I thought Dufour served as the heartbeat of this team and whenever they went through a bit of a lull, he always seemed to be the one to drag them out of it. In a tournament where team chemistry can sometimes be difficult to find as it is an inherently player focused exhibition, I really valued Dufour’s commitment to value team success over personal flash. He uses his mixture of awareness and elite compete to put his stamp on the game in all three zones. He always seems to make the right decision and takes care of the details; whether it’s taking a hit to make a play, providing the net drive to create space behind him, or sacrificing the body defensively. Dufour maximizes his skill set and while he isn’t the biggest, strongest, or fastest player his impact is immense thanks to his work rate and intelligence. He smells blood with a half a step and living embodiment of the adage “give and inch, take a mile”. His small area play is particularly advanced as he is very clever with one touch passes to teammates and tips to himself as he repositions. He is also so deceptively tough to pin down and on many occasions in this tournament he’d look completely surrounded before popping out of the scrum, unscathed and with possession. I’m fascinated to see how Dufour develops as he is a unique player without a direct comparable at higher levels however I am always willing to bet on hockey IQ and character.

Projection: Top Line Forward
Projectable Skills: Hockey IQ, Shot accuracy, Agility
Development Opportunities: Strength, Choose to be a little less unselfish

The well-rounded, agile, undersized forward has continued to produce at the top tier of every level he’s been part of. Mirco most often beats you by controlling possession along the boards, playing give and go hockey with linemates, gathering secondary chances, and finishing off plays in tight. He doesn’t naturally draw the eye all the time but you shouldn’t lose sight of him at all. His positioning, spacing, angling, defensive backchecking, and explosion through his edges make him consistently effective. There is versatility there as well since he can control the PP from the half wall, play the bumper position down low, or even take faceoffs if needed. The more you follow him around the ice, the more you see him outperform and out smart the opposition consistently. He’s probably the best player in the draft at closing gaps and separating people from the puck in small areas. His ability to disrupt pucks and cause turnovers is really special. As a smaller player, he doesn’t sit back and casually drift outward either. He attacks so often that it wins out positively in the long run. If you build your team around smart, controlled, give and go hockey, then Mirco Dufour is a dream addition to any lineup. Others might pass on him due to size but I think his translatability is so high that the smile on the face of the team who drafts him will be picture worthy.

The well-rounded, agile, undersized forward has continued to produce at the top tier of every level he’s been part of. Mirco most often beats you by controlling possession along the boards, playing give and go hockey with linemates, gathering secondary chances, and finishing off plays in tight. He doesn’t naturally draw the eye all the time but you shouldn’t lose sight of him at all. His positioning, spacing, angling, defensive backchecking, and explosion through his edges make him consistently effective. There is versatility there as well since he can control the PP from the halfwall, play the bumper position down low, or even take faceoffs if needed. The more you follow him around the ice, the more you see him outperform and out smart the opposition consistently.

While Matthew Hilderman is the grind and possession retriever, Brock England is the shoot-first, powerful stride linemate, Mirco is the efficient control and calculator. While I think Mirco’s skating stride is going to naturally get more powerful from the length and depth of each push, he’s not a guy who dictates the pace in all aspects. He’s got a little bit of guys like Mathew Ward and Andrew Cristall in his game whereas when he’s playing with a natural playdriver on his line, it only amplifies his dangerous scoring instincts because he can slip into secondary positions on the forecheck, capitalize on being deceptive and unpredictable with the timing of his shots, and spin in and out of coverage along the wing. When you watch him closely, you can see he isn’t afraid of driving the slot, not falling into predictable offensive patterns, and finishing off plays in tight areas with his high-end puck control. He’s one of those players you can’t forget about because he makes you pay very quickly. While I don’t think he would be one of the first names mentioned as far as top players at the tournament, he still had 12 points in 6 games. That's how he gets you.

One of the most dangerous scorers in prime scoring situations this season has been Mirco Dufour. On a talented Edge roster, Mirco does not have to worry about end to end rushes, being muscled off every puck, or shooting from distance against opponents who have purely zoned in on him. He’s had ample opportunity to shoot from the wing on a strong cycle, to showcase his puck control off breakaways and 2on1s, and make intelligent passes once zone play has established. His puck control and IQ make him a consistently dangerous scoring threat.

Dufour is going to be a fan favourite wherever he plays. He is such an appealing combination of skill and work rate with attention to detail and maturity in his approach. He is so quick to loose pucks, showing zero hesitation as he enters battles against players far larger than him while maintaining such impressive awareness mid-battle. He always seems to have a mental picture of teammates/opponents over his shoulder so the moment he finds an opening in his board battle he can pluck the puck out of the scrum, manipulate his hands to get free, and fire a pinpoint pass to an open teammate. Players who can consistently make small area plays under pressure are the ones I think project best to higher levels as the speed and physicality ramps up and Dufour checks every box in that regard.