Scouting Report
EVALUATED 18/04/2023
Brayden Olafson
Head of Eastern Canada Scouting
While his name seems to have lost a bit of steam when it comes to the proverbial war-room discussion for the first overall selection, Nathan Lecompte still has a case to be considered. The Châteauguay forward has the most experience of M18 hockey of any draft eligible player and has been included in the discussion as the top player in this class for well over a year. In his underage rookie season with the Grenadiers, Lacompte turned heads with a 45-point regular season over the course of 38 games. Not to be outdone, Nathan raced for the M18 league scoring title as a 16-year-old, accumulating 60 points in 41 games. I feel very strongly that Nathan is the most energetic, engaged and pace-oriented player in this draft class, yet unquestionably retains key elements of awareness in his team-centric mentality. If you’ve ever needed a forechecker to rely on, both from a speed and tactics perspective, Nathan has always been that guy, boasting Border Collie-like quickness and agility to corral his opponents into isolation. Beyond being such a difficult player to attack against, he’s added some valuable depth to his game this season as well. Being so well-known entering the year, he’s a player who I’ve continually tested in each viewing, and through the gauntlet I think he’s only proven himself more. While I do feel that his open ice stride currently caps his absolute top speed, his explosive acceleration serves him well enough in any context, 80% of the time. Nathan is also one of the most versatile players available, hinging not only on his technical strengths, but also his ability to recognize when and where he can best apply himself. While he’s one of, if not the best shooter in the group, he remains unpredictable as to how he may use the puck. He’s extremely dangerous when branching out of the cycle, making rapid assessments of the ice and using a variety of strategies to make his next move. Whether it’s a direct line to the slot, cross-seam bullet pass, or expanding his cycle radius to the top of the zone to divert defensive resources, he uses adaptivity to enable practical and effective playmaking.
Skating
7.5Puck Skills
8.5Hockey IQ
8Playmaking
8Scoring
9Physicality
9Defense
8.5Overall
8.36Scouting Report
EVALUATED 26/05/2022 Brayden Olafson
Regional Scout - Eastern Canada
The second of Châteauguay’s underagers is forward Nathan Lecompte. The 15-year-old forward is quite tenacious in many respects, which makes him a valuable penalty killer at the U18 level, and in general, an effective puck hound on the forecheck. He’s assertive with the use of his stick when playing without the puck, and quickly minimizes space between himself and the puck carrier whenever possible. His tendency to apply pressure to opposing defensemen when playing in his own zone helps to keep pucks to the outside, or in some cases, create turnovers. Additionally, he’s not shy to engage physically in the corners to shut down a forecheck or pin the puck to the wall. His speed in open ice is good as he applies high footspeed, strong cross-overs, and uses powerful lateral movement to shake his way around defenders. There is, however, opportunity for improvement with respect to the fluidity of his recovery stride. Ultimately, his ability to apply pressure to his opponents should prevail as the dominant element of his game, giving him time to refine his skating a bit more.
Overall
8.36Scouting Report
EVALUATED 22/03/2022 Brayden Olafson
Head of Eastern Canada Scouting
The second of Châteauguay’s underagers is forward Nathan Lecompte. The 15-year-old forward is quite tenacious in many respects, which makes him a valuable penalty killer at the U18 level, and in general, an effective puck hound on the forecheck. He’s assertive with the use of his stick when playing without the puck, and quickly minimizes space between himself and the puck carrier whenever possible. His tendency to apply pressure to opposing defensemen when playing in his own zone helps to keep pucks to the outside, or in some cases, create turnovers. Additionally, he’s not shy to engage physically in the corners to shut down a forecheck or pin the puck to the wall. His speed in open ice is good as he applies high footspeed, strong cross-overs, and uses powerful lateral movement to shake his way around defenders. There is, however, opportunity for improvement with respect to the fluidity of his recovery stride. Ultimately, his ability to apply pressure to his opponents should prevail as the dominant element of his game, giving him time to refine his skating a bit more.
Skating
8Puck Skills
8.5Hockey IQ
7.5Playmaking
7.5Scoring
8.5Physicality
9Defense
7.5Overall
8.07Game Reports
EVALUATED Brayden Olafson
Head of Eastern Canada Scouting
After pushing out the puck with his prototypical F1 tendencies, Nathan Lecompte exhibited terrific coordination with his feet and stick to collect the rebound of an Olivier Lampron shot to drag around the BC goalie for the opening tally of the game.
Game Reports
EVALUATED
Joel Henderson
Head of Scouting
It is easy to get excited about the potential of Nathan too since he has reach, composure, can accelerate on the outside, uses his reach in tandem with opening his hips in stride, and can cut back heavily. He’s also a player who matches those skills with effort too. Maybe I’d have to watch him closer but all the individual elements for a potential high quality player exist with him.
