Where I thought Ginnish stood out the most was in the transition game as he was consistently putting his high-end mobility on display to impact both sides of the game. He relied heavily on his fluid lateral movements, and overall skating ability, to effectively defend the rush by quickly closing the gap on opposing puck carriers while also displaying appropriate timing with his stick to be able to disrupt zone entries and regain possession for his team. His ability to leverage his quickness to facilitate zone exits was another reason he found success at this event as I thought some of his most impressive sequences throughout the weekend stemmed from his strong puck moving traits which allowed him to quickly transition plays from defence to offence with optimal reads or maneuver his way through layers of opponents to kickstart plays up the ice using his legs.

I was honestly surprised to see just how much Halifax relied on the 15-year-old defenseman throughout the tournament, logging a ton of minutes as the youngest defender on the team and being utilized in all situations. His confidence has grown immensely at this level since the last time I saw him, which was most apparent in how often he could be caught utilizing his long stride and crossover mechanics to pick up speed quickly through the neutral zone with the puck on his stick, consistently beating defenders wide and executing controlled entries at a high rate. He was breaking up tons of plays in transition by jumping passing lanes in the neutral zone and kickstarting the counterattack, while also maintain a tight gap while defending the rush and using his stick to knock pucks loose. In the offensive zone he would often leverage his lateral mobility to walk the line with the puck, pull it to the middle and either fire a pass down low or look to get a puck on net to create a rebound in front. He’s still a very raw prospect, but in terms of overall ability he’s starting to look like one of the more talented and intriguing defensive prospects for this years draft.

Anytime you get a defender as talented and confident in his abilities as Ginnish, you’re going to get a few mishaps as that player tries to create and gain advantages for his team. This was the case for him in the early portion of the event where I thought he was trying to do too much with the puck on his stick, over relying on his raw ability and displaying shoddy decision making in his puck moving. However, as the tournament went along you could see Ginnish getting more and more comfortable and by the end of it all I thought he showed flashes of why he could be considered the best defenseman to come out of Atlantic Canada this season. He had his best performances against the highly talented New Brunswick squad, which spoke volumes to me about his ability to dictate play against the best players of his age group and show up in the big moments. His skating ability is the crux of his game, which he uses effectively on both the offensive and defensive side of the puck. In the neutral zone he demonstrated an instinctual and aggressive style of defending that saw him pursue puck-carriers from across the ice, close in on them quickly and either get them off the puck with a hard body check or force a dump in. He was able to use his feet on retrievals to consistently beat forechecking pressure by using crossovers to generate speed behind the net, gain separation and skate the puck out of danger. He made a series of smart activations in transition that saw him act as the trailing option off the rush and get himself a good look from up high in the offensive zone. In the defensive zone I thought he had a few really promising moments by keeping his head on a swivel, anticipating the play and getting his stick into lanes to block passes to the slot area. If Ginnish continues to develop with the same upward trajectory I saw here he could end up being one of the very best defenders in this entire draft class.

Listed at 5’8 and 123 lbs, Ginnish definitely hit a growth spurt from his last weighing until now, as he looks a lot bigger and plays with much more power than that listing would indicate. His overall skating ability really set him apart from a majority of the defensemen at this camp, utilizing it in a hyper-aggressive manner to frequently carry the puck up ice, gain the zone and generate scoring chances for himself. His ability to maintain his speed while changing directions allowed him to be deadly in transition, carving through defenders and gaining separation with ease. On the defensive side of things, he was using anticipation alongside his mobility to step up in the neutral zone, break up plays and initiate the counterattack. His lateral mobility allowed him to close in on attackers quickly, often forcing them to the outside and limiting their time and space. At this juncture of his development I think he can be a bit too individual with his skill, especially when attacking off the rush, opting to face defenders head on and try to beat them one on one instead of using his teammates. Despite this, Ginnish looks to be one of the more electrifying talents out of Nova Scotia this year and will look to play a big role for them at the QMJHL Cup in October.

I wanted to highlight Ginnish here mainly for his work on the defensive side of things and in transition. He was keeping a strong gap defending off the rush, using his stick to break to poke pucks off stick at the defensive blueline and break up entry passes before joining the rush himself on the counterattack. There were a few instances where he was able to escape pressure below the goal line in the defensive zone through strong crossovers to gain separation before executing an outlet up the ice to one of his forwards. He nearly earned a primary assist midway through the game off an excellent stretch pass that earned his teammate a semi-breakaway he couldn’t capitalize on.

Ginnish had his handprint all over this game from the get-go, utilizing his high-end skating ability and aggressive instincts to tilt the ice in his teams’ favour on a majority of his shifts. Early on in the game he was showing immense confidence as a puck-carrier, especially in one sequence where he picked up a pick in the neutral zone, gained the line through the middle of the ice and executed a slick behind the back pass to a teammate who could then attack downhill into space. He made a series of strong reads in the neutral zone as well, using a proactive style of defending which allowed him to jump passing lanes and initiate a quick counterattack for Team White. I noted a few rush sequences where he was able to kill plays in transition thanks in large part to his lateral mobility, pushing attackers to the outside and using his stick to thwart any attempts to the interior before making a quick play up the ice.

Ginnish’s overall mobility was a huge contributing factory in Nova Scotia’s success in this game as he was able to cover a ton of ice, lead the transition game offensively and kill plays while defending. He was consistently able to beat the primary wave of pressure on his retrievals by using strong crossovers and edgework to pull away from checkers out of his turns before moving the puck up the ice to a teammate. In the defensive zone he was using his feet to stick with even the speediest of New Brunswick forwards, maintaining a good gap and using his stick to knock pucks loose, retrieve them and initiate the breakout. Ginnish was aggressive in his rush defending as well, using his lateral mobility to close in on attackers quickly, take away their time and space and initiate the counterattack for Nova Scotia.

Ginnish was using his high-end tools to be a driving force behind his team’s transition game throughout the majority of this contest. He was using his edgework to cut away from forecheckers on his retrievals before using his long stride to carry the puck for a controlled exit and gain separation from opposing defenders as he galloped through the neutral zone. He was using his skating ability effectively off-puck as well to close in on puck-carriers quickly in the neutral zone, opting to close in on them quickly to limit their time and space and force dump-ins. His execution and decision-making once he gains the offensive blueline is still a work in progress, but there’s a lot to like with this player.

It’s hard not to notice Ginnish when he’s out on the ice. His skating ability sets him apart from nearly every other defender at this camp as he’s seamlessly able to use his edgework to escape pressure on a dime and either execute an outlet up ice or skate the puck out of danger. As a puck carrier he was using an array of head fakes and quick changes of direction to zoom by opposing players in the neutral zone and gain the offensive blueline for his team. In the defensive zone he did a great job at anticipating the play and cutting off passes along the boards to nullify the oppositions cycle game.

There wasn’t an opportunity to carry the puck up ice that Ginnish failed to take in this game. His hyper-aggressive approach to the game tilted the ice in Green’s favour every time he stepped out on the ice by initiating the transition game with his strong puck carrying ability and using anticipation to break up plays on the defensive side of things. Ginnish was using his skating ability so effectively all around the ice, whether it was using his lateral mobility to gap up on attackers at the defensive zone blueline or use his long stride to gain separation with the puck in the neutral zone. His offensive prowess lead to his team’s third goal of the game when he attacked the zone with speed, quickly put on the brakes to gain separation from an opponent then fired a quick cross-ice pass to a streaking teammate who tapped the puck into an empty net.