Dunlap finished tied for the tournament lead in scoring with 7 points in 4 games, doing it all for New Brunswick from the backend by tilting the ice in their favour with strong play in all three zones. The one thing I noticed about Dunlap is that his archetypal build is a bit unorthodox for a productive undersized defender in the way that he doesn’t necessarily dominate using his physical tools. While the skating is a positive overall, he does have mechanical issues in his stride that restrict his straight-line speed and limits his ability to get back fast on pucks on retrievals and recoveries. Despite this, what separated Dunlap from the rest of the pack here was his ability to utilize his high-end processing ability in conjunction with manipulation and deceptive tactics to create advantages for himself all over the ice. While carrying the puck up the ice in transition he was able to look off his intended target, draw the pressure over ever so slightly to create a passing lane for himself where he could thread a puck through and allow his linemate to get the puck in space and work his way up the ice, which lead to many controlled exits as a consequence. His vision from the point in the offensive zone created plenty of opportunities for his forwards down low in scoring situations as he navigated the top of the zone with his head up, often using a subtle fake to beat the primary checker to work his way down low before executing cross-ice feeds for one-timer chances. He was no slouch on the defensive side of the puck as well, gapping up well in the neutral zone to limit opposing puck-carriers time and space and forcing dump ins while also demonstrating some deceptive strength along the boards in the defensive zone to angle off bigger forwards, dislodge them of the puck and initiate the breakout.

Dunlap looks to be a player to keep an eye on for the 2025 QMJHL Draft early on. He was one of the few skaters on Team Yellow that could drive play, create chances on his own and execute controlled sequences through both bluelines, and he did it all from the backend. He’s deceptively strong for a player his size, which was most apparent on his retrievals where he would fend off forecheckers with strong body positioning before leveraging his edgework to explode out of his turns, gain separation and execute a breakout. He made a ton of stops in transition throughout camp, utilizing intelligent instinctual step ups to break up passes and utilizing his strong backwards skating and active stick to defend one on one situations. Dunlap’s most impressive sequences came with the puck, both as a carrier through the neutral zone and atop the offensive blueline. He showed a great knack for drawing pressure towards him in transition before slipping pucks towards the middle to streaking teammates. In the offensive zone he was able to consistently manipulate checkers and get himself down low before executing cross-ice feeds for dangerous one timer chances.

Dunlap’s heady and intelligent puck-moving was there in moments throughout, playing a key role in his team’s transition game. He demonstrated his strong scanning habits going back for pucks on defensive zone retrievals which allowed him to anticipate pressure and skate the puck into open space before moving it up the ice or skating it out for a controlled exit. There were a couple of times where Dunlap was able to use his patented head fakes on his rushes to open up passing lanes and get pucks up to his forwards. He was quite stout in his rush defending as well by using strong backwards skating and anticipatory step ups to stop attacker’s dead in their tracks with body checks. There were a few miscues on some outlets where he wasn’t facing any pressure, but overall it was a positive performance.

Dunlap once again had his hands all over this game, utilizing his strong puck-moving capabilities and high-end offensive tools to drive play from the backend whenever he was on the ice. He was reading and anticipating play quite well in the neutral zone, stepping up on puck-carriers at opportune times to nullify rush attempts or cutting off transition passes to initiate a quick counterattack. His ability to process the play quickly with the puck on his stick and thread pucks up the ice with tempo created a plethora of odd man rushes for New Brunswick as well, adding to an already potent transition game. He flashed his skill level late in the game when he picked off an outlet pass at the hashmarks, attacked the middle of the ice from off the halfwall and successfully deked his way around two defenders before getting a backhand shot off from the low slot.

It was yet another strong performance from Dunlap, who ended up with another 3 assists for the second consecutive game. His success on the scoresheet aside, what impresses the most with him is his ability to impact the game and either kill or create plays all over the ice using his intelligence and passing ability. He could often be found leading the rush up the ice with either a hard and accurate outlet pass from his own zone or using his feet to navigate through the neutral zone and execute controlled entries. In the neutral zone he was timing his pinches so well to break up plays in transition by cutting off passing lanes or even forcing dump in’s by applying pressure at the line. All game Dunlap showed great poise and scanning habits while going back for pucks on retrievals, which allowed him to make simple yet effective outlets to open teammates up the ice, even while under pressure from the forecheck, to facilitate the breakout for New Brunswick and limit their time in their own zone.

Dunlap was one of the key contributors for New Brunswick in this game, putting up 2 goals and an assist all while doing it from the backend. In the offensive zone he was showing such a strong understanding of timing and space, playing within the flow of his line mates and activating down low at opportune times to get shots off from the middle of the ice. Both his goals actually came off of him jumping down low in the zone and garnering a puck touch from the middle of the ice before beating the goaltender cleanly with a shot. His strong rush defending just added another layer to his potent transitional ability, as he was able to thwart plenty of one on one opportunities with a swift stick or body check, retrieve the puck then either join the attack using his feet or firing a quick outlet up the ice. One sequence in particular that stood out to me was when he used shrewd body positioning in his own zone to angle off a bigger forward along the perimeter, poke the puck off his stick, skate it up the ice and draw a penalty in the process. His vision from the offensive blueline was another standout quality of his throughout this game, as he was able to use subtle fakes to beat pressure at the line, walk in down low and execute cross-ice feeds through seams to set up one timer opportunities.

Despite the losing effort and his team being outplayed, Dunlap still managed to make a positive impact every time he stepped on the ice and was one of the few Team Yellow players who could tilt the ice in their favour. His work on retrievals was excellent, showing strong body positioning and footwork to help compensate for his lack of size. His scanning habits in conjunction with his edgework allowed him to make quick cuts from pressure into space before making an outlet pass to an open teammate. He timed his pinches in the neutral zone very well, catching opposing forwards off guard with quick poke checks to initiate the counterattack for Team Yellow. Dunlap was equally impressive with the puck on his stick atop the offensive zone, walking the line with his head up to get shots through or utilizing headfakes to beat the first layer of pressure and attack downhill. His vision with the puck allowed him to execute difficult cross-ice feeds once he had gotten past a checker at the line, which lead to a plethora of dangerous chances that his teammates failed to capitalize on.