Projection: Top Six Scoring Winger

Projectable Skills: Puck Carrying in Transition, Shot, Mental Mapping

Development Opportunities: Consistency and Engagement

Plouffe very well may be the best puck transporter in this draft class. He owns a powerful set of crossovers which he uses to gain separation from defenders in the neutral zone, keep his head to assesses the appropriate routes and consistently gain the offensive blueline for his team. I like the way he avoids predictability off the rush as well, often deceptively using his speed and acceleration to catch defenders flat footed before driving wide or delaying and waiting for help to arrive. One thing that makes him standout among this year’s prospects is his mental mapping of the ice while in the offensive zone. All throughout the year he’s and this ability to execute spinning backhand or no-look passes to teammates in stride, a testament to his impressive pre-scanning ability and route anticipation. He’s proven throughout the year he’s a player who can score from distance, demonstrating a deceptive release to go along with an accurate and heavy shot that catches goaltenders off guard.

At his best Plouffe is one of the premiere offensive players in this class, but I thought in the latter half of the year he struggled with some consistency issues that took him out of games for long stretches of time. When he became the center of the oppositions defense focus, I found he struggled to adapt and problem solve his way out of uncomfortable situations with the puck. That being said, I still believe in Plouffe’s ability to be a high-end scoring winger for a QMJHL team someday.

Plouffe was at his best with the puck on his stick attacking off the rush. His combination of power, speed and puck control really help him drive play for whatever line he’s in, and although I thought he was a bit quiet throughout the tournament, you were still able to see the flashes of high-end offensive skill from time to time. His processing and decision-making ability allows him to play quickly and execute difficult plays at pace, which we were able to see a bit of here especially when he was playing with his Esther-Blondin teammate Alexis Joseph. He’s a really strong kid for his size, demonstrating the ability to withstand contact and make plays under pressure from opposing defenders. I also liked how inside driven he was when attacking off the rush, consistently trying to leverage his skill and gain access to the dangerous areas of the offensive zone.

While I didn’t think this was one of the better Plouffe performances I’d seen throughout the year, he was still able to flash some of the traits and skills that make him one of the top prospects for this years QMJHL draft. Whenever his is high-end skating and puck carrying came to the forefront, he was almost impossible to contain in the neutral zone and was able to consistently gain the zone for his team. His playmaking off the rush is impossible to deny as well, as at his best he was able to thread passes through traffic on both his forehand and backhand and hit a teammate in stride. One term I consistently find myself using when describing Plouffe’s game is ‘mental mapping’, which is to say that he has that uncanny ability to know where his teammates are at all times and execute no-look passes that make himself look like a magician out on the ice. While I thought those moments weren’t as frequent at this event, Plouffe still had a few moments of brilliance that reminded me of why I consider him to be a high-end offensive talent.

Plouffe was one half of the two-headed monster, alongside Alexis Joseph, which nearly willed the Phénix to a birth in the quarterfinals despite being one of the worst teams in the M18 circuit this season. Every time he stepped on the ice play gravitated towards the offensive zone with sustained possession time and high-quality scoring chances. Plouffe is one of the more dynamic puck carriers in this entire class, blending impressive skating ability with high-end puck handling ability to create a transitional monster. His passing ability also stands as one of the best in this year’s draft, combining scanning tactics and deception to be a very dangerous offensive threat with the puck on his stick. He’s been one of our highest risers all season long and I wouldn’t be surprised if he continues to climb our rankings in the coming months.

The first game I watched of Plouffe was a 9-0 loss, and while he did make a few smart decisions with the puck I honestly do not think I was able to get a proper or fair read on him. The second game I watched, a 4-1 win over Notre-Dame, was a huge improvement over my primary viewing of him. Playmaking is the pinnacle of Plouffe’s game, whether it’s using his offensive instincts to make quick one-touch passes to teammates or holding the puck to draw defenders in before dishing it out. Playing the half wall on the first powerplay unit, Plouffe blended a series of deceptive eye look-offs and no-look passes that set up prime scoring chances for his team. It is this deception in his playmaking ability that makes me think there’s a little more offence to unlock in his game, which makes me more optimistic about his overall potential. I would like to see Plouffe become less one-dimensional and start incorporating his shot into his offensive arsenal. Added on to his deceptive playmaking could lead to some serious untapped potential in Plouffe’s game.

It was a quiet first two periods for Plouffe with his team trailing 3-0 as there weren’t many puck touches for him to show the high-end skill we’ve seen from him all season but when the game started to get closer in the third, I thought he changed gears and was a lot more aggressive with the puck. He looked to get more pucks to the net whether it was from shots through bodies from the outside or looking for sticks in the slot before setting up Lemieux-Goupil to cut the deficit to one goal as he sent a beautiful saucer pass, from the half wall to the slot, right onto the tape of the cutting defenseman.

Although Plouffe has struggled to gain any real chemistry with any particular teammate so far in this event, he’s still managed to be one of their more effective forwards by acting as his line’s primary puck carrier at all times and using his mental mapping to get the puck to open areas. His off-puck positioning was also impressive throughout this game, constantly keeping his feet moving in the offensive zone and finding soft spots in dangerous areas to make himself a passing option. He made a few nifty passes in transition as well, demonstrating the ability to make crisp backhand passes through traffic that would hit a teammate in stride.

Plouffe was flashing his high-end skating and puck-carrying throughout the entirety of this game. The power he generates from his stride makes him extremely difficult to contain in one on one situations, as there were several times in this game where he was able to gain a step on a defender and drive the net for a scoring chance in tight. He’s an elusive stickhandler in the offensive zone as well, showing the ability to weave out of pressure in tight areas and make a pass to a teammate. Off the rush he demonstrates a great mental mapping of where his teammates and opposing defenders are, often performing slick drop and behind the back passes to a teammate skating into space. Plouffe was also tenacious on the forecheck, using his speed to pressure opposing defenders quickly, strip them of the puck and deliver a quick pass to a dangerous area.

Plouffe definitely had his electric offensive moments in this game, even if I thought his engagement level wasn’t at the level I’d come to expect from him throughout the year. His ability to transport the puck into the offensive zone is still some of the best I’ve seen from a draft-eligible player. There were many times in this one where he was able to pick up the puck from his own zone, weave around a few defenders in the neutral zone and gain the blueline for the Phénix. You saw the flashes of his high-end vision in the offensive zone, as he has this uncanny ability to spot teammates on the other end of the ice, even if I thought the execution was a bit off in this game. He had this magnificent end-to-end rush in the second period where he walked around 2 defenders, beat the goaltender wide but hit the post on the ensuing shot. He had a game high six shots on goal and was one of the main offensive bright spots for the Phénix alongside Joseph.

Plouffe is a player who I believe will slowly make his way up our rankings as the season progresses. He’s one of the best playmakers in the draft without question. His blend of deceptive head fakes and body positioning always keep the opposition at bay and helps him manipulate their positioning to create passing lanes for himself. He does such a great job at pre-scanning the ice before retrieving a loose puck which helps him maintain a superb mental mapping of the offensive zone. His high-end feet and hands combination allow him to gain the zone with relative ease, which in conjunction with his passing ability make him such a dangerous threat off the rush. Although he was held off the scoresheet, I thought Plouffe was one of the more effective forwards on both sides and I’m sure he won’t remain pointless for very long.