It’s still fairly early in the scouting process, but as of right now I haven’t seen a better defender than L’Italien for the 2025 QMJHL Draft. He possesses every tool and ability you could want out of a defender in the modern era; the skating, rush defending and offensive instincts are all high-end and allow him to impact the game in all three zones and tilt the ice in his teams favour whenever he steps over the boards. Off the rush he uses his four-way mobility to take away time and space from attackers very quickly by either stepping up at the blueline to deny entries or forcing them to the exterior before closing them out quickly with a check. His toolkit also allows him to thrive in transition, both on and off the puck. As a puck carrier he could pull away from forecheckers with ease due to his impressive stride mechanics and powerful crossovers, allowing him to gain the offensive blueline and set up play. He also showed great instincts off puck to jump into space whenever the opportunity presented itself, making himself a passing option off the rush and getting off shots from the high slot. From the offensive blueline he was great at corralling pucks along the boards, pulling them to the middle of the ice with his head up and using his strong and accurate slapshot to get pucks through on net and even beat goaltenders clean at times. I think he’ll need to shore up some of his puck control habits, as there are a few bobbles at time on his touches, but the entire package is there for L’Italien to be a very successful defender at the next level if he continues to develop.

Despite being held off the scoresheet I thought L’Italien was one of the more effective defenders throughout the tournament. He played with immense confidence from the backend and wasn’t afraid to step up at the blueline or join the rush offensively against older competition. He consistently scanned on his retrievals in the defensive zone and was also able to use his skating ability to pull away from forecheckers. He did a great dob defending the rush by forcing attackers to the perimeter of the offensive zone before erasing them with a body check to stymie any offensive chances that could’ve arose. He keeps his head up at the blueline in the offensive zone and he wasn’t afraid to activate down low and jump into space when given the opportunity. Overall, he has a very impressive tool kit that he uses to his advantage in all three zones.

It was yet another impressive performance from L’Italien at this camp, who continues to control play every time he steps over the boards. He owns the best skating package of any player at this event, which he uses to cover plenty of ice in just a few strides. This allows him to be very aggressive in the neutral zone, where he’s able to break up all sorts of plays in transition and neutral the oppositions rush game. Where he stood out the most in this game was in his activations in transition, both with and without the puck. As a puck carrier he was able to utilize his high-end skating to pull away from forecheckers with relative ease, skating through contact when he had too and gaining the offensive zone. Off-puck I thought he did a great job of jumping into space to make himself a passing option, giving his team a numbers advantage off the rush in the process.

The standout performer in this game, L’Italien’s poise with the puck and high-end transitional abilities allowed him to tilt the ice in his team’s favour whenever he hopped over the boards. His rush defending was the best in this game by quite a fair margin, using smart step ups at the blueline to deny entries or using his strong lateral mobility to force attackers wide before stripping them of the puck with a slick pokecheck. Although there were a few bobbles on his puck touches, I thought his outlet passing was crisp and accurate and allowed his team to exit the defensive zone quickly and work their way up ice. He was making smart activations up the ice off the rush to get himself into space up high to get shots off from the slot. He scored a goal in the second period by taking the puck laterally from the offensive blueline towards the middle of the ice, keeping his head up and firing a hard shot from distance that found its way through.

The best defender in this game for both sides, L’Italien has all the makings of a high-end modern-day defenseman. He moves so smoothly in all four directions, making him a superbly effective rush defender as he’s able to gap up on opposing attackers and force them to low danger areas. He doesn’t shy away from physical play in his own zone, even against older competition, winning the majority of his puck battles along the perimeter. He possesses plus level puck handling ability, which allows him to be smooth and effective in the transition game. He walks the line with his head up in the offensive zone, constantly assessing his options and looking to pick apart defensive zone structures. He’s definitely one to watch for the 2025 QMJHL draft.