Charlie Elick

April 2024 – Charlie Elick is a type of defenseman who seems easy to project into a future NHL lineup. While Elick has been relatively productive, the interest for him stems more from his dependable transition game and effective (and physical) defensive game. Elick has an excellent first pass out of the defensive zone and—complimented by strong four-way mobility—makes him one of the best defensive zone transition defensemen in the WHL. Elick’s skating and strong 6’3 frame also lend themselves well towards his robust defensive game. Elick closes gaps and defends the line well, wins pucks and netfront battles, and easily transitions retrievals into offence. He also is also very physical and can level punishing body checks without chasing hits. Elick shows a lot of promise as a second pair, matchup defenseman at the next level. Luke Sweeney (April Rankings: 36th)

February 2024 – Charlie Elick, our second WHL defender off the board, is a much more poised, meat-and-potatoes type player than our first, Carter Yakemchuk. However, like Yakemchuk, Elick is also a physically developed (6’3, ~200 pound), right-shot defenceman. Elick’s skating forward, backward and laterally is all very strong, though he uses this more for defensive purposes than as a transition leader. Outside of his physical attributes, Elick is also a much more developed, mature defender than his fellow WHLers in this draft. He uses his skating ability to close gaps and deny the defensive blueline, as well as using his strength and athleticism to box-out the netfront, win battles below the goal-line, and crush the opposition with body checks. Though his offensive game is coming along and still might not translate to higher levels even if refined, it would not be a surprise to see a player of this profile come off the board even earlier. Luke Sweeney