Bray played well, being the simple and effective puck mover the Marlies needed. Yes, there were some flashes of him showing his on-puck skills to dangle by defenders, notably creating a goal after a slick move, but it was just the smart, simple passes that I mainly noted. He was easily their most impactful defender in transition, prioritized possession, and ensured the Marlboros could keep seamless control of the puck. It was a stellar performance as a decision-maker and puck mover, which is no surprise as that's what Bray has done all season.

Jude Bray had another solid showing over the Holiday Classic, leading the way as the Marlboros' primary puck mover from the backend. He was nearly perfect on retrievals, always choosing the correct course of action that led to a controlled zone exit. Even under pressure, Jude was calm and could identify how to escape the forecheckers to give him space to make a controlled play. Much of his success stems from lateral mobility that Bray relied on to dodge, sidestep, spin his way off of pressure, and maintain control. Of course, all of these skills translated to Bray chipping in offensively, with him escaping pressure at the point and then threading pucks to open teammates.

Like Kwajah on the Canadiens, I found Bray to offer the same value to his Marlboros team. Jude was always calm under pressure and showed patience to corral a dumped-in puck, scan for his options, and connect on exit passes. He was patient with the puck and consistently found routes to controlled passes up ice. Especially on the powerplay, Jude effectively distributed the puck to open teammates and was one of their primary quarterbacks on man-advantage sequences. Outside of Bray's passing, he showed his mobility throughout the weekend, frequently evading forecheckers with evasive lateral skating maneuvers.