The offensively gifted forward currently comes in at 5’8 and 141lbs which visually on ice he can appear to drift into the crowd. The closer I’ve looked early on, the more you see those high end elements in puck control, decision making, and well-rounded play. From touch passes, to snapshots, to elevating pucks in tight or holding onto possession for that extra split second for a new lane to open up, Brody has that enate sense of attack in how to break down defenses. Coming off of an impressive showing at the CCM in the summer, he has established a consistent offensive presence early on this year. I love his hustling to loose pucks, the protection on the exterior, and how he quietly tests spacing limits. He’s the kind of player that with or without the puck you don’t want to have time or space.

Antignani was the driving force for Canada Black’s offense from start to finish here, finishing tied for team lead in points with 8 in 5 games and consistently tilting the ice in their favour every time he stepped over the boards. He’s a player who is at his best with the puck on his stick and who is constantly looking to attack the middle of the ice and generate scoring chances for himself and his linemates from the slot area. He was a handful to deal with off the rush, demonstrating the ability to beat defenders in a variety of ways; he could either blow by defenders using his top-end speed to get a shot off from down low, cutting across the grain on a defender to exploit their footwork and access the middle or using a series of cutbacks and delays to set up scoring chances for trailer options. What impressed me most was his ability to hold onto pucks while operating in traffic, either by withstanding contact against larger defenders or dodging stick checks in small areas which allowed him to access the slot area at a high rate. I also noted a handful of times where Antignani showed off a high compete level, hustling back hard on puck-carriers after a loss of possession and stick lifting them from behind and getting play going back the other way.

He showed me lots of evidence that he understands how to take advantage of space given to him. That meant he was protecting the puck along the boards, getting the inside shoulder off the rush and after zone entries, and certainly looked to get behind the defenders if they were slower to adjust. He did a terrific job this game of winning little puck races in the corners, protecting, finding slot passes from down low or off the wall, and got a few really nice snapshots off in high traffic. Brody gets the feet going, has fast hands, and is able to one-time pucks on the backside too. It was a really solid game.