Coming away with a hattrick plus an assist, Adams was the obvious choice for the first star. As always, Tanner was a wrecking ball, applying tons of pressure on the forecheck, powering through defenders, and being incredibly difficult to contain as he leaned on his physical advantages. His ability to play through pressure and contact was the primary element that impressed me, as he was easily able to barrel through sticks and bodies to navigate toward the center lane. This was how Adams tallied his first, making a power move off the wall, navigating through the defender toward the slot, and ripping it home from the center lane. His assist was also a thing of beauty, winning a puck in his defensive end to force a shorthanded 2 on 1, and leveraging his hands to protect the puck wide and thread a pass over to an open Merrill backdoor. I’m going to be watching the top of class closely over the OHL Cup, and Adams certainly started off with a bang.

Hill Academy forward Tanner Adams plays the game in such a purposeful way. He commands the ice so well, making smart reads with his high intelligence and as such is able to pick apart his opponents, stealing pucks from them to convert to offence. He is an intense player and is not afraid to get engaged physically by throwing his body around and battling his opposing players. This directly led to his second goal of the night, tipping a point shot past the Lakers’ goalkeeper. In addition to this, he is able to make quick passes to his teammates to drive offence and himself possesses a heavy shot that he can use to rip past goalies. He finished this game scoring three of the Hills’ four goals himself.

Regardless of what the scoresheet shows, Adams was a dominant on-puck presence all throughout this game. He singlehandedly controlled offensive zone sequences, showing impressive puck protection skills to extend plays along the perimeter and wait for the right time to execute passes into dangerous areas of the ice. He had a handful of quality scoring chances come off his stick in this game, especially when things got close in the second half, setting up teammates at the backdoor with accurate passes across the crease and getting a few good looks himself with crafty give-and-go plays from the corner or smooth and calculated puck touches to cut off the wall and attack the middle of the ice. He brought a blend of physicality, patience and skill that made him a noticeable player inside the offensive zone all throughout.

Adams had a lot of really solid performances over the Silver Stick, and I could write very similar things about many of them. Game in and game out, Adams impressed with his combination of frame and skill. He shielded the puck really well using body positioning and had the hands to make plays even when under tremendous pressure. All of these on-puck tools enabled Tanner to control the play, carry pucks into the offensive zone and find ways to spark scoring chances, often trying to make power moves to the middle of the ice. Especially when controlling play down low and along the wall, Adams could easily shield pucks from defenders, get off the half-wall and create, sparking one of Hill’s goals under one of these sequences of attack off the wall and dish. A really solid showing resulting in Tanner landing as one of the high risers on my latest rankings.

I thought Adams played pretty well. He was controlling play within the offensive zone, relying on his frame and ability to handle pucks in motion to protect pucks and dodge pressure. He thrived on the perimeter of the offensive end, rarely being closed down and always evading whatever the defenders tried to do to close him down. It only amounted to a handful of chances in this game, but it was a solid display of his tools and what he’s capable of. Tanner landed just outside the top 10 on the initial release of my 2026 OHL Draft rankings, but he’s certainly in the mix to challenge for a spot higher as the season goes on.

On a team full of speedy and skilled forwards, Adams stood out uniquely, mainly for how he used his frame to protect the puck. Especially off the cycle, Tanner effectively shielded pucks from defenders, utilizing body positioning to maintain a cushion between threats and the puck, which helped him extend offensive zone possessions. At times, he dominated down low, controlling play off the wall and successfully finding ways out from pressure and attacking the net. Tanner scored two from the net-front position, fitting nicely into this theme of a down-low / net-front difference-make

Tanner Adams’ defensive acumen was on display in this one, he took up strong positions in the neutral and defensive zones and was quick to react to puck carriers and make timely steps into passing lanes to intercept passes. He showed some nice speed and puck handling ability on offense and it looked like perhaps he was going to play more of a role in chance creation, but he did have a very nice high slot redirect in the third period to put his team in front.

Adams was one of the primary offensive drivers for Hill, tying for the team lead with 5 points in 4 games. A lot of his opportunities came from his impressive strength on the puck along the perimeter. He protected the puck tight to his body and forced opponents to challenge him while he would look for an open lane or drive the middle of the ice for a shot attempt. He used quick pivots to offput defenders and shake pressure. He used his frame to heavily absorb pressure and still be able to make a play.

He uses a power stride and can be tough in the corners when pursuing pucks. A lot of his approach was using that powerful stance and his power in his shot releases when curling off the halfwall or winning little one on one moments from the corners. His improvement will be continuing to leverage these qualities while working on bending his knees and looking to be more reactive and agile laterally. With every element of speed or pacing he can add it’ll only open up more moments in transition for him to be effective and dangerous.

Adams was actively involved in plays in the offensive zone early and never took his foot off the pedal. His pursuit to loose pucks helped his team extend their offensive zone plays as he used a good deal of physicality along the boards to win back pucks before making smart passes to the closest open teammate. He sparked his team after they gave up the opening goal by picking off a pass on the ensuing shift and splitting the defense for a breakaway that he couldn’t convert on but managed to draw a penalty in the process. He would go on to score the next goal nonetheless with a quick catch and release on a 2-on-1 opportunity and was able to get a couple more quality looks in this game by crashing the net off the rush. He was able to pick up assists on two important goals for his team where he chipped a puck off the boards to a streaking Nanubhai to take the 4-2 lead and setting up the game-winning goal after slipping a loose puck into space for Leduc in the slot. As if he wasn’t impactful enough for his team in this win, in the final minutes of the game he got his stick on an opponent’s shot from the side of the net that was headed for the open cage to maintain his team’s lead.

Tanner Adams’ ability to get into scoring areas was very impactful for Team Canada 4, he had a real knack for finding open space and setting himself up for a shooting opportunity. He earned a handful of very dangerous scoring opportunities through his off the puck movement, and his teammates were able to feed him the puck in those areas. I appreciated his puck possession ability and the way he was able to manage the game with the puck on his stick; he did well to buy time and allow for passing options to open up as he carried the puck around the offensive zone.

I thought the best contributions that Tanner Adams had in this game stemmed from his ability to move off the puck, he did a really nice job identifying the open areas to attack. He was able to get into the pockets of space where he could receive the puck and get in tight opportunities on net, but he also provided space for his teammates with his movements that they were able to step into and earn chances as a result. He was really effective in that manner and it put the defenders in a difficult position about which threat they wanted to deal with. With the puck on his stick he did well too, he was a solid possession player who was able to use his strength to hold onto the puck while he was deliberating on which passing option to utilize. He made intelligent decisions on the puck and avoided squandering possession.