only has he exploded offensively while playing with line-mates James Hardie and Ty Collins most of the season, but Steelheads Head Coach James Richmond can trust him in all areas of the ice, regardless of the situation.

Player Profile

D.O.B – November 10, 2003
Nationality – Canada
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –6’1″
Weight –179 lbs
Position – Center
Handedness – Left

Del Bel Belluz’ Style of Play

Mississauga Steelheads Centre Luca Del Bel Belluz is an offensive-minded player who excels at just about everything in the offensive third of the ice. That’s not a knock on his abilities in the other two thirds, as he’s just as capable there as well.

Let’s take a deeper look into the facets of Del Bel Belluz’ game:

Skating

There’s a lot of aspects to Del Bel Belluz’ game which are extremely close to being ready for the professional game, however right now, skating isn’t one. Luckily, it seems to be more of a mechanical issue rather than an issue of skill or talent.

While watching Del Bel Belluz both on tape and in person, it’s noticeable that his skating stride seems to be stiff, upright, and relatively choppy and short. With a shorter, more vertical stride, it makes it hard to consistently beat defenders with speed due to the excess amount of energy and strides needed to work around them. This trait won’t hinder Del Bel Belluz too much at the OHL level, but as he progresses through his career, he will most likely look to gain a little more flexion in his ankles and knees, as well as work on lengthening his stride to fully maximize his potential of working around defenders.

In the clip above, Del Bel Belluz demonstrates he’s capable of lengthening his stride and being a little more explosive, and it pays off in an end-to-end goal for him. If he can do this on a more consistent basis, it will do wonders for his game.

Another area Del Bel Belluz seems to struggle a little bit with is his top-end speed. In watching both film of his and catching multiple live games of his, it’s noticeable that he doesn’t seem to have that extra gear to shift into when in transition or if presented with an odd-man rush opportunity. To simplify, his line usually icing James Hardie and Ty Collins generates quite a bit of offense and odd-man rushes. When Del Bel Belluz is carrying the puck through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone, he’s more apt to pump the brakes and look for a teammate to pass to, as opposed to turning on the jets and beating an opponent with his speed. While that’s not a bad decision to make, he could diversify his game in all areas of the ice by working on his explosiveness and top-end speed, to make himself even more dynamic.

If Del Bel Belluz is looking to become the top 9 forward with incredible offensive skill in the NHL like he’s projecting to be, he’ll need to address the kinks in his skating mechanics, as they could potentially hold him back from being as effective of a player as his skillset allows him to be. Thankfully, the issues mentioned above are certainly fixable, and there’s little doubt in my mind that Del Bel Belluz can shore them up rather quickly.

Offense

Del Bel Belluz absolutely thrives in the offensive zone. His exponential improvement over his rookie season in the OHL has been an absolute joy to follow. He has played much of this season with veteran sniper James Hardie, and the two have formed quite the offensive threat for the Steelheads.

There are many aspects to his offensive game that makes him dangerous with the puck on his stick. Not only can he pick the smallest windows on goal to exploit with above average success, but he’s also arguably an even better puck distributor. There are not many passes which Del Bel Belluz won’t attempt to make and is often successful at them. He can enter the offensive zone with pace and hit a teammate breaking towards the net, or he can cross the blue-line, wait for his line-mates to set up, and deliver a clean pass on the tape.

As mentioned above, Del Bel Belluz has one lethal shot. He’s not afraid to shoot from distance and absurd angles and has been able to pull off some ridiculous goals. However, there are moments in the offensive zone where he is overly passive, and opts to dish the puck off to a teammate rather than utilize his shot. With his ability to pick corners from tight angles little space, he may find even more offensive success taking a shot on net as opposed to passing. Whether it’s chalked up to feeling his teammate has a better angle on net, confidence, or another factor, Del Bel Belluz could really benefit by putting his wrist shot to work more often.

In the clip above, Del Bel Belluz is able to recover a failed pass attempt, pivot, and rush towards the net. He spots the short side top corner slightly open, and roofs it for the goal. His wrist shot is so powerful and accurate most of the time, and it’s reasonable to think his goal total would increase if he chose to shoot the puck more often.

One aspect of his game that is due for some credit, is how excellent of a forechecker he is. Del Bel Belluz can put a large amount of pressure on defenders, forcing them to make turnovers in the defensive zone multiple times per game. More forced turnovers by the opponent certainly leads to more chances offensively for him and his line-mates, and with such skill on the ice for the Steelheads, can result in a high danger chance or even a goal.

A few little things that make a big difference when it comes to being a force offensively, is his ability to be a real pain to defend against. When opponents are retrieving a puck from the corner and looking to break out of their zone, Del Bel Belluz leaves them little time and space to work with. This makes defenders rush, and this coupled with his active stick which allows him to block passing lanes can frustrate even the most stable player. Del Bel Belluz can also tie up the opposing centerman on the draw if he’s lost it, allowing for teammates to attempt retrieving the puck. It’s a minute thing, but it could pay dividends at the next level, as face-offs become harder and harder to win.

Defense

When you look back on Del Bel Belluz’ rookie season in the OHL (2019-20), it was clear he needed to add quite a bit of size in order to make his presence truly felt on ice. So far this season, he’s done just that. When drafted in 2019, he was 5’11” and 155 lbs. Playing against much older and much more physically developed players, he struggled a little bit to find his footing. However, he’s made his presence known to just about everyone in Ontario in his draft-eligible year.

Del Bel Belluz has really improved a lot on his defensive game over his OHL career, as he’s now trusted in all situations, especially on the penalty kill. Steelheads coach James Richmond clearly relies on him, and as of April 10th, he’s seeing just under 2 minutes of PK time per game. The same can be said of the power-play, as he’s usually found somewhere between the top of the hashmarks and the blue-line, ready to make a play.

His ability to utilize his active stick as well as sacrificing his body to block shots and disrupt passing lanes is a trait which will bode well for him wherever he goes. There are not many teams out there in all leagues who wouldn’t have use for a player like that. In a game against Hamilton earlier this season, Del Bel Belluz was on the penalty kill late in the third period, while up three goals in the game, still laying down to block shots.

Positionally, Del Bel Belluz is quite sound, often being able to assist his defensemen when under pressure in the defensive zone. He’s able to cover for them when they make rushes up the ice and is regularly the first forward back-checking to defend the counterattack. When attempting to win the puck back along the boards, he can use his new-found size to aid in muscling attackers off the puck, with a decent success rate. He may look to work on his balance a little bit though, as he can be knocked off it at times.

Improvements

Del Bel Belluz sometimes finds himself in situations where he looks to pass although he has a much better attempt to shoot. He may look to simplify things in the offensive zone as well as the neutral zone when it comes to creating chances.

Del Bel Belluz would also benefit quite a bit by focusing on his game-by-game consistency. There’s been times throughout this season where he’s looked terrific for a stretch, but soon after may go on a little bit of a slump where he may not be as engaged as games previous. While it could be a myriad of factors leading to this, Del Bel Belluz may look to work on this as he progresses.

Lastly, as mentioned above, Del Bel Belluz may look to improve on his skating mechanics as he progresses to the next level. The lost 2020-21 season took a toll on all draft eligible players, by not being able to develop themselves during actual game scenarios. Del Bel Belluz is no exception to this. However, fixing a few kinks with his mechanics is something a lot of players with his talents have been able to correct and carry on their development. I have all the faith in the world he’ll be able to work on this over the next couple of seasons and develop into a 2022 NHL Draft steal.

Overall Outlook

Luca Del Bel Belluz is one of the more intriguing prospects slated to go in the top 100 selections at this summer’s NHL Draft in Montreal. There’s just so many aspects of his overall game that are incredibly talented. He’s been viewed up and down many scouts ranking lists, finding himself anywhere from a late first round pick, to an early third round pick.

Personally, I think there’s a lot to love about his game. First, offensively he is one of the most talented passers and stick-handlers in the entire draft. His ability to take on multiple opponents alone when his teammates are changing and often come out successfully with the puck is impressive.

