He proved once again that when you begin mentioning the names of the top BC players, you’ll get to Jayden fairly quickly. He spent the event forcing turnovers, separating from opponents while building speed through the neutral zone, and loved cutting to the middle through the crossovers and finding tighter shooting angles. Against some of the opponents, it seemed like transition spots came easy for Jayden as he was able to gain the zone and set up along the exterior without a worry. I love his snapshot in motion and his hands in tight spots to react and use his backhand effectively. What I’ll be looking for moving forward is for him to loosen his body posture and start to use his size and extension of his reach to its full potential. If his motions and extensions become more pronounced as the year moves on, look out.

One of my favorite players to watch at this event, Jayden Simpson was electric, slippery, and creative. Weaving through traffic with slick edges, sharp turns, and quick hands, he could shake off checkers in the offensive zone, walk into the slot and wire a shot on net with a quick release. When space wasn’t provided to Simpson, he was still able to manipulate his release point, curling and dragging the puck inward in one fluid motion, snapping it off his stick with similar amounts of power without compromising accuracy. He reminded me a lot of Cooper Simpson, a tender of the Tri-City Storm of the USHL in the way he could slip off checkers along with absorb body contact and show no signs of slowing down, accelerating out of turns and ripping a shot on net all in one smooth series of movements. Listed at 5’11 and 150lbs, he’s not the biggest player out there, but not the smallest either, his reach let him keep the puck afar from the stick check attempts of defenders, using quick feet and crossovers to gain speed as he walked towards the middle lane of the ice, getting a few extra feet closer to the net to make plays as he shielded the puck from defenders.

Heading into this event I was familiar with a few of the Western Canadian 2009-born skaters, albeit not very many, but Jayden Simpson was a name I was excited to watch once more and for good reason. He was one of the stars for his team in this one and clearly has the gear that is above most of his peers in terms of pace, talent, and overall ability to execute plays at a high level. He has some very sound balance and strength, stronger than what’d you’d expect from him I’d suggest; forcing turnovers, entering battles, and holding off checkers as he builds his speed and heads up ice, he was able to get a few partial breaks by remaining on his feet, composed, and balanced whilst being pushed and shoved from different angles. In transition he was dominant, gaining the zone for his team several times, using different methods depending on the circumstance, his linear speed was enough to let him gain the zone the majority of the time, but he wasn’t afraid to cut in the middle with quick crossovers or even stop up inside the zone to throw opponents off. He scored the 5-3 goal for BWC in this one, coming off the boards and sniping a puck short side top-corner from a tight angle, flashing a lethal release with great accuracy to go with it. The finishing wasn’t always there for Simpson, but I felt every time he crossed the line with the puck, he always did something to create a little bit more space for himself or others, whether it be an outright deke through a defender, or a brief pause allowing things to get in position before sliding a cross-seam pass to a teammate.

He was moving through the neutral zone with ease and control around the edges as he looked to pass into the slot areas and find gaps in the defensive coverage. Jayden showcased his hands in tight spaces especially when he finds himself side of the net or needs to make that simple backhand saucer pass in motion. You can clearly see from a pace and finesse standpoint that Jayden sets the bar for BWC on most nights. To find that separation space to make plays, it is often with the hands rather than the depths of his cuts at this point. He brings that size and heavier snapshot as well which was evidenced by maintaining possession against three players before he scored a hammer of a release from the right side. He’s certainly in that mix for a top two round selection for the WHL Draft.