Grubb is a player who can beat you in a multitude of ways thanks to his diverse skillset, which allowed him to be one of the more productive Team Red forwards, finishing with 6 points in 4 games. As a puck-carrier off the rush I appreciated how he would change his approach to keep defenders guessing, either cutting wide on a defender and dipping his shoulder to make a hard drive to the net or opting to attack head on and utilize his puck skills to get through them in one on one situations. His playmaking really shone through on multiple occasions throughout camp as he found a way to be effective both below the goal line and off the rush, executing passes out of his turns along the perimeter towards the slot area and delivering a variety of hook and slip passes while operating in transition to get the puck to teammates before making a hard drive to the net. I thought he was working hard off-puck as well, using his deceptive strength to win body positioning and come out on top in one on one puck battles.

The first of many Shattuck St. Mary’s players to make the top-20 list, Colin Grubb was a versatile forward who was impactful on both ends of the ice for his team through great instincts, tenacity and skill. His sound positional play allowed him to be such an effective 200-ft player throughout the tournament whether it was getting his stick into passing lanes or winning puck battles in his own end, he was a facilitator when it came to transitioning up the ice using his strong defensive play to create odd-man rushes going the other way. He was at his most dangerous in the home plate area of the offensive zone where he was exceptional at finding pockets of space in the defensive structure, putting himself in the right positions to jump on loose pucks and rebounds around the net, deflect shots from the point, connect on quick passing plays or let off a quick and accurate shot to the net. He made smart reads with the puck, getting it up the ice in an effective north-south brand of hockey and flashed his playmaking ability with some good timing on one-touch passes through the neutral zone and the vision to find open teammates when he decided to hold on to the puck for that extra second or two.

On both ends of the ice, Grubb made some impactful plays to help his team win this game. His positioning and awareness are what really stood out to me in this one as he made plays on the backcheck by getting his stick in passing lanes to break up plays coming to the middle of the ice and also by intercepting a pass in his own end then carrying it up the ice where he drew in the defensemen on the zone entry and found Sung trailing behind in the high slot for his team’s third goal of the game. He was decisive with the puck all throughout, making quick passes up the ice or finding open teammates in the offensive zone and had a couple quality shot attempts from the middle of the ice with one in the third period that found its way past the goalie but hit the post.

Just like his linemates, Grubb was very impactful in the offensive zone showing an instinct to get to the open areas, support teammates with the puck and finishing his scoring chances. He helped his team in zone entries by keeping his puck touches simple with quick reads where he either chipped it by the defenseman to get it deep in the zone or when he made a one-touch pass to Sung for a breakaway that was saved by the goaltender but eventually led to a goal on the same possession. He was actively trying to insert himself into the high danger areas of the ice where in the second period, he deflected a point shot that made its way past the goaltender and on his second goal of the game where he received a pass in the high slot and roofed a shot over the glove of the goaltender.

The leading scorer for Shattuck in this one, with 2 goals and 1 assist, Colin Grubb had himself an impactful offensive performance, showing off some good finishing ability. He gave his team the 2-1 lead early, deflecting a point shot, his ability to work between the dots in the offensive zone was evident in this one. His other goal also happened to come from between the dots, this time in the form of a rebound chance, cleaning up in front of the Little Caesars crease, he extended the lead to 5-1. Some good physical resilience and strength put on display under pressure from larger opponents, the balance, body positioning, and overall tenacity helped Grubb get into these scoring areas and complete plays. Some strong plays dropping the shoulder and driving the middle lane stood out in Grubb’s game today as well.