Will McLaughlin was very steady all weekend long and was quietly very effective. He’s a name I’ve quietly circled on my lists as well as his older brother has taken a winding road since his draft year. One might imagine a similar path for Will which could include the AJHL and NCAA commitments. He will certainly be a very good and steady defensemen as his edges are smooth, his decisions are calculated, and he isn’t afraid to close off pathways quicker than most too. I was a fan of his brother and I’m a fan of his. I wonder if a team takes a late round flier on him just to have his rights.

Standing at six feet tall, Will McLaughlin was the big man on the Team White blue line and was tasked with being somewhat of a physical presence at times as a result, a role he fulfilled admirably. He has that bit of aggression to his playstyle so he did not seem out of place, he was heavy on the puck pressure and used his speed to close players down and his four-way mobility to ensure that he could easily close down the passing lanes puck carriers believed were available. He was hard on his stick going in for puck battles and did well to fend off players and come away with possession. His ability to skate with the puck was impressive, he moves the best with the puck on his stick and is extremely shifty and tough to pin down. He showed a great desire to be involved offensively and his constant passing and moving as he looked to find open space to operate in and become a distributor ran the defense ragged. While he did only wind up with one assist through the five games it would be unfair to not acknowledge the capabilities he showed in the offensive zone as a playmaker.

Another Little Caesars defenseman whose game stood out to me in this one was Will McLaughlin. I appreciated his two-way play in this contest, early on he was defending hard as Columbia Blue controlled the play and his defensive stickwork was important to keeping the score close. He stood players up as they looked to get in tight and he was able to quickly apply pressure and take away passing lanes. He showed a desire to be involved offensively and he used his mobility very well at the point to keep plays alive and find open ice to take as he searched for passing lanes. He was up ice fairly frequently and displayed good speed to recover and get back into a strong defensive position.

This game was challenging for the Pens side to generate offence and zone time, and a big reason for that was Caesars' backline, especially McLaughlin. He was incredibly calm and patient whenever he controlled the puck, constantly seeking paths to controlled zone exits and transitions up ice. There were times when he was under pressure, and I was convinced he would opt for a simple off-the-glass-and-out to exit the zone, but even in those situations, Will constantly found a passing option up ice. He excelled on retrievals, picking up dumped-in pucks seamlessly, evading oncoming forecheckers and almost always securing a controlled zone exit. This aspect of being excellent at exiting his defensive zone with control stood out the most with McLaughlin, but a few flashes in the offensive zone caught my eye. Will was the same confident puck carrier when controlling the puck at the point, evading oncoming forecheckers with a lateral move and then walking into a shooting lane or spotting a seam to a teammate.

Powerful and aggressive head-fakes, strategic lane selection and adaptive skating were staples of Will McLaughlin's approach north of the red line. His skilled puck handling and ability to make creative, and elusive plays in the face of some pretty serious pressure was both nerve-racking and impressive. He was the sort of defenseman who was entirely capable and willing to interchange positions with his partner or forward partners in order to force opponents to scramble. He seemed to play every area of the ice with competence, shifting from a blueline hold posture to an elusive winger from possession to possession. Notable in enabling this was Will's ability to recognize some of the soft and undefended areas of ice quickly, and then make the aggressive, yet responsible decision to activate and support a teammate, despite the somewhat unconventional nature. While in many cases I would be hesitant to praise a player, especially a defenseman for such aggressively skilled and unpredictable behavior, I think Will showed that his approach was consistent, and methodical not to mention resulted in far more positive opportunity than negative outcomes. This is all not to mention a high degree of persistence and awareness when working to force pucks away from opponents. When things did on occasion get past him, he was certain to give his full effort to make things right.

I really enjoyed watching the gears turn inside Will McLaughlin’s head during this game, he made some really intelligent plays that don’t always get noticed. He kept a nice centralized position down low around the crease and when the puck was at the point he wasn’t puck watching, when the shot came in he neatly tied up his man out front to prevent any rebound opportunities from being tucked away. He flashed some nice skating ability as he skated out of his zone with the puck and added a little hesitation to his stride before shooting a gap between two forecheckers and breaking the line and getting into the attacking zone. He thinks quickly on the puck and was able to get it off his stick when he sensed danger, allowing the offensive move to continue. It was clear to me that he takes pride in his defensive work but he’s well rounded and has offensive capabilities as well.

He’s another player I’d describe as aware, steady, and detail oriented. I’m very familiar with this Western Canadian player and he showed a game I’m very used to. Despite not being the biggest, strongest, fastest, or any of that, his potential to grow into a smart and capable defender still remains. He slipped past coverage a few times on zone exits and had a nice chip pass to the forward after receiving a D to D pass under control off a faceoff. Late in the game, he saw an opportunity to slip down into the zone on the far side and was rewarded with the smart positioning with a rebound goal.