Silver was the best playmaker in this game by far. He was constantly giving his team high danger opportunities with his passes. Several times he was able to gain the zone with control and then find a teammate in a scoring area. He was able to get an assist in this one off of a sweet feed from behind the net to Ben Kevan. His skating also was a standout skill specifically his agility and small area skating. He was able to create space for himself with cut backs and delays into the slot more than any other player in this game. Despite only having one point in this game Silver was the best forward in the game for either team and will be interesting to watch the rest of the tournament.

Max Silver has another strong game for the Kings, using his speed and playmaking ability to force the envelope and create scoring chances. The puck was often found on Silver’s stick around the slot region, with him firing shots on net he demonstrated a powerful wrist shot with a good release. He didn’t score on any of his shots from range but was able to bury the puck as he found a rebound chance from in close, putting his Kings up 5-3. On Jake Stuart’s goal Silver had a very deft pass made to him, as the puck squeaked off of Liam Collins’ stick, Silver was able to lightly tap the puck back towards the open Stuart who proceeded to score the goal. The awareness to gently tap the puck along with vision as to where Stuart was, is a great indication of his playmaking skills. Silver had also shown off some decent strength when fending off checks, good balance and core strength enabled him to remain upright and in full control of the puck as he was being shoved.

Max Silver was a responsible two-way forward for the Kings in their tight loss. Placing pressure on the puck carrier through the middle of the ice on the backcheck, he supported his defenseman well and was able to aid in the process of denying zone entries. He got his stick in the way of a few passes in the defensive end as well, quickly chipping the puck out of the zone or escaping it with a controlled-zone-exit with some good speed he would carry up ice. Later in the game he managed to send Stephen Grumley a strong centering pass from the lower half of the faceoff dot, using a strong stride or two to get around the defender opening up the passing lane.

Max is very good at using his reach in tight spots to maintain a control gap both off the cycle and the rush. When people reach for the puck on the outside, he can pull to the inside and change that angle too. He can protect wide, push past some defenders, and lower that inside shoulder just enough to drive the slot. When he pushes his crossovers and takes that wider lane approach, it allows him the space to maintain control for longer.

The opening goal to kickstart their onslaught was scored by Silver, he showed great work down below the goal line to battle for the puck and come out front with a nice turn around shot near post over the shoulder. He maintained possession of the puck well throughout the game and was often lurking in dangerous areas, but had trouble getting involved as the game wore on. He got the inside track fairly often and could be found waiting in front of the net looking for rebounds and passes to be fed into the slot.

I noticed him more so in the second half than the first as he was finding spots to protect the puck in motion and use his jump and anticipation to find room for that strong wrist shot. When he gets his feet moving, he can find space on the exterior to drive heavier and get off a clean shot.