Burcar’s blend of power and finesse made him Forest Green’s most productive player, finishing the event with 7 points in 4 games. He was extremely difficult to contain when he was attacking downhill between the dots, using his size and speed in tangent to side-step opponents and utilize his reach to keep the puck away from defenders before making a hard drive to the net for a chance in tight. His strong shooting mechanics make him a threat to score from everywhere in the offensive, as he possesses the ability to get hard and accurate shots off from a standstill or in motion. His off-puck positioning was quite strong as well, as he was consistently able to get himself into loose pockets of space in the offensive zone and fire off quick shots from dangerous areas.

Gavin Burcar is one of the more talented skaters from the state of California within this 2009-born crop of skaters and showed why in his games during the Bauer Elite Invite. The first aspect of his game that quickly set him apart from his competitors was the sheer power and strength he has through his stride. He both gets moving in a hurry with crisp, quick, and strong crossovers, along with has a high-end top-speed that allows him to put defenders on their heels, opening up ice for him to make steep drives to the middle lane off the rush from the wings. On top of the raw skill he owns, he played with plenty of confidence when the puck was on his stick, mix this with his speed and his slick hands and you got yourself a dangerous player who was making things happen on a consistent basis. He was effective at working through scrums and crowds, both with and without the puck, he could both find soft ice to make himself an option, along with string together some quick moves, endure physical contact, and wiggle his way into dangerous scoring areas. His scoring ability comes in multiple facets, he can excel within the hard-to-play areas with tight backhand shots, along with fire heavy and hard wrist shots for range. There’s lots to like about Gavin Burcar’s game, owning projectable size, skating stature, along with versatility to his offensive attack.

Coming out of this game with one assist, I thought Burcar had flashes of what makes him such a highly regarded player. He had a couple of impressive solo rushes up the ice that showcased his great mix of size and speed and allowed him to side-step opponents on his way into the offensive zone using his length to extend from side-to-side keeping the puck out of reach of defenders stick checks. He delivered strong passes from the perimeter that set up some dangerous looks around the net including a nice backdoor feed from the corner that bounced off his teammates stick for what I thought was a sure goal.

While the shift-by-shift consistency was still an issue for me in this game, the highs for Burcar here were among the best in this entire game, propelling him to a three-point performance. He opened up this game with a bang by corralling a bad pass in his skates off the rush, kicking it up to his tick and slipping a backhand pass from below the goal line which lead to a goal. Not too long after that he got a goal of his own thanks to some smart off-puck positioning, putting himself at the backdoor to tap in a loose puck that came his way. His shooting mechanics were on full display on his second goal of the game when he burst into the zone on a two on one and fired a heavy and accurate snapshot through the goaltender’s five hole for his teams seventh goal of the first half. He had a great sequence late in the half as well when he was able to build up speed in the neutral zone, retrieve a loose puck in the offensive zone in full stride and overpowered a defender with a drive to the net where he drew a penalty.

Burcar was his team’s most productive forward in this game picking up two goals and an assist while playing a strong power game below the dots. Both his goals came from strong off-puck positioning by getting into space and firing quick snapshots that found the back of the net before the goaltender knew what had happened. As a puck carrier through the neutral zone I thought he was getting mixed results, often trying to do too much and skating himself into congested areas which gave him limited options. He was at his best when he would utilize hiss strength to attack wide, dip his shoulder and make a strong cut towards the net.

While the shift-by-shift consistency was still an issue for me in this game, the highs for Burcar here were among the best in this entire game, propelling him to a three-point performance. He opened up this game with a bang by corralling a bad pass in his skates off the rush, kicking it up to his tick and slipping a backhand pass from below the goal line which lead to a goal. Not too long after that he got a goal of his own thanks to some smart off-puck positioning, putting himself at the backdoor to tap in a loose puck that came his way. His shooting mechanics were on full display on his second goal of the game when he burst into the zone on a two on one and fired a heavy and accurate snapshot through the goaltender’s five hole for his teams seventh goal of the first half. He had a great sequence late in the half as well when he was able to build up speed in the neutral zone, retrieve a loose puck in the offensive zone in full stride and overpowered a defender with a drive to the net where he drew a penalty.

Burcar was his team’s most productive forward in this game picking up two goals and an assist while playing a strong power game below the dots. Both his goals came from strong off-puck positioning by getting into space and firing quick snapshots that found the back of the net before the goaltender knew what had happened. As a puck carrier through the neutral zone I thought he was getting mixed results, often trying to do too much and skating himself into congested areas which gave him limited options. He was at his best when he would utilize hiss strength to attack wide, dip his shoulder and make a strong cut towards the net.

Spoiler: we will kick things off with our first star of the game; Gavin Burcar. It was evident early on that Burcar was going to be a difference maker for the Jr. Ducks in this one. Whizzing down the right wing with great speed and pace, he protected the puck wide, got the defender backed off, and opened enough ice for him to circle back around the net and attempt a quick wraparound chance to get things going. Consistently throughout the game he managed to couple quick crossovers and stickhandles together as he made aggressive moves to the middle of the ice, forcing defenders to either make an aggressive last-ditch move, or play an extra-conservative style, collapsing to the slot. Regardless, Burcar was able to both react to any opponents stepping up on him, or take any extra ice given to him, walk into the middle of the ice, and fire pucks on net. He scored the opening goal of the game, corralling a puck in the slot on the PP and hammering it home. Throughout the game I noticed he was stationed at the bumper position in the slot, receiving passes and using a quick release to get shots on net through traffic and screens. He won lots of battles throughout this game to regain possession and force turnovers, underrated strength from what initially meets the eye, he got leverage on occasion to win pucks, but also straight overpowered his opposition, smothering them against the boards and digging away at the puck. Overall, a great game for Burcar leading his Jr. Ducks to victory.

Burcar was the best player on the ice in this game and was arguably the singular difference that earned Anaheim the victory. He finished the game with two goals and an assist and at times looked like a man amongst boys. The power he generates through his stride is impressive for his age and his explosiveness allowed him to exploit even the smallest mistake. His combination of size and speed is enough to get excited about on its own but the puck skill he shows and the softness of his hands in tight areas is the cherry on top. I think he is just scratching the surface of how dominant he could be and I’m excited to follow his career moving forward.