I think Landry did plenty to boost his draft stock here throughout the tournament, flashing a size and skating combination along with a physical edge that will surely make him sought after on draft day. The fluidity in his skating is quite impressive for a bigger player his age, allowing him to be an effective puck rusher up the ice, beat primary forecheckers and gain the red line with relative ease. His long stride allowed him to win races back to loose pucks, box out forecheckers and get pucks up the boards to his wingers. I thought he used his reach quite effectively while defending along the perimeter, smothering opposing puck-carriers and forcing them into congested areas where he would finish them off with a body check. Landry was one of, if not the most, physical defenders throughout the entire tournament, laying a few huge hits in the neutral zone by timing his step-ups well and catching puck-carriers with their head down.

It’s hard not to notice Landry when he’s out on the ice, standing at 6’3 and 201 lbs while possessing some projectable tools that will surely make him highly sought after on draft day. The first thing that stands out is his mobility for a bigger defenseman which when combined with his wingspan allows him to close in quickly on puck-carriers while defending the rush, force them to the outside and limit their time and space. He uses a physical style of defending in his own zone, opting to charge at puck-carrierss along the perimeter and cancelling them out along the boards to create loose pucks and kill the opponent’s possession. The puck skills do need some refinement, as he does struggle at picking up pucks on his DZ retrievals and receiving passes, which leads him to blindly throw pucks up the ice at times. Despite this, the outline is there for a large and mean defenseman with projectable enough tools to play at the next level.

The notes I did have on Landry centered around his ability in the transition game and kickstarting the counterattack. On his defensive zone retrievals, he often opted to wheel out from behind his own goal, building speed through crossovers before making a pass up ice and inserting himself in the rush attack. When he was successful in his aggressive rush defending, Landry also showed strong awareness and decision making to spot options quickly and get the puck up the ice after he had helped turnover the puck. There’s still a lot of holes in his game, and mistakes are frequent in both his rush defending and puck-moving game, but I do think he has an intriguing toolkit to work with and I look forward to watching him develop throughout the year.

Landry was one of the more effective defenders on Team Bergeron in this game, showing really good mobility for a player his size and utilizing these attributes to get the puck out of his own zone quickly. He was using his long stride to consistently win races to pucks on DZ retrievals, box out forecheckers to win possession and make quick pivots to escape pressure and get the puck up quickly to his wingers. He showcased his physicality a few times throughout this game as well, often stepping up at the offensive blueline to deliver checks to wingers along the boards to break up breakout attempts and keep pucks alive in the OZ.