Player Type: Refined power forward

QMJHL Draft Projection: 2nd round

Projected QMJHL Arrival: Fall 2022

Projectable Skills: Creative puck protection and timely shot and pass execution

Development Opportunities: Improving his purposeful backchecking mindset

Despite his generous physical maturity, Connor Arsenault is a forward who moves as nimbly as many smaller forwards. The combination of his size and agility is a package that is hard to come by at this stage in players' development and something that has not gone unnoticed by many scouts. Arsenault plays a powerful offensive game that integrates abrupt lateral movement, accurate and deceitful passing, as well as a collection of powerful and precise shooting modes. If given space in the neutral zone, Arsenault can rumble directly into the offensive zone where he becomes quite difficult to knock off of the puck. He possesses refined outer edgework that enables him to skirt around the perimeter of the ice while he identifies outlets for developing the offensive pressure. He is very sensitive to pressure in the offensive zone, and as such is able to moderate his skill as required to navigate traffic and optimize his scoring opportunities. He uses his reach to it's full ability when needed, and does not hesitate to drive powerfully to the middle of the ice. I've found that his backchecking engagement can waver occasionally, and while he does take some direct lines back to the defensive zone there remains to be some room for improvement. I think that ultimately it will be mutually beneficial for him to be paired with a savvy playmaker throughout his development. While Arsenault is highly competent in both transitioning and finishing plays with creativity, there will likely be players who are better suited to initiate the cycle. At the end of the day he will almost certainly serve a QMJHL team very well as a skilled and versatile power forward.