C Oliver Moore - University of Minnesota , NCAA (2023, 19th, CHI)

[MichaelFarrell]

NHL scouts love speed now so I wouldn't be surprised to see him go Top 10

Speed is oversimplifying his game. If he goes top ten, it’s because he has an elite combination of hands and speed, is basically a guaranteed zone-entry at the level his plays, and his great two-way play.

If he goes outside the top ten, it’ll be because those teams question his ability to be an elite point producer at the pro level. Oliver Moore has some elite tools, but needs to work on his teammate utilization at times.

Oliver Moore is a blue chip prospect in my opinion. Based on draft eligible seasons alone, he should easily go at least top 10 in almost every draft in the last 20 years.

 

[biturbo19]

Speed is oversimplifying his game. If he goes top ten, it’s because he has an elite combination of hands and speed, is basically a guaranteed zone-entry at the level his plays, and his great two-way play.

If he goes outside the top ten, it’ll be because those teams question his ability to be an elite point producer at the pro level. Oliver Moore has some elite tools, but needs to work on his teammate utilization at times.

Oliver Moore is a blue chip prospect in my opinion. Based on draft eligible seasons alone, he should easily go at least top 10 in almost every draft in the last 20 years.

More than just "speed" too...it's that he's smart and relentless in using that speed. To create turnovers, backcheck, gain the zone with the puck, joint the rush, beat guys to loose pucks or extend the cycle by getting to pucks others can't. He's not just one of those "skate really fast to nowhere" guys. To me at least, it seems like he has excellent puckhounding instincts and feel for where to pressure and really leverage his acceleration, speed, and agility to advantage.


Probably never going to be the "creative engine" of a top NHL powerplay unit or anything. But he's got all the makings of a hugely effective 5v5 player, who has good enough offensive skills and vision to contribute positively on a powerplay.

I see upside there as a potential Chandler Stephenson/Robert Thomas type player if he can get a bit physically stronger. But even in terms of a "floor", in today's NHL...smart players with a great motor and wheels like that tend to be very useful even if the offensive skills don't ever materialize to a top tier degree at the NHL level.

 

[DatDude44]

Speed is oversimplifying his game. If he goes top ten, it’s because he has an elite combination of hands and speed, is basically a guaranteed zone-entry at the level his plays, and his great two-way play.

If he goes outside the top ten, it’ll be because those teams question his ability to be an elite point producer at the pro level. Oliver Moore has some elite tools, but needs to work on his teammate utilization at times.

Oliver Moore is a blue chip prospect in my opinion. Based on draft eligible seasons alone, he should easily go at least top 10 in almost every draft in the last 20 years.

He's not very smart in general is my main concern. My question with his upside and overall 200 ft game is the brain. The skating and work ethic is clearly all there. But the finer nuances I did not see in my viewings, his skating bailed him out of alot of bad angles and reads off the puck and the decision making with the puck under pressure was very suspect.

Definitely a talented kid, not shocked if he goes top 10, but i kind of project him more in that 12-15 range. Personally not a huge fan but he'll definitely play and contribute to a lineup, just unsure if he's a middle 6 C or a top 6 C.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

More than just "speed" too...it's that he's smart and relentless in using that speed. To create turnovers, backcheck, gain the zone with the puck, joint the rush, beat guys to loose pucks or extend the cycle by getting to pucks others can't. He's not just one of those "skate really fast to nowhere" guys. To me at least, it seems like he has excellent puckhounding instincts and feel for where to pressure and really leverage his acceleration, speed, and agility to advantage.


Probably never going to be the "creative engine" of a top NHL powerplay unit or anything. But he's got all the makings of a hugely effective 5v5 player, who has good enough offensive skills and vision to contribute positively on a powerplay.

I see upside there as a potential Chandler Stephenson/Robert Thomas type player if he can get a bit physically stronger. But even in terms of a "floor", in today's NHL...smart players with a great motor and wheels like that tend to be very useful even if the offensive skills don't ever materialize to a top tier degree at the NHL level.

If he could distribute the puck and use his teammates like Thomas, he'd likely be top 5 in this draft. I still really like him though, I think he has all the makings of a 2C who dominates 5v5

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

He's not very smart in general is my main concern. My question with his upside and overall 200 ft game is the brain. The skating and work ethic is clearly all there. But the finer nuances I did not see in my viewings, his skating bailed him out of alot of bad angles and reads off the puck and the decision making with the puck under pressure was very suspect.

Definitely a talented kid, not shocked if he goes top 10, but i kind of project him more in that 12-15 range. Personally not a huge fan but he'll definitely play and contribute to a lineup, just unsure if he's a middle 6 C or a top 6 C.

That's kind of my concern as well. There were several times I watched him skate the puck directly into traffic rather than curl and pass to keep play alive, or go wide and either rag the puck or pass to the slot. That's the difference between guys like Dylan Larkin, JG Pageau and Darren Helm.