Arguably one of my favourite clips of his, Del Bel Belluz picks up the puck in the corner and works his way to the right circle. He absolutely walks Shane Wright, eludes Matthew Soto, and puts a beautiful pass on the tape of Evan Brand for the first goal of the game. Del Bel Belluz’ hockey IQ is on full display there, as he’s able to turn a loose puck from the corner into a highlight reel play, solely based off how well he’s able to think the game, and execute.

Not only that, but he’s able to create a fair amount of time and space in the offensive zone several times per game by eluding the defender with a beautiful deke. This trait allows him to put the other highly regarded aspects of his offensive game to work, by shooting or passing to a teammate for a chance on net.

Defensively, it’s a thing of beauty to see the progress he’s made in such a short time being able to play in all situations and be relied upon to be as effective in the defensive zone as he is in the offensive zone. It’s evident he’s working on becoming a 200ft player as he’s able to get up the ice to attack and back-check to defend at the same rate of speed and urgency.

It’s hard to pinpoint just exactly where Del Bel Belluz will be selected when the NHL Draft rolls around, but it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see a team with multiple first round picks take a swing at him with their later selection(s). Also, if there’s a specific team out there without multiple first round selections, it’s just as likely to see him be selected within the first half of the second round.

Latest Update

April 16, 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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Need a scouting report on a particular prospect, contact us today!

Scouting Report: Pavel Mintyukov

Photo Credit: Natalie Shaver/OHL Images

Scouting Report written by Austin Garrett

Pavel Mintyukov is currently sitting atop the OHL in points per game for first-time, draft eligible defensemen (tied with Christian Kyrou) and second in overall points. He’s currently fifth overall in points in the OHL for defensemen and tied for fourth in points per game. The 2022 draft eligible player is playing almost 15 minutes a night at even strength and 6 minutes and 20 seconds on the power play through four games tracked this year.

The Moskva, Russian native played junior hockey in Russia up until last season when the OHL season was canceled. He last played in the MHL for the majority of DY-2 season where he had 3 points in 33 games for MHK Dynamo Moskva. 

Mintyukov plays for the currently last place Saginaw Spirit in the OHL where he has been partnered with un-drafted overager Roberto Mancini for all of my viewings of him. 

Player Profile

D.O.B – November 25, 2003
Nationality – Russia
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –6’1″
Weight –192 lbs
Position – Defense
Handedness – Left

Mintyukov’s Style of Play

Offense

Pavel Mintyukov is one of the bigger conundrums for me in the 2022 draft. He started off this year as a firecracker in all facets of the game. He was hyper-aggressive in the offensive zone, showcased fantastic puck skill, and moved into areas of the ice and used activation strategies that aren’t conventional even for offensive-leaning defensemen. However, he was also wreck-less in his activation into zone exits, would misread controlled possessions and be out of position, would end up deep in the offensive zone with no purpose, and was prone to the occasional turnover in the neutral zone that could go the other way in an odd-man rush.

As the year has gone on Mintyukov has become a lot more conservative in his offensive approach to the game at even strength. He started the year heavily involved in exits/entries as he was a part of about 40% of the controlled transitions for his team during the first two games tracked (the only other defensemen as high in North America is Denton Mateychuk). The last two games I tracked though he was involved in only 24% of his team’s transitions. Oftentimes going D-to-D with Roberto Mancini instead of carrying the puck or passing out of/into the zone himself. Instead of controlled transitions of  >53% of the time with Mintyukov on the ice; Saginaw was only exiting/entering the zone with control about 43% of the time in the second half of the season.

However, the hallmarks of Mintyukov’s game have remained unchanged throughout the year. He still possesses high-end, four way agility in the offensive zone that allows him to manipulate pressure at the blue line and drive down along the wall or into the dangerous parts of the ice.

His activation from the blue line is where he becomes an absolute menace. There are two main variations of his deployment strategy. As the puck moves towards the center of the ice he will move down the left wing boards to receive a pass. If that pass becomes available and he receives it cleanly: it’s where Mintyukov makes his presence known. He’s able to precision pass high-danger opportunities, stick-handle into the middle of the ice, and his shot is very good from the dangerous parts of the ice as well.

If he doesn’t receive the pass on the half wall then Mintyukov will usually curl into the center of the ice and act like a power forward and plant himself in front of the net hoping for a tip, or to screen a point shot. It’s this part of his game where if the shot comes he is often able to act like a fourth forward on the ice in the puck retrieval or in the scrum out front to try to bang home a loose puck.

While the conservative style of play in transition has limited Mintyukov’s direct impact in the controlled exits/entries part of Saginaw’s offense; it has opened up a part of Mintyukov’s game that wasn’t there at the beginning of the year. He has become very good as of late at resetting a transition and not forcing passes or carry-outs in defensive zone exits and it has greatly diminished the number of egregious mistakes he was making. His ability to use his small-area puck skill to pull a puck back out of pressure and hit a teammate has been an added tool in his arsenal. 

Through the four games Mintyukov has completed 82% of his passes at even strength, but only 5% of them being to dangerous parts of the ice. Adding to that, 75% of his dangerous passing attempts happened in the first two games and ~90% of the completed passes happened during that time. His passing is precise, but conservative. With his skill-set and Saginaw’s lack of offensive talent I would expect him to be a lot more aggressive with his passing decisions. 

As stated in the opening part of this report: Mintyukov gets a lot of power play time. On the power play Mintyukov eats up open space so well. He moves into the open ice to force defenders to come to play him where he will either unleash a medium-danger wrist shot or hit one of his forwards on a cross-ice one-timer. 

He is at his best when he’s bearing down on a defense from the blue line. He’s able to get his shot through from moving up from the blue line and has a lot of point production from his shot assists. 

Defense

From a microstat perspective it would seem Pavel Mintyukov is one of the better defenders in the draft class. He allows controlled transitions on only 29% of opportunities, his team is at at a 59.5% Corsi through four games including two 6-3 losses, and they have 60% of the high/medium danger shot attempts in those four games. However, Mintyukov has some glaring issues in his defensive game that need to be addressed.

On the positive end: Mintyukov suffocates space very well. He does not give puck carriers space and puts constant pressure on the puck to force turnovers or to stop rushes from entering the zone. Saginaw deploys an aggressive approach in the neutral zone where their defensemen are high near center ice to deter any stretch passes, and Mintyukov is great at breaking up any pass coming his way off an attempted zone exit. He keeps a tight gap, and while his backward mobility isn’t high end, he’s able to dictate players to spaces where he can separate them from the puck. 

However, Mintyukov’s biggest individual weakness is his propensity for putting himself out of position in order to chase a big hit. In basketball we’d call it ‘circling the trap’, and in hockey it’s putting the puck where the defender used to be. Too often Mintyukov is the aggressor along the wall. He makes the first move to try to put an oncoming opponent through the glass and the opponent is able to either chip it past him and avoid the hit, or teams are smart enough to know his tendencies and an oncoming opponent will fill a rush lane exactly where Mintyukov was to receive a pass and generate an odd-man rush.

While his physicality in front of the net can be a positive feature; in the neutral zone and defending the blue line he almost never plays the puck when going for the hit. He often lacks the situational awareness of the importance of his positioning, and in doing so leaves his teammates out to dry.

Saginaw deploys a lot of man-to-man defensive zone strategies. It requires players to be able to adapt to opponents’ weaves and shifts within the zone, and also requires defensemen to be able to switch off opponents so not to be put in dangerous situations. When plays break down: Mintyukov is a fish out of water. When one of his teammates gets beat he won’t recognize the odd-man situation and will instead look to overcompensate by filling his teammates role and leave his man/area completely unattended. He can be caught puck-watching and then realize too late that he has overloaded an area and left a man wide open. 

Projection

With Pavel Mintyukov’s size, raw tools (including puck skill and passing ability), four-way agility, and deceptive maneuvering around the blue line: it’s hard not to see a lottery selection on that assessment alone. There are not many players in this draft class that have the ability to operate in the offensive zone from the backend like Mintyukov can. Add in his ability to suffocate space and his mobility to keep a tight gap: he’s an attractive asset in the 2022 draft.

