Dessner was up to his usual tactics at this year’s camp although I found he was a bit less consistent throughout these games than others events I’ve seen him at in the past. He was still a huge contributing factor to his team though, especially when it came to exiting the defensive zone where he was a master at carrying the puck up for controlled exits or finding teammates streaking up the ice with accurate outlet passes from all types of range. His mobility still remains his greatest asset and he put it on display in the form of impressive individual efforts to dance around multiple opponents when he combined it with his quick set of hands at the offensive blue line as well as strong rush defending, using it to keep a close gap on opposing puck carriers and tracking some of the shiftier forwards at the camp around the defensive zone. He was a bit more selective when it came to joining rush plays up the ice but when he did, his creativity and puck skills made him an immediate offensive threat.

Max Dessner is one of the most exciting players within the 2009 birth year to watch, across both Canada and the United States. He is an elite puck-handling blueliner, with tremendous fluidity, and multidirectional skater that enables him to play at a high pace, in both decision making and speed in which he carries himself whilst navigating the ice. When his hands and feet get moving in sync whilst walking the blueline, he is an incredibly evasive force, pulling in defenders, dancing around them with dynamic moves, creeping into scoring areas off-puck with quick give-and-go plays; his brain works at a high rate, and he sees plays before the happen as he quarterbacks the offensive cycle, both at even strength, and especially on the powerplay. His game has taken some big strides within the last 3-4 months in terms of defensive assignments, along with consistency through balancing the offensive instincts he hones, whilst also staying true to his position. He has become much more responsible in regards to decision making when taking chances up ice, joining the rush as a trailing piece, and pinching in the offensive zone. His movements are precise, calculated, and effective, and result in far less odd man rushes and defensive lapses going the other way. Of course, with a defender of this talent level, with the ability to change the dynamic of a game at any moment, the risk-to-reward ratio will always be there, but the development of the defensive side of things is always an added bonus. His transition ability when carrying the puck through the neutral zone and around crowded areas of the ice, he is elite at making moves wide around defenders, to then transition with a sharp move through the middle. If need be, he is equally effective at going wide with speed, or through the middle with finesse to get around opponents. The confidence he skates with, and heads-up plays he can make in the face of pressure off the rush really makes him a wildcard for defenders to deal with. Through the months Dessner has bounced around a few spots plus or minus 2-3 rankings, but there is no doubt the talent and skill level he owns is almost one-of-a-kind amongst his peers. The top-pairing potential is definitely here, and further developments of his skill and creativity are the just the tools he needs to be effective at the next level.

At any given moment during the WSI it appeared as if Max Dessner had the potential to completely change the dynamic of play, thanks to some elite puck skills, magic hands, and great skating in all directions. His timely activations from the blueline off the rush, along with during the offensive zone cycle played a large part in his success on the offensive side of the puck, jumping into ice with pace, being quick to make moves in the face of pressure, and slip into dangerous areas. I was most impressed with his ability to trail the rush, seek out a lane, jump into the open ice with speed and string together some flashy moves while attacking the line, opening up ice for odd-man rushes. When going for pinches in the offensive zone he was much more responsible than what I had seen in previous viewings, taking calculated risks with good judgment and a lack of overcommitting allowed him to stay positionally sound upon changes in possession, transitioning from offense to defense. His footwork and power really helped him quickly backpedal up ice, force puck carriers wide, and protect the middle of the ice. Overall, a great well-rounded performance from Dessner, with some growth in previous areas of his game.

Max Dessner comes in as our second-best defenseman of the tournament as he consistently impressed with his smooth skating and offensive instincts that made him a true difference maker on the back end. His mobility was what set him apart from others, the way he is able to make cuts in any direction at any given moment while carrying the puck up the ice at a high speed makes him such a threat through the neutral zone as he helps his team enter the puck into the zone so easily. It only takes him a few strides before he explodes into open ice with the puck with no hesitation, combining his elite footwork with some quick stickhandling that he uses to effortlessly skate through opponents who try to slow him down. In the offensive zone, he walks the blue line with confidence and has the ability to beat opponents from a standstill using his explosiveness to evade pressure before looking to get the puck to the middle of the ice or to the net. His tools also make him very effective in regroups and puck retrievals where he uses quick cuts and spins to create separation from forecheckers before getting the puck up the ice with firm passes onto the tape of forwards in stride or soft touch passes through sticks to lead forwards into the offensive zone. Although he didn’t get his name on the scoresheet often enough, he still had a big impact on the offensive side of things for this Shattuck St. Mary’s team.

