McMahon’s aggressive style of play makes him a catalyst for offence from the back end. His success often stems from his efficiency at pushing plays up the ice, using both with his passing and skating ability to spearhead sequences in transition and generate offence for his team off the rush. He’s able to make quick reads at top speed to facilitate zone entries for his team and is always looking to join in on the offence to form a numbers advantage for his team, even pushing past the forwards sometimes and driving his way to the front of the net to get involved. His aforementioned skating ability along with his strong instincts on the defensive side of the puck make him an impactful defender as well. He always thinking ahead of the play, looking to jump into passing lanes to pick off passes or smother his opponents along the boards to regain possession of the puck and look to quickly get it moving the other way. His style comes with obvious risks, sometimes getting caught up in the play deep in the offensive zone but I find he balances it quite well and picks his spots effectively.

Thaddeus McMahon is a blueliner who has consistently showed upwards progress in his development over the last year-or-so, and as a result is now seen as one of the top blueliners in the class. In months previous, it had been observed that McMahon was slightly smaller stature than some of his opponents but had played much bigger than his size would suggest. Months later, and a few inches taller and a few pounds heavier, and he has become an even stronger threat off-puck, and a harder to stop player on-puck. He was always a strong skater, capable of stopping on a dime, readjusting his positioning, and using momentum and angles to outskate opponents, but now with longer limbs, a better reach, and overall, more power; he has become a dominant puck-moving force across all 3 zones. On the defensive zone breakout, he is incredibly confident when moving the puck. With checkers on his shoulder or back, he shows no quarrels or need to cave to pressure, enduring physical contact and eventually breaking free, he is quick to find lanes to shoot passes up ice to teammates free in the neutral zone. The calmness to his game when handling the puck and ability to work under pressure makes him one of the most effective puck handling blueliners in the class, as moving up ice he can evade crowds, work around bodies attacking with speed, and handle it all in stride. Defensively, he’s one of the most smothering and tough-to-get-around defenders we’ve seen thus far. His lateral quickness and timing makes him elite at jumping out at puck carriers when defending the line, running them out of room, and landing a quick and accurate poke to deflect the puck elsewhere. He pays a good degree of attention when handling the cycle in his defensive end, pushing play to the outside whilst doubling checking for open players behind him and around his crease, with his head on a swivel in the defensive end, moving at high speeds, he’s quick to calculate and make decisions when defending and covers dangerous situations often. I feel McMahon may not always get talked about in the same light as some of the flashier, and or bigger, defenders in the class, but he has many of the same tools other players have, whilst simultaneously having a higher floor and less weak spots in his game. For those reasons, he is listed as our fifth highest ranked 09’ American, and second best 09’ American defender. He’s a player I could see making a easy transition to the major-junior levels thanks to his intelligence and seemingly, veteran-esque, poise.

If there was a better defender at this year’s Select 15 Camp, then I certainly didn’t see him. McMahon’s ability to impact the game in a myriad of ways made him one of the more versatile and effective players game in and game out. His puck-moving was the most efficient among all Forest Green defenders, demonstrating the ability to execute difficult passes through seams in the neutral zone that would land right on the tape of a teammate, allowing him to maintain his stride and attack the zone with speed. In the offensive zone he employs deceptive tactics along with slick puck skills in order to beat forecheckers up high and get down low to create numbers advantages in small areas. I thought his off-puck instincts were high-end as well, as he timed his activations extremely well and was able to consistently make himself a passing option in dangerous areas and get plenty of shots off from the middle of the ice. McMahon really excelled at defending the rush and kickstarting the counterattack, using his strong backwards skating and lateral mobility to keep a good gap and force attackers

As steady as ever, Thaddeus McMahon continues to demonstrate why he is one of the top ranked 2009-born defenders within his USA-born peer group. When the puck is on his stick it’s extremely seldom you’ll see McMahon make a mistake, and throughout the WSI his passes were on point, well-timed, simple, and effective. He isn’t afraid to slow down the game if need be, with great patience and poise he settled down some chaotic moments by simply skating into open ice, cutting back, slipping away from pressure and speedier puck hounds by utilizing angles, his reach, and hockey senses to look for options. 1-on-1 on the defensive side of things he is smothering, covering plenty of ice in short order, he’s both positionally sound, athletic, and disciplined, making him a nightmare for opponents. On many plays I saw him force the puck wide along the perimeter, matched pace, speed, and covered the quick cuts and turns of his opponents, ultimately forcing them into the corners or along the wall, and smothering them into a board battle. The projectable attributes of McMahon’s game will have him as a highly coveted defender come his USHL draft year, along with come the NTDP Selection Camp next season.

