Scouting Report
EVALUATED 28/05/2024
Austin Robson
Director of Scouting
Williams may have the highest ceiling of any Buffaloes player and led the team in scoring in this tournament with nine points in seven games. The scary thing for opponents is that I think he’s only starting to realize how dominant he can be in the offensive zone and as his confidence increases, I think he will continue to put up big numbers as he transitions to the junior level. Williams is a crisp and precise player with the puck on his stick showing deliberate stickhandling to carry the puck in smart and loaded positions. He uses his frame effectively protect the puck while keeping his head on a swivel scanning for passing options. His passing execution is also excellent, showing the skill to fire tape to tape passes through spaces others wouldn’t dare and the touch to feed area passes for his teammates to skate into. With these skills he is a perfect half wall attacker on the powerplay and play really runs through him with the extra attacker. What I appreciate most about his game however is his commitment to attack from behind the puck. I think he’ll have no issues translating to higher levels at the centre ice position as he is already naturally disposed to working from a position of strength. He is always conscious of his defensive responsibility, backchecks hard, and stays tight to the play to serve as a quick outlet. His propensity to attack from behind the puck also makes him so dangerous off the rush where he can fly in with pace as a second layer of attack, driving the net and drawing eyes before finding the open teammate across the grain. This was an excellent showcase for Williams, and I think he is just scratching the surface of his potential.
Game Reports
EVALUATED 23/04/2024 Austin Robson
Regional Scout - Eastern Canada
It wasn’t the flashiest game from Williams, but I thought his intelligent and effective style of play made him a useful piece of his team’s attack. He was effective on the forecheck, showing great anticipatory habits by cutting off breakout passes and initiating offensive zone possession time for the Buffaloes. With the puck on his stick he used a series of head fakes in order to gain separation from defenders and open up lanes to the net for himself. He was quite adept at the give-and-go game as well, using his teammate effectively to create space for himself in dangerous areas of the offensive zone.
Player Card
- All Data is derived via 5v5 per 60 minutes rate displayed in percentile format.
- Data Courtesy of In Slat.
COMMITTED:
North Dakota
16/05/2025
SIGNED:
Saskatoon Blades
09/06/2023
TEAM PREDICTION
-
North Dakota
Confirmed
100%
TIMELINE
- 2025
16/05/2025
Cooper Williams commits to North Dakota
- 2023
09/06/2023
Saskatoon Blades sign Cooper Williams
- 2023
11/05/2023
Saskatoon Blades select Cooper Williams in the WHL Bantam Draft