The notes on Easton bring a lot of quality details to his play too. In the games I saw he was fighting through pressure to get deeper in the zone, finding clean shot lanes, and can garner enough shot power to be dangerous from longer distances. He pivots his hips in order to use that slingshot style snap. I think the biggest areas I’ve like to see growth in is getting a bit more power to each stride when moving up ice and his posture and physical aggression. For someone who is listed 6;0 and 165, he can get pushed off the puck by more physically aggressive players in each zone. I want to look for a bit more aggression and fight in him without the puck defensively too. I think his smarts and well-rounded approach carry him often to success and allow him to be productive from the backend. I think there’s both room to improve and the means to see continued growth in those areas.

I overheard the announcer say he was 6’0 and it really didn’t seem like it honestly. He’s listed at that size on the CSSHL website but I’m still kind of skeptical. He does blend into the defensive posture of the team at times by being muscled off pucks or not having the explosion through his edgework to separate as a playdriving defender at all times. He’s got great offensive numbers on the year and I did get to witness him pursue dumped in pucks deeper in the zone and float around the slot before retreating or slipping into the slot as a puck carrier on the PP and slingshot a release past the netminder. He comes across as a smart and capable puck mover but does at times struggle with creating space for himself through his skating.

A sturdy two-way defenseman, doing a little bit of everything, Easton Perzylo displayed great qualities across both his physical game, on the defensive side of things, and flashing high-end skill and talent when moving the puck and skating the puck up ice. A strong level of physical maturity, he did a nice job at reading play, stepping up on opponents, pressing them against the boards and digging away at the feet, freeing up the puck, and being quick to transition it out of the defensive end. Matching the pace of puck carriers, he defended the middle quite well, moving laterally to land stick checks, deny zone entries, and overall shut things down as a result of well-timed plays, and solid athleticism through his lower body, and fine edgework. He even was able to deny plenty of ensuing chances in the neutral zone before opponents could even approach the defensive blueline, and was quick to counterattack, carrying the puck back up ice with his long stride. Coupled with some soft hands and good processing skill, he could evade bodies, walk down the wall in the offensive zone, and set up chances in short order, all off of forcing turnovers around center ice. He funneled plenty of passes to the middle of the ice, creating space for himself to do so with his speed and agility, and had the awareness to quickly snap off a pass to the slot after escaping his nearest checker. As a whole, I was really impressed with his tenacity, physical tools, and puck skills all coming together and being deployed at the right moments, allowing for good play at both ends of the ice.