Krottner really impressed as a distributor in this game. He was constantly connecting on passes, creating chance after chance for his linemates. When Cole had the puck in the offensive zone, he could quickly spot gaps in the defence, thread pucks through, and consistently hit his open teammates under scoring areas. Especially when operating on the perimeter, Krottner was controlling play and finding ways to slip pucks through traffic to get pucks to the interior. He added a persistent forechecking layer, always hunting pucks and applying pressure, adding a secondary element in this one. Cole has been one of my favourites from the get-go of the HEO season and this was yet another solid performance solidifying that standing as one of the top names to watch this year.

Krottner controlled things shift after shift in the single Titans game I watched. Every decision was tactical and purposeful, managing the puck well, playing with patience, and always dictating the flow. He created chance after chance, combining slick evade moves to buy space and then hit teammates open cross ice for quality shots on target, racking up two assists in this one. Within the offensive zone he just really shined, almost doing anything he wanted at times, working well off the cycle and finding ways to get pucks off the wall and into the scoring areas. After such a strong performance over the HEO opening weekend it was great to see him continue to thrive against different competition.

For the sake of the Titan’s players I will be commenting on their play vs. Myers and in that game Krottner was really impressive, tallying a staggering five points. While the five points were of course impressive, I was mostly intrigued by the tools behind it all. He’s a bigger forward that was always strong on possession, using his frame to his advantage to protect pucks and be difficult to dispossess. To go along with the physical tools, Krottner had some moments of slick handling, making quite the player in tight quarters to escape pressure, get out from the wall, and spark a scoring chance. There was a good mix of passing and shooting threat to his game, bringing a balanced offensive approach to the Titans top line. Cole scored two, both in completely different ways, scoring one with slick hands in tight and a second with a short side roof from a bad angle, showcasing a diverse offensive toolkit to go along with the physical profile. It was quite the first impression, putting him well on my radar to include at some point in my OHL Draft rankings.

In a series of games where his squad struggled to generate much offence, Cole was involved in a lot of what his side could muster up. He had some nice moments where he showcased some passing creativity, moving pucks across the zone to teammates in scoring positions, including Schmidt’s goal with a quick touch pass from the wall to his linemate open in the high slot. Krottner showcased some skill of his own, flashing his hands to drive in, but the passing was what impressed me the most.

Larger framed forward who showcased his power and prowess with the puck. Has the spatial awareness and deceptive elements to hold possession in down low areas, proving to be hard to knock off pucks on the cycle and around the net. He isn’t the most explosive player but can maneuver his body to spin off contact and create new passing lanes. Has touch to make some soft plays and showed good puck placement. Very hard shot to track and a threat from the dots down. Tracked play reasonably well and made several unsung defensive plays thanks to good positioning.