It was a bit of a mixed bag for Torre here at the Select 16 Camp, showing some inconsistency on a shift-to-shift basis and putting up just 2 assists in the 5 games. Despite this, the highs for Torre were really high which allowed him to dominate certain shifts and earned him a spot on one of the tournament all-star teams. When he was at his best, Torre was displaying versatility in his attacking methods and generating scoring chances from dangerous areas at a pace far above his peers. He was able to execute very difficult passes off the rush, placing pucks through multiple layers of defensive coverage and right onto the tape of a streaking teammate who could attack downhill into speed. When he wanted to, he could really turn on the jets as a puck carrier to either split defenders off the rush or combine his puck skills to get around defenders with deft dekes in one on one situations. His route taking and timing off-puck in the offensive zone allowed him to get open quite frequently and pounce on loose pucks when they popped out in the slot, making it even more befuddling that he wasn’t able to register a goal at this event. If Torre is able to assert himself more frequently and utilize his toolkit at a more consistent basis, he could be a really dangerous offensive player at the next level.

Zane Torre is a natural goal scorer whose nose for goal will always pique the interest of teams. He constantly puts himself in positions around the net to clean up opportunities and he has strong hands to fight off stick checks as he is getting his shot off. He has a quick release, impressive accuracy, and a real zip to his shot that has made it tough for goaltenders to keep him off the scoresheet. He isn’t someone I would particularly rely on to drive the offense, but he does well getting to the outside on the rush by utilizing his speed and his quick hands allow him to carve out pockets for him to quickly rifle off a shot on goal. There will be times where he’s quiet and just doing good work down low to gain body position and fight for prime real estate out front, and then he is capable of tucking away rebounds and giving his team the upper hand. He has one of the best shots in the class and that is always something that catches the eye of teams.

Zane Torre has a goalscorer’s intuition and consistently is able to put himself in good positions to put the puck in the back of the net. His team leading 13 goals do not surprise me as he has a lethal shot and is able to quickly fire it off with great accuracy. His body positioning and ability to win battles in front of the net is an important facet of his game that only bolsters his goal scoring ability. Attacking with speed down the sides, using quick hands to adjust his shooting angles, and a willingness to take shots from anywhere within the offensive zone, Torre is a constant threat that defenses need to concern themselves with. He has times where he can be very quiet during games before popping up for a big chance, and sometimes he may be trying to force his shot, but when it goes in then it doesn’t really matter.

Zane Torre may not have shown off all the skills he has in this one, but even him playing a simple, projectable game, with smart puck movements and supporting the puck and being in position thanks to some good power and size had him as a prominent player. There were a few instances of high-end skill in brief pockets of time and space, but for the most part I felt he did a good job at carrying the puck with speed, taking intelligent routes through the neutral zone, and never hesitating to get others involved in the play. He has great explosiveness and on a few occasions was able to barrel his way into the slot, flexing that speed, power, and puck control that will help him at the major-junior level one day. It wasn’t until later in the game he began flexing his high-end skill, pulling pucks through his legs and to his backhand, carving out ice wide and quickly flipping to his forehand to snap a puck on net around a defender.

This game was night and day for Torre in comparison to the last game I saw of him. The versatility in which he was able to create offense was second to none, showing a wide variety of skills and tilting the ice significantly whenever he was on the ice. He was executing cross-ice seam passes at an alarming rate, demonstrating the ability to see past layers of coverage and fire pucks through multiple sticks and bodies that landed on the tape of a teammate. His off-puck work was incredibly nuanced and effective, always seeming to get lost in coverage in the offensive zone and taking good routes to the net to pick up rebounds in dangerous areas. I really wouldn’t be surprised if his shot count was in the double digits. Torre was using his large frame effectively along the perimeter to win puck battles and make quick passes to teammates to extend possession time in the offensive zone. He also flashes some high-end one on one ability a couple of times, using burst of speed to split through two defenders or pulling pucks through them to get himself into the middle of the ice.

Zane has that ability to drag slightly behind the hip and release so heavily between the dots. His linemates did a fantastic job of getting him the puck in those spots and he completed the task. With a short side release early on which surprised the netminder to the last PP goal after the set up from Berchild and Trottier, he was successful in the best avenues of his game. I’d still like to see him get into the grind a bit more on the forecheck and not rush some of his outlet passes as he caused an unforced icing as well. All of that to say, the natural goal scorer was very effective today.

It wasn’t the most exciting hat trick you’ll ever see, but the manner in which the goals are scored is ultimately irrelevant. Torre’s shot is known for being incredibly powerful and accurate, but it was his work from just a couple feet away from the goal that opened the door for his success. He was the first person to loose pucks around the net, battling hard and using his size to fend off the defenders and get his stick to the pucks first after earning strong body positioning. He crashed the net hard and practically set up a permanent residence in front of the net, taking a more rugged approach to his game that I haven’t seen from him too much.

He wasn’t always engaged in this game, but he popped up more and more as the game went on and each time he did it seemed the puck was finding the back of the twine. His shot is excellent and he reminded everyone of that with each of the two goals he netted. He creates his own shooting opportunities with some nice speed down the sides and some quick adjustment of his hands to get a sharp angled shot that he manages to generate a fair bit of power on. His second goal was smooth with a nice interception at the defensive blue line and he turned the corner and accelerated into open ice before ripping it fivehole on his breakaway. His playmaking was the part of his game that stood out for me, he tallied a hat trick of assists with some nice passing from all around the offensive zone and showing great awareness of the open players around him.

He opened the scoring with a blistering shot on the short side up top. You could have captured that moment in a bottle and put it on replay 6 or 7 more times since he was absolutely trying to duplicate it. I didn't notice him too often unless he was looking to rifle a wrist shot from anywhere in the offensive zone. Even from close to the blueline, his release needs the full attention of the goaltender with how heavy he can snap it. There is no question he had the best shot on the ice but simply missed his target and fired high/wide 6 or 7 times by estimate.

His redirection goal in the slot area was something you don’t see all the time. For players to begin to put that in their strategic wheelhouse at this age is wonderful. He’s so dangerous when he’s moving through that slot area whether it is a redirection play or if you can tell he’s looking for a one timer. Today he was playing very powerfully as he was releasing heavy snapshots from the outside and setting up shots in motion from the exterior.

I think he probably made the most impressive individual play throughout the game as he made a lateral drag move from the fullness of his backhand to the fullness of his forehand for a goal that was waived off. The potential to be able to handle pucks and create with that wingspan is intriguing. I liked that he instantly got time on the PK too and was trusted in that role. I thought his skating stride was fluid, powerful, and looked like he retained that power through his cuts and turns. I did notice that he lost a small amount of potential power in his strides in certain moments. Overall, he’s got size, reach, power, and quite a bit of finesse to boot.