The combination of size and skill that Drew Roscoe has is something you don’t see everyday, and it’s part of what I think makes him such an effective player. He moves extremely well and is shockingly agile for a 6’6 defenseman, but he’s able to use it to his advantage as a puck carrier to nimbly evade players diving in and breaking into the second line of defense. He did a nice job joining into the attack as an auxiliary forward and showed great instincts to crash the net where he earned a nice one time finish. He was a very good distributor of the puck and carried the puck up ice with confidence, passing and moving and getting into open space. He read the defense well and made smart jumps into the play and found pockets of space well to make offensive contributions. Defensively he was making good reads and showed a quick step, using his long reach to make interceptions and head up ice the other way. His strength along the boards made it difficult for players to get by him and he used his mobility to stick with puck carriers and keep them contained. He made risky plays as a puck carrier moving up the ice and sometimes lost the puck, but he was very quick to get back on defense and make up for it with his long strides. Overall there was a lot to like about his game and it’s clear that he has a unique set of skills that if continues to develop them he can really blossom into something special.

It was extremely impressive to see the way Drew Roscoe was able to move and handle the puck at his size. The 6'6 defenseman had a smooth stride and a good set of stick skills that when combined with his long reach allowed him to weave around opponents and protect the puck from forecheckers before getting the puck up the ice, often making solid tape-to-tape passes when transitioning from defense to offense. He used his reach to his advantage when defending by constantly getting his stick involved to poke the puck away from attacking forwards and was able to cover a lot of ground with his long strides to stay in front of his opponents, blocking any passing or shooting lanes in the process. For a defenseman of his size, he wasn’t as physically imposing on defenders as one would have expected, especially along the boards where he preferred to defend using his stick rather than cutting off plays using his towering frame.

Roscoe wasn’t as prominent as I’ve seen in previous viewings but still had a steady game on the back end. I thought he moved the puck quite effectively on breakouts and regroups, keeping things simple and connecting with short range passes to the closest teammate to advance the play. I liked a majority of his plays in the defensive zone from good tie-ups in front to neutralize opponents crashing the blue paint or using his reach to break up plays off the rush making him a tough defender to get around. You could still see the tools that make Roscoe such an interesting player even if they only showed up in spurts in this game.

Roscoe had himself a nice game, as his size and great skating were big factors for his team. Anytime Roscoe was under pressure or looked like he was about to lose the puck he would make a couple of big strides and shield the puck until the forward would eventually give up. His size and skating made for some really impressive plays in his own end, his ability to slow the play down and get the puck going the other was very impressive. Roscoe had a couple of really nice plays stepping up at the blue line and keeping the puck in. He did not flash offensively but kept plays alive in the offensive zone when needed and had a couple of nice shots from the point.

Drew Roscoe was fun to watch in this game, the massive defenseman skated extremely well and continued to find his way up into the attack to earn opportunities on goal. He tallied a shorthanded goal towards the end of the first half on a great rush up the ice with a late crash to the slot that he steered past the netminder. He read the flow of play very well and knew when to get up in the attack and when to remain back on defense, he played an important role in supporting the offense. His speed, acceleration, and agility surprised me given how large he is, but those tools made him incredibly effective throughout the game. He carried the puck up the ice well and with his head up he was a very good distributor of the puck, remaining composed at all times and getting the puck off his stick before being closed down. He was guilty of trying to do too much at times, but he was playing well and naturally wanted to get a little more creative. Defensively he was tough to get around with his size and skating ability, and his strong stick checking ability led to him dispossessing the opposition on numerous occasions. He has some great tools at his disposal and this was a perfect depiction of what can happen when all of them come together.

It’s difficult for Roscoe not to stand out with the size that he has, but he also played a sound two-way game. The tools he possesses as a 6’6 defender and especially at 14 years of age were really impressive to watch. He was quick on his feet and used some crafty stick work along with his long reach to step around defenders with the puck on his stick. He also facilitated breakouts and made crisp passes to teammates moving out of the zone and although he wasn’t overly physical, he used his size well along the boards to pin opposing forwards and had an active stick in the defensive zone by using his range to disrupt passing lanes and shot attempts.

It’s hard not to notice Drew Roscoe out there on any given shift due to his immense size, taking up so much ice, coupled with great skating and mobility for the size he possesses, shutting down plays and dominating physically appears to come naturally to Roscoe at times. In 1-on-1 defensive situations he’s nearly impossible to beat at this level. The footwork and gap control constantly kept him square to puck carriers, even some of the speediest skaters on Little Caesars had trouble creating space around Roscoe. His overpowering strength enabled him to smother puck carriers in the defensive zone, pinning them to the wall, and being quick to dig the puck out of skates to transition out of his own end. Out of the blue later in the game he strung together a series of puck handles and crossovers, built speed through the neutral zone, gained the line, got around a defender, created a 2-on-1 rush and sent a pass to Riley Klava for a phenomenal scoring chance. An absolute clinic of an offensive rush put on from the 6’5 defender.