Projection: Middle Six Center

Strengths: Hockey Sense, Quickness, Goal Scoring

Development Opportunities: Strength, Assertiveness

Whelan is an incredibly quick and skilled center who drove a lot for the Quinte Red Devils this past season. In open ice his speed and shifty skating make him highly elusive in transition, and shift after shift he leads the charge, securing controlled entries through a combination of hands and footwork. That area is certainly at the forefront of most viewings, but in the background there is always a strong showing of hockey sense. His off-puck habits are solid, supporting pucks well, tracking back into his defensive zone, and hovering into open pockets in the offensive zone where he can finish on quick catch and releases.

The big thing for me is seeing him be a bit more assertive. I think he has the tools to be a dominant two-way centerman, and helping him flex those abilities to take over games more consistently is what I’d be working on if I was the team to select him. The feet and hockey sense alone project for a reliable centerman, but given everything he has going for him I think there is real potential for a high-end roster piece if it all comes together.

It wasn’t the best performance from Whelan, but you could see flashes of what he was all about. The quickness, pushing the pace, and playing with energy were apparent in spurts through the game. Lauchlan had some nice rush sequences that stemmed from his speed, pushing defenders back and giving himself time and space to operate upon zone entries for a handful of quality looks off the rush. He sealed the game when he intercepted a puck in the neutral zone and finished with some slick hands in tight to tuck it around the netminder.

The raw skating and explosivity was what I noted most with Whelan. With a few strong strides off he went up ice, blazing by his opponents and at top speeds he could easily shift direction if necessary. He’s strong and balanced on his feet, and has all those baseline skating skills you’re looking for in a top end player. Due to his skating, he was consistently pushing the pace through the neutral zone and dictating transitions, often creating chances off the rush. Whether it was attacking the middle himself or smart passes, he was driving chance after chance for this Red Devils side. A really strong performance from undoubtedly one of the top players in the class.

There were some nice involvements from Lauchlan Whelan throughout this game, I thought his puck handling ability stood out and he was able to use his agility to sidestep defenders effectively and create himself a bit of open space. He used his speed well and looked to jumpstart attacks by pushing up the wings and finding passing lanes to the center of the ice. His overall involvement wasn’t maybe as impactful, but he showed good flashes of ability that lead me to believe he has more to offer.