Strengths: scoring IQ, size
Development Opportunities: Defense, two-way play

There’s no doubt about it that Walker is one of the most gifted scoring threats available at the draft and can go shot for shot with many of the players in the top of the draft. It means when he’s off the rush or on the PP he’s always in the mix in the slot of curling on the half-wall. I think the offensive instincts project to next levels as well as the handles but his two-way effort in positioning and defensive battles will hopefully improve to round out what a smart goal scorer he can become.

The thing about Walker is that he always gets his point totals for St. Albert. He loves to rush the puck, drag laterally to test defenders, and just roams around the slot areas and tries to find space behind defenders. In these games I saw him spinning in high traffic to get pucks on net, snapping shots heavily from the exterior wings, and showed a few effectively timed backchecking efforts in the defensive zone against Yale. When he did find himself battling along the edges and in the corners, he was effective to cycle pucks back. In the offensive zone, he has moments of readiness in obviously off-puck moments to receive a pass from one of his playmaking linemates, but also moments where he’s play watching and isn’t readying his stance. He used that long reach and deceptive shot release point as often as possible to challenge defenders with speed off the rush too. He’s not afraid to cheat for moments or put himself in prime positioning. He does need to work on dropping his head and wildly centering passes after losing his vision. The effectiveness to cycle and change paces under control in a team style approach could lead to so many more scoring chances at higher levels. He’s got tools and effective habits overall though and it’s why he continues to hit the scoresheet consistently.

I’ve seen plenty of Filewich to start the season as he pours in points in the Alberta Elite U15 league and he continued his scoring ways in this tournament with 14 points in six games. Filewich is far ahead of most of his peers both from a physical and mental perspective. At 6’1 he looms large against his opposition showing enhanced understanding of how to use his frame and reach effectively to hold off pressure and buy time to make a play. He is deadly with possession showing great finish at the net-front as a goalscorer while also having the poise to make the extra pass as defenders collapse on him. His skating stride is a bit upright and atypical, but he shows deceptive speed, blowing past defenders numerous times in this tournament despite looking like he was in the same gear as he approached the defender. His length and strength help in that regard as he only needs a half step to muscle the defender out of the way and gain the inside position. One area I continue to want to see improvement for Filewich is in ensuring his cerebral style doesn’t bleed into passivity. There are times in every game where I feel like he could be more imposing on the forecheck, more conscientious without the puck, or more urgent in battles. His potential is sky high, but I think he needs to unlock that consistent extra gear to remain a dominant threat when the competition can better match his physical gifts.