Cole was among the most impressive forwards over the 15s Player Development Camp. Across all of our scouts' assessments, the central theme was his puck skills. Bumgarner leveraged his slick and evasive hands to challenge defenders one-on-one, create separation, and drive high-danger chances all week long. He was confident with the puck on his stick and never shied away from an opportunity to flex his skills. Sometimes he wasn't successful in his efforts to dangle his way all around the ice, but the ambition and eagerness to always attempt high-skill plays was noteworthy. The puck skills alone are impressive, but the speed at which he could pull off these moves is a compounding factor in his success. He is equally as much of a wizard with the puck at top speed as he is at a standstill which was a nightmare for defenders trying to close him down at the Boys 15 Player Development Camp.

While the gaudy point totals aren’t quite there like some of the names just below his, Cole is still playing a strong game for the Red Knights and has five points in ten games. The last couple of games I was able to watch he was actually playing defense which I found very interesting. His size and skating ability make him a pretty solid candidate to be stationed at the blue line and you know what, he wasn’t half bad. He maintained some solid positioning and was able to use his skating ability to keep himself in positions where he could make plays, but he did make some mistimed steps and bad reads. His speed and physicality afford him a little leeway though as he is able to get back to challenge the puck carrier and fight hard with his stick to wedge himself back into the play. Offensively he brings what I have come to expect from him, which includes a dangerous shot and quick release that can beat the netminder from anywhere from inside the zone. His passing range and accuracy are good, and while he sometimes may give away a short pass, he is capable of resolving the situation and doesn’t frequently put himself in those positions. It would be nice to see some more production out of Bumgarner, but right now he is still playing a sound game and getting pretty good ice time for a freshman so it’s safe to expect him to pick things up.

While Cole Bumgarner may not have been as consistent as Ethan Garden, I think that the influence Bumgarner had over the game when he was performing at a high level was more deserving of this top spot. Cole was capable of doing it all for his team when the chance was provided to him, starting in his own end making a nice interception on a seam pass and ending up with him unleashing a wrist shot off the underside of the crossbar and in. His skill in tight was great, finding the soft spots of the defense and making sure to position himself in there and looking to receive the puck and punish the opposition. His shot is powerful and accurate, and he follows them up to collect his own rebounds in the hopes of cashing in. He does not hesitate to shoot and can score from anywhere inside the zone, something that he proved time and time again. He is strong on his stick, both offensively to battle through checks and drive towards the net, and defensively in puck battles in front of the net to prevent the puck ending up on opposing sticks. He roams all over the zone, going out front to set screens and look for deflections, going up high to gather the puck and turn to goal, or down low below the goal line to facilitate play and feed the puck out front. Bumgarner was fantastic in his showings and was well deserving of the number one ranking after the weekend.

Another understated type of performance from Cole Bumgarner as he picked up a single assist in this contest, but I liked more of what I was able to see from him today. His skill is apparent whenever he has the puck and his passing ability was more of the focal point for him. He was able to feather in some nice passes into tight pockets of space for his teammates and he displayed a good feel for the weight on many of his passes. He won a couple of 1 on 1 battles with some nice speed to drive head on and then with some skill he was able to eliminate his man and access the space in behind to get his head up and pick out his next move. I was left wanting more out of Bumgarner again, but it was still a decent showing from him.

In spite of his generous size, there were a number of instances in this game where Coleman Bumgarner excelled using detailed puck handling maneuvers in congested areas of the ice. He tended to get a read of his surroundings quickly once he had the puck on his stick and was able to wed his strength with his skill quite naturally. He was also the catalyst for Team Purple's transition game, working the walls, making bank passes to himself and kicking on the afterburners to gear up mid-way through a transition sequence to help him overcome a final layer of Team White defenders. His stride, even at partial exertion is impeccably effacement, enabling him to cover immense stretches of ice quite effortlessly, and enabling him to support the offensive and defensive schemes readily.

Cole was easily the flashiest of players in this game. Bumgarner showed tremendous confidence to attempt high-skill moves to challenge defenders one-on-one all throughout the game. It quickly became evident where this confidence stems from as rarely (if ever at all) was Cole successfully defended. He dangled his way around so many defenders, using toe-drags, lateral cuts, moves under their sticks, and just simply an abundance of top-end puck skills. The most impressive aspect of his success as a puck carrier was the speed at which he could pull off these moves. He barely lost any momentum and executed these deceptive moves with pace, making them near impossible to defend. Finally, outside of the impressive dekes and moves, Cole had plenty of slick passes to teammates in scoring position, adding a nice playmaking touch to his performance.

On many occasions, Bumgarner was closed down by the talented ID Selects side, but I could still see what he could do in a more evenly-matched game. Cole is incredibly explosive and uses crossovers to accelerate quickly and gain separation. Paired with his explosiveness, he showed unbelievable puck skills that made him difficult to contain at times. He used toe drags and slick moves to evade pressure and extend possessions. Relying on his puck skills, Cole attacked the middle of the ice and created a few scoring chances. It wasn't a fantastic performance, but I could see Cole's skillset, and it makes for an exciting player.

Likely the biggest standout from the first day, Cole Bumgarner had his fingerprints all over the outcome of this matchup. A goal and assist for him in the 2-1 win, he was constantly putting the opposing defense under pressure and creating some kind of chance for his team. He displayed soft hands in tight from the get go and was able to find Navy’s soft spots and set up shop in there where he got a few nice shooting chances early on, and followed up his own rebounds to get extra chances. After a dominant shift that saw him get two shots off he scooped the puck and curled around the net to the half boards, opened up his body, and fired a pass over to Hextall for the one-time finish. He used his size well to get to the front of the net where he looked to set screens and keep his stick on the ice looking for redirects. He is a shooter and did not hesitate to let it rip if the opportunity was provided to him. He has the skill to create his own space and set up his own opportunities. He is strong on his stick and showed that in the defensive end to tie up his opponent and prevent them from getting a quality chance from a dangerous area of the ice. He scored the game winner with a nice clean shot from the top of the circle after entering the zone on a 2 on 2. Bumgarner was outstanding in his first game of the weekend.