As a life-long Buffalo Sabres fan, where I tend to get really hesitant with Mintyukov is his defensive zone awareness and propensity for chasing highlight reel hits rather than mitigating dangerous chances. It is all to reminiscent to watching Rasmus Ristolainen in a Sabres uniform. The tools are there, he’s a physical specimen, but too often I’m watching film of Mintyukov and trying to piece together the thought process behind some of his defensive reads. Some of these issues lie within the structure of Saginaw’s neutral and defensive zone set-up and Mintyukov’s skill set. However, a lot of it is individual reads that require if/then decisions that Mintyukov will too often not make correctly.

If I’m drafting Mintyukov I’m leaning in heavily on his offensive ability and his ability to create space with his edges and skill. I think he can excel in a defensive system that doesn’t lean so heavily on man-to-man defensive zone play. I would also spend a significant time in the film room showing how chasing hits in the neutral zone and at the defensive blue line has allowed teams to use it against him.

If Mintyukov can make those adjustments I think he could end up being one of the better defenders to come out of the 2022 NHL draft.

stats from InStat and EliteProspects

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

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

Scouting Report: Marcus Nguyen

Photo Credit: Keith Dwiggins / Portland Winterhawks

Scouting Report written by Matthew Somma

The Portland Winterhawks have established themselves as one of the top franchises in junior hockey at producing NHL talent. Their 2022 crop of prospects doesn’t have a big name or a must-see prospect, but it does have one of my absolute favorite players for this draft class: Marcus Nguyen. He’s a player that hasn’t gotten much love in the public sphere this season, and I’m here to change that. Nguyen plays an NHL game and while he may be a raw project, there’s legitimate NHL upside. Through this profile, I’m going to show why Nguyen could be a fantastic mid to late round pick for a team willing to develop him slowly over four or five years.

Nguyen is one of those players that has had a depth role on a deep team, so I feel that the best is yet to come for him. He can fly under the radar but will dazzle with his puck skills and speed, usually resulting in the puck finding the back of the net. Nguyen is a great transition attacker and a takeaway machine, both of which make me confident in his NHL upside. Nguyen has risen up my draft board all season long and will continue to do so given the way he plays. He has the right tools for success in his development, he just needs the opportunity.

Player Profile

D.O.B – August 2, 2004
Nationality – Canada
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –5’10″
Weight –172 lbs
Position – Right Wing
Handedness – Right

Nguyen’s Style of Play

I’ve described Nguyen as a transition attacker, which is to say that he’s able to create offense in transition as well as dictate the pace of play while moving through the neutral zone. The theme of his game is speed. Nguyen is constantly moving his feet and playing at a high pace. He is able to get up to his top speed quickly and his straight line speed is up there with the best players I’ve watched this season. As a smaller forward, he has to work hard to create space for himself and not get pushed around, so he’ll dart in and out of coverage in the neutral and offensive zones, creating space on his own and dishing the puck to a teammate if things get too dicey. The following clip showcases Nguyen’s speed in transition.

I love this play for a few reasons. One, he’s able to get up to speed quickly after collecting the puck. Two, he takes the defender on a walk and shoots to create a rebound that nearly goes in. It’s a play that started off as nothing and turned into a scoring chance, something I’ve seen a lot of from Nguyen this season.

Nguyen is smart and knows when to attack in order to create a turnover and take it the other way. I don’t see him strip players of the puck often. Instead, I see him getting in the passing lanes at the right time, breaking up the play and moving before the opponents have any time to react.

Tough luck on the breakaway, but it’s still a great chance that highlights Nguyen’s speed and skill. Nguyen’s awareness on the ice is what makes him so dangerous. He’s able to think ahead of the opposition and act on it, resulting in a large amount of odd man rushes, breakaways, and extended zone time. Nguyen is the type of player that you want on the ice if you need a spark because you just know he’ll be the one to light the fuse. Take a look at this play, where Nguyen freezes the defender and manipulates the goaltender into committing to the shot.

Korchinski didn’t play this particularly well, but Nguyen’s receipt of the pass and burst of speed didn’t make things better for poor Kevin. Then, there’s the patience from Nguyen to wait until the last second to change his angle and body position for the pass. The Seattle goalie was fully committed to a shot and the puck winds up in the back of the net.

Nguyen knows when a defenseman has made a mistake and he is quick to act on it before the defenseman has a chance to make a correction. This next clip highlights that characteristic of his game very well. The defender makes a poor choice with the puck and Nguyen strikes immediately.

Nguyen’s speed is a real problem for opponents, too. Mix that with his ability to create turnovers and you’ve got a player that can be an absolute pain to play against.

I could talk all day about Nguyen’s ability to recognize lapses in coverage, and at this rate, I just might. Here’s another play that I’ve enjoyed.

Nguyen possesses a patience with the puck that allows for additional creativity in close. I’ve spoken about his ability to manipulate the goaltender, and I believe he’s able to do the same to a defense. The following clip is a good example of that.

I love this play so much. Nguyen is able to outwait defenders and still manage to thread the needle to get passes off, as shown in this clip. Offense doesn’t come easy at any level but it helps if you’re able to do what he can do with the puck on his stick. Give him even the slightest amount of space and he’ll find a way to create something out of it. Nguyen is a great playmaker due to this amount of patience. Given his quickness and ability to generate offense in transition, he’s able to create a lot of odd man rushes and make plays like this.

Nguyen’s skill with the puck has the potential to dazzle. Put together with his hockey sense, patience and skating ability, you get a player that is able to work some magic with the puck.

It’s not hard to see why I believe that Nguyen has what it takes. There’s legitimate upside and the way he plays can work at the NHL level. It’s not all perfect, however, and I do have my concerns about his game. First and foremost, his defensive play leaves much to be desired. Yes, he can take the puck away with his stick, but for the most part, his defensive positioning can be a little passive and he can lose his coverage a little too easily for my liking. I feel that he relies on his teammates a little too heavily in the defensive zone and it leads to him chasing the puck or being a little aimless with his positioning. Both can be detrimental depending on the matchups. Sometimes, he’ll make the wrong decision to attack a puck carrier, leaving a player wide open for a pass. Other times, I’ve seen Nguyen drift in the middle of the ice without any real purpose, leaving passing and shooting lanes wide open. I love Nguyen, but these moments can be frustrating because it usually leads to a Grade-A scoring chance. He’ll need to tighten up his gaps and make better plays in the defensive zone. Part of his maturing as a player will be realizing that he doesn’t have to chase the puck. As long as he blocks the passing and shooting lanes, the puck will come to him and he’ll be able to work his magic.

Nguyen’s play with the puck on his stick is impressive, but he struggles along the boards and hesitates to play physically due to his smaller frame. He’s only 5’10” and 172 pounds, so he’ll need to add some muscle if he wants to win puck battles. Right now, if he gets pushed to the perimeter, he can struggle to create offense. Physical play can be a barrier to the NHL for some teams, but I don’t see it being one for Nguyen. He’s too good with the puck on his stick for a team to pass him up, and it’s not like he’s a player that relies on individual skill rather than his teammates. The final concern that I have with Nguyen is that while the majority of his offensive game comes from transition, he is less effective on an extended shift in the offensive zone. Nguyen is still figuring out how to create space for himself in the offensive zone, and as a result, it can lead to him disappearing for a little while during a shift. Nguyen will need to work on establishing a presence in the offensive zone.

