The pace and skill combination from Lauder was once again my key takeaway. He was always zooming, buzzing up and down the ice, and playing that push the pace style game. Kyle seemed to want the puck on his stick every shift, he wanted to take over and try to create scoring chances. He showed flashes of skill, dangling by defenders to find ways to the scoring area, making quick moves at top speed to penetrate for chances. Lauder came away with a hattrick in this one, scoring two on quick shots from the slot and a third beating a defender wide with a burst of speed and cutting in toward the net and beating the goaltender. Once again, it was another really strong performance, bringing skill and excitement every time he was on the ice.

In a game where the Wolves were outmatched by a strong opponent, Lauder was the Wolves’ primary offensive driver. At the forefront, Lauder showed his high-end technical abilities in this one, constantly combining quick bursts of speed, changes of direction, and slick handling to dodge defenders and create space for himself. With the puck, I came away really impressed with his feel for pressure, as he always seemed to understand when he had time and space, where he could safely navigate to, and just remained in control of the puck while operating as a puck carrier. Almost all of the Wolves' premium scoring chances came off a sequence initiated by Kyler, typically with him delaying to the wall and threading a cross-ice pass to a teammate in scoring position. He set up the Wolves' lone goal, chipping a puck out of the zone by a defender to spark a 2-on-1 and hitting his open linemate who buried Kyler’s pass. I was really impressed by Lauder at the Draft Day Showcase, so it was nice to see that high-level play continue and I look forward to watching more of his game this season.

Lauder was the player who stood out the most on this ETA squad. At the forefront was a strong skater who could handle pucks well in motion, maneuvering effortlessly around opponents thanks to how easily he could shift direction without losing any momentum. How he applied this was the key to his success, as Kyler was always eager to challenge defenders 1-on-1, assert himself, and drive the scoring areas for a chance. Especially off the rush, he was constantly trying to beat defenders wide or use a smart touch to beat them to the interior, and got to the net shift after shift. He scored plenty of goals in the games I watched, and all fit under this theme of attacking the net with speed, using his hands to fool goaltenders, and finishing in tight from the crease. While Lauder had some nice moments of playmaking, the focal point was how he used his feet and hands in combination to beat defenders and get in tight.