Strengths: Hockey IQ, Shot Release, Two-way positioning
Development opportunities: Physical growth

It is tough to talk about Maddox without just gushing about how smart and efficient he is. He’s first to establish position in the corners and physically out-think and battle his opponents, he’s constantly surveying options in motion and off the rush, and he is a dual threat passer and shooter. His shot release comes with snap and accuracy especially when he can curl into releases in one motion off pass receptions. He can play C and W, run the PP, match up against anyone, and makes sure that his defensive game is on point as well. The only thing that would have held him back from potential exceptional status would have been a height argument. Otherwise, he’s more than ready for WHL action already. Anecdotally, he has out performed every U18 player in the country as a 2010-born player and is rightfully deserving of first overall.

The electric forward has begun the year with 7 points in 5 games for the Regina Pat Canadians U18 team after putting up monstrous numbers last season in U15 for Regina Pat Blues. He;s continued where he left off last season and is showing that decision making and consistency. In my viewings this year he’s done well to build power through crossovers and adjust his secondary positioning very quickly. It allows him to follow up plays, find passing lanes, and continually adjust and adapt. As a mold of a player there are certainly shades of Riley Heidt and Berkly Catton here and maybe I’m being a bit energetic when I say I think he certainly is a little bit ahead of where both of them were at this point in their development. Maddox keeps his feet moving, knows when and how to protect the puck, and scored a lethal wrist shot on the PP in one of the games I watched. If we are talking about limiting factors then it comes in the length of his stride and his physical stature but that’s about it. He’s certainly already big enough to be high -level impactful and any more is icing on the cake. It’s tough not to gush over his intellect, adaptability, and consistency of impact both with and without the puck.