As a physically imposing and fierce defender, I thought Ali was able to effectively walk the line between aggressive defending and sound positional play in his own end, never being overly aggressive as to put himself out of the play but instead used powerful bursts to execute well-timed closeouts on opposing puck carriers whether it was off the rush or during defensive zone sequences. I found his puck touches to be quite effective in all three zones, showing the ability to make quick and calculated decisions with the puck especially along the offensive blue line to keep plays alive with hard shots through traffic or fitting passes through seams to open teammates.

There wasn’t a whole lot that really stood out to me but the puck moving ability of Aiden Ali was something that helped his team control the game more effectively. He did a very nice job facilitating play and circulating the puck in each of the three zones, quickly receiving and distributing the puck to the tape of his forwards and allowing them to do their thing. This was best utilized when he manned the point on the power play, that’s where his ability to move the puck was really accentuated - he was able to ping the puck around the zone and find the open man to create a mismatch for the opposition or set up a quick chance.

Ali was a thrill to watch on the back end in this game. His vision from the blue line in the offensive zone was exceptional, consistently spotting opportunities and making smart plays with the puck. Every time he took a shot, he made sure to get the puck to the net. If necessary, he executed a few crossovers at the blue line to create the space he needed. Him getting these pucks on net would eventually lead to a goal for his team. His offensive ability paired with his defensive prowess was great. He had a couple of amazing plays on defense as well. On one occasion he stumbled and the forward got in front of him, he caught up and won the puck back breaking up a breakaway. He was also great at stepping up defensively in the neutral zone. He never backed down and would sometimes catch the attacking forward off guard with a good hit.

While he wasn’t entirely making highlight end to end rushes or things like that, he was involved in multiple key and dominant possession plays since he has the size, skating mobility, and power to his stride to counteract many of the Canadian players before they start. He began the game by attempting to really punish players along the boards on zone entries and showcased his range of motion and ability to be flexible and adaptable with his skating. His movement alone could lead to success. I thought the moments where he bolted up to fill a gap and take a defender with him through the middle lane were impressive, but equally impressive were the simplicity of his outlets to evade pressure and move pucks up the wing. He can shoot back against his motion, had a half slapper attempt, and was all around calm and smart.