Desrochers’ dynamism and versatility made him one of Québec Blue’s more effective and efficient forwards throughout camp. He was able to leverage his puck skills in transition to attack defenders head on, pull pucks around them and use his wicked pull and release maneuver to get off shots from dangerous areas. When he made defenders aware of his shooting ability, he would then use that to get defenders to bite or overcommit on fake shots, which in turn opened up passing lanes and execute passes through them. He’s quite a strong kid for his size as well, as he was consistently able to withstand contact from below the goal line in the offensive zone, prolonging his puck touches in the offensive zone before making passes to the slot on both his forehand and backhand. His agility and acceleration was just another weapon to add to his offensive arsenal, allowing him to gains separation from defenders out of his turns, maintain his speed and attack into space.

Desrochers is a short but stocky forward who flashed some serious high-end offensive traits throughout this event. His shot is his greatest weapon and he showed the ability to use it in a myriad of ways. Whether it was firing a quick shot in stride off the rush, a quick catch and release off a pass or shooting from a standstill from range, he was always a threat to score. He blends his shooting ability with high-end offensive intelligence, making him more of a multidimensional offensive threat. There were multiple times where he wound up for a shot, got the defenseman to drop then worked his way around to put himself into a more dangerous area. He also possesses high-end puck skills and vision, which he uses to stickhandle through defenders off the rush, draw pressure towards him then fire slick passes to a teammate in space. There were a few times when I thought he became disengaged in some games, but if he could become a more consistent player with the skillset, he possesses then he could become a very legitimate prospect for next year’s draft.

Desorchers was once again one of the better, if not the best, forwards for Québec Blue throughout this game. His quickness and inside driven mentality made him a handful to deal with off the rush as he was consistently able to attack inside the dots, push defenders back on their heels and get shots off from dangerous areas. His playmaking along the perimeter in the offensive zone was very strong as well, as he was able to thread passes through defenders towards the middle of the ice and generate plenty of chances from the slot area. Desrochers scored the overtime winner in this one by crashing the net and tapping home a loose puck that was sitting around the crease.

Desrochers’ versatility in transition made him on of this game’s more dynamic and unpredictable attackers. He could either leverage his puck skills to attack defenders head on and pull pucks through them to get into space off the rush or utilize his high-end passing ability and vision to pick apart defensive zone structures in the offensive zone. He was consistently playing between the dots as a puck carrier, opting to control the puck in the middle of the ice and attack downhill to try and get shots off in dangerous areas. He made two greats play in this game that lead to primary assists, with the first coming in the first period when he was able to gain separation from a back checker in the neutral zone, gained the zone and then executed a perfect backhand feed cross-ice to a teammate who buried it. His second helper came when he was able to withstand contact below the goal line, escape from pressure and then slip a pass to the slot for his teams third goal.

Desrochers came out hot out of the gate for Québec blue and never seemed to slow down throughout, scoring a pair of goals in the process. His shot is his greatest offensive weapon and he’s not shy to use it as often as he can. His first goal saw him take a pass in the neutral zone, come into the offensive zone with speed and fire a quick snapshot in stride that found the top right corner. His second goal came on the powerplay where received a pass on the top of the circle and proceeded to rifle it off the crossbar and in. He even hit a crossbar on the same powerplay sequence just moments beforehand. His offensive intelligence was also apparent throughout, using his shot as a decoy to draw defenders in then dishing it into space to an open teammate. Although his acceleration mechanics could use some work, he has good top-end speed that backs off defenders and makes him a looming threat off the rush.