Projection: Top Line Scorer
Projectable Skills: Shot power, Puck protection
Development Opportunities: Aggression without the puck

The most consistent trait of Blake’s throughout the year has been his confidence in offensive situations to control the play and try to find shooting opportunities. He is at his best on the PP or getting himself into good space off the rush or cycle. The puck can come on and off his stick extremely fast on the off side and he can shoot across his body and in motion while picking his spots with intention. To become that true top-tier goal scorer of this class, I’d like to see him be more persistent without the puck to cause more turnovers and be that physical menace at 5on5 that he could be. So many of his skill qualities will translate into top-6 play down the line for the WHL so the questions are simply about how far up the ladder he can climb. What you know for certain is that you are getting a dual-threat passer and scorer from the wing that can play physically and puck protect. With a bit more shot accuracy and finding a balance with a bit more playmaking, Blake has all the makings of being a top-end scorer from this class.

With Blake, he’s so confident as a shooter in multiple scenarios but especially on the PP half wall. There is a comfortability in those moments which is astounding to me. He had added really nice lateral slip passes to the slot or more bullet style passes all the way across laterally to keep goaltenders honest. At the end of the day though, I think Blake loves shooting off curls on the PP and is constantly looking to get to the middle of the ice when he can. Off the rush you’ll always find him trying to cut into the interior and make defenders stick check him. If you don’t, expect a heavy shot release in stride.

Our sixth ranked player, Blake Chorney (NAX U15 Prep) did struggle a little bit to finish off some scoring chances before potting two goals very close to back to back as the days rolled on. His overall game is still headlined as a confident shooter/slasher from the wing but when he’s filtering those backhanded cross-ice passes down low it really rounds his overall play. I thought that while he didn’t completely dominate the play throughout the weekend, he’s still in that mixture at the top of the draft pretty easily.

With Blake, you have a really terrific blend of dual shot/pass decision making in motion. He certainly leans towards being aggressive by cutting back towards shooting areas and continuing to change the angle of attack off the rush or the cycle. That tenacity to curiously attack and explore new strategies is a pathway that could lead to much success for the Saskatchewan forward.

Chorney continued to lead the way for Saskatchewan scoring a hattrick and doing everything he could to lead the team to victory. I remain enamored with his timing as he seems to enter the fray right as the puck becomes available. He has a sixth sense for when to engage aggressively and when to sag back, buying time. His intelligence is pervasive in all three zones and his impact is immense. When you consider his high-end processing with burgeoning physical tools, I think he has all the makings of a top end player at the next level.

Saskatchewan’s official player of the game, Chorney had about as good of a performance as you can have in a losing effort. He is such a complete player; with or without the puck, on the cycle or the rush, as a shooter or distributor, he takes care of the details on every shift and in every situation. He scored Saskatchewan’s first two goals in the game to drag the team back into the fight and was equally adept at setting up linemates. He makes passes through traffic, into the tiniest of windows look so effortless as he seems to get every attempt through bodies. British Columbia did a good job of bottling up every other Saskatchewan line, but Chorney’s line was pressing throughout.