Ryan Fine

June 2023 – Fine had a decent season with the NTDP, although he was mainly utilized in a bottom-six role with the occasional shift on Oliver Moore’s flank on the second line. Fine put up 42 points in 63 games across all competitions for the Program, including 14 points in 23 games against USHL competition.

Fine is a skill guy at heart. Shifty, elusive, and at his most comfortable with the puck on his stick, Fine stickhandles easily while keeping his upper body stable, and utilizes his feet well to shift directions quickly and take the puck from one side of his body to the other. He boasts a decent release, but his playmaking is the stronger asset, boosted by his hands to help him create new lanes. His posture is slightly too upright, which can be left alone without necessarily hindering his game too much. Defensively, he doesn’t offer too much, and his physical game is near-nonexistent. If he wants to make it work against pros, he will need to learn how to play inside contact and in-between checks. Luckily, Harvard University has been solid lately at taking undersized forwards and making them better at lowering their centre of gravity to bounce off checks, and move off the puck better to offset their lack of physicality. Fine is a long-term project who could potentially turn into a middle-six waterbug with the right development. Hadi Kalakeche