Tyler Hopkins

June—Hopkins is a very straightforward player, though one who comes with plenty of tools. He finished the season with 20 goals (though none in 11 playoff games), largely off the strength of his shot and his open-ice abilities off the rush. He’s very fast, with a powerful, churning stride, making him effective as both a carrier and weak-side option, though his off-puck reads are hit-or-miss. His speed—in addition to his low skating base—also makes him both difficult to seperate from the puck and hard to play against in the corners.

Despite the tools, Hopkins likely doesn’t have enough creativity, deception or high-level processing to be much more than a straight-lines forward, even if it is as an effective one.—Luke Sweeney