They say about 80% of the game is played within 3ft of the boards, and luckily for Traff, or Träff technically, he spends about 80% of his shifts within that range, too. Traff may very well be the ultimate forechecking prospect. He has size (6’3” 216lb), he has speed, he has compete, he oozes pro habits, and he loves to combine stick and body checking to wear down the opposition.
In terms of our greatest pick value, while Silayev at 10 is almost assuredly the correct answer, I really liked the Traff selection at 91. This is a player who I think is extremely projectable even if his long-term upside isn’t anything that high-end. I would’ve taken him almost a full round earlier than he went, and he was very nearly my best available player once we were on the clock. Pretty bullish, perhaps, but Traff is absolutely everything we’ve been begging to add to the roster.
All this kid knows is to hound puck carriers and force turnovers. He’s beyond intense, even a bit of a pest, and uses a combination of well-timed pokechecks and proactive body contact to pressure opposing defenders into making mistakes. He’s a quick skater, with very good edge work and agility, and his motor is one of the most admirable traits of his game. He barrels into every puck battle he sees, he’ll never pass up the opportunity to finish a check, and if he sees a defender trying to clear the puck, he’ll lob himself into the boards to try to keep it in. Traff genuinely forechecks like his life depends on it.
That said, Traff is also exceptionally good at the cycle game as well. It’s almost hard to describe just how elusive he is along the boards as a big man. He’s so good at cutbacks, and while his handling in general wouldn’t grade out as anything special, he’s very strong on the puck and knows how to work in small pockets of space. Couple all of this with his raw intensity, and you get a player who can work back and forth along the wall over and over until he wears down a lane to move the puck.
Traff is also competitive defensively as well. I wouldn’t go so far to say he’s a great two-way player, his intensity on the backcheck doesn’t quite match his intensity on the forecheck, but he’s very good about dropping back, he knows how to spot opposing passing lanes and use his stick to cut them off, and he lays himself out for shot blocks all the time. I would like to see a less passive/more physical approach long term. I think he reads play well enough off the puck, and there’s no denying his compete level, but there almost seems to be some hesitation in terms of pressuring puck carriers once he’s in his own zone, and I wonder if it’s him not fully trusting his own reads.
Most, or probably all, of the projection issues with Traff stem from his lack of real offensive touch. His passing game is relatively telegraphed, and while he does show some decent intent to scan for options, his execution is not always there, and it isn’t uncommon to see him miss the mark completely or misjudge the velocity he needs to connect on a lane. He makes too many hope passes, too, like rimming the puck around the boards or rifling it down low to no one in particular. He’s also not a very high-end shooter either. There’s good power, and a pretty decent release, but I don’t think his shot quality always matches the quality of the chances he’s getting.
There’s a caveat to his scoring upside, though. Traff is incredible at driving translatable scoring attempts. He’s very quick to rebounds and will pepper goalies as long as the puck is still in front of him. He’s excellent at rolling out from the half wall or from behind the net, and he will always crash the crease for tap-ins and redirects. While I never really saw him succeed with it, and it might just be because his hand-eye ability isn’t there yet, he’ll also frequently set up for tips in front.
Another rather perplexing aspect to his projection is his puckhandling ability. His puck skills really aren’t that great, and I’ve seen him either totally fumble pucks off an entry, or get instantly stripped of it once he approaches a defender. But, and this goes back to how dominant he is along the boards, his small area handling, and I’m talking very small area like right underneath him, is surprisingly good. Not necessarily in open ice, but the closer he is to the wall, the better his one-on-one ability is. He can mystify defenders with how quickly he can cut back and bring the puck back forward and around defenders to keep play moving up the ice. There is something to build on here.
One last curious aspect to his game: all of this sounds like an extremely interior driven player, and while I don’t mean to imply he isn’t, I don’t know if he really is either. So much of his offensive zone play is along the boards and into the corners, and while he himself has no issue crashing the crease, I don’t feel like I see him carrying the puck to middle ice as much as I might expect for a player of this archetype. I completely trust that this won’t be an issue long term, but it is something I want to see happen more consistently.
Traff is a versatile, easy plug-and-play option who can slot in on either wing. Looking at his long-term outlook, I have to think there is at least a depth player here. The projectability of his forechecking game and physical tools is simply too good to outright fail. What I’m not sure of, though, is how much he can work his way up a lineup. I would love for him to play next to our talented centers to help facilitate a cycle and keep play moving along the boards, but I don’t currently believe his offensive touch will allow him to do that, yet at least.
There are decent offensive instincts, a safe enough off-puck game, and he already seems to know his role really well, so I can buy the possibility that Traff will build off his small area handling, continue to work on his shot to better execute on his chances, and learn how to properly judge passing lanes. He’s just not there yet, and the degree to which he approaches that level will dictate how high he reasonably can be slotted in the lineup. Of all the prospects in our system, I imagine Traff is the one with the greatest chance of becoming some sort of bigger, new age Coleman for us, so I’m very excited to follow his progression.
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