Brayden is someone who showed excellent capabilities and IQ on how to create opportunities in the offensive zone especially off the rush. He loved to flee the zone early, hustle in straight lines to win puck battles, and attack defenders one on one. It looked like whenever he spotted space to create, he was attempting something by himself. He uses his very deep cuts and his long strides to his advantage when he can and looks like he still has a bunch of physical growth left. He scored on a play by almost banking a puck on the short side. I think outside of winning some nice faceoffs through the neutral zone, I would have liked to see Brayden engage way more physically and really focus on battling in the defensive zone. As we move into his WHL draft season, I’ll be looking for how much his 200-foot play continues to adapt as his offensive instincts already seem very high.

In my last viewings of Brayden Jugnauth, his shot and scoring ability stood out, and once again, he impressed me with his offensive flashes and his knack for scoring goals in different ways. On his first goal, Brayden crashed the net following a long point shot. The puck deflected into the air and out toward the bottom of the circle, where he hammered it mid-air into the back of the net. His second goal showcased his impressive speed, as he wheeled end-to-end, going inside-out on a defender with a deceptive fake before beating the goalie low. Brayden consistently finds ways to put the puck in the net, regardless of the situation, making him a reliable offensive weapon.

The standout trait for Brayden was definitely his shot and how quick he was to get it off. In game 2 he had a sequence where he was given a drop pass near the bottom of the left circle and in stride ripped a shot off his backfoot right off the crossbar and out, then he peeled around the net into the high slot and about 10 seconds later was given another great chance, receiving a cross ice pass in stride and releasing a shot instantly, putting it under the bar for a goal. At 5 ‘4, his shot mechanics are already advanced. As he grows and gets stronger, his shot will likely become even more lethal, given his understanding of how to put his body and stick in the right position to get a great shot off from different angles on the ice.

Jugnauth showed off some offensive flare early, generating offense with some slick 1-on-1 dangles and strong outside rushes. His shot, which is one of his most effective traits, looked quicker and heavier than my last viewings of him, and he’s definitely grown physically since then. He had multiple sequences where he faked outside then cut inside for a high-quality look, just narrowly missing on a few. He was a bit snakebitten in this one but still created scoring chances consistently. On an odd-man rush, he made a smart far-pad shot that created a rebound for a goal, showing good awareness and execution.