At any given moment during the camp while the puck was on his stick, Jaxson Craig displayed just how much he was capable of in regards to executing a dazzling move, escaping a checker, and finessing a pass through traffic to set up a teammate. 1-on-1 he showed off some excellent puck skills, pace, and deception. Changing direction repeatedly and quickly, he was able to maintain his speed throughout his shifty maneuvers, keep his hands and feet in sync, and overall get around or through a defender to create something out of nothing. At his best he was able to string together some effective passing plays with speed off the rush. Getting his linemates involved, rotating and changing positions amongst his teammates as they worked down on a 3-on-2, he was tough to get a read on and remained incredibly dynamic. I felt as the camp went on the offensive side of his game began to click, but before that when things weren’t always going his way, he still showed a good degree of compete and defensive ability. Getting in the way of lanes, backchecking with high energy, and anticipating play in the defensive zone; he covered his assignments well and was an asset even when he wasn’t setting up high-danger plays.

Craig is very slick with and without the puck. He stickhandled his way in and out of traffic pulling pucks through a barrage of traffic, doing a good job of drawing in pressure. I was impressed with his ability to find open space behind the D in neutral ice. This led to a solid breakaway chance for him early in the game.

His best game of the camp in my eyes, Jaxson Craig really put all his tools together, combing agile movement with some creative playmaking to set up a handful of nice chances playing with speed. He did a great job at adapting to changes in coverage and the obstacles thrown in front of him. Good footwork synced with some slippery pulls of the puck allowed him to avoid sticks and bodies, spin away from opponents, and connect on the simple play to move the puck. He picked up an assist on the 3-2 goal, stopping up on the right wing, hitting the bumper with the puck, which in turn, found its way in the net. He then picked up another assist on the 4-3 goal, following up a rush chance, catching a drop pass, and ripping a shot on net leading to a rebound chance. As a whole his level of effort and pace was of great significance for Team Orange, he competed hard away from the puck, utilized his soft hands to pull pucks out of traffic, scanned the ice quickly for the next immediate option, and drove plenty of play for his team, even if it wasn’t always the flashiest.

Craig was one of the few players in this game who was able to generate space on his own thanks in large part due to his above-average stickhandling ability. There were more than a few times in this game when he was able to execute a quick one touch deke through a defender, whether it was while he was skating through the neutral zone or in tight spaces in the offensive zone and get himself into dangerous areas. He had a great sequence in the first half of the game when he carried the puck with speed through the neutral zone, beat a defender one on one then delivered a perfect saucer pass to a teammate who couldn’t capitalize.

Tallying 2 goals in the victory, Jaxson Craig was one of the leading offensive catalysts in a low-event game carrying pucks up the ice and finding ice to get quality shots on net. He played with some good speed and skating, creating some space for himself in transition he managed to pull away from pressure along with place defenders on their heels, opening a bit of ice to work with high in the offensive zone when working off the rush. His vision and passing ability let him connect on a couple impressive passes as he moved up ice, spreading out defenders and allowing him to dart to open ice, he established a few give-and-go plays that helped create something out of nothing. He scored the opening goal that ultimately stood as the game winner as he caught a pass in the slot and left unchecked was able to fire it past the goalie. His other goal in the game came as a result of an empty netter firing it from his own end of the ice.