2024 Draft Profile:
LW Javon Moore, Minnetonka USHS
Let's get right into it: Moore looks like a video game character against high school level competition. He's bigger, faster, stronger, and more skilled than the vast majority of kids he's sharing the ice with. Moore's rankings are pretty much all over the place, and I'd say that's fitting considering his on-ice product is just about as chaotic. Strap in, there's a lot to say here.
Everything Moore does exudes power and pace. The 6'2" 180lb winger, who honestly looks even bigger than that, covers a ton of ground quickly and without even seemingly breaking a sweat. Now, the thing with his skating is that it's not so much stride efficiency or straight-line speed he excels at, and in some respect both of those might even be fringe weaknesses for him, it's the raw power and momentum he can generate that's so overwhelming, plus, not to mention, the fact that he will absolutely hound defenders for the puck. This player is beyond relentless in puck battles. He combines a ton of intensity with some proactive body play and really aggressive stick work to frequently come away from the boards with possession. He's also commonly attacking around the crease and driving middle ice off of entries.
As exciting as his forechecking game is, there's still legitimate skill here, too. His handling is impressive for his size, and even better when combined with his relentless puck possession to make a lot of opposing defenders miss on one on one plays. Moore, again, showcases some impressive raw power with how quickly he can rifle pucks across the ice. He's quite confident with the lanes he'll challenge, and when he connects, the plays do look pretty. His shot is also a clear + weapon in terms of both how heavy it is and how electric his release is. Moore is very aggressive with challenging for breakout opportunities and counter attacks. That's not to say he doesn't support down low, it's just a lot of puck chasing or fishing for stretch passes. He's definitely at his best when he's applying the same level of intensity on the backcheck and pressuring defenders into mistakes or outright stripping them of the puck.
What becomes immensely concerning about Moore's projection is the fact that he has major processor concerns, even at this low of a level. I mean, if I'm watching you go against a program called Wayzata High and I'm genuinely worried about your ability to read play, that's pretty scary. Moore will routinely rocket passes to areas that he thinks his linemates are at, which, I'm sure you can predict, does not result in a high completion rate. Some attempts are more egregious than others. When he sees someone in a scoring opportunity around the slot and it's more of a hopeful connection on a high danger play, I understand it. When he's under pressure and just launches it behind him hoping someone will be down low to receive it, that's way more problematic.
The concerns extend nearly everywhere, though, not just with his puck management. He simply seems to lack an overall awareness level. While physically back in the defensive zone, he can look pretty directionless if he's not actively hunting the puck. Other times, he'll be cheating up for a breakout pass and have no idea the defender he's up against is pinching toward the lane to intercept the puck. Even further, he'll try to stickhandle through two or three opponents in the neutral zone, and again, to his credit, he does have the capability to do so, but it's such a low percentage opportunity that directly burns his team when it fails, and he's doing it for no reason. This is a player that has unbelievable compete, legitimate skill and deception on the puck, and a very projectable frame and athletic toolkit, who otherwise should be a slam dunk early round pick, but his brain will just shut off so often that it's probably scaring many of these scouting services.
What's ultimately frustrating with Moore is that he offers quite literally everything we should be seeking out in the middle rounds of this draft, but it's virtually impossible not to worry about his processor and think he's only dominating this level because he's an athletic freak. While some might point to immaturity or junior tendencies, both of which do have legitimacy, the issues definitely transcend that.
I think it's pretty common for super raw prospects to have their upside overrated, particularly when they play at a level this low, but in Moore's case, I really can subscribe to the idea that he could be a top 6 caliber player if everything breaks right. Putting aside the usual power forward elements, he does have playmaking vision and abilty, he is capable of playing at a high intensity level, he can start plays and move pucks in transition, etc.; we're not talking the typical lumbering, shoot-first power winger who relies on his linemates to do all the work for him. I'm just so genuinely concerned about how many lapses in play I've seen that I really don't know what to think. He's worth taking a flier on, that's for sure, but I still need time to mull over how early I'd go.
