A strong power forward threat, Ryan Kaczynski was physically dominant over his opponents, blending a good combination of speed, skill, and power. He showed off some great speed moving with the puck, barrelling his way down the wings, he got plenty of good looks on the net coming down the wings off the rush. Capable of dropping the shoulder and driving the net to increase his shooting angle, he had a few moments of solid strength and puck protection ability as he carved his way closer to the net with momentum. He’s got some strong edges along with a wide range of which he can handle the puck, making him very difficult to strip of the puck once he gets body position. He scored a goal as a result of this luxury as on a partial break the defender simply wasn’t able to reach around Kaczynski to knock the puck free as he slid it five-hole on the goaltender. He showed off a strong playmaking game to compliment his ability to individually create chances for himself as he maneuvered his way around the perimeter with opponents on his shoulders, he managed to hook passes to open teammates who had extra ice to work with as a result of all the attention Kaczynski himself attracted. Even the prolonged periods of time he had the puck on his stick as he moved around the offensive zone helped his teammates find those gaps in coverage and slip into scoring areas. He was truly one of the more difficult players to slow down in possession of the puck. There were some games where things did get away from Mid Fairfield a little bit, but even in these lopsided matches Kaczynski continued to work hard, stick to his game, and go to those challenging areas of the ice to make a difference. One of the leaders for his squad over the NEPACK showcase weekend.

There were times throughout camp where I thought Kaczynski was Forest Green’s most dangerous forward, utilizing skill and pace to excel off the rush and create chances for himself. He was probably the best at generating controlled zone entries for his team, using a combination of high-level acceleration and stickhandling to maneuver around defenders while building speed in the neutral zone. His size came in handy while operating with the puck in the offensive zone, as he was able to force his way to the middle of the ice by keeping his feet moving and dropping his shoulder low. What I found most impressive was his ability to read opposing defenders at the speed he was operating it, as there were a few times as a puck carrier where he was able to exploit the positioning of their skates by making a hard cut in the opposite direction and leaving them flat-footed. Kaczynski was also quite keen at drifting into the high slot at times and using his hand-eye to deflect pucks from the point.

A tall, rangy forward with some impressive playmaking abilities, Ryan Kaczynski was a key contributor for his team throughout the tournament as he used a combination of size, skill, and smarts to create chances in the offensive zone. He was at his best in transition play where he was exceptional at gliding into the zone, slowing down the pace of play to allow lanes to open up and then make quick reads once they did. He used a lot of deception in his game with head and shoulder fakes to open up the defenseman before sending a pass through sticks and traffic or connecting on some no-look passes to teammates around the net. He used his length to his advantage, doing a really good job at extending himself to protect the puck against pressure and at disrupting breakouts where he used his reach to break up passes or take the space away from opposing defensemen.

I was quite impressed with Kaczynski’s performance in this one as I thought he was one of the main reasons that his team was able to rally back and come away with the win. He was a key contributor on the first two Mid-Fairfield goals, first setting up Sisco in the slot with a nifty saucer pass through traffic and then scoring a highlight reel snipe where he barrelled down the wing and wired a backhand shot over the goalie’s shoulder on the short side from a really tough angle to bring the game within one. I thought he was a dominant puck carrier in transition all throughout, combining his long strides and smooth hands to make his way into the offensive zone with speed while also showcasing the finesse in his game to be able to quickly change his angle of attack or maneuver his way by a defender in one-on-one situations. He capped off his impressive offensive performance, and his team’s impressive comeback, with the game-winning goal in overtime as he quickly cut into the slot and beat the goalie with a shot along the ice to seal the deal.

Kaczynski took a while to get going in this game but when he started to assert himself more on the offensive side of things, I thought he became one of Forest Green’s most dangerous forwards. He was able to swoop his way around defenders for clean zone entries using his long strides and quick stick handling after picking up speed through the neutral zone and I liked his determination to force his way towards the dangerous areas of the ice using both his size and finesse. He seemed to spark his team’s offence after picking off an errant pass along the boards and sliding a puck over to Horton to cut the deficit to 4-2 with a couple of strong offensive shifts following his assist.

