There’s no denying that Lyons is a shooter through and through. He possesses some of the better shooting mechanics among Atlantic Canadian prospects this season, combining a heavy release along with impressive accuracy that allows him to be a scoring threat from all over the offensive zone. What impressed the most about Lyons is that he’s fully aware his shot is a weapon, and he uses this to get defenders to bite on fake shots so he could pull pucks around them and get himself access to more dangerous areas of the ice. His best moments defensively came when he was able to backtrack hard on pucks in the neutral zone, block passes and then make quick transitional feeds to spearhead the counterattack. The skating isn’t necessarily a strength, and while it hinders his ability as a puck-carrier off the rush, Lyons does still possess some high-end offensive ability that could make him an interesting QMJHL prospect as the year progresses.

While I thought Lyons performance at this camp was a tad bit inconsistent, especially for a player of his pedigree, the high-end offensive ability was still able to come through from time to time. He was one of the few Team Yellow forwards who could consistently weave his way through pressure in the neutral zone and gain the offensive blueline. Once he entered the zone, he liked to attack defenders head on to back them up and create space up high before executing a drop pass to a teammate. Lyons was making some strong passes in transition as well, threading pucks through seams to hit teammates in stride to allow them to enter the zone with speed. I thought he did a good job pressuring below the goal line, either breaking up passes or stick lifting defenders before making quick centering feeds to the slot.

What this game demonstrated to me was how Lyons can still end up on the scoresheet without generating a ton of offense. His best moments came as a complimentary piece in transition where he was able to connect quick one touch passes to streaking teammates which allowed his line to play with tempo and enter the zone with speed. He earned himself a secondary assist late in the game by pulling off a great bank pass that sprung a two on one which lead to the eventual game-winning goal. Lyons also earned himself a goal in this one by jumping on a loose puck in the offensive zone, taking it behind the net and centering a puck to the front of the net that bounced of an opposing defender and found its way past the goaltender. The obvious weapon for Lyon is his shot, and while he wasn’t able to generate space or put himself in situations to use it frequently, I was impressed at his ability to contribute in other manners.

It took him a while to get going in this game but once he did you started to see some glimpses of what makes him one of the more heralded prospects out of New Brunswick this season. When he started to generate more puck touches in the latter half of the game, he began to show a really strong passing touch in transition, threading pucks through traffic that would get to a teammate in full stride. He made a series of difficult pass receptions look routine, kicking pucks up from his skate to his stick and even corralling passes behind him with one hand on his stick. In the offensive zone he was anticipating the play well, forcing turnovers and stealing pucks off defenders before centering pucks too the middle of the ice for scoring chances.