Projection

As I stated in the beginning, Nguyen has risen up my board all season long and will likely continue to do so as the season reaches its end. There’s too much skill in his game for him to be lower than the third or fourth round on anyone’s draft boards, in my opinion. Nguyen plays like an NHL player and has enough skill to play in a team’s middle six someday, and I’ll stand by that statement. And when I’ve watched other undersized forwards from the WHL this season, they’ve all played worse than Nguyen in my eyes. Jordan Gustafson is a great goal scorer but I feel that his game is fairly one-dimensional and his skating is going to limit his effectiveness at the NHL level. Mathew Ward, a player who I’m hoping to write about soon, can play with a lot of pace but has yet to impress me all that much. Nguyen has been consistently good, even when he isn’t putting up points. It’s only going to get better for him, too. Nguyen doesn’t see a ton of power play ice time and has been on Portland’s third line for the majority of the season. Once he gets more ice time, his skill will be on full display. I believe that Nguyen is close to being able to dominate a shift in the WHL. He has the right tools to do so, he just needs the opportunity to grow. A projection of middle six upside may be high, but when I look at Nguyen play, I see a player that can flip the game on its head and create something out of nothing. He’s exactly the type of player that you put out there when your team needs a spark or a quick goal. He’s a player that was built for Portland’s system, too. Nguyen has been able to thrive in a Portland system that closely mimics that of an NHL team.

Ultimately, the biggest questions with Nguyen will be his strength, defensive play, and if he can make more of an impact during an o-zone shift. Most coaches won’t settle for Nguyen’s defensive play and he’ll need to add muscle in order to compete against NHL players. My biggest question is if Nguyen can find a way to be more creative during an offensive zone shift. He has the one on one skill that has made him a dominant player in transition, but he lacks that same skill when the play is already established. I don’t see these concerns turning teams away from Nguyen, either. Sure, it might mean that he’ll take a little longer to develop, but when the reward is as high as it can be, why wouldn’t you take that risk?

When we conduct our meetings for our final draft rankings, I’m sticking my neck out for Nguyen. There’s too much talent there for him to be left off of our board. It may be higher than most, but this is a player that I’ve been excited about all season long. I expect him to be in the top 100 of our rankings, and I’ll fight tooth and nail to make that happen.

Latest Update

April 6, 2022

stats from InStat and EliteProspects

Prospect report written by Matthew Somma. If you would like to follow Josh 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!

Scouting Report: Ryan Chesley

Photo Credit: Rena Laverty

Scouting Report written by Josh Tessler

Ryan Chesley is a 2022 NHL Draft eligible prospect, who hails from Mahtomedi, Minnesota. He is a right handed defenseman and plays for the USNTDP U18 squad. 

Before joining the USNTDP in 2020, he played for 14U AAA and 16U AAA hockey for Shattuck St. Mary’s and 15U AAA hockey for the Minnesota Kings. Throughout his time playing 14U-16U hockey, he played alongside his USNTDP teammate Isaac Howard and a few NHL drafted prospects including Andre Gasseau (Boston Bruins), Liam Gilmartin (San Jose Sharks) and Shai Buium (Detroit Red Wings).

Chesley is a University of Minnesota commit and is scheduled to join the Minnesota Golden Gophers next season (2022-2023). He will be alongside several current USNTDP players including Logan Cooley, Jimmy Snuggerud, Cruz Lucius and Oliver Moore. 

Player Profile

D.O.B – February 27, 2004
Nationality – American
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –6’0″
Weight –194 lbs
Position – Defense
Handedness – Right

Chesley’s Style Of Play

Offense

Chesley needs to work on shot selection. He will struggle at identifying quality opportunities to shoot. One of the issues with his shot selection is that he can be too quick at times.

He will collect a pass at the perimeter, immediately try to shoot, but he wasn’t observant of where the puck was in proximity to him. He will hold the puck too far out from his body once receiving the puck and his shot will go wide. He needs to work on keeping his stick blade closer towards him when acquiring possession of passes in the offensive zone if he wants to be more consistent with his one-timer opportunities.

Not only will he struggle with one-timer shooting accuracy, but he will struggle with his backhand shooting as well. When attempting shots from low danger with his backhand on the move, he will not get pucks on net and they end up wide right / left. The issue is that he doesn’t have the power in the release to get the puck on net. It’s a light release.

It’s not just being too quick, it’s also about thinking that he has run out of options and then firing a shot from the point. Chesley needs to work on pin-pointing open passing lanes to exploit. 

Most of his shots from the point don’t test the goaltender. He ends up shooting at the chest and it allows the goaltender to trap the shot easily. If he is looking to generate high danger rebounds up front or deflections, he needs to work on getting his shots slightly closer to the posts. The goal needs to be get the puck high enough, in which he can either beat the goaltender glove/blocker side or get the puck in the general direction of the glove/blocker so that way a teammate in the slot can re-direct the puck in.

If he has open skating lanes and his teammates are skating up further into the offensive zone, he will pinch up and provide teammates a passing option in medium danger. On the rush, when not all of the forwards are able to get down low fast enough, Chesley will skate to the slot to offer a passing option in high danger.

When controlling the puck, pinching in and facing pressure, he can leverage his upper body strength to push past attackers. He has a big frame and he can use it well to net separation. 

When he doesn’t have the puck and is looking to cause disruption, he will pinch up and blind side an attacker when the attacker is along the boards waiting for a pass and staring at the puck carrying teammate. Chesley closes in on him, doesn’t have the speed to make contact but he forces the attacker to dump the puck. In addition, he will try to engage an attacker with the puck when the attacker is close to vacating his own zone. But, he needs to be mindful of his positioning when the attacker is coming towards the blue line with the puck. Once the attacker gets to the perimeter, he needs to fall back into the neutral zone and let his forward group implement pressure. Often he will sit in the offensive zone a bit too long and that leads to odd man rush opportunities for the attack should the attack manage to get the puck out of their own zone.

When it comes to Chesley’s puck control, he has shown that he can be reliable puck carrier. He will do a good job cradling when he is along the half-wall boards and an attacker is coming up from behind him. Chesley will opt to play the puck out in front of him and secure the puck. When Chesley gets clear of the attacker just enough, he will then switch to cradling the puck on the opposite side of the attacker. That comes in handy if he is facing a tight backcheck in the slot and he is aiming to skate to the doorstep.

There are also instances in which he will take a risk and cradle the puck underneath the attacker’s triangle when he has simply ran out of options. That has worked out for him. 

When he is moving the puck from side to side, I have noticed some puck security issues that will need to be addressed. When he is going from forehand to backhand to forehand with the puck, he will struggle to cradle the puck cleanly from side to side and that has led to bobbled pucks. 

Similarly to his shot, Chesley will put slightly too much power in his passing release. There have been instance in which he complete a zone entry and he will complete a pass off the rush to a forward teammate who is slightly more centered, but the pass has too much power behind it for the receiver to pick it up cleanly. When you look back at my description on his shot, you will also notice that at times Chesley didn’t have enough power in his release and it’s the same situation with his passing ability. There have been occurrences in which his release is too light and thus it doesn’t make its way to the intended target.

Defense

In the defensive zone, his positioning is solid. He will alternate with his USTNDP defensive partner Lane Hutson (in most situations it is Lane), who works behind the red for the loose puck while Chesley sits slightly past the red line to provide an outlet. Chesley maintains good presence in the slot when oppositional puck movement is along the opposite boards. He also implements quality defensive support when his defensive partner loses pace with the puck carrier. Chesley shifts over to help trap the puck carrier in the corner.

When implementing pressure on the puck carrier, Chesley has excellent gap control to force the attacker to stay in low danger. On occasion, he tries to initiate contact when his slightly too far away from the puck carrying attacker. It slows him down and can open up sizable gaps for the attacker to exploit. But, in general if Chesley is defending against you in the corner, he doesn’t give you much room to use.

He also does a good job of keeping attackers at bay in the slot. He uses his frame to remove lanes to the net. His frame helps to take away lanes just from his stature alone, but his reach also allows him to extend his stick blade further out from his body to poke check and disrupt the rush. When defending against the puck carrier in his own zone and they are skating towards the perimeter, Chesley will extend his stick blade out and attempt to poke check. That will force the puck carrier to take an ill-advised shot. After using his reach to cause puck disruption, he will quickly cut inside and grab a hold of the puck when covering the man initially along the boards in the corner. 

