McMillan had a dominant tournament for Yale, tying for the tournament lead with 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in six games, producing multipoint efforts in every single game. McMillan looks every bit the part of a future star and is staking a claim as one of the top talents available in next year’s WHL draft. He is a true five-tool forward who blends size, skill, and intelligence into a polished, pro-style package. At 6’2, his size stands out amongst his peers, but I was most impressed with the strides he’s taken in agility and body control to start the year. He moves exceptionally well for his frame, showing agile footwork and the ability to adjust, reposition, and protect the puck with fluidity. Despite his obvious physical advantages, I am most bullish on his projection because he doesn’t lean on those tools as a crutch. He’s composed and calculated in possession, playing with a sense of control, purpose, and maturity that makes those around him better. He cerebral in his approach, reading oncoming pressure, anticipating openings, and consistently finding teammates in soft space and behind coverage for tap-ins. His thoughtful approach never devolves into passivity and when he senses the opportunity to create his own chance, he has access to an extra gear to separate into open ice. His finish at the net-front is also highly advanced to the point where he felt automatic with any time and space in this tournament. McMillan will need to continue to develop strength and assertiveness as he progresses to higher levels, but the high-end upside is clear as day.

Parker has the wonderful gift of being bigger, faster, stronger, and more explosive than almost everyone on the ice at U15 Prep. It garners him so many rush and slash shot opportunities where he focuses on attacking a gap and finding a way to get a great forehand shot release off. The powerful winger can make mediocre teams chase him all night end to end if he needs and certainly still outpaces the best competition. I find him to be a very “Plan A” type approach player where he’s focused on the moment and it takes him a second or two to reset and figure out what to do after a shot misses or making that drop pass to the opponent. He’s one of the most naturally gifted scorers at this age group and wonderfully enough there are more layers to unpack in his efficiency in quick decisions, reaction timing, and secondary positioning. As I type this, he’s leading the CSSHL U15 Prep in goals, overall points, and gamewinning goals too. He certainly will be in consideration at the top of the draft.

The highly effective 2011-born player had a bit of a tougher time offensively in this tournament than what I’ve seen of him in the past. While he did get two goals in five games, he’s often the offensive catalyst for Yale alongside Michael Kuzik. While I won’t write too much this early, he has a long skating stride, ample shot whip, and can burst off the rush to win puck races in incredible ways. He was attempting rush shots, wrap arounds, and even got hit incredibly heavy for his efforts against St. Albert with a late hit. His goal off the rush against Bishop Kearney showcases how dangerous he already is to shoot heavy and with follow through from distance.

It is impressive how much he led his team in offense despite being a 2011-born player with this group. He was weaving, skating active early in both games, patrolling the slot, and really looking for spots to shoot heavy and accurate off the rush if he could. He’s quite naturally athletic and likes to stay in motion when he can. There were some moments where he got caught in a glide reaching instead of always establishing positioning and moving his feet but those little habits can change down the road. He scored in the first game off a little drag move and snapshot and was able to make a really nice set up in the second game by winning a puck battle down low, quickly pushing the puck to space before centering it from behind the goal line. He’s going to be a top performer next year most likely.

After watching Parker all last season and then now a few times in spring events, he is one of a small few of players who will be penciled in near the top of the draft. His impact comes in his game breaking ability to open up space with a bit of preparation and find those strong puck rush moments in momentum to snap heavy releases. This game brought examples of angle changes in motion, heads up astute shot selection, and big drag moves laterally at full reach to evade pressure and attack the interior. He can score and he is relied upon to do so. I think I’ll be looking this season to see the improvements without the puck defensively and how he’s adjusting to make pucks harder to go through him. Since he is one of those players in the top echelon, the difference for scouts will come down to determining how those well-rounded attributes can be more fully developed as he matures his game.

He was the player commanding the most attention and drawing the quickest eye from defenders when he turned to attack. Still, defenses gave him too much space to shoot which can be detrimental since he’s got an accurate release and great mechanics. He scored from just inside the blueline on the first shot and wasn’t very long after where he was attacking the middle of the ice again. He can swing pucks to the outside, protect fairly well on the backhand, and snuck in off the line later on a PP I believe to score goal number two. He’s got skate to stick control, took some important faceoffs, and certainly played a game full of gamble. He doesn’t always protect on the outside; daring players to challenge him in spots so he can try his best to stick handle through their attempts to strip him.

What I noticed from Parker was his explosiveness in transition. He has a long stride and quick crossovers that allowed him to burst through coverage a few times in this game. He started the scoring early by getting to the net for a rebound and banging it home, then followed it up with a beautiful goal. After his team forced a defensive zone turnover, a long flip was thrown toward center ice, eventually turning into an odd-man rush. McMillan exploded behind the defender, got a backdoor pass, and went across the grain to beat the goalie backhand side. The most impressive thing about this goal was that McMillan was the furthest player back on his team when the turnover happened, and he flew up the ice from his own goal line to beat everyone to the slot and score.