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Vince Dunn was a sixth-round pick of the Niagara Ice Dogs in the 2012 OHL draft and has proven to be a steal. Making the team last year, Dunn put up five goals and 33 points in 63 games as an OHL rookie. He’s bettered those numbers this year with 18 goals and 56 points in 68 regular-season games, and 6 goals and 10 points in 8 playoff games. Dunn seems to get better each time we view him, and really took off in the second half of the season, as he was a major part of the Ice Dogs solidifying their spot in the OHL playoffs with a strong run down the stretch, following their slow start to the campaign. In the final 32 games of the season he had 17 goals and 41 points (hat tip to Brock at OHLprospects.blogspot.com).
Vince Dunn
Defense — shoots Left
Born Oct 29 1996 — Lindsay, ONT
Height 6.00 — Weight 187 [183 cm/85 kg]
Vince Dunn is an outstanding skater. He has good speed in both directions, excellent agility, and very good pivots. This mobility defines his game in all areas. He is able to join the rush, and pinch at the blue line but still get back defensively. This is something Dunn takes full advantage of as he pinches in a lot, either to keep pucks in along the boards, or to sneak into an opening in the slot to get a high quality scoring chance. His speed and quickness make him tough to beat to the outside if he’s properly positioned. Dunn could use a bit more lower body strength though, he can get pushed around a bit in board battles and in fighting for loose pucks, and in front of the net. Some added strength on his skates and balance should come as he matrues though.
Vince Dunn is a very good puck-moving defenceman as he combines that skating ability with the puckhandling skills to skate the puck out of dangerous areas, and led the rush. Dunn has the ability to stickhandle while still moving at top speed that is rare amongst defencemen, especially at his age. He also has very good vision and passing skills, making strong breakout passes, and quarterbacking the play on the powerplay. Dunn has a very good wrist shot, with a lightning quick release. His slapshot and one-timer are powerful and accurate. Dunn is everything you could want in an offensive defenceman.
Vince Dunn is willing to use his body to defensively, throwing hits and blocking shots. He could stand to work on his gap control, as he sometimes gives forwards too much room on the rush, when he has the skating ability to really close down and take away their time and space a lot better. Overall though, his biggest issues defensively come from taking too many risks in the offensive zone. He speed allows him to get back defensively in junior hockey, but he won’t have the same luxury in the AHL or NHL. He’s also willing to throw too many passes in dangerous areas in his own end. If Dunn can fix these issues as he matures, he can be a major steal.
Dunn has the potential to be a powerplay quarterback and a top two NHL defenceman for his team. Its a boom or bust type of pick though, as there are some questions about his defensive game in getting pushed around a bit too much, and being too risky in looking to create offense. With good coaching though, he could be a real steal. His game is similar in style to Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks, though I caution that this is a style comparison only, and not one based on talent.
Below are some highlights of Vince Dunn in action.
Come back tomorrow to check out the #55 prospect on my NHL Draft Board.
