When he’s able to attack the middle and find shooting space without the puck, I think he’s at his best. His big frame and more-often-than-not aggression through the middle was on display. It does however mean that sometimes he drifts around the play since he’s looking to be the shooter more than a grinder to retrieve. The approach works well with his smart linemates as they can draw pressure out and saucer passes to him in stride. He had multiple prime opportunities against Bishop Kearney before burying one. I like when he attempts the far side shots just over the pads. It keeps his shot selection diverse. His skating could get a few more tweaks to it in maximizing the length of his stride fully but he’s terrific at using crossovers and powerful north-south bursts to gain a top speed while adjusting his breakout angles. It comes from having faster feet. I did get to see a couple of really wonderful backchecking efforts from him too. Loved that. I think what I’m most looking for him to add to his game is more elements of physical presence especially when he’s opting to stay net front. I wanna see him be the initiator of establishing position more often.

The expected leading scorer did in fact lead them in scoring through the event with 12 points in 5 games. He was able to score a wrap around goal on the backhand, snap shots in motion off the rush, and be a consistent dangerous threat in the offensive zone. In the second game, he was able to build speed through his crossovers and snap a shot low quite quickly and accurately. I’d love to see him follow through his release on that a little further and build a bit more power through it if he can. Overall, I thought that he delivered on the expectation as far as production goes. He isn’t the kind of player who dances solo around the zone and really extends these longer possessions by himself. He just seems to understand how to be effective and take advantage of quality team play and possessions.

I felt like he was the overall strongest forward for Delta in this one. He was trying to adapt to pressure without losing his sense of attacking and progressing. He can toe drag, pass around players closing on him, and got a nice one-touch quick shovel goal on the PP net front. He wasted no time and made no mistake. I thought he showed a strong understanding of how to deal with layers off zone entries too. He was changing his angle and his pacing; letting his linemates drive the middle to take the defenders with him to open more space for mid range shot attempts. He hit the crossbar late and showed a strong performance overall.