Chesley isn’t the fastest skater on the ice and it is the most evident when he is skating after defensive recoveries / puck retrievals. He knows that he doesn’t have the speed to beat the attacker, so instead he likes to use his back to bump into attackers when they are vying for the puck. By bumping into attackers when they are aiming to pick up possession, he hopes that the subtle bump deter them and push them forward. If he can push them forward, he can force the attacker to lose control right away. In situations in which he can get solid pace, he will use his upper body strength to push past the attacker to the puck.

When Chesley is in possession of the puck, he does a good job of identifying a passing lane in between two forecheckers who aren’t trying to use their stick blades to limit the amount of space. Those tight passing lanes allow him to evade pressure and feather stretch zone exit pass to teammates in the neutral zone. He does an excellent job of completing tape to tape zone exit feeds to teammates in the neutral zone and the occasional saucer pass above an attacker’s stick to a teammate towards the blue line. In addition, he will at times be deceptive with his puck control. He will use a backhand pass fake to buy him enough separation to get him away from danger and allow him to skate into the neutral zone with possession.

While he does do a good job of finding tight passing lanes to exploit, when he is on the move and turning from behind the net, he can struggle with  breakout pass completion. You will notice that when he is on the move that his passes have a tendency to go far wide of the intended target. 

Transitional Play

In the neutral zone, I love his lateral movements. Chesley has quick hips that allow him to turn in place, quickly grab a hold of a loose puck and dump it back into the offensive zone. In situations in which his defensive partner isn’t covering the defensive zone blue line and Chesley is slightly out of position to defend against the rush, he will use a lateral crossover to get enough acceleration to shift over enough to defend the rush head on. 

When defending in the neutral zone, he doesn’t have the power stride to contend with speedy attackers on the rush in the neutral zone. But, he does do a good job of closing the rush off when they get close to the USNTDP defensive zone blue line. He will skate closer and closer towards the boards when the attacker is coming towards the offensive zone. That allows him to quickly cut the attacker off before the perimeter. In situations in which he is facing the puck carrying attacker skate from centered ice to the left side, Chesley lowers his body and sticks out his stick to take away the skating lane. It allows Chesley to trap the attacker and not give him any more room.

When it comes to puck movement in the neutral zone, he usually isn’t the one driving the rush. Generally speaking, you can expect Chesley to complete an outlet pass in his own zone and have his forwards to drive the puck up the ice. In those rare situations where Chesley is carrying the puck from zone to zone, he is efficient at pushing the puck underneath his attacker’s stick when facing pressure and he doesn’t have another skating lane. Chesley will position the puck out in front of him when facing tight pressure, but should he be in situations in the future where he has to carry the rush, I would like him to be slightly more manipulative with his puck control. He should try to use the puck to draw attackers to one side and then quickly cut to the other. 

Skating

Chesley does a good job with pivoting and deploying his inside and outside edges when staying aligned with a shifty puck carrying attacker along the boards (especially in the corner). If he doesn’t have the speed to skate past an attacker in the defensive zone and runs out of open ice, he will pivot out and complete a pass to his defensive partner.  When shifting from side to side along the blue line, he does a good job of leaning on his inside edges to push off and move left. 

While he does do a good job pushing off of his edges, I have noticed that he will struggle with stride activation after utilizing his edges. You will lose him traction or not generate enough acceleration off of the turn to keep pace. Ideally, I would like to see him work on going from his edges to crossovers to drive up his speed. Chesley can deploy good crossovers to generate speed, but his stride extensions don’t generate the same level of speed. If he can deploy a few crossovers before going into stride, that will generate far more acceleration since he doesn’t have a lengthy extension. In the clip below, you can check out the speed that Chesley can manufacture on well-timed crossovers. More crossovers and more crossovers with good posture will only improve his acceleration.

Speaking of crossovers, Chesley deploys good lateral crossovers to generate separation from an approaching attacker, dodge traffic and skate into open ice with the puck. It helps in situations where Chesley is driving the rush and pushing the puck up the ice. In the offensive zone, he deploys good lateral crossovers along the blue line to gain separation on the attacker covering him. His crossovers allow to him to net separation and open up lanes.

His straight line skating needs further development. Chesley’s ankle flexion isn’t in the desired spot. He needs to lower his posture and push his knees to the toe of his skates to get the maximum speed in his extensions. As we mentioned before, he doesn’t have the foot speed to beat out attackers to loose pucks. Chesley also needs to further round out his speed when skating backwards. When facing a speedy rush and utilizing his backward skating, he doesn’t have enough acceleration to face the rush. At a point, he has to switch to forward skating to attempt to counter-attack. But, in situations in which the attack is too fast, he isn’t in position to counter.

Projection

Chesley and Lane Hutson are an interesting dynamic. Hutson is very creative and mobile. He has good body language and can shift his body to a new lane on a dime. Chesley isn’t as nimble and mobile. That just isn’t his game. Chesley does have the same drive to create high and medium danger chances in the slot, but he is more likely to pinch up the boards with the puck than go into open ice and battle it out against attackers at the perimeter. The good thing is that Chesley seems to have the support of the USNTDP coaching staff to let him play his game. Chesley knows that he has to be somewhat conservative given that Hutson can be far more out-going in the offensive zone. I do think will Chesley will be a solid two-way defender in the NHL level. If he can be slightly more consistent with his drive to create high danger chances, he could be provide nice defensive depth in a second or third pairing role. Chesley will also need to address his acceleration / skating as oppositional speed will only get more and more daunting at the NHL level.

Latest Update

April 6, 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: Brandon Lisowsky

Photo Credit: Keith Hershmiller Photography / Regina Pats

Scouting Report written by Matthew Somma

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a sucker for smaller forwards that have a ton of skill. When I first watched Brandon Lisowsky play, he immediately caught my attention as a player that could make a difference at this level. Lisowsky is a player whose skill makes him a pain to play against in the offensive zone, after all. When he’s on his game, Lisowsky can be one of the more potent offensive presences on his team, utilizing a fantastic shot and his hockey sense in the relentless pursuit of offense. On draft day, you’ll hear analysts talking about players that have a motor that “just won’t quit.” Lisowsky is one of those players.

In our Winter Rankings, Lisowsky missed the cut in both the top 64 as well as our honorable mentions. At the time, I was higher on Fraser Minten for a handful of reasons, but after doing some more research on both players, I’d put Lisowsky in over him if we were to do the rankings again. Lisowsky has the potential to play in the NHL and make more of an impact, and both players have roughly the same chances of not making it to the NHL. If I’m an NHL team, I’m drafting for upside.

Player Profile

D.O.B – January 20, 2004
Nationality – Canada
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –5’11″
Weight –179 lbs
Position – Center
Handedness – Left

Lisowsky’s Style of Play

I would describe Lisowsky’s play as a relentless pursuit of offense. He’s not the type of player to sit back and take a shift off or wait for the puck to come to him. Instead, he’ll go out of his way to make room for himself on the ice and get into a lane to either shoot or receive a pass. Lisowsky’s ability to scan the ice and read the play a step ahead of the opposition makes him one of the smarter players out there. He’ll find little gaps in coverage to thread a shot or pass through, and he’s a good enough skater and stickhandler to expose a weaker defender in order to get around them. You always hear the term “shifty” get thrown around with smaller forwards that are able to dart in and out of coverage in the offensive zone, but I’d describe Lisowsky as a player that dictates the pace. Defenders have to play at his pace otherwise they’ll be chasing him along the boards. Sure, Lisowsky can be elusive, and it’s largely due to the fact that his legs are constantly moving in the offensive zone. He can switch up his angles and change direction quickly thanks to strong edgework. If he gets caught, he’ll manage to stickhandle to either get himself out of trouble or open up the defender just enough to make a pass to an open teammate.

Lisowsky is able to do a lot of the same things in transition, too. I see him more as a winger moving forward rather than a center due to his lack of size and reach. He’ll be more effective coming down the wing than right down the middle. That said, Lisowsky is a confident puck carrier and one that can enter the zone successfully, usually leading to at least one shot on goal.

This next play from Lisowsky stands out to me. Not only does he create a turnover, he’s able to turn on the jets and immediately gain separation from the defender, leading to a scoring chance. This quick burst of speed will allow for Lisowsky to create more offense as he continues to develop.

