This was my first viewing of Laing in person as opposed to on video and while I’m more confident that he will be a solid junior talent, I have questions about what his ultimate ceiling will be at that level. He already plays a really sound pro-style game below the hashmarks where he uses his size and strength to wear down defenders and force mistakes in coverage. I don’t think he’s the most effective at finding the passing lane himself, but he does a lot of the heavy lifting in clearing space for his linemates to flourish. When it comes to offensive production, Laing’s best weapon is his shot. He can really rip it and is supremely confident in his ability to score from anywhere. I particularly like his consistency with the one-timer, and he is a serious threat from the Ovi-office on the powerplay. While I’m a fan of his physical profile I think he grades out as average between the ears which limits his point potential at higher levels. He puts himself in the right areas but doesn’t have that extra level of instinct when it comes to timing his forays or finishing opportunities. With the puck he makes sound and simple decisions in service of possession but doesn’t quite think the game at a level to sniff out the creative or hidden opportunity. The result is a quality two-way foot soldier but not necessarily a player that will be drafted for his offensive potential despite solid point totals at this level.

I thought he was one of the players in the tournament who best understood how to use his size and reach to his advantage to protect under pressure. He can weave into high traffic and use 10-2 cuts as an aggressive move to protect and push. They cycled the puck through in on the PP right away and he was able to curl in and out of pressure. There were moments I saw him drop his head too which is something to continue to work on. I loved his defensive coverage in the slot with timed stick lifts and his shot is a heavy snap in motion. He’s certainly someone to keep an eye on.

Laing was noticeable all night as his intelligence and proactivity meant he was always in the thick of the action. He’s not a player who spends a lot of time with the puck on his stick, but he puts himself in smart positions and makes quick decisions when he does gain possession. With his awareness the puck comes on and off his stick quickly; he’s either found the soft spot to get a shot off or he already has a read of the next teammate to move the puck to. I also liked his play as a defender in this contest. He plays with energy and keeps his feet moving in pursuit at both ends of the ice. In the end he finished with three points while taking care of his own end as well.

I think players with Alexander Laing own the type of profile and toolkit teams look for often in prospective forwards they want to develop and work with, or at least, he had flashed some of those projectable traits in this one. He got two great scoring opportunities as a result from passes from Treyce Pavlic, but these were made possible due to his long, powerful, and aggressive skating style, darting through the middle of the ice, he supported the puck well, overpowered defenders with his speed and size playing off-puck, got to open ice first, and corralled these passes in stride, converged on the goaltender and had some solid looks. The range of motion he owns in his puck handling makes him a weapon 1-on-1 with the goalie, on one of his chances he had the goalie beat and extended the stick around the goaltender, but lost handle of the puck at the last second. He had some other chances as a result of strong puck protection ability, keeping his feet moving, working in tight to his body along with away from it when handling the puck, he could push-and-pull the puck wherever he so pleased around sticks and bodies, forcing defenders to get aggressive and relying on his talent to dance around them into dangerous areas of the ice. He was able to process the game very well, both off the rush and during the offensive zone cycle, beating opponents in 1-on-1 situations with skill, speed, and power. The reach, stride length, soft hands, and processing skill that Laing owns are all attributes to keep an eye on going forward.

I’ve been familiar with Alexander’s game in the past and I certainly loved the little moments where his anticipation and reaction time comes into play from little side to side shifts of balance while dragging the puck with finesse around sticks becomes highlight reel worthy. He has a softer touch but sometimes relies a bit too much on the subtle shifts rather than taking full advantage of his size and wingspan. It makes some of his one-on-one attacking plays off the rush not as successful. Either way though, his hockey IQ, touch, and playmaking style in tight spaces make him consistently a threat in the offensive zone.