Borsellino’s playmaking acumen shone through from time to time, but even when his execution was off his overall speed and high-end skating ability allowed him to be an impactful player for Québec White. He’s a fantastic puck transporter in transition, utilizing impressive straight-line quickness, lateral shifts and strong route taking to weave his way through pressure and push defenders back as he gains the offensive blueline. Once he entered the zone, he was able to set up play in a multitude of ways, either by blowing wide around a defender and circling the net or executing cutbacks at the hashmarks and connecting on cross-ice seam passes or feeding trailer options. His speed was a factor off-puck in the offensive zone as well, using it to consistently win races to loose pucks and even pressuring opposing defenders to strip them of the puck before making quick centering feeds to the slot.

To say I was impressed with Borsellino at this event would be an understatement. The skating mechanics proved to be some of the best throughout the entire event, but it was his ability to execute plays at the speed in which he operated that made me such a big fan of his game. His speed off the rush with the puck on his stick often pushed back defenders which allowed him to execute controlled entries at a high rate. The quickness in which he made decisions off the rush made him even more difficult to contain, as he was spotting and connecting on feeds to open options before defenders had time to react or set up. His scanning habits made him that much more dangerous as an attacker, as he constantly had his head on a swivel prior to his puck touches which allowed him to make quick passes to open linemates that helped set up high-danger chances. He was utilizing his speed effectively on the backcheck as well, often acting as the first man back and helping to nullify odd man rushes as a consequence.

It was more of a quiet game from Borsellino relative to his own standards, but he was still able to showcase some of the traits that make him a highly intriguing QMJHL prospect. I thought he was able to leverage his quickness and acceleration to facilitate play for his linemates, often winning races to loose pucks around the offensive zone in order to set up possession or get quick shots off along the middle of the ice. I noted a couple of times where he was able to set up a zone entry through a shrewd regroup, using his edgework to peel back in the neutral zone if the area was too congested then dishing wide to a linemate in space who could skate into the offensive zone with control.

Borsellino was the most dangerous Lions forward from start to finish throughout this game. It didn’t take him long to find the scoresheet in this one, flashing his speed as a puck-carrier through the neutral zone to separate from pressure and gain the offensive line before drawing pressure towards him along the middle and kicking it outside to a linemate who buried a downhill chance. Throughout the rest of the game I thought he did a great job of utilizing his quick footwork and anticipatory habits to pick off outlet passes in both the offensive and neutral zone, which allowed him to create counterattack chances for both himself and his linemates. I really liked how he was able to play with pace due to effective shoulder checking prior to his puck touches in the offensive zone, allowing him to assess his options and help extend cycle sequences or make quick passes to linemates in dangerous areas. He was quick and decisive on his touches in the defensive zone as well, executing on one touch feeds to his centermen which helped facilitate a plethora of zone exits.