Thaddeus McMahon logged some serious minutes in this one and was his usual smooth-skating two-way self who was making effective plays and decisions throughout the game. He showed off his long and smooth stride a few times as he worked his way through the neutral zone in transition. Exiting his own end with control and at times gaining the offensive line with speed; he was an asset in transition for his team. He had a few strong scoring chances as he was able to identify a lane and jumped into open ice without attracting the attention of defenders, catching a pass and flinging a hard wrister on net from a good area. These shots ultimately didn’t find their way past the goaltender, yet the read and activation to get into the space was of note. He traversed the offensive zone well and was making effective passes to his teammates as he walked the line during the game, bringing some good pace to things while working from the blueline.

Thaddeus McMahon was another steady two-way blueliner for the Mission, providing value at both ends of the ice, along with playing a critical role on the special teams’ units. Strong in all directions when skating, he cut down angles on puck carriers and made some aggressive moves to shutdown chances off the rush. Not overwhelmed by speedy, or talented puck carriers, he showed great composure and timing to make defensive stops. When the puck was on his stick, he made a plethora of good, simple plays, at times slowing things down when the intensity and speed of the game got a bit too high, he simplified and helped recoup composure amongst his teammates. If there wasn’t a pass to be made upon breaking out the puck, the speed and skating of McMahon was of his benefit, having a few nice controlled defensive exits as he made his way around forechecking opposition.

McMahon's game really progressed as the game went on. He made several key defensive plays in his own end, with his relentless effort and resilient attitude making it tough for opposing players to get by him. One standout moment came when he raced back to seal off what would have been a breakaway, skillfully pushing the forward off the puck. Offensively, he had a couple of smooth entries that put pressure on the defense, and his stride made it difficult for defenders to contain him. He also excelled at activating in the offensive zone, creating passing lanes for his teammates and helping to generate more offensive opportunities.

McMahon delivered an outstanding performance in this game, just as he did throughout the entire tournament. McMahon’s breakout passes in this game was second to none. His ability to escape pressure in the defensive zone was very impressive, using exceptional edgework and fluid skating as he maneuvered out of tight situations with ease. Once he created space, he delivered a perfectly timed seam pass that set up his team in the offensive zone. This combination of defensive skill and vision showcased his versatility on the ice, turning potential danger into a fast break and setting the tone for his team's offensive play. His agility at the blue line allowed him to create the space he needed to unleash accurate shots that would find their way on net.

McMahon had himself another great game in this tournament and for more of the same reasons. McMahon was a one-man breakout in this game, consistently driving the play up the ice with poise and skill. He never rushed his decisions; instead, his exceptional skating and quick cuts made it nearly impossible for forwards to forecheck effectively. Not only did he excel at carrying the puck himself and gaining the blue line, but what stood out most was his ability to maintain possession rather than simply dumping it in. This patient approach allowed him to create more opportunities for his teammates and sustain offensive pressure. McMahon once again proved his importance to his team with another outstanding showing in what was a really close game.

McMahon was able to facilitate plays for his team in transition with his dynamic puck carrying abilities that included his fluid 4-way mobility and smooth puck handling skills. He consistently spearheaded plays up the ice whether it was with his legs or with smart passes under pressure to advancing the puck to his forwards and when in the offensive zone, I thought he did a good job at pinching at opportune moments to keep plays alive and again, made smart decisions with the puck using his vision to quickly spot open teammates which in turn helped prolong his team’s offensive pressure and led to increased scoring opportunities.

It was a very impressive Select 15 performance for McMahon, with this game simply being the cherry on top. His ability to dictate play from the backend was on full display early on in this game, as he was using his high-end lateral mobility to defend the rush and kickstart the counterattack up the ice after winning back possession. With strong lateral crossovers, push backs and an active stick he was able to force attackers to the outside, rub them out along the boards and poke the puck loose to a teammate to stymie any potential rush opportunities. When he did get behind the puck, he was able to use his long stride to cover up for ground lost and backtrack hard on opposing forwards to nullify any potential odd man opportunities. From the point he was showing off some slick puck handling skills which combined with some deceptive fakes allowed him to toy with checkers up high and get down low in the offensive zone to create a numbers advantage in small areas. He scored a goal in the first half of the game by activating in the offensive zone, getting into the slot area and firing a perfect wrist shot over the blocker for his teams fifth goal.

Despite the losing effort, I thought McMahon was the most consistent and effective player throughout the entirety of this game. I thought he was his team’s strongest puck-mover from the backend by quite a fair margin by executing hard and accurate passes in transition, sometimes through traffic, which allowed his teammates to receive pucks in stride and attack with speed. He was showing great patience and vision from atop the offensive blueline as well, often executing cross-ice feeds from the top of the zone through seams and using deception to shake checkers and attack down low. His best of work came early on in the game when he skated the puck into the zone off the rush, pulled a puck through a defender to get a shot off in tight before picking up his own rebound and sliding it to a teammate in the slot for his team’s second goal of the game.