I think this'll probably end up being the steal of the draft. This guy was criminally underrated. Best defenseman in the draft, in my opinion. I ranked him #3 in the whole draft. He would've been a top 5 pick easily, if he was used a little differently this season. He was used in a very defensive role. Wasn't regularly on the PP. Played as a babysitter for a rover type of defenseman.
Not his fault either. Just the composition of the team necessitated it. The team had a bunch of small defensemen they needed to give PP time and offensive roles because it's a development team, and they are trying to even out the roles to a point. The season prior he was playing regular PP with a more balanced defensive partner, and he was rated as one of the top players in the draft by almost everyone. This season, people started inventing reasons why he wasn't good with the puck. Mostly nonsense. It was lacking PP time, and he also had pretty terrible puck-luck this season. Created so many offensive chances at even strength, but it seemed like the points weren't coming in the first half of the season. It evened out a little more in the second half, but he still didn't get PP time, so there was a limit to how much he could score.
He can do it all defensively. Reminds me of like a Charlie McAvoy/Alex Pietrangelo. I think worst case is like a Jacob Trouba. He's going to be a top 2-3D on an NHL team. Could be a 1D. Can do it all. He skates very well, he's very physical and throws big hits, he's good defensively in puck battles, in the corners, defensive hockey sense, and with his gap control. Offensively, he has a big shot. Loves to shoot the puck. Probably needs to improve his accuracy, but if he does, he could score up to 20 goals in the NHL. He played the Ovechkin spot his first season at the NTDP, and on a team with a lot of skill guys, PP1 revolved around him shooting pucks from that spot. He's second all time in goals for an NTDP defenseman. Can beat goalies clean. Needs better accuracy though. He's a good puck handler and loves transporting the puck. He's not a traditional PP QB that facilitates the puck, but his passing is good enough. More of a shooter than passer, but his passing isn't bad.
When he's allowed to play his game and isn't used as a defensive defenseman, he's all over the ice. He controls the game. He makes plays goal-line to goal-line, and impacts the game in all facets. He's the type of defenseman that could eventually play 25 minutes per game and all situations. This was my favorite player in this draft. You guys made a great pick. It's a guess for all of us, but I think there's a very good chance this pick will be looked back on as potentially the steal of the draft years from now.
