Emerton is yet another standout on the Vaughan blueline. Emerton's game has lots to like, but his aggressive defending is always at the top of the key elements that stand out. Over the whole tournament, he was so aggressive in defending in the neutral zone, constantly applying pressure and denying zone entries. He's always looking to suffocate his opponent's transition game and breaks up so many sequences through his aggressive defending and constant eagerness to take away time and space. After winning back possession, the second key element becomes apparent. He's a deceptive puck handler who loves to handle the puck. Cole constantly looks to navigate his way around pressure, relying on his quick hands and lateral mobility to deceive defenders and advance play. Due to his high-end puck skills, Cole was effective in transition, frequently entering the offensive zone with control and an impressive deke to win the zone entry.

Emerton follows the theme of Vaughan defenders standing out for their involvement in transition and offensively. His patience and confidence are always at the forefront of my evaluation, and through those two elements, he routinely escapes forecheckers and is successful at transporting the puck out of his zone. His success as a puck carrier hinges on his mobility to move in any direction seamlessly, and when you add in his confidence, it makes for a player who can solve any problem imposed on him. I really liked Emerton's play at the offensive blue line, evading oncoming forwards with his footwork, opening up passing lanes, and trying to penetrate in tight. He was always looking for ways to advance the puck from an outside position at the point to the interior for a quality scoring chance, which can be unique to find in defenders.

Whenever I've watched Vaughan, I've always noticed Cole, but in this game, he was much more of a focal point of their team and made a sizeable impact. Emerton made his way to my notes mainly through his play on the powerplay. He was so influential on powerplay breakouts, frequently carrying the puck end to end, evading any forecheckers coming his way, and setting up the powerplay sequence with control the majority of the time. He is an agile lateral skater who can maneuver in any direction needed, allowing him to excel as a puck carrier and dodge any obstacle. On the powerplay within the offensive zone, Cole was eager to drive toward the slot and penetrate for a shot when the opportunity presented itself.

I liked Cole's game in this contest, especially in the offensive zone. He was an effective distributor within the offensive zone, constantly scanning for passing options and always seemed to be able to move the puck to an open teammate. Rarely was he rushing his decisions at the point, and he displayed the confidence and patience to wait that extra split second to wait for a lane to open up. The same patience and control existed all over the ice as I always found Cole to be confident and calm under pressure, regardless of the situation. He'd often turn back and regroup to maintain possession, and all in all, he just exuded confidence when he was carrying the puck to play with control.

What an aggressive defenseman. Whenever he was in a defensive posture, you could just tell he was waiting for a moment to step up into a gap for a pokecheck or to intercept a pass. He often takes that chance too. He wasn’t afraid to start the rush, continue a rush, or jump into a rush on the backdoor as he got rewarded with a goal on the PP which looked like a set up play. Not only does he challenge attackers in the gaps, I found that he hustled back into the play and wasn’t passing those responsibilities to others. He just came across today as a very confident and active defender who likes to set the tempo when he’s on the ice. There were moments where I felt his skating stride could be extended a little more on his pushes in order to find more power and separation but it certainly didn’t seem to hinder him at all. It is way more about his playing style and his effort.