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With Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin, Zach Fucale, and Nikolaj Ehlers, the Halifax Mooseheads have been churning out the high end prospects in recent years and Timo Meier is the latest. Meier has had a tremendous season for the Mooseheads putting up 44 goals and 90 points in 61 games so far. He’s even turned things up in the playoffs with 7 goals and 12 points in 9 games for the Mooseheads. Originally drafted 12th overall by the Mooseheads in the 2013 CHL Import Draft, Timo Meier won the “Mike Bossy Award” as the top pro prospect in the QMJHL this season, and also made the leagues second all-star team. The Swiss native also had two goals and six points in six games at this year’s World Junior Hockey Championships and was a standout at the CHL Top Prospects Game with a goal and two assists.
Timo Meier
Right Wing — shoots Left
Born Oct 8 1996 — Herisau, Switzerland
Height 6.01 — Weight 209 [185 cm/95 kg]
An improved skating stride and more speed have really helped Timo Meier this season, and he’s racking up points and rocketing up draft charts as a result. He’s not a speedster, but while he was once a bit of a poor skater, he’s now slightly above average in this regard. His acceleration and first step quickness are also decent. There is still room to improve in these areas, but with the great steps that Meier has already taken, it looks likely that the improvements in his stride will continue. Meier’s agility is decent, but again could improve going forward. He has very good balance on his skates, and excellent power. This allows him to protect the puck down low, and work the cycle game extremely effectively.
Timo Meier has great hockey sense and gets to the open areas of the ice, where he can be set up to finish chances with an excellent shot and release. He has a very good arsenal of shots with an excellent snapshot, strong wrist shot, and very good one-timer. He can be very effective off the half-boards on the powerplay. Meier is also a very physical player, establishing his position in the slot and winning board battles to create offence. He has the good hand-eye co-ordination to tip in pucks and pounce on rebounds. He gets in quickly on the forecheck and can punish opposing defencemen with hits behind the net. Meier also has good vision and passing skills, and the smarts to make a good pass when he is working the cycle. He has some finesse in his game with good stickhandling skills, and the ability to finish plays in tight.
Meier is already an effective two-way player. He kills penalties for the Mooseheads, anticipating plays well and using his long stick to break up passes, and start the transition. He is a willing back checker who provides excellent back pressure in support of his defencemen. Meier is not afraid to get physical in his own end, containing his man down low, and working to win battles on the boards. He is also more than willing to block shots, if necessary.
Timo Meier has the potential to be a top six winger if he reaches his ceiling. This may take some time and patience for the team drafting him. Even if he does not reach his ceiling, he could be an effective NHLer capable of playing a strong defensive game in his own end, and being an effective grinder on the third line. Meier’s game is reminiscent of Max Pacioretty, however this is a stylistic comparison only, and not a talent one.
Below are some videos of Timo Meier in action.
Check back tomorrow for the number 15 prospect on my NHL draft board.
