Vinzenz Rohrer

June 2023 – Only 6 days removed from being eligible for the upcoming draft, Vincenz Rohrer’s D+1 season was a major step up from his D0 campaign. While on the point sheet he didn’t necessarily make the biggest impact, going under a point-per-game, his chemistry with draft-eligible Luca Pinelli allowed him to bloom as a two-way presence. While he is somewhat of a longshot to ever become an NHL top-sixer, the development of his physical energy-driven defensive game makes him a much more sure bet to make the NHL in a middle-six role. Definitely not a bad value pick at 75th overall, and a player that could absolutely continue to bloom. Aaron Itovitch

January 2023 – The Canadiens took a swing on one of the youngest players in the 2022 draft in Vinzenz Rohrer. The hope was that his dynamic two-way game would develop over the summer as he caught up age-wise to other players in the draft class. This swing paid off, as Rohrer is off to a phenomenal year. He is the heart of his playoff-bound Ottawa 67’s team, playing in all situations. He is still a very raw talent, but the Canadiens have a special player in Rohrer. He will likely take every ounce of his time in major junior to refine his skills, but he could very well become a competent middle-six player with a scoring touch. Aaron Itovitch

July 2022 – Rohrer was drafted 75th overall by the Montreal Canadiens. Pat Quinn

May 2022 – The 27th overall pick in the 2021 CHL Import Draft enjoyed a productive first season in the OHL. He was 20th amongst draft-eligibles in primary points per expected 60 minutes of ice time, just below first-round candidates Danny Zhilkin, Owen Beck, and above Pano Fimis and Ruslan Gazizov. He made a seamless transition to the North American game and ended the season as the first-line centre and the team scoring leader. The 67’s are a rebuilding team and Rohrer did not have a lot of help. He acted as the team’s offensive sparkplug and was also relied upon on the penalty kill and in crunch situations and defensive zone draws.

Rohrer plays a responsible two-way game. Despite a lack of size, he fights hard for pucks and never stops skating. He is able to consistently make good passes and generate quality scoring chances but struggles to attack the slot against bigger and better competition. He does show flashes of high-end puck skills but does not consistently use them to drive offence. It is important to note he finished the year playing with an underperforming Tyler Boucher and rookie Luca Pinelli and did have a marginally better even-strength goals-for percentage relative to his teammates at 2.74%. It will be interesting to see how he progresses next year as the 67’s are a promising young team.

There is a solid offensive package here and the wrinkles in his game can be ironed out – skating and size are both things that can be effectively improved with good player development – but it is hard to see teams willing to take on a project like Rohrer before the third round. Kyle Watson