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A big question heading into the season for the Edmonton Oil Kings was how the team would cope without Martin Gernat, Keegan Lowe, and David Musil on the blue line. Losing three of the top four defenders on a team is rough for anyone, but with Dysin Mayo stepping up this year, they were not only able to cope with the loss, but thrive, eventually winning the WHL Championship and going on to defeat the favoured Guelph Storm in the Memorial Cup Final to take home the biggest trophy in Junior hockey.
Mayo became a leader at the back end playing big minutes and in all situations for the Oil Kings. He put up 7 goals and 35 points in 63 games this season, showing an offensive ability on the blue line that we didn’t see much of in limited minutes during his 16-year-old rookie season. He put up a further 15 points in 21 playoff games, taking his game to the next level. Mayo has also won a silver medal at the World Under 17 Hockey Challenge.
Dysin Mayo
Defense — shoots Right
Born Aug 17 1996 — Victoria, BC
Height 6.01 — Weight 180 [185 cm/82 kg]
Dysin Mayo is a solid skater with a smooth stride. His speed and acceleration are very good in both directions. He has good lateral agility allowing him to keep opponents in front of him on the rush, and to walk the line and open up passing and shooting lanes in the offensive zone. Solid pivots, good edgework, and strong cross-overs help him to be very mobile and cover his side of the ice. His balance is decent, but he must add muscle to be stronger on the puck.
Mayo is a solid puckhandler. He protects the puck very well, and combines this with his skating skill to roll off checks, avoid forecheckers and skate the puck out of danger in his own zone. He can both lead the rush and join in as a trailer, while recovering defensively. Mayo has good vision and passing skills making a strong first pass out of his zone or quarterbacking things on the powerplay. His wrist shot shows a good release and his slap shot and wrist shot are both accurate and he knows how to get them on net through traffic. However, he could use more power in his shot as it is just average.
Mayo a solid defender who keeps the play in front of him and is tough to beat one-on-on with a good stick and a quick poke check to knock pucks away from attackers. He is willing to play physical prefering to throw old-school hip checks when he gets the opportunity. He could stand to get stronger in order to win more battles on the boards and do a better job of clearing the front of the net.
Dysin Mayo’s style is reminiscent of former NHL defenceman with the New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings Brian Rafalski. This is a style comparison only though, and not a talent comparison. His ceiling is to be a good two-way second pairing defender with the ability to play some powerplay time on the second unit.
Here are some highlights of Dysin Mayo in action.
Check back tomorrow for my next report on the 2014 NHL Draft.
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