Projection: Top Six Forward
Projectable Skills: Skating stride, Shot Power, Creativity in tight
Development Opportunities: Off puck play

Kyle is one of the most curious players in the draft because his individual skills are potentially really high end. His confidence has seemingly grown a ton this year by taking the metaphorical reigns in many games and finding individual moments to break a game open. He’s got a long skating stride and can push past defensive coverage if he can catch people off guard. When on breakaways, he can flash quick handles laterally and a strong whip to his shot release. You never quite know what you’re going to get with him from game to game sometimes so his development will be about find that consistency in play both with and without the puck; learning how to curl back into dangerous position, be a pest on the forecheck with positioning and stick work, while using that physicality he has in him to battle down low defensively. Kyle has a long runway left of potential development as he can score on snapshots on the PP, off the rush, or by using his length to create passing options off cycles. With improvements to cycle play, secondary efforts, quick catch and release shots, and defensive intensity, the sky's the limit for someone like Kyle. I could imagine that programs who pride themselves on video work and skill development would love a chance to help Kyle reach that potential.

From a raw talent perspective, Obobaifo is right near the top of the list at this tournament. He has so many elite tools to build from, principal of which is an unreal release and untold goal scoring potential. He possesses a long, smooth, athletic stride complete with sound efficiency in technique and explosive quick twitch burst. He has a long reach and excellent control away from his body allowing him to drastically change the point of attack. He is also blessed with projectable size and as he adds strength to his frame, he will only become more difficult to strip of possession. While Obobaifo’s tools are truly excellent in a vacuum, the sum of his game is not quite there yet. For every superlative he possesses there is a “but” that follows. His release is impressive, but he misses the net too frequently. He shows vision and the ability to execute clever cross ice passes, but he can get tunnelled with his head down at important moments. He reads the play well defensively and closes quickly but gets beat in too many 50/50 battles. The end result in this tournament were some impressive stretches of dominance but also stretches of invisibility, especially against the better teams. As one of the youngest players in the draft, I’m inclined to believe that he can round out his game and add more shift-to-shift consistency, however it needs to be a real point of focus in his development.

The room for growth in Kyle’s game is quite high since he has one of the most explosive and powerful skating strides paired with his long reach laterally. In the game against Yale, he got multiple breakaways, found multiple chances to power to the slot and use that length and reach to create scoring chances, but either dropped his head in a prime scoring moment under pressure or fired a shot wide. He has those game-breaking elements that you are looking for in prospects but he’s now got to find a sense of calm and deception in key moments to finish off those chances. Kyle caused a few turnovers against the big defensive group of Yale and cycled pucks under control back to the point. In his bag of tricks are no-look slip passes on the PP, heavy snapshots, and the ability to draw penalties. The rest of this season will be about his ability to find calm and poise in those advantages he can create. I didn’t get to watch the last game against OHA Colorado but it is nice to see him have four goals on the scoresheet.

Between the length of his skating stride, quick touch on passes in motion, and his ability to control the puck at his reach, there is a lot of growth potential still left in an already excellent hockey player. BWC has strong puck-moving defenseman and high-possession players so we will get to see how much of that he can unlock this season.