Kaczynski was doing his best work in this one showing off his speed off the rush and attacking downhill in the offensive zone. There were more than a few instances where he was able to beat defenders by reading the position of their feet and attacking inside or using a stutter step to get them to bite. I thought he was doing a good job of positioning himself off-puck in the offensive zone, often getting himself into open pockets of space to get shots off from dangerous areas. He scored his team’s second goal by skating to the high slot and deflecting a point shot that found its way through the goaltender.

He got an early chance off a poor change into the zone by staying at the offensive blueline and receiving a long stretch pass. He’s able to drag laterally and show some lateral deception to change shot angles and try to get quality snap on his releases. He can delay from the outside off the rush to pass into the interior and use his smart to find space down low on the PP and curl back. Despite good instincts and puck touches, he wasn’t able to really dominate play due to circling back high often in the zone and getting overpowered by defensemen in spots. Either way there was some good in there and flashes of that skill.

Although he didn’t get on the scoresheet, I saw a lot of good things from Kaczynski in this game. He was a good puck carrier through the neutral zone as he glided across the ice using his long reach along with his big frame to keep the puck away from defenders. When he entered the zone, he had a knack for finding open teammates and was able to deceive his opponents with some head fakes and no-look passes to create some dangerous chances around the net. He also was used his rangy frame to reach around defenders, pressure puck carriers and be the first man on loose pucks.

The unquestionable first star of the game, Ryan Kaczynski, and his four goals put the Mid Fairfield Rangers over the top and ultimately led them to victory. His first goal came off a nice 1-on-1 move, slipping a puck to his backhand off the rush going wide on a defender, he chipped in on net from medium-distance and ended up beating the goalie to get things going 1-0. Throughout the game he displayed the ability to make plays as such, pulling pucks across his body, blocking out defenders, and getting pucks on net in close quarters. He found some soft ice in the slot for the 2-0, another skill of his being that he read off his teammates well and made himself an option, hammering home a one-timer for his second of the game. For all his goal scoring intangibles in this game it can’t be forgotten he also sent a few nice passes to the slot off of turnovers still playing in the dirty areas of the ice, he was quick to intercept pucks and snap passes to teammates in the slot. His hat-trick goal came from an impossible angle near the goal line as he sniped the puck short side to give his team the 3-1 lead. To cap things off the fourth goal, he caught a pass in open ice, had space in front of him and in a few strides had a partial break where he wired a puck past the goalie to make the game 4-2. The opportunistic goal scoring put on display from Kacynski was phenomenal, his ability to score in different ways and take advantage of quality chances along with low-danger ones was a great performance of goal scoring.

As mentioned only a few lines ago, Ryan Kacynski tallied a goal via a breakaway chance to give his team a 4-2 lead in this one. Some good speed to pull away from the nearest checker, along with soft hands to make a quick move in tight on the goaltender, tucking the puck on his forehand. Throughout the game he had moments of strong puck handling in crowds, being one of the better players at absorbing contact, working with opponents on his shoulder, whilst remaining strong and composed. A good combination of overall strength let him stay on his feet, remain balanced, and overall remain in possession of the puck when challenged.

Ryan Kaczynski was all over the ice when handling the puck for Philly Orange, using his reach, wide base, and speed to box out opponents and navigate the ice in the process. His stride is long, deeper than most at this age, and has a quick stride rate – couple this with his lengthy reach, and Kaczynski was very effective in transition once he got moving in a linear motion. His ability to handle the puck from several different areas around his body showed great dexterity and flexibility through his range of motion with the puck, enabling him to better protect the puck when avoiding stick checks and such. He was one of the few players who excelled in crowds I found, soft puck touches combined with the upper body strength and a wide base made him difficult to check, letting him maneuver himself into the middle of the ice in the offensive zone to create chances. His best chance of the game came on a quick break alone in front of the net and with some quick hands he managed to get the goaltender moving laterally but was unable to elevate the puck enough to beat the goalie.