Projection: Top-Six Forward

Strengths: Puck Skills, Deceptive Playmaking, Vision

Development Opportunities: Skating, Strength

I’m not quite sure how many times a draft-eligible player has finished tops the rookie scoring leaderboard, third in total scoring and lead the playoffs in scoring in the same year and yet isn’t a surefire top-10 prospect. Horvat-Edouard seems like the one who’s broken the mold in that regard, as after a marvellous season for Laval-Montreal with 57 points in 41 regular season games, there are still some projectability issues with his game. He might just be the best playmaker in the entire draft, showing flashes of brilliant deceptive tactics to open up passing lanes for himself and using look offs to sway defenders from his intended target. He’s also very good at drawing pressure towards himself to create space for his linemates before threading pucks through tiny windows to create odd-man advantages. He has the ability to corral rims along the boards due to his puck skills, rarely bobbling pucks along the perimeter which makes him a useful cycle player despite his size.

As a smaller player you’d like to see the skating ability be a bit more dynamic to make him an elite level prospect, which just isn’t the case at the moment. If he continues to add strength to his frame then he’ll improve in that area, allowing him to create more space for himself using his feet and make him that much more dangerous as a playmaker. Despite his size deficiencies, I think his ability to process the game and slow it down in his favour make him best suited as a center at the next level, although he’ll face some hurdles in order to do so.

It wasn’t the most potent performance I’ve seen from Horvat-Édouard this season, as his lack of high-end physical tools really limited him against the best this draft class has to offer. Despite that, he still had a few impressive moments, especially in the first game of the tournament where he flashed his elite vision and playmaking ability. His best moments came in transition when he was able to gain the offensive zone, attack the middle of the ice, draw pressure towards him then kick it outside to a linemate who could then attack into space. He was quite slippery around the perimeter as well, spinning off of checks to extend his puck touches before funneling pucks to the middle of the ice looking to create high danger chances.

One of the more impressive draft-eligible performers in the entire event, Horvat-Édouard finished the tournament with 8 points in 3 games and showed why he’s one of the premiere offensive talents for this year’s QMJHL Draft. The crux of his offense comes from his rush playmaking, where he’s so good at knowing where his teammates are at all times, drawing pressure towards him and executing an array of slip, hook and behind the back passes to get pucks to open teammates. He often utilized his teammates to create advantages for himself by initiating give and go sequences which earned him dangerous looks from the slot. His puck skills allowed him to pull off plenty difficult plays as well, including stickhandling through multiple defenders in tight spaces to gain access to the interior while also being able to corral bad passes while maintaining his stride. For a smaller player I thought he was quite effective along the perimeter in the offensive zone, thanks in large part to his ability to retrieve pucks under pressure and maintain a low center of gravity to spin off of contact and work his way into space. Deception and manipulation are a big part of his offensive arsenal also, utilizing fake shots and head fakes to mask his intentions and open up cross-ice seams to slide pucks to open teammates for one timer opportunities. He can be a bit low pace at times, and the defensive engagement is questionable, but there’s no denying the immense amount of talent that Horvat-Édouard possesses.

Horvat-Edouard has a particular skillset that allowed him to do things at this camp that not many other players could do. He has the ability to anticipate the routes of his teammates and thread pucks through seams in transition right as they enter the frame. He’s consistently using deceptive tactics to get defenders to move ever so slightly to open up passing lanes inorganically for himself in both the neutral and offensive zone. As a puck-carrier he’s able to maintain a low center of gravity as he navigates through defenders, force his way through checks while maintain his stride. He’s extremely creative off the rush as well, using a series of drop, hook and slip passes behind his back, first drawing pressure towards him then making a dish into space so that his teammates could attack the net downhill. Although his size may be of some concern, I think Horvat-Edouard looks to be every bit a first-round talent early on in the year.

The majority of Québec’s offense drove through Horvat-Édouard in this game, who finished with a team high 4 points with all of them being primary. He kicked off the scoring for his team on the powerplay when he caught a pass at the circle and pulled off a drag and release maneuver that allowed him to get around a sliding defender and put it through the goaltender. My favorite play of his came in the third period when he backchecked on a puck-carrier, stripped him of the puck and made a quick pass up the ice that lead to an odd-man rush goal. His third primary assist came off a rush sequence where he took a drop pass up high in the zone and connected on an impressive backhand saucer pass to the middle of the ice that lead to a goal. He probably could’ve earned a few more points throughout the game, as he had some more impressive rush sequences where he was able to draw pressure towards him and slip pucks through sticks and bodies that lead to odd man advantages for his linemates.

Horvat-Édouard’s effectiveness in this game revolved around his ability to absorb pressure and get pucks to his linemates in open space. He made a couple of highly intuitive and skilled plays in transition by delaying in the offensive zone upon entry, drawing multiple defenders towards him then slipping pucks through feet and sticks to create odd man advantages. For a smaller player he was quite effective along the boards in the offensive zone as well, often catching pucks down low and slipping off checks to keep the cycle game going.

I’ve quickly become enamored with Horvat-Edouard’s game due to his outstanding spatial awareness and his ability to play with pace with the puck on his stick. He made several hard and accurate passes in transition, using his processing ability to spot his options quickly while under pressure and thread pucks through traffic which allowed his teammates to maintain their stride and attack with speed. On-puck he has a great knack for controlling the tempo of the sequence, either by making a quick feed upon entry and driving into space or slowing down up high, drawing in pressure and executing a hook or drop pass to create odd man advantages in transition. I liked how he worked off the cycle in this game as well, once again using his quick processing ability to locate the open option and quickly get himself into space to initiate a give and go sequence and get himself looks from the inside. He could even leverage his puck skills to get himself into space by drawing defenders in then making a quick move around them to get himself into advantageous areas. He won’t be held off the scoresheet for much longer if he continues to put up performances like this.

Although he wavered a bit as the game went on, I thought he came out of the gate hot and was really able to show what his game is all about. Horvat-Edouard is a superbly intelligent offensive player, which he showed this game with his patience and deception as a puck carrier. He was consistently able to thread passes through traffic with super touch and timing, with pucks landing right onto the blade of teammates just as they entered the frame. He owns such great spatial awareness, which he uses to consistently put himself into advantageous areas and deliver no-look passes to teammates into space. He was trying to force pucks into dangerous areas towards the latter half of the game, but the flashes of high-end playmaking made me excited about his potential as a player.