One of the two Myers games I caught over November was a chaotic 8-6 penalty-filled game against the Titans, so my sample on some of the Myers blueline was a little small, but I still saw enough of Alex to speak to his play. The storyline with Alex is always similar, offering a ton of value in Myers' ability to get out of the zone with control. Whenever Alex has the puck, his eyes are up, scanning for threats and passing options, and he can always detect the right path forward. Especially on retrievals, Tangalin was shoulder-checking to determine how much time and space he had, never panicked under the presence of a forechecker, and could still make a play. Everything is always calm and confident with Alex, as he's looking to take that extra second or two to spot a pass, which makes him thrive as a puck-mover and facilitates so many clean breakouts. There were more flashes of him pushing play forward, carrying pucks up ice and trying to spark offensive chances, which was great to see more of in this second lap around the HEO circuit. He scored the game-winner in that eventful 8-6 game when his point shot trickled over the goaltender, but the key takeaway was how impactful he was at finding ways to exit his zone.

Like Stants, the script was very similar in how Tangalin performed as he was another one of the top defenders on Myers, especially for helping them get pucks out of their own third with control. He was excellent on retrievals, and almost every breakout sequence he was involved in resulted in a clean exit. No matter how much pressure he was under, his first option was still to connect on a pass and never rely on an uncontrolled play to just get rid of the puck. His footwork was the starting point to his success as he could pick up dumped-in pucks without losing any momentum, navigate around forecheckers with slick lateral cuts, and create space for himself to operate deep in his defensive zone. Then, his smart decision-making took over to prioritize possession and spot the correct path forward to keep play flowing up ice. There were some flashes of him activating off the blueline, rotating into space in the offensive zone to involve himself in the play, but for the most part, my notes revolved around his play as an excellent puck mover.

I once again noticed Alex for his mobility and aggressive play style. It didn't matter the situation; Alex was rarely passive and always tried to involve himself in the play. Whether it was carrying the puck up ice, jumping passes in the neutral zone, or walking in to penetrate for quality shots on target, all of my notes revolved around this theme of Alex being aggressive. He was always looking to push play forward, move pucks up ice, and do everything possible to help HEO spark scoring chances. His playstyle was only made possible by his footwork, as Tangalin had all the four-way mobility required to be aggressive, close down space, and push-play up ice. Most of his impact was in transition, helping his team move up ice and into the offensive zone with control, but there were some flashes of offensive involvement, notably one sequence where he walked into the slot on the powerplay and blasted one by the goaltender. While I thought he performed slightly better back at the OHFs, the tools I raved about were still present, and he was still one of the top defenders on the HEO squad.

The general theme of my assessment of this Myers squad was that defenders, including Tangalin, were the main standouts. With Alex, I thought he did an excellent job of using his feet to create space, avoid forecheckers, and excel as a puck mover. On both retrievals and regroups, he was incredibly patient with the puck on his stick and had the confidence and ability to dodge oncoming pressure so easily. No matter what pressure he was under from a forechecker, Tangalin had the footwork to navigate to safety and then find a pass up ice. On the defensive side, I noted Alex as effective at breaking up plays in the neutral zone, defending entries, and making life difficult for his opponents trying to transition into his end. This fed back into the above about moving pucks up ice, as once he regained possession, Alex could then swiftly move the puck up ice with control. As a whole, he checked a lot of the boxes I'm looking for in defenders: mobility, puck-moving, and two-way transition involvement, which made for quite the impression over the OHFs.