Projection: Bottom Four Puck Mover

Tools: Puck Management, Mobility, Play Under Pressure

Development Opportunities: Physical Development, Offensive Ambition

I've always liked the composure to McCaig's game. He manages the puck well, makes good reads, and never panics under pressure. Whenever a forechecker is all over him, Nixon remains calm, relies on his footwork to evade, and ensures the puck stays within his team's control. The combination of mobile skating, 6'2 frame, and strong decision making make for an interesting set of tools that project well moving forward. A defender who can reliably facilitate breakouts and move pucks up ice efficiently is always highly sought after, and those are the elements that have drawn me in with Nixon.

Occasionally you will see a quiet assertiveness to his game, handling the puck in the offensive zone, beating the first layer, and creeping in for a quality shot. I think there are abilities there to work with, and I could see him becoming more offensive leaning as the years go on and he settles into the junior level. The puck-moving and composure under pressure are certainly at the forefront of what you're getting and should help Nixon be a solid roster piece at the OHL level.

Nixon McCaig showed a lot of promise as a two-way defender throughout this game, making a solid impact for the Kings. He is a good skater who is able to keep up with opposing players and stay above them as they enter the defensive end. He shows a willingness to engage and reads and reacts to play well, moving up to support his offence and knowing when to hang back to support in case of defensive transitions. In this game he was able to provide a solid effort in all three zones for the Kings.

Another strong performance from McCaig. I thought he did a stellar job at closing down rushes, keeping threats to the outside, and giving Quinte attackers not much space. With the puck, he showed flashes of his usual confidence, handling pucks with control, walking the line to find a lane, and always trying to make something happen when he had his moments. It’s been a few strong showings in a row for Nixon, and he’s someone who’s been inching up my board in the second half of the year. A good blend of projectable tools and offensive capabilities has become more and more apparent.

It was only a few moments over the course of the game, but I liked the handling in motion that Nixon displayed in spurts. The ability to shift in any direction while handling the puck and deceive pressure jumped off the page in small flashes, buying him a few lanes to the net for a handful of chances. Typically I notice McCaig more for the defensive side of things, applying pressure and being a smart first pass up ice, but seeing the confidence and handling come through more was nice to see at this stage.

On a Vaughan blueline with a bunch of strong skating defence who liked to activate up ice, McCaig was another defender up that alley. He had some really nice rush sequences, carrying pucks up ice, showing some solid ability to handle pucks in motion and transport pucks up ice, weaving in and out of checks. While his skating will likely become more refined as the year goes on, I thought he was a solid straight-line skater, getting good power through his strides, and showed the ambition to use his feet to impact the play.