Projection: Top-Six Forward

Strengths: Fluid Handling, Playmaking, Work Rate

Development Opportunities: Skating

Gariepy’s progression this year has been nothing short of excellent, showing improvement in nearly every game since coming back from injury in December culminating in what I thought was an excellent performance at the QMJHL Cup in late April. There were games in this years playoffs for Saint-Eustache where he was playing between both Heroux and Halley, and I thought he was the one driving the bus on that line. The most impressive part of his game is his ability to fluidly pull pucks through and around defenders in 1v1 situations to access the middle of the ice and help generate chances for himself and his linemates. He rarely stops moving his feet in the offensive zone, which allows him to consistently win races to loose pucks and extend possession time for his line. He processes the game at a high level, making quick reads on his touches and distributing pucks to his linemates effectively before jumping into space looking to make himself a return pass option.

The overall stride mechanics keep Gariepy from being a true open-ice threat, but he reads the feet of defenders so well at the M18 level that it allows him to carve his way through them and drive play in the right direction in transition. He’s already a high pace player, but improving the skating could help him improve in that category and make him that much more effective.

Before an injury knocked him out of a tournament in the latter half of the games, I thought Gariépy was the most impressive player for Team Bergeron; showcasing high-end puck skills and playmaking acumen that allowed him to beat defenders 1v1 and executed feeds to the middle of the ice at high rate. He was making defenders look silly while operating both off the rush and the cycle, using his hands to carve through them and gain access to the middle of the ice to create dangerous chances for both himself and his linemates. He even flashed some strong puck protection habits along the perimeter in the offensive zone, which allowed him to extend his puck touches before making shrewd and tactical passes to open linemates to perpetuate the cycle. He was effective in the neutral and defensive zone as well, where I thought he was quick reads and passing touch allowed for clean exits and entries and really helped drive his teams transition game in the right direction everytime he was out on the ice.

This was Gariépy’s first action in a while as he was returning from an injury that kept him out for an extended period of time. Despite this, he finished with 4 points in 4 games and was able to flash some of the high-end offensive ability that makes him such an intriguing prospect for the QMJHL draft. The crux of his game revolves around his puck skills, which he tries to leverage quite often by carving his way through defenders off the rush, pulling pucks through and around defenders to attack dangerous areas of the ice. He pulled off a few dazzling one on one maneuvers as well, turning defenders inside out to break in and generate scoring chances from in tight. There were some cardio issues as the tournament progressed, but this will surely revolve itself as Gariépy gets back into game form for the Vikings.

Gariepy was a player who really started to elevate his game and find his confidence as the camp went along. At his best he was making skilled plays from off the halfwall, using strong cuts and quick dekes to get pucks around defenders to get shots off from the middle of the ice. His one on one ability could definitely catch your eye at times as well, using a series of slick dekes and toe drags to get around defenders while maintain his speed to break into space in tight. Off-puck he always had his feet moving in the offensive zone, either looking to insert himself into loose pockets of space to make himself a passing option or hounding the opposition looking to win back possessin for his team.

Gariépy was once again one of the more dynamic and effective players for Team Bergeron, flashing his high-end puck skills that allowed him to consistently beat defenders 1v1 and get himself into open ice in dangerous areas. He was able to get himself off the halfwall at a high rate in this game, often carving through defenders to work his way to the middle of the ice to get a shot off from the interior. My favorite moment of his in this game came when he stripped a puck-carrier on the backcheck, gain possession to gain the offensive line, dish to the outside then drive the net to receive a return pass and get a shot off from in tight. He slowed down a bit as the game went along, but overall, I thought it was a strong performance.

Gariépy’s skillset was still able to standout in this game despite playing against the best players in his age group and made him a dangerous threat every time he touched the puck. The hands may very well be the best in this draft class, which he used consistently in this game to beat defenders 1v1 while attacking with speed off the rush and create scoring chances for himself. He even flashed a bit of deception in his approach when on one occasion he pounced on a loose puck, faked a shot to get a defender to drop before pulling it around him to get off a shot from the slot that was denied. Amidst his many dynamic plays in this one, I thought Gariépy made a number of effective detailed plays all over the ice, especially in the defensive zone where he was effective along the halfwall at making one touch plays to his streaking linemate that facilitated a plethora of controlled zone exits. He only finished the game with 1 assist, but he could’ve had a bunch more the way he was creating for himself and his linemates.

It was a coming out party for Gariepy in this game as he was able to pull together one of the more dynamic performances of the entire camp. His high motor along with a versatile attacking style made him very difficult to predict and contain, as he showed the ability to beat defenders in a multitude of ways. His hands were the crux of his offensive performance, using slick stickhandling to toy with defenders and gain access to the middle of the ice. He was consistently able to get off the halfwall by making a strong cut towards the middle and simultaneously pulling pucks around sticks to get a shot off from the inside. He was equally dynamic in transition, using his speed to overwhelm defenders and use a series of toe drags and pull throughs to get around them and get chances off from in tight. He was even using his hands effectively in the defensive zone along the halfwall, using quick dekes to get around pinching defenders and execute a pass in transition for a controlled exit.