Game Reports
EVALUATED Brayden Olafson
Head of Eastern Canada Scouting
Lecompte plays fast, but there is some limitation in the length of his stride. He isn't continually in movement, and as a center, that's where Liam Kilfoil has him beat a bit. Kilfoil can react so quickly to changes in possession and inhibit them well, while Lecompte still needs some time to react. I will say that of the players currently ranked in our top-3, he might have the best puck handling skills still. He's also able to release a very high quality shot in stride, which is something that I've not seen quite as well from either of the others. Lecompte can be very evasive in tight spaces to generate addition space for himself.
Game Reports
EVALUATED Brayden Olafson
Head of Eastern Canada Scouting
Lecompte's pace of puck exchanges and momentum in transition sets the pace of the game. He forces opponents to play and react at his speed and that's where he's most effective. He gets the puck into space where he can make a decision at his own speed and doesn't force himself into more difficult ice if it doesn't have value. He will pull back in the defensive zone to see the ice and build speed- it's value is two-fold and he can be much more effective that way.
Game Reports
EVALUATED Brayden Olafson
Head of Eastern Canada Scouting
The open ice of the powerplay seems to unlock a ton of the value in Lecompte's game. He becomes a faster thinking and more powerful playmaker when he sees the ice. It all happens in close succession too which makes it a bit easier to recognize. His skating, while electric, still needs to need some work in terms of its fluidity in order to maximize his open ice speed. He has one of the most powerful first strides, but once he opens up, his stride seems to break down a bit. He tends to do just fine at the U18AAA level because of his otherwise broad skillset, but it more so brings into question his sustainability in transition at future levels. He is consistently a player who is, to use a cliche, pushing the pace - he's ahead of everyone and looks to be ready for a higher pace of play. Sometimes he gets himself into a bit of trouble for this reason, because he's rushing, and therefore neglecting to give sufficient attention to detail in building a play, but I think when you're seeking offense, he's going to be a player who can deliver. He still has that edge to his game which can give him some versatility when other players value might not be as high when the game gets tough.
Game Reports
EVALUATED Brayden Olafson
Head of Eastern Canada Scouting
Where I hadn't previously seen Lacompte as a centerman, I thought the way that he started this game was much more conducive to success in the position. He began by hitting a few pucks in stride as he broke out of the zone, and was able to distribute to the flanks effectively, improving the quality of the puck vastly, by getting it to a secure carrier and then calling for it once he got to the offensive zone. He has a very quick shot that he can get off in a flash. His skating stride is still pretty short, which makes it kind of modular, he can stop and start quickly, but extrapolating that stride a bit will be something scouts look for as he develops into an NHL prospect. He seems to have made vast improvements in his defensive disposition, expelling effort to become one of the first forwards back into position to defend against the attack and facing the play in order to see and react. Very early in the game there was an instance where he tried to be a bit too fancy, and perhaps over-confident circling deep into his own zone with the puck, but his reach wasn't sufficient to protect the puck, and rather it was swatted away from him pretty abruptly by a good forecheker. He plays very fast and very big, in the sense that he can occasionally overskate pucks or positions but if he hits them with good timing he gives himself a tremendous advantage. He demonstrated tremendous adaptive skill with the puck and was often able to pull a trick out of his back pocket when he's subject to pressure. He was the best 2007 in this game in almost all respects. Being an effective player in all zones, and in all roles was really impressive to me.
Game Reports
EVALUATED Brayden Olafson
Head of Eastern Canada Scouting
This game was an excellent opportunity to evaluate the under-aged, Lecompte's abilities and versatility on special teams. Playing high on the Chateauguay penalty kill, Lecompte rushed out of the defensive zone after poking away a D-to-D pass, and in doing so showed his full stride, which seemed to be a bit truncated on the recovery stride. He showed good commitment in the defensive zone in battling hard for the puck behind his own net. He used quick lateral movements to chase opponents down as they cycled below the net and was not shy to engage physically. Lecompte showed really nice quickness and crosscuts to clear the neutral zone on the powerplay. He plays a nice role as the player to gain the zone and drop off for someone as he enters. Very smooth and very speedy. Gets off to the right half wall and uses very good agility to stay active and move the penalty killers around the ice.
Player Card
- All Data is derived via 5v5 per 60 minutes rate displayed in percentile format.
- Data Courtesy of In Slat.
SIGNED:
Chicoutimi Saguenéens
01/09/2023
LEAGUE PREDICTION
-
CHL
Confirmed
100%
TEAM PREDICTION
-
Chicoutimi Saguenéens
Confirmed
100%
TIMELINE
- 2023
01/09/2023
Chicoutimi Saguenéens sign Nathan Lecompte
- 2023
10/06/2023
Drafted by the Chicoutimi Sagueneens