Great pick by you guys. One of my favorite players in this draft. Should've went 30-40 slots higher. I had him ranked 26th.
Thought he unfairly fell towards the end of the season because his team had a disappointing end to the season, and their ending was only disappointing because one guy made a dumb play and it cost them a Gold medal. Funny how something so little can change narratives surrounding draft stock, but it can. A lot of the American U18 players dropped and the Canadian ones rose late in the draft process.
He's one of the most physical and punishing defenseman in this draft. Exactly the style of athletic freak you guys have been drafting. His father is an NHL Strength and Conditioning Coach, so he's grown up around the game, and already has the NHL physique.
The NHL player he reminds me of is Mattias Samuelsson. The ability to glue players into the boards when they come down the wing is very similar. Skahan in junior hockey would bench press smaller players at times, and it would look comical how much stronger he was. He's a good skater. Not just good for a 6'5 215 pound player, but an actual good skater for anyone. He's also a smart defensive player with good positioning and processing. He has the tools to be a very good shutdown defenseman that goes against another team's top pairing.
The biggest question will be about his puck game. He's not a natural with the puck. I don't think he will ever score 30 points or more consistently. You hope he can make a good first pass. I think he probably will be able to, but his puck play is inconsistent. His puck control and handling when pressured is sometimes good and sometimes not good. I think his ceiling is like a low end #2 or high end #3, while his floor is like a 6. It's hard to see how he won't get 100+ NHL games. His defensive game is that polished that he will, and he could easily be better.