Scouting Report
EVALUATED 06/12/2021
Joel Henderson
Director of Scouting
Projectable skills - Strong Skating stride, Puck Control, Two-way play
Development Opportunities - Agility, Hands in tight
Gavin was one of the first players I heavily scouted back in February when I joined PuckPreps. The most consistent highlight clip you’d find of Gavin was of him weaving through the neutral zone, attacking defenders with deception, and garnering breakaway opportunities where he could stickhandle his way to most of his goals. I got to watch him more up close during the summer and found that he wasn’t able to use that same speed to break games open quite as often which meant he was losing the best weapon he had developed to alter games. His skill set includes tremendous puck control where he can roll his wrists, create deception on his passing angles while surveying opportunities, decent two-way play through the middle of the ice, and a stronger core power than many of his peers at this stage. During his breakout moments at the WHL Cup, he could push powerfully into open space off turnovers to be a dual pass-shoot threat off the rush. From what I could gather, Gavin dealt with some nagging injuries that might have hindered that speed a bit too. All that to say, I think Gavin is a well-rounded pivot who uses his size and speed effectively. If you can work to add a killer instinct to his shot and add some more consistency, I think Gavin has a very bright future.
Skating
8.5Puck Skills
8.5Hockey IQ
8Playmaking
8.5Scoring
8Physicality
7.5Defense
8Overall
8.14Game Reports
EVALUATED Joel Henderson
Director of Scouting
I was super interested in Garland after watching tape on him from last season. He had such a knack of attacking the middle of the ice and making defenders try to catch his bursts of speed. Watching him during the Regina Subaru Classic, you got to see a bit of how he uses his speed and hands to protect. He’d give you flashes of high level puck protection and creation but didn’t find those high-level scoring chances with ease. I figured he was a top-10 player with that two-way ability and his strength and speed are already at fine levels, but there are quite a few players who are coming on strong on his heels.
Player Card
- All Data is derived via 5v5 per 60 minutes rate displayed in percentile format.
- Data Courtesy of In Slat.
SIGNED:
Tri-City Americans
15/08/2024
LEAGUE PREDICTION
-
CHL
Confirmed
100%
TEAM PREDICTION
-
Tri-City Americans
Confirmed
100%
TIMELINE
- 2024
15/08/2024
Gavin Garland decommits from Omaha and signs with the Tri-City Americans
- 2023
02/06/2023
Gavin Garland commits to the Calgary Canucks
- 2022
07/12/2022
Gavin Garland commits to Omaha
- 2022
02/05/2022
Dubuque Fighting Saints draft Gavin Garland at the 2022 USHL Futures Draft
- 2021
09/12/2021
The Tri-City Americans Draft Gavin Garland