Dessner did what he does best in this game and that is being a one man show on the blue line. Whenever Dessner had the puck at the blue line, you could sense that something exciting was about to unfold. His quick cuts and agile crossovers were effective tools for evading pressure, and he executed them flawlessly in this game. With a couple of swift crossovers, he created the necessary space to unleash a well-placed shot on net. His confidence and skill in these high-pressure moments were truly impressive. Dessner was also great at breaking the puck out in his own zone, whether it was a hard pass on the ice or a beautiful saucer pass hitting his forward in stride.

My expectations were high for Max as I’ve always seen him as a potential elite puck mover and decision maker. You could see the flashes of calculations on the timing, weight, and decisions for his outlet passes as well as moments to stay in gaps and use his agility and balance to his stride to his advantage. However, this was the most I’ve seen him having to negate his assertiveness in moments simply due to a risk/reward assessment of staying back. He couldn’t go end to end on rushes and got checked once when he tried. Moments where he miscalculated some defensive rush positioning too led to a player extending his reach or cutting back to the inside to gain a step on him. His brain and skating balance are excellent but some of the bigger/stronger players won out a bit on him today.

Tallying 3 assists in this one, it was clear to see that Max Dessner was his typical self regarding his puck moving ability and offensive involvement from the blueline. He found a lot of his success in this one by snapping strong stretch passes up ice to teammates, making great reads from his own end, corralling pucks, and quickly firing a pass up ice. One of his best plays came via jumping on a loose puck high in the zone, stepping around a man with a slick move through the defenders’ legs, walking in tight and punching the puck a few feet back against the grain to Grady Rowley to give Team Black a 4-2 lead. It was quite the display of talent, showing that at any given moment he’s capable of stringing a series of dynamic moves together to make a high-end play. Another one of his assists was via a nice heads-up breakout pass to Jonathan Bloedow, sending him on a breakaway to extend the lead to 5-2 for Team Black.

Dessner is a player that continues to impress me in this tournament, and I thought he played another solid game. His 4-way mobility is something that I haven’t seen much from other defensemen in the tournament and he used it in extremely well in this game to weave around opponents especially during one rush where he picked up the puck at his own blue line then fights of an opponent in the neutral zone, cuts wide into the o-zone and in one motion, pivots backwards and drops his shoulder to spin off the defenseman to continue going forward. He made clean tape-to-tape passes to forwards in transition, showing a great sense of timing when finding his teammates in stride or even through seams.

Max Dessner was most effective in this game when taking the puck up ice with his elite speed and power, cutting into the middle, and making plays off the rush akin to that of a forward. The way in which he sees the ice, notices routes, and takes advantage of them makes him quite the threat, forcing teams to play great attention to their neutral zone schemes to prevent him from dancing into the zone. It only takes Dessner a few steps to get going, and once moving linearly he is incredibly explosive. He had a great chance attacking the middle lane off-puck, slipping away from coverage, and firing a shot on net – a glimpse into what his reads and vision enable him to do to support his forwards.

I liked Dessner’s composure with the puck especially along the blue line where he was shifty, weaving through opponents when it looked like he was out of space or making passes through opponent’s sticks and through the first period through a shot from the point that created a rebound which was then buried by Fitzhenry to give his team the 2-1 lead. I thought he was very good in regroups where he used his smooth skating ability to create separation from opposing forwards and then male quick passes to get his team moving up the ice.

Dessner was another Shattuck’s defenseman with great skating ability that stood out to me throughout the game as he used such fluid crossovers and pivots during regroups, rushes up the ice and when escaping from pressure in his own end. He often made clean and simple passes up the ice and picked up an assist on his team’s second goal by feeding DiCunzolo swinging to the middle of the ice on a regroup for a rush chance that was finished off by Zaporzan. He was hard to keep up with when carrying the puck because his ability to change directions at any given moment, combining it with a set of quick hands that allowed him to maneuver around defenders. Because of his mobility, he was very efficient on puck retrievals in his own end and early in the third period, drew a tripping penalty when wheeling around the back of the net with his team scoring their fourth goal on the ensuing power play.

At any given point Max Dessner is capable of being a difference maker in game, needing only a few seconds of time and space to speed up the ice, dangle around some bodies, funnel a puck to the middle, and set up a goal. His ability to activate, seek routes and lanes, and take advantage of them with great speed and acceleration, along with mobility and lateral movement, makes him an excellent offensive weapon from the line. He had some good chances joining the rush, getting pucks directed towards the net, handling the puck quickly and softly in the offensive zone, and overall being a valuable piece in some of Shattuck’s best offensive zone sequences. The footwork, pace, and hockey IQ when walking the line really helps drive play from the backend.