Lisowsky can thrive under pressure, which is part of the reason why I believe that he’s a strong player in transition. If he senses that he’s in over his head, he’ll make adjustments and unload the puck before more trouble arises. He plays like someone who hates to dump the puck in, so he’ll always look to make a pass before electing for a dump and chase. Or, as in this case, he’ll shoot the puck.

Over the course of the season, I’ve noticed that Lisowsky will work hard to create something out of nothing. He’s also a takeaway machine, largely in part to his “never give up” attitude. He notices when defenders are getting a little too careless with the puck and will strip them of the puck in order to continue pressing the attack. Offensive rushes rarely die on his stick and it’s largely in part to efforts such as the following clip.

Lisowsky has 30+ goals this season and has proven that his shot is one of his greatest weapons over the course of this year. He can score in a variety of ways, but I’ve been finding that Lisowsky is deadly from the top of the circles as well as the slot.

I’d consider labeling him as a sniper because of how quick and accurate his shot is. His shot release doesn’t need to be much quicker because of how great the shot itself is. Here’s an example of how Lisowsky can get just enough separation from a defender to burn them.

The cut across the middle and the shot while losing his balance? Pure perfection.

Now, Lisowsky isn’t a perfect player by any means. There have been a few concerns that have come up as I’ve watched Lisowsky play, mainly his reach and strength. Lisowsky can get bumped off of the puck with relative ease and he isn’t able to take away as many lanes due to his reach, or lack thereof. As a result of his lack of reach, I find that he can be a bit of a liability defensively. Lisowsky isn’t out of position in the defensive zone, but players can move the puck around him and try to make something happen when they cut to the middle. They’ll have more space to work with and as a result, less room for error. Now, that’s not to say that Lisowsky will be unable to do much of anything in the offensive zone. He still can be potent when it comes to takeaways, and that’s something that opposing offenses will have to look out for. The issue is that Lisowsky can be caught skating around without much of a purpose and will leave a lane open. Lisowsky isn’t as good of a passer as he is a shooter, either. He is able to see where he wants to make a pass, but will often struggle with the timing and placement of the passes. I would consider Lisowsky to be an average passer. He isn’t limited to simple passes because he tries to thread the puck through defenders, but the problem is that he isn’t the most accurate passer. Lisowsky’s passing is something that I could see holding him back at the NHL level. Timing is everything and you have even less time to make a decision at the NHL level than you do in junior hockey.

My last concern about Lisowsky is that he tends to play on the perimeter too much at even strength. On the power play, he’s lethal from the bumper position and, as shown in some of the clips I’ve used, is dangerous in the slot area. At even strength, Lisowsky can stay on the outside and look to create offense along the boards rather than attack the middle of the ice. I’ve seen it happen on occasion, and I believe that he’ll be more willing to do so once he adds some muscle, but it’s still something to take note of. I’ve already used this clip, but I feel that I should use it again to illustrate what I mean. Lisowsky can start plays along the perimeter and cut to the middle when he notices an opening.

I would love to see Lisowsky make these types of plays more often. He’s a much more effective player when he’s shooting from closer to the middle of the slot rather than the perimeter or the half wall.

Projection

Lisowsky has the ability to score 20 or more goals at the NHL level due to how good of a shooter he is. His relentless pursuit of offense, work ethic and speed will make him an enticing player for NHL teams at the draft. This is a player that can fill a role in a team’s middle six as well as their power play given how skilled he is. The question surrounding most smaller forwards is whether or not they will be able to remain as effective once the competition ramps up and the play becomes more physical. I’m less worried about how Lisowsky will adapt to the professional game than I am with some other smaller forwards, but I still have my questions. Lisowsky will need to gain more strength and attack the middle of the ice more often if he is to become an NHL player.

Given his potential as a goal scorer and a threat in transition, I would rank Lisowsky somewhere in the 65-75 range for the upcoming draft. His goal scoring ability is something that NHL teams will covet, but his average-at-best passing and overall size will be a cause for concern for some teams. This is a player that would thrive on a team such as Tampa Bay. Lisowsky isn’t as dynamic of a player like Brayden Point, but he does have a similar build and he’s able to become a sniper. Taking all of Lisowsky’s traits into consideration, this is a player that I’d be banging the table for on draft day if he is still available late in the second or third round. The odds of you finding another player with as much upside as Lisowsky at that point are slim to none. This all goes back to what I was talking about at the beginning of the profile, after all. If you have the opportunity to draft two players with the same odds of making it to the NHL, are you taking the one capable of 20+ goals and 40 points or the fourth line player?

Lisowsky is a player that has been excellent on the power play this season, but I’ve been impressed with his play at even strength. As of April 2, only 17 of Lisowsky’s 55 points have come on the power play this season. Most of his work has been done at even strength, which is a good sign for his future in the NHL. Typically, when the majority of a player’s production is on the power play, it tends to raise some concerns about that player’s effectiveness at even strength.

From what I’ve seen, Lisowsky is a player that could hit 20+ goals and roughly 40+ points at the NHL level in his prime. He’ll likely play on a team’s third line and see time on the second power play unit. I don’t see first line levels of skill anywhere in his game, and while his shot is excellent, the other aspects of his game will likely keep him in a third line role. I don’t see Lisowsky performing well in a fourth line role at the NHL level. Almost every team in the league uses their fourth line as a line to grind and wear the opposition down in the offensive zone or as a shutdown defensive line. I don’t see Lisowsky filling either role at the NHL level. He’s more of a middle six scorer. If Lisowsky doesn’t make it in the NHL, I could see him having a successful career in the AHL, similar to the likes of Andrew Poturalski. All in all, Lisowsky has legitimate upside and is a player that I’d love to have in my pipeline if I were an NHL executive. You’ll be hard pressed to get more value out of your pick at that point in the draft.

Latest Update

April 2, 2022

stats from InStat and EliteProspects

Prospect report written by Matthew Somma. If you would like to follow Josh 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!

Scouting Report: Jordan Gustafson

Photo Credit: Brian Liesse / Seattle Thunderbirds

Scouting Report written by Matthew Somma

Jordan Gustafson is a player that has received a fair amount of hype this season, particularly in recent months. He’s playing for a great Seattle team in the WHL and is playing in all situations as an 18-year-old. Gustafson’s shifty skating is typical of most smaller forwards, but what makes him stand out is his physicality and strength on the puck. Gustafson is able to score at will from medium to high danger areas and can be a threat on a team’s power play if he makes it to the NHL.

When we conducted our meetings for the Winter Rankings, Gustafson was left off of the list. There were a handful of traits that I liked, such as the traits mentioned above, but I had concerns about Gustafson’s game that made me feel comfortable leaving him outside of the top 64 ranking. Since those rankings, I’ve come around on Gustafson a bit. I’m still not one hundred percent convinced of his odds at NHL success, but there’s more to like than I initially believed. In this profile, I’ll be looking at what makes Gustafson effective and why he could feature in our next rankings at Smaht Scouting.

Player Profile

D.O.B – January 20, 2004
Nationality – Canada
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –5’11″
Weight –179 lbs
Position – Center
Handedness – Left

Gustafson’s Style of Play

The most common standout trait in every game I’ve watched this year has been Gustafson’s shifty and elusive skating. He is able to dart in and out of defensive coverage and create space for himself to operate in the offensive zone. Gustafson is able to make a quick cut across and can skate through three or four defenders at a time, seemingly taking the puck from a potential turnover situation to an extended shift in the offensive zone. Here’s an example of how Gustafson can avoid pressure in the offensive zone.

As for Gustafson’s speed, it’s average at best for a forward his size. I do think that his speed is fine at the WHL level, and there has been improvement over the course of the season, but he’ll need to add at least two steps over the course of his development. Gustafson can hunch a bit and sticks out a little too much when he’s skating forward. The first few pushes that Gustafson gets while he’s getting up to speed are great, but Gustafson tends to glide and can lose his speed while in transition. The main concern that I have about Gustafson’s skating is that he can glide and skate through WHL defenses just fine, but as the level of competition increases, his skating mechanics will prove to be deficient. His turns are slow, he can’t react quickly and there’s not a lot of power in his stride overall.

