2024 Draft Profile:
RD Tory Pitner, Youngstown USHL
For as much as we like to champion compete and hockey IQ above all else, Pitner might test the limits of that projection. It's not that he does anything wrong or has any major weakness, rather, he's a 6'1" 180lb shutdown defender with the most average skillset you can find. Pitner has received some 3rd round nods but has largely gone unranked, and while a specific placement for him is hard to commit to, he is very much worth paying attention to.
Pitner understands the defensive end at a level that very few in this class do. We're not talking just good reads or competitive physical play, both of which he does offer, we're talking outright controlling the opposition's attack. Pitner tightly maintains his gap and aggressively defends middle ice, yet you'll see, particularly while defending the rush, that he'll bait lanes for puck carriers to try to drive around him only for him to close in on them and give them no other options. His positioning, timing, and defensive stick placement are all near flawless. He has an impeccable ability to tie up forecheckers along the boards and buy time for his linemates to come in to support. And even better than that, Pitner is not just alert on the puck when he picks it up, he already knows what to do with it. This is a player who you can tell is mapping out his next two, three, four steps before he's even making a play on the puck carrier. As a result, he has an excellent ability to catch defenders off guard and get a counter attack going almost instantaneously thanks to his great anticipation, vision, and decisions on the puck.
As good as this sounds, the reason he's not ranked much higher is because his game is hard to project with what he currently offers. It's not that Pitner doesn't skate sufficiently well, or move the puck well enough, or have the ability to play the body, it's that, at the end of the day, we're trying to project a shutdown defender who is not big, fast, or toolsy (or even proven at a high level, as in the case of Leon Muggli). While something like his quick reads or outlet passing should scale without much issue, it is completely fair to question whether or not he'll be as effective defensively once he's facing bigger, faster, and stronger opposition. Will he be able to bait forecheckers as reliably? Even if he does, will he be able to close in on them as quickly? Even if he does, will he be able to keep them contained as effectively? The question of scaling is vital here. Everything works now because he is basically a defensive genius and there isn't a major tool disparity across the USHL, so he's not typically struggling to keep up with forecheckers or getting shrugged off when he plays the body. The closer to the NHL he gets, the thinner the margin of error is going to be. And while the offensive side of things is not particularly important for his projection, it is still worth noting that if he's producing, it is very reliant on his linemates: hitting a breakout opportunity that was created for him, chucking a redirect-friendly shot toward the net, making a well-timed pinch when his team has numbers. He moves well at the point, and can even activate at times, but in terms of pure tools his shot is far from threatening, and he isn't impressing anyone with his passing lanes.
So, again, we are left with the ultimate question of just how far a truly elite understanding of the game can take a prospect. I want to believe here. Pitner is not undersized to the point of concern, nor is there any reason to believe his skating won't hold up at higher levels. His poise on the puck in transition and split second passing decisions provide at least something to build off of offensively. He might only ever top out as a 4 or 5D on a good day, which coupled with his size may have scouts looking the other way regardless, but his strength and speed will always have more of an avenue to improve than his reads and instincts would at this point. It also should be noted that he's committed to a great Denver program that can do a heck of a job with its players, as we've seen with fellow 2024 draftee Zeev Buium's progression this season. Pitner might not make a whole lot of sense for us with our 3rd round selection, but I definitely would keep an eye on him, particularly if he starts to slip.