The most notable blueliner for the Mid Fairfield squad, Jake Boguniecki was a strong 200-foot presence, moving well laterally and showing off a bit of offensive flare when needed. In one of the games, he made a nice defensive zone entry denial and quickly swooped up the loose puck and evaded the nearest man as he passed it up ice. A quick demonstration of how efficient he can be at going from defense to offense. He was very reliable in his own end with the puck, wasn’t afraid to circle back and reset things to change what he was looking at, all while evading pressure and utilizing his edges and mobility to pivot and cut to create some distance. In the offensive zone he followed a similar principle, slowing things down if needed, never forcing a pass or a shot, and waiting for his opponents to make the first mistake. Boguniecki’s defensive game was partially elevated due to his size and strength as well, stopping cycles deep in his own end and pinning pucks to the boards, he did a nice job to smother puck carriers in his own end and overpower them with physical play.

A strong defensive defenseman for Team Orange, Jake Boguniecki brought a level of poise and calmness to the blueline in the games he laced up for. Around his own net he denied several cross-ice pass attempts to the backdoor, was quick at changing direction, along with his getting his stick involved to lock up opponents and deflect passes. His physicality and work battling for space to clear rebounds and second chances really helped make his goalies’ life easier in moments of chaos. He moved well around the ice, and was trusted with the puck on his stick, he was able to execute a few strong first passes out of his own end with some good vision and accuracy to go with it. Reliable through-and-through, there wasn’t much in the way of egregious turnovers, or major-risks taken by Boguniecki, leaning into that shutdown role for his team.

A strong two-way defender for the Mid Fairfield Rangers, Jake Boguniecki was one of the top performers for his club. A combination of good mobility, power, and speed, made him effective at navigating the offensive zone, catching passes, moving his feet, and connecting on passes to open teammates through lanes nearby to the dots. His awareness to pinch and keep plays alive was a valuable piece of the offense for his team, intercepting passes, along with being first on pucks, he generated some quick counters as a result. Some good physicality off-puck allowed him to finish his checks, force turnovers, and regain possession for his team. The mobility he showed in the offensive zone carried over nicely away from the puck, gapping up well, defending the line, and landing stick checks. Along the boards he was quick to read plays and shut down cycle chances, offered a nice ability to break out the pass in small area plays, connecting on quick outlet passes to the half-wall.

An active defenseman in transition play, Boguniecki contributed to his team’s offence with effective solo rushes up the ice that were able to generate seamless zone entries and quality shot attempts off the rush. He had no difficulty side-stepping his opponents up the ice, using his quick footwork to create separation with the puck whether that was while maneuvering his way through the neutral zone or escaping forecheckers in his own end and breaking out pucks singlehandedly. At the same time, I thought he did a good job at using his lateral mobility to keep a tight gap on opposing puck carriers and neutralize a few plays off the rush throughout the game.

It was an eventful game for Boguniecki on both sides of the ice, playing an aggressive style that lead to chances both ways. While two of Sioux Falls goals came off of direct pinches from him, I thought he was more than able to make up for it based on the high rate of advantages he was able to create for himself and his linemates throughout the game. He was effective and creative from the point in the offensive zone, utilizing shot and head fakes to freeze defenders, get into space and either fire a hard shot on net or spot an open downhill passing option. He had some strong work on defensive zone retrievals as well, combining good scanning habits and edgework that allowed him to spin away from pressure before making a quick outlet up the ice and sparking his teams transition game.

Right from the puck drop, I found Boguniecki to be one of the more assertive players on the ice. He was constantly looking to join transition plays up the ice using his speed, often times as a trailer into the offensive zone but also a couple of instances where he created odd-man rushes with his presence and decided to drive hard towards the crease to garner scoring opportunities. His combination of physicality and explosive skating stride allowed him to make key defensive plays throughout this contest such as forcing his opponents to the outside off the rush with strong gap control on many occassions, using his body to separate players from the puck during a couple of his opponent’s cycle plays as well as a great heads up play in the dying minutes of the game where he was able to box out an opponent in front of the net and clear the puck out of the crease to deny a goal and keep the deficit at one. His aggressive style of play naturally came with more risk and although there were a few miscues throughout the game, I found he was still an impactful presence on both ends of the ice.

In a game riddled with turnovers and high-risk play, I though Boguniecki’s simple yet effective style was a breath of fresh air. He was leaning on forwards along the perimeter in the defensive zone, taking good angles to cut them off and using his body to remove them of the puck. In the neutral zone he was timing his step ups well, rarely putting his team in danger and blocking up passes to deny zone entries and kickstart the counterattack.

Throughout the game I continually saw Jake Boguniecki in the right spot, intercepting pucks, making outlet passes, contributing offensively, and overall bolstering a strong two-way performance. Early in the game he displayed some strong attention to detail deflecting passes in the slot, following puck movements, and boxing out opponents from high-danger areas of the ice. This being possible as a result of some good physical strength, along with willingness to engage physically. He made some great passes on the powerplay from the blueline, quick puck movements and soft hands let him slowly creep further and further down from the line, and ultimately was able to shoot off passes to the goalmouth for some great looks in tight for his teammates. An element of his game I appreciated a lot was the defensive urgency, even when beat, he kept his feet moving, used his stick, and worked really hard to stay in the play and remain an obstacle for his opponent to deal with, and more often than not, this resiliency paid off in the form of forcing a bobbled puck.

It was his activation and ability to use his anticipation to his advantage by pinching in the offensive zone, jumping into the rush off zone exits, and doing so consistently in smart spots. While it didn’t always lead to high danger scoring chances or highlight reel plays, it was smart and well timed. Even late in the game, he was angling players wide off defensive tops, finishing his checks along the boards, and leading the rush the other way after the turnover. Throw in some quality movement side to side on the PP from the point and faster feet through back crossovers and he showed well this game.