Scouting Report
EVALUATED 05/06/2024
Austin Robson
Regional Scout- Eastern Canada
Projection: Number One Defenseman
Projectable Skills: Physicality, Rush Defending, Creativity from Offensive Blueline
Development Opportunities: Foot Speed
There isn’t a more physical and aggressive defender than Cossette-Ayotte in this year’s draft class. He’s never afraid to step up in the neutral zone to either break up a zone entry with his stick or deliver a thunderous body check to an opponent in a compromised situation. Along the perimeter in the defensive zone he’s consistently using his body to try and remove opposing forwards from the puck and making them pay the price in the crease area. His stickwork is quite impressive in his own zone well, demonstrating good timing and precision to knock pucks loose from forwards and kickstart the transition game the other way. He’s extremely confident with the puck from inside the offensive blueline, showing some good stickhandling to fake out and get around opposing defenders and gain access into secondary coverage. He’s also really good at using his eyes and deception to open up passing lanes for himself and sliding pucks laterally for one timer opportunities.
I’d like to see him develop his foot speed a bit more, as there are times when he’s unable to escape pressure using his feet which can lead to turnovers. This affects his rush defending at times, when he gets caught out of position trying to be aggressive and is unable to recover.
Skating
7.5Puck Skills
8Hockey IQ
8.5Playmaking
8.5Scoring
6.5Physicality
10Defense
9Overall
8.29Scouting Report
EVALUATED 30/05/2024 Austin Robson
Regional Scout- Eastern Canada
If there’s anything you could take away after watching this tournament, it’s that Cossette-Ayotte absolutely hates letting opposing teams enter the zone with possession. He was by far Québec’s most aggressive defender game in and game out, often deciding to step up on opponents to deliver thunderous body checks and remove them of possession. Defending the rush, he loves to step up at the blueline to either break up entry passes or force dump ins on attackers looking to gain the zone with speed. He was closing on forwards quickly in the defensive zone as well by keeping a good gap and taking good angles to cut them off and seal the along the boards. Cossette-Ayotte was also one of the more create defenders from atop the offensive blueline, often using fake shots to get checkers to bite before sliding a no-look pass cross ice to a teammate for a one-time chance. Of course, Cossette-Ayotte’s aggressiveness did lead to a few mishaps at times, whether it was a step up that lead him to get caught flat footed off the rush or overcommitting to a side while defending along the boards and getting beat to the inside. Despite this, I thought there were plenty more positives to his game at this tournament and he showed us why he’s considered one of the top defenders in this year’s draft class.
Game Reports
EVALUATED 27/05/2024 Austin Robson
Regional Scout- Eastern Canada
Although this wasn’t the best performance I’ve seen from Cossette-Ayotte this year, he showed in this game that he’s able to be effective while playing a simplified game and not playing the role of a fourth forward from the backend. He was dealing with pressure on his retrievals quite well throughout the entire game by taking his time to keep his head up and scan for outlet options. He was pretty aggressive in his rush defending, choosing to step up in the neutral zone trying to stymie transition passes or force dump ins from players trying to gain the line. In the defensive zone I thought he did a good job getting into passing lanes to disrupt attempts to the slot area, whether it was using an active stick or getting his body down to block pucks. The puck-moving was a bit of an issue throughout the game, as he often failed to look off his primary outlet option if he was covered and instead tried to force it to him or chose to just throw the puck out of the zone for an icing.
Game Reports
EVALUATED 24/05/2024 Austin Robson
Regional Scout- Eastern Canada
Cossette-Ayotte’s aggressiveness hurt his team defensively a few times in this game, as he could often be found trying to step up and deliver a big hit either along the perimeter in the defensive zone or at the blueline trying to deny entry. Despite this, I thought his assertiveness in his defending was effective more often than not, as he kept a great gap while defending and left opposing forwards with very little space to maneuver. From the offensive blueline he was showing off his intelligence and creativity, using deceptive maneuvers to open up cross-ice passing lanes where he would slip the puck over for a quick one-timer opportunity. He was making smart pinches below the hashmarks as well to create sustained zone time for his team.
Game Reports
EVALUATED 23/05/2024 Austin Robson
Regional Scout- Eastern Canada
Cossette-Ayotte’s aggressive style of defending was a big reason why Ontario Black had a hard time gaining any traction in transition. Time and time again he was using his long reach to close in on attackers off the rush, either using his stick to eliminate their space and force dump ins or deliver a thunderous body check to any forward who tried to execute a possession zone entry. His gap control was quite excellent in the defensive zone as well, using his feet to stick with forwards and lean on them to remove them from the puck when he could. His vision from the offensive blueline was an asset for Québec as well, as he was consistently able to spot options while attacking downhill in high-danger areas. The lack of foot speed made it difficult for him to escape pressure with the puck on his stick in the defensive zone and also left him flat footed defending the rush when he wasn’t able to gap up in time, but overall this was a positive showing from Cossette-Ayotte.
Player Card
- All Data is derived via 5v5 per 60 minutes rate displayed in percentile format.
- Data Courtesy of In Slat.
SIGNED:
Val-d'Or Foreurs
09/07/2024
TEAM PREDICTION
TIMELINE
- 2024
09/07/2024
Val-d'Or Foreurs sign Benjamin Cossette-Ayotte
- 2024
07/06/2024
Val-d'Or Foreurs select Benjamin Cossette-Ayotte in the QMJHL Entry Draft