Charron’s high-end speed was a factor all over the ice throughout camp. He was backchecking hard through the neutral zone to break up a ton of plays, nullifying odd man rushes and initiating the counterattack in the process. He was able to get plenty of breakaway chances thanks to his quickness, either by getting in behind defenders off-puck or winning races to loose pucks in the neutral zone and blowing by them to break in alone. As a puck-carrier off the rush he could push back defenders by building up speed n the neutral zone, drive wide and deliver slip passes up high to teammates in space who could then attack downhill.

Playing alongside some elite level players I thought Charron did a great job of adapting his game to play more of a complimentary role on his line but was still able to flash the high-level skill he possesses from time to time. He was constantly supporting play in the offensive zone, keeping his feat moving and anticipating the play in order to get into the right areas and pounce on loose pucks to extend offensive zone sequences. I thought he was distributing the puck effectively as well, executing passes to the middle of the ice from along the perimeter to create dangerous looks and even springing a few teammates on breakaways with heady stretch passes from his own zone. He had a few dazzling puck-handling moments where he was able to fluidly maneuver around a defender and break to the inside while operating in the offensive zone, but it was nice to see that Charron possesses a versatility to his game that he didn’t really have to use for his club team this year.

It was a bit of an underwhelming showing for Charron production wise, finishing with no points in 3 games and not looking like the player I’d seen in previous viewings. Despite this, the high-end offensive toolkit was still able to rear its head from time to time and keep me highly optimistic about his status as a top QMJHL prospect. The puck skills are the one trait that stands out immediately every time you watch him, with his ability to access the middle of the ice by carving through defenders and pulling pucks through and around sticks at a high rate. Charron even flashed bits of manipulative playmaking in transition, getting defenders to open up with subtle fakes so he could thread pucks through seams and execute on cross-ice feeds. The pace of his game wavered, which is an issue I think he’ll have to address along with his consistency on a shift to shift basis, but he’s still a player I believe has all the offensive tools to make it work at the next level.

Charron was one of the more consistent performers in this one, battling hard for loose pucks in the offensive zone and flashing some high-end playmaking from off the wall that lead to scoring chances in the middle of the ice. He was playing quick on his puck touches by scanning prior and spotting open options, which allowed him to execute passes to teammates before opposing defenders could react. He scored his teams firsts goal of the game on the power play when he received a pass below the goal line and made a power move to the front of the net before depositing the puck under the goaltender’s pad.

The ability to quickly generate offence off turnovers and broken plays is what made Charron stand out in this game. It seemed as if he was always in the right spots inside the offensive zone to scoop up loose pucks before using his strong playmaking instincts to make smart heads up plays and create quality scoring chances off his stick. He made an impressive play to setup his team’s second goal of the game late in the third period when he sprung Halley on a breakaway with a precise stretch pass through the middle of the ice that hit him perfectly in stride and allowed him to split the defence with speed.

From the first drop of the puck Charron looked engaged and was leveraging his high-end puck skills to consistently gain access to the middle of the ice and create high danger opportunities for himself. On just his first shift alone he won multiple battles for loose pucks along the perimeter in the offensive to establish the cycle game and turned it into a dangerous chance for himself by deking around a defender coming off the halfwall to break inside for a backhand shot from the slot. He scored his team’s third goal in spectacular fashion when attacked the offensive zone from off the flank, attacked a defender head on and pulled a puck around him to get to the inside before firing a perfect backhand shot over the goaltender’s glove. His vision in the offensive zone was impressive as well as he was consistently able to spot options through layers and thread pucks through traffic to teammates. He made a series of strong feeds in transition to hit teammates in stride in the neutral zone that allowed them to walk into passes and attack the zone with speed.

Charron was able to make the most of his puck touches in this one, showing off his finishing ability by potting two goals for Québec White. He was consistently able to get himself open in the offensive zone, which is how he scored his first goal by firing a one timer home from in tight in the slot area. His second goal came not too long after when he was able to sneak behind the defense, break in alone and go backhand-forehand high blocker for his teams fourth goal.