Playing up an age group this season with Shattuck St. Mary’s, Nolan Fitzhenry has gotten off to a torrid start, at the time of writing this, leading his team in scoring with 9 goals, 7 assists, for 16 points in 12 games. He offers an interesting blend of skills and abilities to the table. He is one of the top scoring threats in the class, from both the perspective of pure shooting talent, along with his ability to get into ice around the net, battle for rebounds and space, and capitalize in the dirty areas of the ice as well. On top of his scoring gifts, he’s been seen to be a very effective defensive forward as well. On the penalty kill he plays an aggressive style of play that gives puck carriers little time to work with, anticipates play accordingly, and forces a good deal of turnovers. His skating really helps him be effective at this two-way game, as more often than not he’s first to areas with a quick series of steps, good power to his crossovers, and intelligent route taking as well, he’s strong on the puck and in getting to areas, helping him both cutdown on space when playing without the puck, and jump into lanes to receive passes on the offensive side of things. Listed at 5’10 and 154lbs, Fitzhenry plays much bigger than his size would suggest. He is great behind the offensive goal line at protecting the puck, using a good wingspan and some quick hands to corral pucks away from sticks, pulling off some tight turns along with simply powering his way around the boards. He wins plenty of his battles for pucks in open ice, along with along the boards and in front of the net, showing good strength for his frame and winning pucks away from much larger opponents. I think there’s lot of growth in Fitzhenry’s game to come beyond what he’s already established. He’s only going to get bigger, stronger, and faster, and at this point has shown the ability to compete against players older and stronger than him, not necessarily only relying on his skill alone, but intelligent plays, and good teamworking skills across all 3 zones. All should bode well as he looks to make that next level jump into major-junior next season.

Fitzhenry was one of the leaders of this Navy Blue forward group as he put up consistently strong performances throughout the four days, finishing the camp with 4 goals and 1 assist for 5 points which tied him for the lead among his team’s forwards. He excelled at driving play towards towards the blue paint, showing his ability to dominate with strong possession play from below the goal line or using his powerful shot to beat goalies from in tight whether it was a quick snap of the puck or a lethal one-timer when he had the necessary time and space. With or without the puck, he attacks open pockets of the defence to create the time and space to execute plays but can also use his smooth puck handling skills to challenge defenders one-on-one and pull pucks in and out of crowded areas to work his way towards the net which is constantly keeping his opponents on their toes when he attacks head-on in one-on-one situations. To add on to all he brought to the offensive side of things, he was also a responsible defensive centerman who used smart positioning and an active defensive stick to disrupt plays in his own end and win back pucks for his team by engaging in battles below the goal line to support his defensemen.

It’s been almost a calendar year since I saw Nolan Fitzhenry for the first time, and since that I’ve seen his game get refined and developed so much, adding new tools, weapons, and tendencies to his game that really helped round-out his repertoire. Initially, months ago, he stood out to me as a dominant finisher, with an elite scoring sense, and offensive toolkit to get into ice, get open for passes, and wire pucks on net through crowded areas, whilst also being capable of beating goaltenders 1-on-1. There’s an element of consistently being at the right spot at the right time, and with a hard wrister, along with release capable of manipulating the angle the puck comes off his stick, he can be extremely difficult to play against in the sense of his adaptability in tight quarters, and the limited space needed to leave an impact makes him very tough to contain. As the months went on, and the more I saw Fitzhenry exposed to the center ice position, I thoroughly enjoyed his 200-foot play. Establishing him as this rare breed of a two-way goal-scoring force. Of course, when things are going well for Fitzhenry, he doesn’t play third man high when attacking up ice, he will still lead the rush and make bold 1-on-1 moves, but when the goal scoring isn’t always there, you can trust him to cover lanes through the middle, commit to the backcheck, get involved physically in scrums, and pulling pucks off the wall in both the offensive and defensive zone. He has some good physical maturity to him, with a powerful stride he navigates the ice well, can quickly close on puck carriers, angle them off, and get a stick in the way to force a bobbled puck. When handling the puck himself he is quick to escape pressure, but also capable of working under some physical scrutiny, extending the stick, using his upper body to box out opponents, while keeping his feet moving as he seeks open ice. His playmaking game is nothing to scoff at either, in 57 games with Shattuck St. Mary’s this season he put up a total of 47 assists. A lot of the same physical attributes that allow him to succeed in finishing plays, also double-up as tools needed to connect on plays and set up others. He isn’t listed as the biggest of players, but at 5’10 and 154lbs, he is one of the stronger players in the class, and can deflect and re-navigate passes in difficult areas of the ice, whether it be the high slot or low around the goalmouth. There’s lots to like about Fitzhenry’s game, and it should surprise no one to see him climb a handful of spots in the rankings in the coming months and into next season.

