It wouldn't be a Jr Canadiens viewing without a strong performance from Dima Zhilkin. As always, Dima was so effective within the offensive zone, protecting pucks along the exterior, spinning away from any defender trying to close him down, and sparking scoring chances. No matter the situation, Dima could change direction and deceive opponents, navigating to safety on almost every possession. As a result, Zhilkin was so impactful off the cycle or along the wall, controlling offensive sequences and ensuring the Canadiens remained in the offensive zone with control.

I thought Dima flashed the same tools he always flashes, being an evasive and slippery puck handler who is difficult to contain. Especially in small areas and under pressure in the offensive zone, Dima constantly spun off defenders using quick turns and lateral movements to deceive and gain separation. These small area sequences were the main element I saw from Zhilkin, but there were flashes of his top-end pace and willingness to attack the middle of the ice, rounding out a solid performance.

Zhilkin was his creative playmaking self over the Whitby Silver Stick. As always with Dima, I thought he did a tremendous job managing the puck, prioritizing possession, and seeking paths to funnel the puck to the dangerous parts of the ice. The combination of patience and puck skills that Zhilkin combines helps him in so many situations. Everywhere on the ice, Dima will evade defenders with crafty high-end skill moves, buying space, and helping him advance play up ice or into the home plate area. Especially along the boards in the offensive zone, Zhilkin can operate effectively in small spaces when under pressure, skirt oncoming defenders, and then quickly thread a pass to the middle of the ice. At the start of the year, I wasn't fully confident in where I placed Dima in my initial rankings, but as time passes, he's only cemented himself in the first round due to his puck management, puck skills, and playmaking.

Zhilkin was his same usual self, oozing patience and creativity with the puck to evade defenders and transport the puck into the offensive zone. He was slippery and successfully escaped pressure on many occasions and then swiftly moved the puck to open teammates in the slot. Especially on the powerplay, he was their central puck manager, controlling the flow of man-advantage sequences and distributing the puck to where it needed to go. While there were plenty of quality passes, Zhilkin also wanted to penetrate and shoot, especially on the powerplay. He had an abundance of quality shots but, unfortunately, couldn't find the back of the net in this match.

Across all of the games I watched of JRC, the consistent theme was that Zhilkin was the most consistently involved and impactful player on their squad. With the puck on his stick, he is among the most creative and crafty handlers in the 2008 Ontario class. He's a beautiful combination of patient and deceptive, opening up so much space to work his magic. After opening up space is where the value lies with Dima. I have so many notes about Zhilkin skirting a defender, buying time and space, and hitting an open teammate in the slot for a goal or quality scoring chance. In one game I watched of JRC, almost all of their offence came through these sorts of sequences, with Dima leading the way shift after shift. Without the puck, Zhilkin is a relentless pest who applies tremendous pressure, forcing plenty of turnovers. He wins races to the puck, battles for the puck, and does so much to win back possession for his squad. Dima was one of my favourite players on JRC in my first view at the Port Huron Silver Stick last year, so it was great to see him still excelling.

Zhilkin showcased his speed in Week 2 of the Prodigy Elite League. He was relentless on the forecheck to regain the puck, and when he had it, he was zipping around the offensive zone, escaping pressure and creating chances. Dima leveraged his shifty lateral agility in conjunction with his slick hands to evade defenders and access the dangerous parts of the ice. Using spin moves and quick side-to-side cuts, Dima was easily able to maneuver to the middle of the ice and generate chances. Finally, Dima tallied a goal for Purple as he swiftly caught and released a pass firing it into the back of the net.

Zhilkin was my favourite player on the Jr Canadiens back at the Port Huron Silver Stick, so I was excited to see him play again. It was no surprise that Zhilkin was playing with pace. He was quick and explosive, allowing him to control play through the neutral zone and in transition. Dima controlled the puck in the offensive zone, spinning off defenders and connecting on a few passes to teammates in scoring position. Zhilkin created the game-winning goal by using a savvy delay move upon entering the zone and spotted a cross-ice pass to a teammate on the weak side, which was the first and most important action of a sequence created Javian Nei's goal.

Dima was the star of the show, tallying a hat trick and an assist. All game long, Dima was buzzing around the offensive zone creating chance after chance. Zhilkin excelled while controlling the puck in the offensive zone as he could spot open teammates net front or drive off the half wall to create a shot for himself. In addition, he showed a knack for timing his routes into open space to be wide open in the slot to be on the receiving end of a high-danger pass. Dima's goals all showed his ability to score from medium and long-range as they were all from a distance. No doubt Dima is an explosive skater, but his usage of changes of pace to beat defenders stood out to me. Knowing when to downshift to bait in a defender and then accelerate to blow right by them is a tremendous skill that is impressive to see in such a young player.