One of Gustafson’s best offensive tools is his stickhandling. He’s the type of player that utilizes a handful of dekes to create space and make the most out of a net drive or zone entry. Gustafson can stickhandle to get himself out of a bind along the boards as well. A player’s stickhandling doesn’t always make a player elite, but when paired with Gustafson’s skating, it makes him a weapon in the offensive zone. He’ll stickhandle and dart through a defense, taking the puck to the net and setting up a long shift in the offensive zone.

Gustafson’s shot is one of his stronger assets as well. He possesses a quick release with near perfect accuracy, making him one of the better goal scorers out of draft eligible skaters in the WHL this year. As I mentioned at the beginning his shot is dangerous in medium to high danger areas. This means that he can be a lethal scorer from the top of the circles on down, capable of threading shots through traffic and utilizing screens to thread shots through.

Gustafson takes advantage of the screen and places a shot right between the two players and right above the goalie. Just a little example of Gustafson’s shot being elite.

How about this one? Going through the five hole on a defending player and then going top shelf on the goaltender? Beautiful.

Gustafson’s hockey sense is on full display when he’s seeking a shooting opportunity. He’ll hold onto the puck and position himself and his stick in the exact position it needs to be in order to take the best possible shooting option. It’s the one time where I’m convinced that he can see the ice well. Other times, it’s not as obvious. Gustafson can skate the puck into a corner a lot of the time and turn it over when he has run out of room. In terms of vision with the puck on his stick, he tends to get tunnel vision and is limited to simple passes because he isn’t quite able to notice what’s on the periphery. With this in mind, it’s hard to say that Gustafson’s hockey sense is very good. It might be average given how he sees the ice as a shooter, but I wouldn’t argue that it’s much more than that.

I appreciate that Gustafson has the trust of his coaches, particularly in the defensive zone. He’s a tenacious player and makes a lot of smart plays in the defensive zone. Gustafson pressures the puck and forces players to make rushed decisions and bad passes, which results in a change of possession. His active stick and physicality give opponents hell when they’re trying to get set up. Gustafson has seen time on the penalty kill this season, where he’s able to do the same thing. He’ll frustrate opponents and push to get the puck out of the zone. I see the same mentality when Gustafson is on the forecheck, too. He’s relentless and this is where his physicality shines. Gustafson is one of the better forecheckers that I’ve watched this season, largely due to his relentless pursuit of the puck and physicality.

These are the positive traits that I’ve noticed about Gustafson this season. Unfortunately, there’s a lot that concern me about his odds of making the NHL. First and foremost, I’m constantly looking for Gustafson to do more in the offensive zone. He tends to stand around and wait for the play to come to him when the puck is with his teammates. Occasionally, that’ll lead to him being out of position. He can be a passenger in the offensive zone, but that switch will flip when he’s moving to the forecheck. If Gustafson can find a way to keep that switch on consistently, he’ll be a force in the offensive zone. Right now, he’s a player that can do a little with the puck but one that is only a real threat when he’s shooting. I don’t see Gustafson seeking out offense often. Instead, he’ll wait for the play to come to him. He relies on the skill of his teammates to set him up rather than taking over the shift in the offensive zone. That’s not necessarily a death sentence for NHL success, but it does mean that his effectiveness in the NHL will be severely limited if he isn’t able to fix things.

Gustafson seems to be fairly one-dimensional in the offensive zone when I’ve watched him this season. He is limited to simple passes in the offensive zone, usually moving the puck back to the point or outside to a wing. Rarely do I see Gustafson thread any passes through traffic, nor do I see him dazzle with his vision with the puck on his stick. Simply put, he’s a player that can move the puck to an easy option but I haven’t seen more from him as a playmaker. A lot of his assists that I’ve seen this year have been off of faceoff wins or passes back to the point that resulted in goals. He has plenty of primary assists, but none of them are particularly eye opening. Just simple passes that his teammates are able to finish on. Occasionally, he’ll make a nice play, such as this give and go.

The last concern that I have about Gustafson’s game is his reaction time. Gustafson’s decision making can be slow and he can’t react to the play in time, leading to him lagging behind or getting caught out of position. This is on display when Gustafson is carrying the puck in transition. He’ll try to assess his options but will skate himself into a corner before he is able to decide on a passing option. His tenacity on the forecheck is a positive, but he needs to make the decision to push on the forecheck quicker otherwise he isn’t going to pressure players nearly as much.

Projection

Gustafson is a player that has a long way to go in order to make it to the NHL. We’re looking at a development timeline of at least four to five years at this point. Gustafson has some tools that teams can develop in order to turn him into an NHL player, but the amount of red flags in his game make me believe that teams will hold off on selecting him until at least the third or fourth round. There’s also a significant possibility that the right team will have to develop Gustafson, too. He’ll need to play in a system where he won’t have to be the primary play driver.

The positive aspects of Gustafson’s game are his ability to evade coverage in the offensive zone, his above average to elite shot and his two way play. Gustafson is a goal scorer with a quick and accurate shot, and the other aspects of his game can complement his scoring ability nicely. If developed properly, it’s not out of the question to expect a handful of 20-goal seasons from Gustafson in the future. The problem with him is that the negative aspects of his game, at least in my eyes, have led me to believe that Gustafson will fall short of the NHL barring some major changes. Gustafson’s skating is average at best and he’ll need a lot of work on mechanics and speed in order to keep up at the NHL level. His hockey sense can be inconsistent and seems to only shine when he’s looking to shoot when the puck is on his stick. I’ll often see Gustafson wait for the play to come to him rather than seek out offensive opportunities, leading me to believe that he’s more of a passenger and complementary piece on his line rather than a play driver.

I also don’t see Gustafson as a center at the NHL level. There’s very little that shows me that he can get the puck deep and play in the middle of the ice effectively. Gustafson can play effectively along the perimeter but struggles to do more than that on a consistent basis. If he can improve his skating, then I might circle back to this opinion. A quicker Gustafson would be able to do more in the offensive zone, but it still doesn’t ease my mind about the fact that he waits for the play to come to him. Gustafson seems to wait for his teammates to run the cycle.

Gustafson has potential as a goal scorer, albeit a fairly one-dimensional one. A team can work with him on his skating and make him more of a threat in transition, but ultimately, you’re getting the most out of him when he’s shooting the puck, not when he’s passing it. Given the amount of development needed in his game, it’s likely that Gustafson is a slow cook prospect that you’ll leave in the minors for 2-3 years while he continues to work on rounding out his game. I see a player that, if he makes it to the NHL, could play on a third line and score roughly 15-20 goals a season while getting 10-15 assists.

Latest Update

March 19, 2022

stats from InStat and EliteProspects

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

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Scouting Report: Rutger McGroarty

Photo Credit: Rena Laverty

Scouting Report written by Paul Zuk

Buried almost smack-dab in the middle of the United States, the state of Nebraska has only had 1 player selected in the NHL Entry Draft. That statistic is likely to increase at this summer’s NHL Entry Draft, as center Rutger McGroarty is eligible to be selected. McGroarty hails from the Nebraska state capital, as his father Jim was an assistant coach for the Omaha Lancers of the USHL when Rutger was born. Jim McGroarty hails from Streetsville, Ontario, Canada, and currently serves as the General Manager for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL.

McGroarty played his minor hockey wherever Jim’s work took him, as he played for several top-quality programs in Michigan from the 13U ranks, all the way up to his time with the NTDP. His 15U season in 2019-20 was an absolute eye-opener for scouts, as he racked up a staggering 82 goals, 78 assists for 160 points in only 63 games. Such a monstrous season at a high level garnered the attention of the NTDP, thus beginning McGroarty’s tenure in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

In his first season suiting up for the NTDP U17’s, McGroarty impressed a lot of people, as he amassed 32 goals, 28 assists for 60 points in 83 total games with both the U17’s and U18’s. He also played for the USA in the IIHF World U-18’s, where he was held pointless in five total games.

