Projection: #1 Franchise Defender

Strengths: Four-Way Mobility, Physicality, Puck-Rushing and Handling Ability

Development Opportunities: Route Taking Off the Rush, Utilizing Teammates

If there’s a better defenseman in this draft than Malik L’Italien I certainly haven’t seen him. The physical tools L’Italien possesses are simply a step above everyone at his position in this year’s class, demonstrating high-end mobility that allows him to cover plenty of ground and disrupt plays all over the ice. He’s so effective at taking away time and space from puck-carriers while defending off the rush, sometimes even skating the entire width of the ice to track down an opponent and nullify a zone entry. He certainly isn’t afraid to lay the body either, displaying strength and impeccable timing to step up on puck-carriers in the neutral zone and initiate counterattacks the other way. He’s often able to beat primary forechecking pressure by leveraging his aforementioned physical tools, exploding out of his lateral cuts while maintaining control of the puck to work his way up ice. He’s shown more and more confidence from the blueline in the offensive zone throughout the year as well, using a a mix of deception and explosive skating to beat pressure up high and attack down low in the zone to generate chances for himself and his linemates.

There’s no doubt in my mind that L’Italien’s toolkit will allow him to be an effective defender at the next level, how successful he will be will depend on how much he’s able to maximize them on a shift-to-shift basis and minimize his mistakes and over reliance on his natural talent. There are times where he’ll often look off an open outlet option to attempt to beat pressure himself, sometimes skating himself into problematic situations which lead to turnovers. That being said, I’d be willing to bet on someone as gifted as L’Italien and allow a development staff to work with him over the course of his junior career which may unlock his potential as #1 defender for the team that selects him.

It’s difficult to identify a player who was as impactful for his team than L’Italien was for Team Daigle at this event. This is the first time in a while we had the chance to see him play amongst his age group after spending the season with Stanstead College and missing the CCM Challenge back in December but I thought his performance in Boisbriand managed to exceed my expectations and really cement his position at the top of this draft class. He brought so many different elements to the table each and every game whether that was his exceptional skating ability, his creative and skilled puck moving or his fierce defending. He also seemed in control on the ice, displaying a large amount of confidence with the puck to single-handedly drive offensive sequences for his team while also using a combination of his mobility with his impressive physical traits to swiftly put an end to opponents rush plays on the defensive side of the puck. His strong showing allowed him to earn a spot on the tournament all-star team alongside a couple of his Team Daigle teammates.

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.

I thought this was more of a calm and composed game for L’Italien from the backend, using his physical tools in a more effective manner to get pucks up the ice quickly and kill plays off the rush at a high rate. He got himself a look early on by activating off the offensive blueline, pouncing on a loose puck in the high slot and firing a quick shot on net that was swallowed up by the goaltender. He had a handful of strong moments on-puck at the top of the point as well, showing poise and vision to spot options under pressure and execute downhill passes through seams into scoring areas that lead to shots on goal. He flashed his patented four-way mobility on a couple of puck rushes in the third period; a notable sequence was when he wheeled out behind his own net and delivered a subtle fake on the primary forechecker before exploding out his turn and working his way into space.

L’Italien was one of the more noticeable players throughout this game, for better or for worse. Early on he was flashing his patented mobility in transition, carrying the puck up the ice and maneuvering around defenders to execute zone entries. He had a handful of strong activation sequences in the offensive zone as well, jumping down from the point to join the cycle, generating puck touches for himself and attacking the middle of the ice looking to create dangerous chances. There were a handful of times in this game where I thought L’Italien attempted to force plays that weren’t there, opting to try and leverage his natural ability to beat defenders and evade pressure rather than utilize his teammates. Despite that, there were a few instances where the individual skilled plays worked, and he was able to execute difficult plays in transition and get himself to the slot utilizing his handles and edgework.

L’Italien was a defender who was able to put his stamp on all facets of the game. From creating offence in transition with his skating to shutting down plays in his own end with his physicality, he was impactful all throughout. He was consistently activating up the ice to join or create rushes using his strong skating ability, displaying excellent footwork and control with the puck inside the offensive zone to be able to freeze defenders and open up passing and shooting lanes or using his quick first step to blow past them and in to open space. He also had a couple of strong defensive plays in this one where he shut down plays rather quickly and effortlessly off the rush as well as a great stick check to deny an open look for Napon around the net in the dying minutes.

A truly dominant performance from L’Italien here, tilting the ice in his teams favour every time he stepped over the ice using his elite physical tools and aggressive offensive instincts. On his very first shift of the game he took the puck from his own end, gained the offensive lie with relative ease and nearly split two defenders before the puck rolled on him at the last second. On his very next shift he picked off a pass in the neutral zone, carried the puck in, walked around a defender then hooked a pass to the low slot for a primary assist. Later in the first frame he killed a play in the defensive zone with a shrewd stick play and joined the rush before receiving a pass in the offensive zone and setting up yet another goal with a slick behind the back pass to the slot. Throughout the rest of the game he was consistently killing plays in the neutral zone by closing in quickly on puck-carriers, either poking the puck off their stick or delivering a physical body check before initiating a counterattack the other way. Without a doubt the best performance I’ve seen from a draft-eligible defender this year.

L’Italien’s toolkit set him apart from nearly everyone in this game, particularly his four-way mobility which allowed him to cover plenty of ice and kill plays all defensively. He did a great job of defending puck-carriers in 1v1 situations, guiding them to the outside before getting them off the puck with a hard check and making a quick outlet up ice that lead to controlled exits from the DZ. His lateral mobility allowed him to consistently shake forecheckers as he traversed up the ice on his puck rushes, often faking on way then bursting out of his cuts to separate and continue to work up ice. He made a handful of solid plays off the rush as well, picking his activations intelligently and bursting into space to create odd man advantages, receiving passes in the middle and executing cross-ice feeds to set up dangerous one timer opportunities. His aggressiveness got the better of him a couple of times as a couple of Team Savage’s goals were a direct result of bad pinches on his part, but overall it was a very positive showing.

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.