I still say that his best offensive hockey came in the few instances where he played with Ryan Leonard, and I credit that more to Ryan Leonard elevating the play of whatever line he's on.

 

[DatDude44]

That's kind of my concern as well. There were several times I watched him skate the puck directly into traffic rather than curl and pass to keep play alive, or go wide and either rag the puck or pass to the slot. That's the difference between guys like Dylan Larkin, JG Pageau and Darren Helm.

I still say that his best offensive hockey came in the few instances where he played with Ryan Leonard, and I credit that more to Ryan Leonard elevating the play of whatever line he's on.

Minimal cerebral sense in his game, similiar to gauthier

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Minimal cerebral sense in his game, similiar to gauthier

Which Gauthier are you talking about?

 

[DatDude44]

Which Gauthier are you talking about?

Cutter

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Cutter

I don't know about that. Cutter isn't Wayne Gretzky but he's still got decent smarts. His offensive game is very straight line to the net but Cutter is a power forward with an elite shot who can play that game. Moore isn't powerful enough to push his way through defenses in the same way Cutter could.

 

[Flgatorguy87]

If he were to fall to Nashville at 15 I would hope they'd be all over him. That may be unrealistic, but his speed/hands combo is like nothing we have in our system at the moment.

 

[DatDude44]

I don't know about that. Cutter isn't Wayne Gretzky but he's still got decent smarts. His offensive game is very straight line to the net but Cutter is a power forward with an elite shot who can play that game. Moore isn't powerful enough to push his way through defenses in the same way Cutter could.

Cutters brain is meh for me too. I still take his offensive prowess over moores. But smart is not how I would describe anything in Cutter Gauthiers game.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Cutters brain is meh for me too. I still take his offensive prowess over moores. But smart is not how I would describe anything in Cutter Gauthiers game.

There isn't much deception in his game but at the same time he doesn't need to be as deceptive. The dude is a f***ing monster that can skate to the net while dragging a defenseman and winger on his back. He reminds me of prime Jeff Carter in his Philly days.

Oliver Moore reminds me a lot of some of the speedy checking/3rd line centers from the early 00's to 2010s.

 

[DatDude44]

There isn't much deception in his game but at the same time he doesn't need to be as deceptive. The dude is a f***ing monster that can skate to the net while dragging a defenseman and winger on his back. He reminds me of prime Jeff Carter in his Philly days.

Oliver Moore reminds me a lot of some of the speedy checking/3rd line centers from the early 00's to 2010s.

Fair enough, agree to disagree on cutter, we'll see how it plays out. Carter could never skate like cutter, but was much smarter imo. Both have a great release.

 

[biturbo19]

There isn't much deception in his game but at the same time he doesn't need to be as deceptive. The dude is a f***ing monster that can skate to the net while dragging a defenseman and winger on his back. He reminds me of prime Jeff Carter in his Philly days.

Oliver Moore reminds me a lot of some of the speedy checking/3rd line centers from the early 00's to 2010s.

I'm not sure players with the quickness/speed of Moore need to be super deceptive either. That ability to create turnovers, jump on broken plays, generate rush opportunities, and beat backcheckers to follow up and join the play are the bread and butter of how a lot of "quick strike" high tempo transition teams are so successful in today's NHL.

Where someone like Cutter Gauthier doesn't need to be as deceptive because they play a power game that is all about taking the most direct route bulling their way through...i think guys like Moore can get away without being as deceptive, when their game is all about forcing quick decisions on the opposition and striking quickly. ie. You don't need to be as deceptive when you're giving them less time (or zero time) to read and react.

But that is where in situations like the powerplay when things slow down and become a bit more static, someone like Moore probably has less upside than other more creative/deceptive players. But his ability to gain the zone, retrieve pucks in that gopher role, and solid passing and finishing ability are probably more than enough to contribute there. Just not as the primary "quarterback".

There's certainly room for refinement in Moore's game. Tweaking angles and things. But i see instincts that are really good there. He's got that sense for where the play is going and where to pressure that you can't really teach. Feel pretty confident that getting into a more defined NCAA/Pro system with detailed coaching will start to hone some of those little things to be a little bit more efficient.



Thinking back to the '00-'10s sort of period...i do think a guy like Matthew Lombardi would be a pretty good "lower end" comp for Moore. Sort of that prototypical speedy "tweener" from that era. If the lack of high end offensive creativity does end up holding him back a bit. But it's hard to see him not at least becoming that sort of player as somewhat of a realistic "floor". And tbh, if a player like Lombardi were in his prime today, i think he'd probably actually be more effective.

 

[Saxon]

 

[majormajor]

I'm not sure players with the quickness/speed of Moore need to be super deceptive either. That ability to create turnovers, jump on broken plays, generate rush opportunities, and beat backcheckers to follow up and join the play are the bread and butter of how a lot of "quick strike" high tempo transition teams are so successful in today's NHL.

