Projection: Puck Moving Upside

Tools: Mobility, Playmaking

Development Opportunities: Defensive Commitment, Play Creation

A smooth skating, lanky right-handed defender, Taylor Van De Ven is a very interesting player to watch this season. He has very smooth edges and rolls his hips well when moving backwards, allowing him to change direction and stay square to opposing players. In his own end, he uses his reach and size to occupy space and his feet to help keep up with opposing attackers. His mobility allows him to go back for puck retrievals and he scans the ice well, grabbing the puck and making a clean pass to exit the zone with possession. As a defender, he can support the play well and make passes from the blueline to help assist his forwards on the attack.

Given his mobility and decent puckskill, I would like to see Van De Ven hold onto the puck more often than he does. At times, it feels as though his possessions end as a wrist shot from the point rather than allowing himself the opportunity to open space and carry the puck deeper into the opposing end. He displays the raw ability necessary to pull off high level passes and should be looking to create offence more often than he does.

Taylor Van De Ven is a smart defenceman who is excellent on puck retrievals and breakouts. He threw his head on a swivel before going into corners and grabbing pucks. He used his fluid stride to draw in opponents then making a well placed chip/volley pass out to his teammates in the neutral zone. He displayed an ability to manipulate time and space by opening up lanes with his fakes and puck control. He had a couple of assists in this game, a testament to his puck moving and setup game. He was efficient at both ends of the ice and his fluid movement allowed him to contribute across all 200ft.