As to be expected, MacLeod brought a physical and hardworking style of play while also flashing some skilled bits of playmaking from time to time. He was at his most effective when he was chipping pucks behind defenders, utilizing his frame to win inside positioning to win the battle for the puck and feed open teammates to set up offensive zone sequences. He also did a great job of providing support for his teammates along the perimeter in the offensive zone by creating number advantages in board battles and fishing pucks out of scrums to regain possession. I really liked his ability to facilitate his teammates in the transition game by making some nice one touch plays in the neutral zone that allowed them to skate into puck and attack the zone with speed. MacLeod made a few solid plays along the halfwall in the defensive zone, either by making a quick one touch play to his streaking center while under pressure that lead to a controlled exit or embracing contact, scanning quickly and reversing play back to his defenders if he didn’t like what he saw. A lot of his damage off the rush came off-puck where he would make hard drives to the front of the net looking to push back defenders to create space up high or tip pucks from in close and pick up rebounds. He’s not much of an on-puck threat, even at this level, but he did have some nice flashes of vision when he was allotted the space on the powerplay to execute cross-ice feeds through seams.

MacLeod finished tied for the team lead in scoring with 4 points in 4 games, playing a highly effective physical and skilled small area game to thrive off the cycle and earn plenty of looks from in tight in the offensive zone. He was dominant along the boards in terms of coming out on top in board battles and shielding the puck from defenders, showing strong anticipation as well to spin away from incoming pressure and work his way to the front of the net. He was a menace off-puck in the offensive zone, always looking to outmuscle defenders to gain advantageous body position in front of the net and pounce on loose pucks in the crease area. He showed some shrewd puck distribution as a puck-carrier off the rush as well, utilizing drop passes to get pucks to teammates before making a hard drive to the net to push back defenders and look to either deflect pucks or tap home rebounds.

While it wasn’t the performance I expected from one of the more touted and productive prospects, the flashes of power and skill MacLeod was able to produce at times definitely helped me see the upside. MacLeod was doing his best work off the rush after entering the offensive zone, using drop passes effectively to get the puck to teammates in space before driving the net looking for a rebound. He also showed off some strong stickhandling ability off the rush, using his quick hands to cut through defenders and gain access to the middle of the ice where he could get a shot off from the high slot. I thought he did a good job corralling difficult passes by kicking the puck up this blade where he was able to get shots off in a singular motion. Given his pedigree, I expect him to play a large role at the QMJHL Cup where I believe he’ll be able to leverage his game a bit more.

MacLeod was doing his best work in tight spaces in the offensive zone, using his frame in conjunction with his playmaking to create offense from along the perimeter. His work along the boards in the offensive zone allowed him to come out with the puck in battles more often than not, generating plenty of puck touches for himself before funneling a pass to the middle of the net or trying to get himself to the interior. There was one sequence where MacLeod was able to pick up a puck below the goal line and make a hard cut to the front of the net for a wraparound attempt and pick up his own rebound, but he was denied both times. He scored his team’s first goal of the game when he worked his way to the front of the net, outmuscling a defender to get inside body positioning, and tapping home a loose puck in the crease past the goaltender.

While it still wasn’t a game breaking performance from one of the more highly touted prospects, I thought MacLeod saved his best for last at this camp. He did most of his damage off the rush by drawing defenders to him and using his body to shield the puck before executing drop passes to teammates who could then attack downhill into space. He showed off his hands in one instance when he attacked a defender head on off the rush, pulled the puck around him to his backhand and got off a shot from the middle of the ice. I also thought MacLeod was doing a good job protecting the puck along the perimeter in the offensive zone to extend his puck touches and funnel passes to the center of the ice.