Where someone like Cutter Gauthier doesn't need to be as deceptive because they play a power game that is all about taking the most direct route bulling their way through...i think guys like Moore can get away without being as deceptive, when their game is all about forcing quick decisions on the opposition and striking quickly. ie. You don't need to be as deceptive when you're giving them less time (or zero time) to read and react.

But that is where in situations like the powerplay when things slow down and become a bit more static, someone like Moore probably has less upside than other more creative/deceptive players. But his ability to gain the zone, retrieve pucks in that gopher role, and solid passing and finishing ability are probably more than enough to contribute there. Just not as the primary "quarterback".

There's certainly room for refinement in Moore's game. Tweaking angles and things. But i see instincts that are really good there. He's got that sense for where the play is going and where to pressure that you can't really teach. Feel pretty confident that getting into a more defined NCAA/Pro system with detailed coaching will start to hone some of those little things to be a little bit more efficient.



Thinking back to the '00-'10s sort of period...i do think a guy like Matthew Lombardi would be a pretty good "lower end" comp for Moore. Sort of that prototypical speedy "tweener" from that era. If the lack of high end offensive creativity does end up holding him back a bit. But it's hard to see him not at least becoming that sort of player as somewhat of a realistic "floor". And tbh, if a player like Lombardi were in his prime today, i think he'd probably actually be more effective.

He's clearly not going to be a top PP playmaker type of guy. But there are so many valuable centers that aren't in that category. Many more valuable than Lombardi ever was.

I would be interested in a comparison of Moore and William Karlsson. Are there some things that Karlsson does that we don't think Moore will be able to do? What about Vincent Trocheck?

 

[Frk It]

Weighed in at the combine at 195 lbs, must have been working hard to gain some weight/strength.

 

[biturbo19]

Weighed in at the combine at 195 lbs, must have been working hard to gain some weight/strength.

Could be. Would sort of expect that to some extent. Most driven players are going to want to put their best foot forward there.

The other factor is, looking at the way he skates and especially the sort of wild acceleration he possesses...he's probably got some big strong legs. Pretty easy to have a lot of sneaky effective "hockey mass" in a pair of powerful legs.

But as he's not a huge player, i do think it bodes well that he came into the combine at a pretty near reasonable NHL playing weight. Would indicate he's probably not going to struggle with being to light to play center at the NHL level.

 

[ValeriKamensky]

How do you rank his shoot? It's pretty understandable guys like Bedard and Barlow have a better shot. But with which players Moore on the same tier?

 

[DatDude44]

How do you rank his shoot? It's pretty understandable guys like Bedard and Barlow have a better shot. But with which players Moore on the same tier?

I'm not sure I'd put barlow's release over moores quite frankly, Moore has a bomb with a nice arc release.

 

[sigx15]

The way I look at him is his floor is a really good 3rd liner who can kill penalties, take faceoffs and add some offensive upside. Whether he can be a 1st or 2nd liner on the pp will be the question and I don't think it has anything to do with skill, will be about his hockey sense. I see some people think he will just start putting up better numbers with better players but he had a lot of opportunities the past 2 years to do so and the guys he played regularly with were no slouches either. They tried him on the pp with the top line guys, they tried doing some line swaps to get him more opportunities, they gave him every opportunity to play with Eiserman and Hagens and even that didn't work. All the tools are there, he's probably the best skater in the draft, will just be a matter of where his ceiling is

 

[Bonin21]

they gave him every opportunity to play with Eiserman and Hagens and even that didn't work.

We are hoping there is another opportunity of that in 2024-25...

 

[majormajor]

The way I look at him is his floor is a really good 3rd liner who can kill penalties, take faceoffs and add some offensive upside. Whether he can be a 1st or 2nd liner on the pp will be the question and I don't think it has anything to do with skill, will be about his hockey sense. I see some people think he will just start putting up better numbers with better players but he had a lot of opportunities the past 2 years to do so and the guys he played regularly with were no slouches either. They tried him on the pp with the top line guys, they tried doing some line swaps to get him more opportunities, they gave him every opportunity to play with Eiserman and Hagens and even that didn't work. All the tools are there, he's probably the best skater in the draft, will just be a matter of where his ceiling is

I watched a couple games where Moore was with Leonard and they looked amazing. I don't know how representative that was.

 

[ZDH]

Likely winger in the nhl, not center according to black book. Found that interesting.

 

[majormajor]

Likely winger in the nhl, not center according to black book. Found that interesting.

Blackbook says that about every center who isn't the archetype of 200 ft center + elite playmaking and vision. I think Fantilli and Moore are both centers. There are loads of centers in the NHL that aren't plus playmakers. I think they're more correct with Smith being unlikely to be a center, the 200 ft issue is more pivotal for centers in my mind. You can all be F1, F2, F3 in the offensive zone but the guy helping his D in his defensive zone has to have some strength and battle level, good defensive details, etc...