A dynamic offensive-minded defenseman, Rhys Medved can bring some excellent playmaking ability to a team’s blue line. His movement along the point is very impressive the way he quickly accelerates away from pressure and creates lanes for himself to get a shot away or find a pass to his teammates. He can certainly be the quarterback of a powerplay and has proven to be a threat from anywhere in the attacking zone, getting down low to attack when he sees the opportunity to get in tight. His mobility is a huge weapon of his offensively, but he also uses it well to defend and keep up with puck carriers. He retrieves the puck well and uses his agility and shiftiness to shake loose of forecheckers and start breakouts from the defensive zone. His offensive impact cannot be understated, but defensively he does well enough to really make him an enticing option in this draft.

One of the more dynamic rearguards in the ‘08 class, Rhys Medved showed exactly why he is such an effective offensive presence from the point. He scored both goals for Long Island in this contest and was able to access shooting lanes with regularity. His mobility is one of his best traits and he used it effectively to maneuver away from pressure around the point and getting into open space to create. His passing and moving got the offense churning and he did well to get his shots through to goal. He started rushes from the back by retrieving the puck with ease and using his agility to spin away from forecheckers and lead the puck up the ice with ease. His composure on the puck and ability to stickhandle his way out of situations helped beat the forecheck and kickstart the offense.

Medved was the most offensive-driven defender in this game by quite a wide margin. Throughout the entirety of the game he was flashing confident puck-carrying, often initiating the breakout himself and acting as the fourth forward in transition. From the offensive blueline he showed immense confidence as well, often trying to beat defenders with quick deceptive fakes to get into secondary coverage. He set up his team second goal by carrying the puck up the ice, drawing a penalty in the process, keeping possession of the puck while gaining the offensive zone then delivering a sweet pass to the middle of the ice with pressure draped all over him. Of course, I believe Medved could stand to simplify his game a little as there were a few moves at the line that didn’t work, but I thought overall it was a great performance from him.