I’ve seen Nolan Fitzhenry a lot over the last few months, and this is some of the most complete 200-foot hockey I’ve seen him play in terms of being effective both offensively and defensively. In the past there has been moments where he is a dominant finisher but didn’t provide much elsewhere, but there were also games where the finishing wasn’t quite there, but his defensive play through the middle was elite - an event like this really showed off the best of both worlds in his game. His puck management and decision making when attacking offensively, along with navigating the neutral zone, reading the play very well, reacting appropriately to pressure with changes in puck location around his body, and seeking out open teammates with speed, he did a good job buying that extra split-second needed to outwait opponents before slipping off a pass in offensive transitions. He played a really gritty game as a whole in tight areas of the ice; coming out of corners with speed and power, zipping around stagnant defenders around the faceoff dot, he had moments of great explosiveness, walked into a shooting lane, and zipped a heavy and hard wrister on net. In terms of raw 1-on-1 projectable scoring habits, Fitzhenry has slowly developed some great physical intangibles used to create space with speed, leaning on opponents, protecting the puck, and getting shots off under pressure. Circling back to his defensive play, through the middle of the ice he did a great job backtracking in defensive transitions, covered cross-ice passes, and was annoying to play against getting his stick in the way on pucks consistently throughout the viewings. As a whole, one of the better performances from an event I’ve seen from Fitzhenry.

Nolan Fitzhenry combined his hockey IQ, puck skills and physicality to be one of the more dominant forwards at this year's USA Hockey Nationals. Where other players try to sneak their way into the open spaces on the ice, Fitzhenry is more assertive and uses his size and physicality to attack the open space, driving the middle of the ice in transition or parking himself in front of the net while gaining body positioning on opponents to create the tiny bit of separation he needs to put the puck into the net. He puts in that same determination in his own end as the centerman, covering the middle of the ice, supporting his defenseman and engaging in battles for the puck to create turnovers. In transition, he uses a good mix of downhill speed and quick hands to enter the zone as a puck carrier and while in the offensive zone, he has the awareness and puck skills to find open teammates around the net with crafty passes and also gather loose pucks before making a quick move in tight on goaltenders. His greatest asset is his extremely powerful shot and quick release that when he picked his spot, proved to be difficult for goalies to read whether it was a one-timer in the slot or a shot off the rush, as the puck would just explode off his stick making him a handful for other teams to handle all throughout the tournament.

A two goal performance for Nolan Fitzhenry reflected a decent effort in a tough game, a sparkling solo effort going end to end being the big highlight. He was clearly very talented on the puck and showed some great ability to navigate his way through open ice and into space. He was able to work his way to the center of the ice and open up dangerous shooting angles for himself. His shots were strong and accurate, testing the goalie and providing rebound opportunities for those crashing the net. He showed off some very nice playmaking ability as well, regularly finding the open man with some key passes leading to quality chances. On the flip side he was equally adept at finding those passing lanes and being on the receiving end of them, latching onto those pucks and firing off dangerous shots.

Another consistent outing for Nolan Fitzhenry, at any given point, during any given game, the potential for him to strike and find his way onto the scoresheet is there. He had his looks as the game went on, finding pockets of ice to get decent shots on net, showing off that usual quick release that generates a strong degree of power in the process. He got on the scoreboard once in this one, towards the end of the game, he came across the blueline with some good speed, make a quick cut to the middle of the ice, and from high in the zone wired a shot against the grain to the top corner, catching the goalie sliding a bit, opening some daylight for Fitzhenry to pick the corner. While he wasn’t on the offensive side of the puck, I found him to be an effective shutdown forward, particularly on the penalty kill, some good compete and speed to his game, he found himself in front of many puck carriers, getting a stick in the way, and or initiating a bit of contact. A few effective clears, along with overall, a strong positional game, made him a player that could be trusted while down a man.

