Projection: Bottom Four Shut Down

Tools: Defensive Engagement, Mobility, Reach

Development Opportunities: Strength, Physicality

Cranney fits right in with this crop of defenders in this range who offer a promising set of physical tools and defensive presence. He uses his reach effectively to win pucks, shut down entries, and be a constant disruptor in the neutral zone. I have appreciated the desire to be active in defensive situations, looking to close gaps, give up no space, and rarely sitting back passively letting play come to him. He relies on his footwork in those moments, covering ice with long strides and showing the lateral agility to shadow attackers and close them down. After forcing turnovers he keeps things simple, chipping pucks up to his forwards and getting out of his zone cleanly.

The physical tools and defensive engagement give him a profile that is easy to project to an OHL lineup. I like how he defends predominantly with his feet, reach, and stick, but I'm sure there are teams who would want him to bulk up and lean more on the physical side of things too. A good bet at this stage to get a projectable depth defender who does the little things right to win pucks and keep play out of his end.

As is typical with Cranney, I liked his eagerness to defend. He wasn’t sagging back and conceding space, but looking to suffocate oncoming 67s forwards and take away their options. He shut down plenty of rushes, closed down threats, and was one of many Majors’ blueliners who made life difficult for the other side. The package of physical characteristics in his 6 ‘2 frame and the defensive impacts have been the central theme to Lucas’ game all season, and what makes him an intriguing player in my eyes heading into draft day.

Cranney brought a steady defensive presence to the Majors’ blueline. He was constantly applying pressure, using his reach to free up pucks, and winning possession time and time again. He was able to consistently win pucks, chip them up to his forwards, and spark transitions all through his willingness to engage and challenge oncoming attackers. With the puck, he showed some flashes of calm and confidence, connecting on passes up ice to bring some puck-moving to the mix with his solid defensive play.

Cranney caught my eye initially for his physical makeup. He’s a bigger defender at 6’2 and gets around the ice quite well in his frame. There’s definitely room to bulk up and add strength, but right from the get-go there was an interesting set of physical tools here. Throughout the game, I thought he mainly made his impact on the defensive side, applying pressure and getting stops. Lucas was never passive, typically looking to engage defensively and stop attackers both with physical contact or with his long reach to free up pucks. With the puck, he showed to play a simple but effective puck-moving game, hitting on his passes and helping Markham keep pucks out of their end. I came away from the game thinking there is an intriguing prospect here, having some promising physical tools and defensive instincts to make for a player to keep an eye on.

Playing an effective 200-foot game, Lucas Cranney was one of a handful of strong blueliners from this Everest squad. He read the play well and was able to quickly step up on his man when defending the blueline. Surrendering very little ice to the middle, and forcing pucks wide, he ran his opposition out of real estate and was able to connect on strong stick checks to knock the puck free. If needed he demonstrated the ability to land strong bodychecks, along with overpowering puck carriers, pinning them against the boards, along with knocking them off balance, forcing bobbles in possession. On the offensive side of things he did a nice job handling the puck high in the zone, backpedaling, evading pressure, and moving the puck with effective quick-and-accurate passes between his teammates, along with his defensive partner. I found he was most effective offensively when skating the puck through the neutral zone with speed, zipping around the perimeter, going deep into the zone, and funneling pucks to the middle. His top speed let him go wide with little resistance upon entering the zone, and some good vision let him hit some teammates in the slot, or cross-ice from deep in the offensive zone. A decent shooting threat as well, capping off a solid set of games for Lucas Cranney.