Jayden Ni was the most impactful player from all three of the teams I watched in this event. He was an incredibly shifty skater who flew around the ice and built speed fast through quick crossovers and long, powerful strides. His balance stood out because he kept full control and top speed while fighting through holds, slashes, and heavy contact. He scored a great breakaway goal where he split the defense, got shoved from behind, somehow stayed up, and finished backhand forehand five-hole. He played at such a high pace that he was constantly open and creating quick chances, and that same speed made him one of the best penalty killers in the tournament. On slow break-ins he stepped up and pressured puck carriers early, causing turnovers, and anytime there was a bobble in the zone he jumped on it and cleared it. He drove the pace every game and was a threat on every shift.

I’ve seen Jayden be extremely aggressive through transition and challenge defenders who have bigger reach and more strength than him with slick stick handling and not backing down from protecting the puck at his reach. He’s someone that can catch you off guard when you’re sleeping because he’s thinking shot and attack quite often. He’s the most dangerous when circling and hanging out in the high slot or attacking off the wall at 5on5 or on the PP. I’ve seen him score some incredible rush goals and follow up shots for rebounds too. His natural forward skating stride is a bit shorter than others and he doesn’t get the dynamic lateral side to side stickhandling but despite that I think he finds big efficiency in his aggression.