Finley Butler is a hard player to miss, standing 6-foot-5 tall and he uses every inch to his advantage, throwing an arm out to protect the puck or through his physicality along the wall. As a big player he moves well with his feet but also his hands, working around opposing players and driving up the wing and towards the net. His top offensive skill is his playmaking ability, either contributing through the cycle or getting pucks to dangerous areas through a variety of passes in his arsenal.

The towering winger, Finley Butler is 6’4 and plays like it, occupying the netfront on the powerplay, battling with opposing defenders and screening the goalie. He was digging in well on the forecheck, getting under opposing player’s sticks and battling for pucks, using his size. He also showed great puck skills, maneuvering around opponents and dishing it off to his fellow teammates. He helped set up Ryan Salmoni’s game winning goal, powering up the centre and moving around the defence before feeding a cross-crease pass.

The theme of the forwards on this Alliance West squad was swift and impressive handling, and Finley fit well in that bunch. He had some nice moments of using his tactical hands to escape pressure, make plays, all showing a degree of confidence that I like to see in my first few games. He only scored once in a bit of a flukey manner, chopping at a puck near the side of the net, but I liked the ambition to flex his puck skills to dodge and evade pressure across my views.