Most of my viewings and reports on Cohen this season have largely been the same. His pacing, length of stride, power, and ability to curl and shake some pressure make Cohen a player who will not have any trouble playing against bigger, stronger, and high-pace players while moving up the next levels from a physical standpoint. I thought against Fraser Valley you got to see him coming in deeper into the zone at times, using the length of stride to shake coverage and open up space for himself to draw pressure and go D to D or clear the zone on PK efforts. I think the growth can come in his game from committing to his aggressive instincts at times by pinching or really cutting heavier with confidence as a puck carrier. It is about the tweaks to his positioning, pinches, shot choices, and joining the rush on the backdoor at times which will help bring about more consistency all around the ice. It is about leveraging his excellent skating stride while making sure he isn’t caught out of position in defensive moments. The advantages his height and reach give him specifically on rush defense was evident still throughout the games.

The very obvious quality with Cohen is his skating stride. He covers so much ice in very quick moments which allow him to power in his first few motions to build power from a stand still. His pacing won’t be an issue at the WHL level. He can out skate most of the 2009s in simple physical elements. There are a lot of individual elements that you can spot when he has the puck like head fakes and hesitations to freeze forecheckers, and extending a puck to the end of his reach to protect it laterally. When he isn’t under direct stick pressure I find him to be calm and patient when making outlet passes to the wings but he still is working on the efficiency in his individual space creation as a puck carrier. There are still heavy weighted passes and bobbles for turnovers too. I think the next couple years of his development will include both understanding when to simplify outlet passes and when to experiment as a potential transition carrier.

I got to see Cohen quite a bit last season as well in the CSSHL and he’s certainly got the upside of skating, movement, and physicality to his play. Those elements will draw the eye early and often for scouts. At times, he looked heads and tails above his teammates and his opponents. He’s someone where you can see power through his retrievals, beating the first forecheck, and then finding a passing outlet through the neutral zone. He was also pinching the offensive zone at times and keeping plays alive with confidence. He can see those outlets across the ice as well as prevent them back his own way. I think the thing I’ll be watching for is just a better sense of comfortability and consistency in his transition play. There were some giveaways and being knocked off his stance despite his size. Cohen will be a strong player to keep tabs on throughout the year.

Sadovia’s effort on the first goal for British Columbia was the appetizer for Williams’ marker which may be the goal of the tournament thus far. As he worked his way up ice with his head up looking for passing options, he had the wherewithal to stay flexible as defenders sagged off him, push up ice with speed, juke inside out past the defender in the neutral zone, work in another defenders triangle as he entered the offensive zone, drive wide, and pick the tiniest corner top shelf to finish off the end to end rush. Williams has been an excellent defensive presence for British Columbia throughout the tournament and having plays like this in his back pocket only serve to make him a more exciting prospect as he gains confidence offensively.

Williams has been a strong defensive presence all tournament, but I was impressed with some of his up-ice forays in this contest. He doesn’t probe offensively too often but when he does positive things usually happen. He is very thoughtful in his approach and methodical when attacking offensively. He has a knack for slowing the play down allowing extra time for his teammates to get open. He is clearly a defence first player but his competence as an offensive presence when the team needed a spark was a welcome surprise.

The natural advantage he gets by the length of his skating stride and the power in one push was once again evidenced today as he can close gaps on the offensive blueline and take a few more chances with the confidence to recover. I liked the way he could alter his feet to receive passes in motion and adjust to the pressure by keeping plays simple and using his defense partner as an out. I liked seeing the little details in his game too as he gave a well-timed shoulder check on a retrieval before attempting a longer stretch pass out of the zone. When he does look to stride into a low snapshot, it comes in heavy and prime for juicy rebounds. I think how high Cohen goes in the draft at the end of the year will come down to the evaluation of his comfortability of shaking pressure one on one, and his passing decisions under pressure. I do still feel that he rushes those and leads to unnecessary turnovers at times.

As far as I’ve seen out of this year’s WHL Draft class, Cohen has one of the more pure skating strides as he moves with length, depth, and power. He can pinch in big and use his size to protect the puck along the exterior as he’s circling down low when he finds himself there. Defensively, he has the capacity to break up plays early with his long stick, attack opponents with angles and stick sweeps, and can catch up or use his long stride to roam in and out of space quickly. With the puck on his stick, there is still room to grow as sometimes he rushes outlet passes or can make centering plays without giving a second look to adjust passes. I did love how he can grab pucks off the wall with intention and fire low on net for rebounds.