The interesting thing for me is that in all I have seen of him, Perreault has never come across as poor away from the puck. I’ve actually liked his forechecking, in particular. I’m not saying he’s a two-way stalwart, and it could be a case of catching his good moments, but I’ve never had an issue with his away-from-puck engagement in the way I have even with many other CHLers projected to go in the first round of this draft.
This speaks to me that his issues in that area are merely mental consistency, which is the easiest thing for an NHL coach to help a player overcome, aside from maybe improving shooting. That’s probably why I am really high on the kid, and think that he could be a draft day steal if he goes where so many lists have him - at the very end of the first round, if not well outside of it.
I see very real top-flight first-line winger potential, with some sizeable but very clear and simple obstacles to overcome to reach that. Simply value wise, that’s an extremely good get anywhere after 20 IMO, and fair anywhere between 10-20.