It was my first time seeing him in person, and I was impressed. Exceptional skater, and that really is what drives his game. He has good offensive instincts, knowing when to jump into the rush as an odd-man, to pinch along the boards, and to sneak down along the back-wall or into the slot. He didn't score, but he had two very good chances, one where he jumped into the slot and the other where he lurked down off the blueline on a powerplay and had a cross-crease one timer. Much like Karlsson (note: he's not Karlsson), he's able to get involved like this because he has the skating to recover.
In the defensive zone, the Chabot-Leblanc pairing struggled at times. They got hemmed in their zone more than any of the other pairings, although nothing ended up in their net. I think it would be unfair to assign all of the blame to Chabot though. Leblanc had his own issues, and its easy for one defensive breakdown, from any of the five skaters, to create chaos among a group of 18-19 year olds who have never played together before. Chabot seemed like an engaged defender, vocal with his assignments. He wasn't doing anything reckless. You get the sense that he takes his defensive duties seriously, but his game is not yet refined. Leaving too much of a gap, or losing position. The kinds of issues that should be fixable as he develops.
As for his role on the team, he was not on the PK, but did get second PP-unit time. For most of the game they were playing 4 forwards and 1 defenceman, and Fleury was out with the first unit. When Chabot did get PP time, he looked very comfortable. His puck skills are all there.
As things stand in August, I would be surprised if he makes the team this year. I expect Hockey Canada to go with safer options to fill out the lower pairings. But, the team isn't picked in August, and he has the fall to keep improving.