This season as a full-time member of the U18’s, McGroarty’s draft-stock has risen very fast, as he’s having an incredible season thus far. As of March 14th, 2022, McGroarty has tallied 27 goals, 34 assists for 61 points in 54 games between Development Team and USHL play.

For the 2022-23 season, McGroarty will join the college hockey powerhouse University of Michigan. His recruiting class may go down as the best the NCAA has ever seen, as it has the names of four potential first-round picks in the 2022/2023 NHL Drafts. Joining McGroarty in Ann Arbor will be U18 teammates Seamus Casey, Frank Nazar, and Hunter Brzustewicz, along with brothers Adam and Luca Fantilli.

There’s no telling how much McGroarty’s overall game will improve being surrounded by such deep talent, but the sky’s the limit. Head Coach Mel Pearson will know exactly how and where to utilize McGroarty to obtain the maximum amount of output from his game, offensively speaking. Look for McGroarty to light things up at the NCAA level starting next Fall.

Player Profile

D.O.B – March 30, 2004
Nationality – American/Canadian
Draft Eligibility – 2022
Height –6’0″
Weight –205 lbs
Position – Center
Handedness – Left

McGroarty’s Style of Play

Much like his teammate Cutter Gauthier, Rutger McGroarty is an offensive-minded power forward, who excels at just about everything in the attacking third of the ice. Not only is he capable of using his offensive prowess to generate high-danger chances in the offensive zone, but he makes trying to defend him an absolute nightmare for opponents.

McGroarty is an absolute weapon in the offensive zone. His playmaking skills are next level, and he can generate chances from just about anywhere in the attacking third of the ice. Aside from generating chances of his own, McGroarty is just as capable of tucking home his teammates chances too.

When breaking into the offensive zone without the puck, he exhibits his high hockey IQ and puts himself in open ice for his teammates to distribute the puck to him. From there, McGroarty uses his excellent finishing skills, and the puck often finds its way into the back of the net.

One aspect of his game that should impress just about anyone is his leadership under pressure. For example, at January’s Biosteel All-American Game, where he registered a goal, an assist, and took home game MVP honours. McGroarty was a catalyst in the first Team Blue goal by Jimmy Snuggerud, as he worked a neat little passing play which led to the goal.

Lastly, he scored the game-tying goal for Team Blue, who would eventually take the game in OT. His great hand-eye coordination allowed for him to break up a saucer pass from Team White defender Luke Mittelstadt, and with the pressure applied on forward Marek Hejduk, forced a turnover at the blueline, leading to a breakaway and a clutch goal by McGroarty. This game was a true testament to the style of play McGroarty excels at and gave his team a quality shot at winning when it seemed out of the question.

Let’s take a deeper look at the finer aspects of Rutger McGroarty’s game:

Skating

Perhaps the weakest part of his game mechanically speaking, McGroarty’s skating isn’t necessarily the prettiest thing to watch. However, he more than makes up for it with effort and production, as his skating has little to no hinderance on his actual performance.  

McGroarty’s stride seems to be a little deeper and more powerful than others, but what he gains in power, he sort of loses in overall speed. He’s shown flashes of being able to exhibit much quicker feet and explosiveness with the puck on his stick but will need to make it a consistent part of his overall game as he develops in the coming seasons.

In the clip above, McGroarty shows off just how quick and powerful his skating can be. If he can continue to do this more often, the doubts about his skating may soon disappear.

Where McGroarty is lacking a little bit is primarily in the speed/acceleration aspect. He has the skillset and talent to beat opponents out wide/up the middle when entering the zone, but he seems to be a tad slower than expected, which somewhat limits his total chances. If he can find a way to increase his explosiveness and first few steps, there’s potential for him to achieve many more high-danger chances offensively per game.

While it’s clear to see he has improved a little bit regarding his form and mechanics, there is still a little bit of work to be done to truly develop his skating to the level of other first round notables in the 2022 class.

Offense

The true definition of a power forward, McGroarty can utilize his large, powerful frame to muscle defenders off the puck, while at the same time regain possession and dish the puck off to a teammate. He is quite talented at making defenders commit turnovers in their own zone and has the skill and knowledge to make them pay the price for it.

When McGroarty is used on the powerplay, you can often find him in the slot waiting for a pass, or playing the role of a brick wall, as his large frame can screen the best goalies that the NTDP faces. Alternatively, he can ride the goal line to give his defenseman an outlet. From there, he likes to rush the net with the puck to create a scoring chance. Head Coach Adam Nightingale is clearly thrilled with McGroarty’s special teams play, as his powerplay time/game has almost doubled since last season (1:18min/game in 20/21, 2:25 min/game in 21/22).

McGroarty has quite impressive vision on the ice, especially in the offensive zone when it comes to making plays. Often, he’s able to hit a teammate with a seam pass for a tap in goal, which many other players wouldn’t have the skill or gall to attempt. He’s able to do it while oozing confidence and is usually rewarded with a primary assist.

When breaking into the offensive zone, McGroarty likes to carry the puck and often cut towards the middle lane, allowing his linemates to fill in the other gaps and set up for a chance on net. While he loves to exploit the middle lane as often as he can, he would benefit a lot from breaking out wide more often. If he can work on his explosiveness as previously mentioned, he would be able to beat defenders wide more often, which should lead to more chances.

Defense

When tasked with defensive zone duties, McGroarty is no slouch. He always seems to be in proper position and can put pressure on attackers when they are in possession of the puck. He can also be relentless when trying to muscle opponents off the puck, putting his impressive strength and size to work.

While he’s not used in abundance on the penalty kill (0:48 min/game in 21/22), it’s not due to his inability to adequately defend. When killing penalties, McGroarty can once again use his size and strength to close the gap between the puck handler and himself, forcing them to move the puck into danger. Also, he has an active stick which helps him intercept erratic passes and clog up passing lanes for the opposition’s power play unit.  

At times, McGroarty can be quite sneaky off an opponent’s counterattack, as he’ll follow an attacker, lift their stick, and steal the puck without any notice to the player. It occurs more often in the offensive zone, and it sometimes leads to a shot on net in a dangerous area.

Improvements

As mentioned above, McGroarty’s overall game is amongst the top-tier of players in the 2022 draft class. As with pretty much any prospect, there are areas of his game that could use some polishing if he hopes to continue his elite-level playmaking and production output at the next level.

For starters, the mechanical side of his skating could use some TLC. His first few steps tend to be a little on the slower side, which may hold back some of his untapped offensive potential. If he can work on this trait, he could find himself racking up far more chances per game.

Perhaps McGroarty will look to make his overall compete level a little more consistent on a game-to-game basis. It’s not uncommon to see a prospect with this trait, as very few possess complete games with little to no flaws. There have been moments this season where he’s been the most focused and involved player on the ice the whole game.

Alternatively, he’s had moments where he’s been a passenger in all three zones. Whether that is caused from exhaustion, tuning out, or some other factor, McGroarty may look to polish this up over the next couple of seasons to truly develop into a can’t-miss prospect.

Overall Outlook

Overall, Rutger McGroarty is going to make whichever team that selects him quite happy in the seasons to come. In McGroarty, they’re getting a dynamic offensive player, who has proven at the U18 level he’s incredibly difficult to defend against and can be extremely deceiving when in possession of the puck. His defensive game is up to snuff as well, as he is counted upon to kill penalties and assist his defensemen when hemmed deep in their zone.

McGroarty can do it all on the ice, while bringing a sense of fear and hesitation into his opponent’s game. His draft stock has improved since the beginning of the year, and especially after winning MVP in the Biosteel All-American Game for Team Blue, with a goal and an assist as mentioned above.

You can find Rutger McGroarty’s name scattered amongst boards ranging anywhere from just outside the top-10, to the tail end of the first round. However, I have a sense he will be selected anywhere between 15-25th overall at this summer’s Entry Draft.

Latest Update

March 17, 2021

stats from InStat and EliteProspects

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

Looking for other scouting reports? Check out the Prospects tab for our other scouting reports.

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