Scouting Report
EVALUATED 18/04/2023
Brayden Olafson
Head of Eastern Canada Scouting
While the 2023 QMJHL draft class is in fact light on defensemen near the top end, this could actually boost the draft stock of those who are arguably in the conversation. The first defenseman who comes to mind as one who could be in consideration to be selected first overall is St-Eustache’s Alex Huang. When on the national stage at the 2023 Canada Winter Games in Charlottetown, Huang was one of the regular Quebecers to receive continual praise from our crossover scouting efforts. I think most scouts would agree that Huang is the defenseman who possesses the most broad and impactful skillset in terms of one whose offensive contributions project to the next level of competition. At certain times in the year I’ve anointed Huang to be a “space creation machine” because of the ease with which he’s able to manipulate opponents while carrying the puck. From the moment he gains possession, Huang is on a mission to shake his own check, before using every tool at his disposal to draw pressure away from his outlets and cycle the puck back into that created space. His polished footwork, edges, power and overall evasiveness are a perfect compliment to the style that he likes to play. Over the course of the year I think his ability to defend the rush effectively has evolved tremendously to the point where I’m just as often highlighting these aspects of his game as his offensive contributions. He may present a larger appetite for risk in driving the offensive zone that some organizations may find appealing, but by the same token, offensive success tends to come to those who act.
Skating
8.5Puck Skills
8.5Hockey IQ
7.5Playmaking
8Scoring
6.5Physicality
8Defense
8Overall
7.86Game Reports
EVALUATED
Donesh Mazloum
Regional Scout - Western Canada
I’ve taken a little while to warm up to Huang, but this was certainly his most impressive performance in my eyes. He was a major part of the reason the Canadians started so strong as his puck movement and vision up ice was really stretching the ice and causing spacing issues for the Swedes. His skating stride isn’t picture perfect, however he really moves his feet and has the confidence to lug the puck himself as well. I think his defensive game needs a little work, but his intelligence and effort level comprise a solid foundation to build from, he just needs a little polish and attention to detail.
Game Reports
EVALUATED
Noah Poirier
Regional Scout - USA
It’s not easy to have such a calm demeanor on the blue line, but Huang finds a way. With the puck on his stick he effortlessly moved along the blue line, opening up lanes as he went trying to find the open shot. His quick turns really help him shake off pressure when being hassled in his defensive end during the US’ second period onslaught, a quick move and he would find that little bit of room to make a D to D pass to relieve pressure. The cherry on top of a great game, Huang scored the shootout winner, coming in slowly on the left side before stutter stepping and going backhand-forehand past the USA goalie.
Game Reports
EVALUATEDBen Jordan
Regional Scout - Ontario
Alex had a great game on the backend for Canada. He was smooth and calm in his own end and did a great job controlling the breakout. When he was pressured, he did well to spin out of it, or use his agility to open lanes to exit. The first pass out of the zone was crisp and accurate and did well to hit teammates that were in motion. When carrying the puck, he maintained top speed well, and used his speed to create offensive opportunities for his teammates.
Game Reports
EVALUATED
Joel Henderson
Director of Scouting
It was a bit of a quieter game for Alex due to the fact that he didn’t have to be a one man breakout too often. Quebec was relying on their forwards playing in the defensive gaps and getting sticks in lanes to sustain pressure. He still was able to show his hard wrist shot release, his movement on the PP, and his terrific one-on-one gap defense to cut off the angles of some of the Alberta players and force them wide.
Game Reports
EVALUATED Joel Henderson
Head of Scouting
He was a bit more subdued in the first two periods but really gave himself a pep talk before the third. He became a one-man transition beast with drag moves, rushing the puck with strong pushes, and almost pulled off a highlight reel drag move against Reese Hamilton by splitting pressure to the inside. He’s such an aware defender and doesn’t seem to waste possession by dumping pucks in or shooting without traffic.
Game Reports
EVALUATED Joel Henderson
Director of Scouting
The award for most active transition player certainly goes to Alex by a wide margin for Quebec. Despite being a little wild in his one, he was using his shorter crossovers with an unpredictable rhythm to throw off players in transition. It seemed like at times he was one of the only players who could slice through the defensive layers of Saskatchewan at times and throw them into a bit of a scramble. Throughout this game, he controlled the PP at the point, opened his posture a ton by drifting backwards with good balance and scanning for that pass to the backdoor. Despite that activation throughout periods two and three, I think his defensive gap control by shadowing some top skaters in the first period was great too.
