Scouting Report
EVALUATED 13/07/2021
Brayden Olafson
Eastern Canada Regional Scout
Day 5: 2021 USA Hockey Select 16 Camp - The edgework and adaptability of Christian Kim’s skating style is nothing if not spectacular. His ability to manipulate his body positioning both to deceive, and to expand his options provides endless value when the puck is on his stick. He shows very low hesitation when an opportunity is available, executing puck movement with power and precision. His continual awareness of his teammates position enables him to make a number of incredibly technical plays which are entirely unexpected to his opponents, but rather simplistic or benign in a vacuum. By leveraging his spatial awareness, he’s able to regularly make plays that don’t readily appear to the most shrewd defender, or viewer for that matter.
Day 3: 2021 USA Hockey Select 16 Camp - The compact value offered by this Tri-City draft pick was quite impressive in this game. Christain Kim is a very quick and smooth skating forward, both forwards and backwards, who pulls momentum with him wherever he goes. He’s quite capable of receiving sub-par passes and turning them into good pucks to work with, while rarely missing a beat in his stride. On the other end, his pass releases are hard and accurate, but more importantly, lead his teammates so as to enable them to accept his momentum. When attacking the offensive zone, he shows patience with the puck and manipulates his speed well to manipulate the position of defenders, either to use them as a screen or evade them entirely. Ultimately, while he’s already a thrilling player to watch, Kim offers many skills that indicate he has plenty of room for growth and success at a higher level.
Game Reports
EVALUATED 26/06/2022 Brayden Olafson
Head of Eastern Canada Scouting
I found this to be one of Christian Kim’s strongest performances of the tournament. His confidence seemed to have finally hit the point where he was able to fully utilize his top-notch puck skill and edgework to dance through traffic and install sustained possession in the offensive zone. His mobility in open ice, which granted, shouldn’t be as much of a consideration for projecting him, is among the best in the group. Even when things get denser gradually I’ve been impressed with how Kim is able to keep to the white space, protect the puck with his edges and modest reach, and port the puck around the offensive zone. While the combination of his natural skillset makes being elusive the focal point of his game, Kim generally shows, and showed in this game a tendency to use those skills for initiating opportunities for his teammates. So many players seem to get caught up in their own skill and Kim is not usually one of them. He capitalized on a relatively innocent looking play at the end of the first period when Matthew Desiderio put a low shot on net that was slightly deflected outward and onto the ready stick of him at the side of the net for an open net.
Game Reports
EVALUATED 25/06/2022 Brayden Olafson
Head of Eastern Canada Scouting
While I haven’t found Kim to be the most dynamic player on the ice in most cases, there are still instances where he is able to generate excellent scoring opportunities with his reliable puck control, strong edgework and evidently strong awareness and passing ability.
Game Reports
EVALUATED 23/06/2022 Brayden Olafson
Head of Eastern Canada Scouting
Early in this game I was pleased to see that Christian Kim does seem to have missed a beat in his development since this time last year. The speedy forward appears to have increased his composure with the puck, thinking long-term with his possessions rather than becoming fixated on shooting. He does tend to slow the game down a bit in transition which somewhat called into question his ability to compete at pace, but there was certainly support in other areas of the game where he showed an ability to have success at pace and in traffic.
Player Card
- All Data is derived via 5v5 per 60 minutes rate displayed in percentile format.
- Data Courtesy of In Slat.
COMMITTED:
Michigan State
01/01/2022
SIGNED:
Trail Smoke Eaters
01/10/2023
LEAGUE PREDICTION
-
NCAA
Confirmed
100%
TEAM PREDICTION
-
Michigan State
Confirmed
100%
TIMELINE
- 2023
01/09/2023
Christian Kim commits to the Trail Smoke Eaters
- 2022
01/09/2022
Christian Kim commits to the Wenatchee Wild
- 2021
01/01/2022
Christian Kim Commits to Michigan State
- 2021
26/05/2021
Tri-City Storm Draft Christian Kim
- 2020
25/03/2020
Vancouver Giants Draft Christian Kim
