There are so many questions going into the NHL Draft. One question that was answered pretty emphatically throughout this season was who the best player is today. It's Alexis Lafrenière. There is a conversation to be had about whether Quinton Byfield challenges Lafrenière as the best prospect but if you need to win one game [...]
Feature image courtesy of Andrew Armstrong What if I told you that there was a player who stood at 6'4" and 215lbs but he had all the agility of a high-level player who was 5'11" and 180lbs? How intriguing would that same player be if he was an elusive and skilled playmaker who had [...]
Graphic courtesy of Andrew Armstrong Defense wins championships. We've all heard the phrase. Most coaches have probably said it at some point in time. It's the go-to line when firing up talented offensive players who don't commit defensively. It's also the perfect justification for teams who draft defensive blueliners high in the draft. [...]
The ability to play all three forward positions. Safe middle-six projectability. Dual-threat offensive talent. Competitive defensive player. These traits are all reasons that lead many to believe that Dawson Mercer could be one of the safest picks outside of the top-ten. Every step that he takes and every level he plays at, Mercer is [...]
Cole Perfetti of the Saginaw Spirit celebrates a goal. Photo courtesy of the Yahoo Sports When we look back at the 2019 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, we think of two players primarily. The first of which was Russian star netminder, Yaroslav Askarov, who was the backbone for a gold medal finish. The second was [...]
Jake Sanderson of the U.S. NTDP skates up ice against Notre Dame. Courtesy of NHL.com When the season began last fall, the U.S. National Team Development Program U18 team had a lot of question marks scattered across the roster. Depending on who you asked, players such as Thomas Bordeleau, Ty Smilanic, and [...]
Jamie Drysdale of the Erie Otters, the near-consensus top defender in the 2020 NHL Draft. Jamie Drysdale has been the near-consensus top defenseman in the 2020 NHL Draft for much of the year. His elite-level skating and transitional play are among the best in the draft class at any position. The draft [...]
Topi Niemelä is a 17-year-old right-handed shot defenseman who plays for Kärpät in the Finnish Liiga, the top men’s level in the country, and he is eligible for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Here are the basic facts of him: Name: Topi Niemelä Team: Kärpät (Liiga) Position: defenseman Date of Birth: March 25, [...]
Welcome back to Shift Work! The series where I take a look at a draft-eligible player and breakdown a game tape. I’ll be bringing you some comprehensive breakdowns of a player’s game as we go over an entire game of tape from a player. We will be focusing in on that player’s shifts and getting a [...]
Being a high-end draft prospect coming from the German top league DEL is rare. Being an elite blue-line prospect coming from that league is even less likely. Moritz Seider is an intriguing player because of his tools and the lack of a prior precedent in his situation. The right-shot player is a solid two-way defender [...]
