Sinclair packs a ton of skill into his diminutive frame which he used to excel as a puck-carrier in transition and earn himself plenty of looks from the middle of the ice throughout the tournament. He was able to execute plenty of controlled entries into the offensive thanks to his ability to control the puck at high speeds and change directions quickly to swerve through checkers in the neutral zone. While I found he had a hard penetrating the middle of the ice utilizing his individual skill, he was able to get shots off from the middle of the ice due to his intelligent off-puck positioning, flashing the quick release that netted both his goals throughout the event. I thought he was quite deadly along the halfwall on the powerplay, utilizing manipulation to open up passing lanes where he could thread pucks to create cross-ice opportunities. The size will be a talking point throughout the year but there are a lot of translatable offensive tools in Sinclair’s arsenal that could make him a high-end QMJHL prospect if he continues to grow.

Despite being the camp’s most diminutive player, Sinclair packs a plethora of skill into his frame including very impressive processing ability and offensive instincts. He did a great job of scanning and anticipating the routes of his teammates prior to his puck touches, which allowed him to play up tempo and get the puck off his stick quickly in transition. He has the ability to corral loose pucks in his skates without losing his stride, which made him an even deadlier attacker in transition than he already was. I thought Sinclair was this best in this camp when he was using his foot speed to win races to loose pucks all over the ice, which is how he was able to generate plenty of his scoring chances whenever loose pucks popped out in dangerous areas. As a smaller player I did think he was pushed out to the perimeter rather easily and was knocked off pucks by bigger defenders. Despite this, I’m excited to see how he adapts his game to playing against bigger and older competition as he continues to develop throughout the year.

Sinclair was at his best in this game when he was using his high-end foot speed to win races and retrieve loose pucks to win possession for his team. His best sequence came in the second period when he won a race to a loose puck, made a cut around a defender to get a shot off from the inside, won another foot race to his rebound and fired off another shot from a dangerous area. In the same period, he showed off his speed in another sequence where he pounced on a loose puck in the neutral zone, zoomed by a defender but missed on the breakaway backhand attempt. He scored the insurance goal late in the third period by jumping on a loose puck in the crease area and tapping it into the open net.

It became evident to me pretty quickly that Sinclair thinks the game at a very high level. Off the rush he was doing a great job of anticipating the routes of his teammates and planning out his attack before he received the puck on his stick. This allowed him to make a series of quick one touch passes that allowed whatever line he was on to play with tempo in transition. He made a really high-end play in the neutral zone in the second period when a bad pass ended up in his skates, but he was able corral it in his feet and kick it to a teammate in stride to set up a zone entry. Despite his abundance of skill, his below-average size did affect him in this game, as I thought he was having a difficult time getting himself puck touches in the middle of the ice and dealing with physicality along the perimeter in the offensive zone.