Projection: Middle Six Upside

Tools: Explosive Skating, Compete, Finishing

Development Opportunities: Expanded Playmaking Arsenal, Small Area & Cycle Game

Coristine is a strong skating centerman that competes all over the ice. He’s always motoring, hunting down pucks on the forecheck, and bringing a ton of energy and work rate to the Don Mills Flyers. While he isn't the flashiest player, he can link plays together and has more than enough swift handling to skirt his way by pressure and keep play flowing up ice. There was a string of games where it seemed every time he scored a goal, all through his desire to crash the net and go to the dirty areas, speaking to a player who can contribute offensively just from a willingness to drive inside.

Most of my notes throughout the year revolve around winning pucks on the forecheck and giving effort on the backcheck, and that is what has mainly landed him on the rankings. Someone who could skate at OHL pace and bring effort and two-way reliability. I think there is an opportunity to refine out the offensive game, establish more of a cycle and puck protection game in small spaces, and become a bit more of a threat after a successful forecheck.

Cole Coristine was unable to factor into this game on the scoresheet but he was able to make some contributions to the Flyers. His swift and smooth hands were on display at various points, getting himself by Petes defenders and making nifty passes to his teammates to help drive offence. Especially on the man advantage, he was moving the puck well on the cycle and showed good habits in transition and at various points throughout the game, showcasing his dual-threat abilities. He easily could have notched a few points in this game and is deserving of some recognition

Another game where Cole was in the right spots offensively to pick up a few quality chances. He scored from being in the proper positioning to capitalize on a rebound at the side of the net and had a handful more chances that revolved around this theme of smart off-puck play to pounce on a scramble or loose puck and register a chance. He was impactful on the forecheck and showed flashes of on-puck evasive skill, but this theme of a smart supporting offensive player remains at the heart of my evaluation of Cole.

Shift after shift, Cole was generating scoring chances. It wasn’t anything flashy or fancy, I just always noted him as in the right spot to support the play, timing his routes well, and just playing that smart off-puck game to be in the right position to be open for passes or pounce on loose pucks. He was always doing the little things right to link plays together, and as the viewing went on, it just started to become more and more impressive. He’s a powerful skater, showed eagerness to apply pressure on the forecheck, and some clever moments of playmaking, but this positioning and offensive awareness was the primary element to my notes on Cole’s performance.

Coristine jumped out to me on several sequences by using his hands to keep plays alive and make something happen. He seemed to have confidence whenever he had the puck, trying to drive offence and looking to flex his puck skills to beat defenders. Whether it was to exit his zone, navigate his way through the neutral zone, or skirt a check and spark a chance, his success revolved around his eagerness to make plays and connect on skill moves to keep play flowing up ice.

Most of my notes on Cole come from his ability to shoot in the slot or off the rush. He can receive passes well in stride but sometimes lost a bit of vision by dropping his eyes to rehandle those passes before shooting. He can certainly pull up off entries too and doesn’t always barrel in straight lines too. I thought his ability to find shooting areas as a trailer on the play was nice and he was able to fight off some defensive pressure behind him too get shots on net too.