Lyver was one of the more productive draft-eligible players in the entire event, finishing with 6 points in 5 games while showcasing his patented shooting and finishing ability. As I’ve noticed before, he’s a really strong kid with a low center of gravity that is difficult to knock off stride with the puck once he gets to top speed. This trait allowed him to hang onto pucks along the perimeter and extend his puck possession time by demonstrating strong puck protection ability and edgework. Like in other events, the focal point of Lyver’s offensive game was getting himself into good sports off-puck in the offensive zone in order to make himself a passing target to get off his shot quickly from in tight. Lyver also flashed a deceptive set of hands that allowed him to carve through defenders off the wall and gain access to the middle of the ice which earned him some looks from the inside.

Consistency is still an issue that plagues Lyver’s game but there’s no denying that when he’s on his game his blend of power and skill is highly difficult to contain. He tied for the team lead in goals with 3, all of which came in the opening game of the tournament in what was his best performance by a fair margin. He’s a really strong kid who’s able to deal with physical play and pressure quite well, both along the perimeter in the offensive zone and as he’s operating with the puck off the rush at full flight, making him difficult to knock off stride. There were a handful of times where he was able to catch a step on a defender as he was attacking off the rush and dip a shoulder to muscle his way to the front of the net and either draw a penalty or get a shot off from in tight. He’s a highly intelligent off-puck player in the offensive zone as well who is consistently able to find open ice within the oppositions defensive zone structures and utilize his quick release to get pucks off his stick quickly.

Lyver pulled together the best performance of the camp in the very first game, and although he never really reached that level again, the competitiveness and offensive ability that make him such a legitimate QMJHL prospect were still apparent throughout. He’s a really strong playmaker off the rush, using a series of different approaches to think himself out of problems and get pucks to teammates in space. He showed some shades of manipulation in his passing, as he would sometimes look off his intended target to get a defender to move out of a lane before executing a no-look pass to a dangerous area. He’s a really strong kid as well, especially on the puck where he was able to shrug off plenty of cross checks while maintain his stride to attack downhill and make a hard cut to the net. What really set him apart was his highly intelligent off-puck positioning, as he was consistently able to place himself into loose pockets of ice within the defensive zone coverage and get quick shots off in tight. I think he’s going to play a huge role for Nova Scotia at the QMJHL Cup in October and I really look forward to watching him develop throughout the year.

I wanted to highlight Lyver here for his physicality and inside-driven mentality as a puck-carrier, which made it very difficult to contain him in the offensive zone. Every time he touched the puck Lyver was looking at ways to get himself to the middle of the ice, either by using his hands to carve through traffic or by dipping a shoulder, shielding the puck and driving his way through defenders. He made a couple of strong plays along the perimeter as well which involved protecting pucks from defenders and executing passes to the middle of the ice that lead to dangerous chances from the slot.

Lyver was the driving force for Nova Scotia up front, showing off a strong power game in conjunction with high-end shooting ability en route to a hat-trick performance. His first two goals come off his ability to corral pucks in tight areas and execute pull and drag shots through defenders, using them as a screen and beating goaltenders with velocity. He showed off his strength on his third goal when he took a stretch pass in the offensive zone, outmuscled a defender to stay on the puck, get his hands loose and fire the puck high right in what was a spectacular individual effort. Lyver was also able to use his hands to create in tight spaces, getting himself in and out of traffic and getting pucks to teammates in dangerous areas. He could often get himself puck touches in the middle of the ice by working off his teammates, utilizing give and go’s to dish off and work his way into these areas before firing quick shots when he got the puck back.

Lyver’s advanced physical maturity and intelligent off-puck play were his keys to success in this one, capping off what was a great performance at this year’s camp. He’s a strong kid who uses his strength to engage himself in board battles, box out opponents and come out with loose pucks. With the puck on his stick he’s extremely difficult to knock off stride, which makes him a pain to deal with along the perimeter as he maintains a low center of gravity circling the offensive zone. I thought he was at his best today reading and reacting to the play off-puck and putting himself into prime scoring areas on a consistent basis. This allowed him to get a plethora of chances from the middle of the ice, including a goal in the first period where he picked up a loose puck in the slot and fired a perfect shot into the right hand corner.

Although it was a quiet start for Lyver, I thought he really turned it on in the second half and quickly became one of Team Red’s more effective forwards. He was managing the puck quite well on his puck touches, making smart plays with the puck and even executing some no-look passes to the slot area. He scored his first goal of the game by going to the front of the net and putting home a loose puck into the open net, while his second goal came after he followed up on his own rebound and fired a perfect shot into the top left corner.

The best player in this game from start to finish, Lyver’s mix of competitiveness and offensive ability made him a factor on nearly every shift. Throughout the entirety of the game Lyver was executing difficult passes off the rush, spotting passing options quickly and fitting pucks through seams. His ability to pull pucks out of scrums helped him establish possession even when he was outnumbered, where he would then take the puck to the middle for a high danger chance. He scored his goal in this exact fashion when he spotted a loose puck, tapped it through a defender then went forehand-backhand while in tight on the goaltender. His off-puck intelligence and offensive positioning was just another part of his game that was firing on all cylinders, as he was anticipating and cutting plays off up the boards before taking the puck to the middle to get a shot off. There were a handful of times where he was able to knock the puck off a defender’s stick to regain possession before executing a pass to the slot for one of the many dangerous chances, he was able to set up. On top of all this I thought he did a great job tracking back on the puck and nullifying any potential odd man rushes for the other team when he was on the ice.