Game Reports
EVALUATED
Jordan Malette
Regional Scout - Ontario
Huang was involved in lots of offense for Team Quebec. When the puck was on his stick at the point, he was always looking for ways to push the puck into the dangerous areas of the ice. His first instinct was to push the play toward the net for a shot, but if he were closed down, Alex would dish it off rather than risk his shot being blocked. Huang scored the nicest goal of the night through one of these sequences, as he used a head fake to stun a forechecker, then quickly attacked towards the net and ripped a shot far side high. I always admire a defender with Huang’s attack mindset that he showed in Quebec’s victory over New Brunswick.
Game Reports
EVALUATED Chase Allen
Regional Scout - USA
Alex Huang was a tremendous 2-way defender for Team Quebec, leaning slightly towards that of the mold of an offensive defenseman archetype. His ability to make reads and passes with the puck in this game amongst blueliners was almost second-to-none. He can slow down the game and make responsible, poised decisions, along with ramp up the pace if he so feels the need to, as he carried the puck across both bluelines a few times in transition. A slick set of hands let him shake the pursuing forecheckers, coupled with his fluid skating ability – a very valuable trait to possess, especially at the next-level. His skating ability continued to aid him later in the game as he could neutralize rush chances by remaining explosive and mobile whilst landing accurate stick checks and playing the body when necessary. He made a great play in the third period where when defending a partial 2-on-1 he was able to sprawl out and block the cross-crease pass attempt. I find as long as he isn’t egregiously out of position, Huang’s mobility allows him to seemingly never completely out of defending a play. In the offensive zone he continued to flash his creativity, poise, and puck skills, walking the blueline with ease as he created space atop the offensive zone, moving the puck around and opening shooting lanes.
Game Reports
EVALUATED Brayden Olafson
Head of Eastern Canada Scouting
I thought Huang pushed the boundaries of his abilities on the blueline in one instance early in this game and it resulted in a turnover. While he has an abundance of skill, he's not entirely infallible. He maintained a near perfect gap when he was in position prior to a rush against, and edged out opponents perfectly, maintaining the gap the entire time. I thought he was good in front of his own net in terms of clearing traffic. Sometimes he didn't get back as fast as I thought he should have. Late in the first period Huang collected a loose puck in support of Olivier Metcalfe after he ran into traffic at the blueline. Huang made the zone entry in a 2-on-1 formation with Olivier Lampron but picked his shot top-left corner.
Game Reports
EVALUATED Brayden Olafson
Head of Eastern Canada Scouting
Huang demonstrated good positional discipline in front of his own net throughout this game. He is quick, agile and has a strong base which enables him to quickly strike out at opponents to create turnovers or puck losses. With the puck he was identifying lanes in the neutral zone and attacking them to create a nice clean zone entries on multiple instances. Having the ability to recognize and exploit these opportunities will make him really valuable offensively. There's no lack of discipline because he gets the puck in and gets it set up and then reports back. Huang is the dominant player on the St-Eustache powerplay. He controls the flow of possession around the entire perimeter and is responsible for where the puck goes and when. He did a good job getting into shooting lanes quickly in the middle of the ice.
Game Reports
EVALUATED Brayden Olafson
Head of Eastern Canada Scouting
Early in the game it seemed that Huang was having a bit of a hard time getting unlocked at the offensive zone blueline. He wasn't seeing around the pressure as well as I've become accustomed to seeing him do, and was trying to shoot through his opponents. There's no question that his mobility and foot work are at the top of the class right now. He's going to be very interesting to follow this year, but when he skill fails him, which it did a bit in this game, he didn't seem to have a lot to fall back on.
Game Reports
EVALUATED Brayden Olafson
Head of Eastern Canada Scouting
I became more and more impressed with the performance of defenseman, Alex Huang throughout the camp. He’s an extremely sturdy but mobile defenseman who uses excellent footwork to navigate the offensive zone, creating outlets for his teammates and circulating the puck to keep his opponents guessing. He’s very challenging to knock off the puck and can make abrupt positional adjustments to get himself into space. His elusive movement makes him a supplementary offensive weapon, yet he always appeared dedicated to regaining his defensive position. He has deceptive tendencies in his footwork that help him to open lanes when breaking out of his own zone.
Player Card
- All Data is derived via 5v5 per 60 minutes rate displayed in percentile format.
- Data Courtesy of In Slat.
SIGNED:
Chicoutimi Saguenéens
01/09/2023
LEAGUE PREDICTION
-
CHL
Confirmed
100%
TEAM PREDICTION
-
Chicoutimi Saguenéens
Confirmed
100%
TIMELINE
- 2023
01/09/2023
Chicoutimi Saguenéens sign Alex Huang
- 2023
10/06/2023
Chicoutimi Sagueneens select Alex Huang in the QMJHL Draft
- 2023
02/05/2023
Dubuque Fighting Saints select Alex Haung in the USHL Futures Draft
