Projection: Top Pair Offensive Defender

Tools: Elite Skating, Passing Creativity, Play Under Pressure

Development Opportunities: Risk Reward In Passing, Activation Timing

Sgro is the best defender in this class and I haven't doubted that at any point this season. His skating is incredibly high-end, combining long, powerful strides with elite lateral mobility that allow him to shift, pivot, and maneuver in any direction without losing momentum. The footwork is key to his defensive game, rarely getting pulled out of position and able to shadow attackers’ every move and angle them to the outside. He has magician-like handles, and when paired with the agile footwork, Adrian is almost never closed down by a forechecker and can always find a way to weave through pressure. These tools give him the confidence to play a puck-managing, quarterbacking style that can take over games, and that is at the heart of his projection as a top pairing defender moving forward.

The creativity in his passing game is another noteworthy element, moving pucks quickly under pressure, finding long stretch passes to spark counter attacks, and spotting seams in the offensive zone to move pucks to teammates in premium scoring positions. I love the creativity, but occasionally it does result in a mishap when he tries to make an ambitious play when a simpler option was available. The advice here certainly isn't to simplify his game, but some minor calibration to ensure his choice has a high likelihood of success and play doesn't come back the other way. There’s so much potential and upside here, the skating alone is enough to project as a top pairing defender, but add in the puck skills and offensive ambition, and you have a player with true #1 upside.

As always, Sgro was the primary quarterback for the Kings, commanding breakouts and dictating the flow of the game. When the puck was on his stick, he was incredibly calm, processing all of his options before making a controlled play up ice. Adrian was never panicking when forecheckers were all over him, often navigating around them with his combination of lateral mobility and handling, granting himself the space necessary to make a play. He was engaged defensively, applying pressure and breaking plays up with his stick, then swiftly able to turn things around and get Vaughan going back on the counterattack. It was mainly a showing of the transition impact he can have through his combination of confidence, decision-making, and creative passing game, making him the leader for the Kings in this one.

There were a few elements I really liked from Sgro in this one. First and foremost, he was constantly connecting on stretch passes up ice, spotting streaking forwards, and quickly turning plays around and sparking counterattacks with his precise passing game. Adrian was aggressive on the defensive side of the puck, shutting plays down, and then swiftly connecting on passes to get play going the other way. The second aspect was his constant desire to get up ice and try to spark offence. If there was an opportunity, he was looking to carry pucks into the offensive zone or creep in for a pass, constantly in motion trying to support the offensive sequence. Sgro scored two of Team Blue’s goals through his desire to rotate into the home-plate area and generate shots from prime locations to beat the netminder. It was a really impressive performance for the Vaughan Kings defender, showcasing his passing and offensive impact against the best of the best from the GTHL.

It wasn’t his best showing, but Sgro flashes his offensive ambition through this game. He was walking the line with confidence, pulling defenders out of positions, and creating chances through his willingness to handle the puck in the offensive third. If there was an opportunity to walk in, Adrian was penetrating the open space and getting shots from premium positions. He showed his usual transition and puck-moving impact, but I thought the primary storyline was his involvement in the offence, controlling the flow of sequences and setting things up on the attack.

Sgro’s smooth skating was once again really impressive. He can cover so much ice with a few powerful strides, all while having the lateral mobility to shift direction and pivot without losing any momentum. He showed his usual on-puck confidence, carrying pucks up ice, exploding through the neutral zone and having a few impressive end-to-end rushes, leveraging his skating well to drive play. Sgro connected on a handful of long stretch passes up ice, springing fast breaks and turning plays around quickly. Adrian has all the tools to take over a game, and that’s what I saw from him over this one and what puts him near the top of the class.

Given I caught them in pre-season action I only watched Vaughan once over the Toronto Titans Tournament and Sgro was solid as I’ve come to expect. The mobility and puck-moving were once again the main themes in this viewing, always using his feet to escape pressure and give him time and space to make plays up ice. Transitions and breakouts were so easy with Adrian commanding them, always finding ways to push play through the neutral zone with control. Sgro set up a beauty, with a clever little behind the back touch pass to an open teammate in the slot. It’s early on in the season, but I’ve greatly enjoyed my early views of Sgro and look forward to seeing his progression over the year.

I’ve watched Sgro plenty since starting to get to know the 2010 group, and every view thus far has been filled with impressive moments of showcasing his mobility, being aggressive defensively, and making smart decisions to move pucks up ice. I’ve seen flashes of his offensive ability, but in this game I really started to see the wheels turning for what he is capable of in the offensive zone. There were just a ton of sequences where I saw the offensive creativity to move pucks across the ice to open teammates, rotate around the offensive zone, and control the possession until he could spark a scoring chance. He connected on so many impressive passes through gaps, setting up chance after chance, and demonstrating an all-around high-end offensive package. Adding this offensive output to the strong foundation in the physical tools and skating makes for a really promising player.

I saw Sgro play some games here and there with the '09 Vaughan Kings last season, so I already had a rough idea of what his game was all about, but this was my first real chance to evaluate him. His combination of composure and mobility was what impressed me the most here, as almost every time he had the puck, Adrian showed that confidence and patience I'm always looking for in a defender. He always seemed to have the lateral footwork to shake an oncoming forechecker, create space for himself, and make a play up ice. The way his handling and footwork worked in tandem to escape and turn plays around was what stood out to me in the initial evaluation of the Vaughan Kings defender, showcasing some of the high-end tools to his game.