In terms of raw talent, Elijah Hayes may be the most talented player on this Victory Honda squad, as at any moment within a game he showed off the ability to execute a flashy, high-end, high-danger play. He scored a highlight reel during the showcase by slipping the puck underneath the stick of a defender with speed, picking to up on the other end, and ripping a shot on the net, beating the goaltender with great power and accuracy. His shooting ability is one of his greatest strengths, like many of the Hayes’ brothers, he has this natural understanding of where to be, where to go, when to shoot, when to pass, making him a lethal scoring threat as he seemingly always finds that right opportunity to some time and space to fire a shot on the net. In tight spaces he showed the ability to quickly change the release angle and fire a shot on net through some sticks and bodies in the face of pressure, adding an element of deception to his play. He was a sound playmaking force as well, with the puck on a string at times, he managed to weave through some crowds and connect on some tricky passes to teammates with good accuracy and timely placement. Hayes is certainly a player to keep an eye on going forward for this years’ major-junior draft season.

It was his smart off-puck play and aggressiveness in the offensive zone that allowed Hayes to positively contribute to this Navy Blue offence. He always seemed to be putting himself in the right positions to quickly turn plays into counter-attacking opportunities for his team with heads up passes from his own half of the ice and followed up by drifting or delaying into open space to make himself an option for a pass. His shoot-first mentality in the offensive zone made for some quality chance creation as he was often quick to dart into open spaces and let off a quick shot or connect on a one-timer from the slot which ultimately led to broken plays and second chance opportunities. His aggressive play style was able to continue without the puck as he was effective at using his reach to swarm opposing puck carriers up the ice to slow them down and create turnovers before quickly sending plays the other way.

The fourth in a line of successful Hayes brothers, Elijah Hayes from Victory Honda plays a similar style to that of his older brothers, making him a strong scoring threat, with some nice shooting intangibles. He has a good nose for the net, both on-and-off the puck, gets his feet moving, and drives that middle lane, holding off opponents attempting to rub him off the puck, and driving the crease with power. Quick adaptations and changes to the position of his hands on his stick allow him to push the puck out of reach as he attacks these close quarter areas near the net. When playing with space he’s done a nice job at times of syncing the hands, feet, and shot all in one, making him a dynamic threat coming off the wing and boards. When the trio of assets of his get going all in one, he’s tough to stop, and exudes a level of skill and ability that is above what we see on a shift-to-shift basis. He’s a dangerous shooting threat in all scenarios, a nice release on his wrister, he can curl-and-drag the puck around obstacles in motion, zipping a hard shot on net, with some good accuracy to go with it all. He possesses a heavy one-timer as well, a valuable weapon on the powerplay from his off-side in particular, he can find the space, position himself accordingly to slip out of coverage, and hammer shots on net from the faceoff dot region. He’s a relentless forechecker to round out his game, quickly converging on pucks and the high energy game of always moving, always looking around for what to do next often puts him in positions to intercept pucks, and close gaps on puck carriers, initiating physical scrums. I’d say Elijah plays closest to his brother Travis, the scoring threat combined with the physicality on the forecheck, and a well-established skating base reminds me of him quite a bit. Scanning the ice and waiting that extra half-second when in control of the puck may make him a better playmaker, rounding out his offensive game a little bit, something I found Travis also struggled with earlier in his development. There’s a lot to like with Elijah as things currently sit, the potential to rise in these ranks during next season is certainly there.

Our lone standout from Victory Honda, Elijah Hayes was the leading scoring catalyst on his team through both physical abilities to rip pucks on net, along with his habits to get in place to deliver scoring chances. Off the rush he has some good speed and will attempt to open space through some staggering of the hands and feet, cutting inwards, opening up a brief lane to zip a shot on net. There are times when the stars align and the feet, hands, and eyes are all in sync, allowing him to fire a great shot on net, right at his target, as he shows off a special shooting talent. He plays a very similar game to his brother Travis Hayes, a dynamite shooting threat, along with a tenacious forechecker who turns pucks over, gets it back to his teammates, then will sift around the offensive zone looking for some uncovered ice to receive a pass and beat the goaltender.