Two sport star (Lacrosse & Hockey) who was one of the top scorers in the Dub this season. The fact that he is such an good athlete might bode well for his ability to make huge steps in his skating stride and balance as he contiues his upward trajectory. He is hunched ove,r and it reduces his freedom of movement on the fly, and the fact that he many times tries to do too such, but he still tries to attempt are high level ones. he will change his angle of attack with his speed. I always remember when talking to Blackhawk GM Bob Pulford about Mike Gartner prior to the 1979 draft and he said the hawks weren’t keen on him because of the way he skated…but he managed scoring 50 goals in a hunched over stride. So please don’t get the impression he cannot skate! He has an assortment of different plays he uses off the wall, displays one-touch breakout passes, two-touch slot passes, and a spin moves to attack inside. He pushed back defenders as F1, pressures the opposing defencemen hard in the defensive zone, and drives the net consistently. He’s the perfect goal-line player, as he’s capable of timing himself with incoming shots to tip them, create space away from defenders to get open for passes, retrieve pucks, and make instant passes to space. Despite having a playmaker’s attitude, he handles himself well in all three zones. Included in his all-around abilities are the fact that he will draw defenders before passing, creates lanes, and has the passing skills needed to complete his plays. He does so much, a high end forechecker and will hammer the opposition when the opportunity permits. His stick is down to twart cross ice passing plays. The question remains that if he doesn’t have dynamic mechanics, unable to make complex plays if he can elevate in the NHL where so many player do. I just don’t think many teams will hesitate to select him after you see the sound defensive game, his energy, and abilty to stay one play ahead of the one ice play. Is he the next Zach Hymn? His feet will need a whole lot of improvement before he can challenge that comp. At worst the team takes him and gets a high impact supporting cast member who can eventually a be a high impact top six winger.
–Bill Płaczek–