As the driving force of this Navy Blue offence, Fitzhenry excelled at using his strong skating ability to carry pucks into the zone, control the puck around the net and create scoring opportunities off his stick. He was often in the thick of things inside the home plate area of the offensive zone where he potted the first goal of the game near the end of the first period off a quick turnaround shot in the slot that beat the goaltender under the blocker and less than a minute into the second period assisted on his team’s second goal when he fed Mote in the high slot for a wide open look at the net. I liked his effort level on both sides of the ice with some notable defensive plays as well including a backcheck to break up an odd-man rush and cutting off plays behind the net with some physicality along the boards.

Fitzhenry was able to put himself in prime positions all throughout the game and had a few high danger scoring chances because of it. On his team’s second goal of the game, he received a pass at the top of the crease and showed off some quick hands in tight to bring the puck to his backhand on the goaltender who was sliding the opposite way that turned into a broken play that was eventually put in by Sung. He had a few instances in this game where he made some slick plays in tight areas with his quick hands including one where he beat a defenseman with one-touch dekes from left to right through the defenseman’s stick and then pushed the puck behind him, dodging a body check to go retrieve it in the corner as well as a nice use of toe-drags around defender’s stick checks to get his shot off. He scored the eventual game-winning goal near the end of the second period when he caught a pass near his skates while rushing down the middle of the ice, quickly put it to his forehand and roofing a puck over the goalie’s shoulder with his incredibly fast release. In his own end, he made some crucial clears on the sole penalty kill of the game and was trusted to be on the ice to defend the lead with under 2 minutes to go where his line deposited the empty netter to end it.

Wrapping up what was a strong event as a whole for Nolan Fitzhenry, he strung together another impressive game for Shattuck in the final matchup of the USA Hockey Nationals. His strong 200-foot play was evident, using his size and range to win space in battles, intercept pucks, cover lanes, and force turnovers. He continued to show off his strong shoot talent as well, he didn’t get the greatest quality of shots in terms of how dangerous they were, but the release, power, and timing were all strong in his execution of putting pucks on net. He picked up an assist on the 1-1 goal, firing a puck on net which then led to a rebound for Braeden Horton to capitalize on.

Fitzhenry was a dominating presence around the net all game for his team. His first goal of the game came the shift right after the Storm took the 1-0 lead where he drove the middle of the ice, crashed the front of the net and fought off a defender to tap in a cross-crease pass for Sung. Not even a minute later, he got his second of the game when he buried a rebound off a point shot and even had the chance to complete the first period hat trick after dragging the puck around a defender and onto his backhand in close but didn’t manage to get the shot off. At the end of the second period, he found a soft spot in the defensive coverage in the high slot and connected on a one-timer that beat the goalie clean to complete his hat trick and put his team up 4-2. He showed off some of his playmaking ability as well when he threw a no-look behind-the-back pass from behind the net that found Grubb in the slot for his team’s 5th and final goal. He did a great job at putting himself in positions to finish off plays showing a great work ethic and determination to get to those areas and was rewarded with 4 points on the game.

The two-way play of Nolan Fitzhenry had him as one of the most impactful players of the game for Shattuck. To get things started he had some good looks early, hammering pucks on net as he drifted into soft coverage, the scoring threat of Fitzhenry is always present, at any moment he can pick a corner and beat a goaltender thanks to his off puck play and ability to get open. He had another great look darting towards the net with some great straight-line speed, going to the far post and getting a stick on a pass, nearly chipping the puck past the goaltender. I noticed on a few occasions he ran into some resistance when navigating the offensive zone, but instead of losing the puck without a fight, he’d pivot or spin his back to the checker, use some quick hands to reposition the puck relative to his body, and shoot off a crafty pass elsewhere in the offensive zone to an open teammate. His power, hockey IQ, and physicality made him great through the middle of the ice, backchecking consistently, along with covering the high slot in his defensive end, while intercepting passes and taking away shooting lanes. A tough player to play against in today’s game.