Ferdinand had himself a productive tournament for New Brunswick, finishing tied for the tournament lead in scoring with 7 points in 4 games. Most of his damage came off the rush where he was able to flash his speed as a puck-carrier and execute drop passes to trailing teammates before driving the net himself looking to pick up rebounds. I thought he did a good job of getting himself into scoring areas in the offensive zone by keeping his feet moving off-puck and finding the soft spots in defensive zone coverage.

At this juncture in his development, Ferdinand’s overall toolkit is much more intriguing than the way he applies it on a shift-to-shift basis. That’s not to say he was ineffective throughout the event, but I did expect a player with his skillset to make more of an impact. At his best he was able to flash a nifty set of hands in transition, maneuvering around defenders in the neutral zone, gain the offensive blueline and attack the middle of the ice to expand his options. Too many times I thought he opted to dump the puck in, giving up possession of the puck and forcing him to play a game that doesn’t compliment his skillset. It’s a similar sentiment I had to fellow New Brunswick native Zakary Savoie at the beginning of his draft year, who ended up being a third-round pick in the QMJHL, so there is plenty of room for Ferdinand to grow and his toolbox does give him plenty of runway. I look forward to seeing what he can do in a potential heightened offensive role at the QMJHL Cup.

While he didn’t quite perform at the level I expected him too, Ferdinand was still able to flash some of his high-end offensive toolkit that could make him one of the better prospects to come out of the province with the proper development. At his best he was able to play fast with the puck on his stick, make quick and calculated decisions and execute difficult moves with the puck at top speed. His scanning habits allowed him to anticipate defenders stepping up on him in the neutral zone, where he could then use his deft puck skills to make a quick one touch play around them and initiate an odd man advantage. I thought he also did a great job off-puck of reading and anticipating the intentions of opposing defenders, which allowed him to steal pucks and pick off passes to win back possession. Ferdinand made a series of difficult receptions look easy in the neutral zone, corralling hard passes that were either behind him or on his feet with slick between the leg receptions or kicking it up to his stick while maintain his speed.

Ferdinand was a driving force for New Brunswick’s offense, getting a hand in on every one of his teams’ goals en route to a 5-point performance. He was flashing confidence as a puck-carrier early and often in this one, opting to attack defenders head on with speed and take them on one on one looking to break to the inside. His assist in the first period flashed a high amount of skill and creativity as he was cut laterally off the rush, drew pressure towards him then executed a cross-ice behind the back pass to a wide-open teammate at the hashmarks. He scored his first goal by firing a puck off the rush, crashing the net and potting home the ensuing rebound, demonstrating a good nose for the net and finishing instincts to not skate past the crease.