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One of the youngest prospects in this year’s draft, Alex Formenton was just born just a couple of days before the cut-off. As a rookie with a solid London Knights team, he has had to fight for ice time. When he has played, he made the most of it with 16 goals and 34 points in 65 games this season. However, Formenton struggled in the OHL playoffs, where he was held pointless over 14 games. The Knights would beat the Windsor Spitfires, but ultimately lose to the Erie Otters, failing to defend their OHL and Memorial Cup titles. Formenton also played in the CHL Top Prospects game this season.
Alex Formenton Scouting Report: 2017 NHL Draft #58
Left Wing — shoots Left
Born September 13th, 1999 — King City, Ontario
Height 6’1″ — Weight 157 lbs [185 cm / 71 kg]
Skating
Formenton is an outstanding skater. `He has an excellent first step, very good acceleration, and his top-end speed is amongst the best in this draft class. He can absolutely fly out there. Formenton also has very good edge work. He can change directions quickly, and turns on a dime. Formenton could improve his lower body strength though. This would help in being stronger on the puck, as well as winning more battles along the boards. Formenton could stand to be stronger on the puck in working the cycle game.
Offensive Game
Alex Formenton uses his skating as his key offensive weapon. He gets in quickly on the forecheck, pressuring defenders and creating turnovers. Formenton can also get behind the defence on a breakout, and can take the long pass to create a breakaway. When he has the puck on a rush, he can take the puck to the outside on a defender and cut to the net. If the defence back off to respect his speed, he can use the defender as a screen and fire a shot on net. Formenton has a very good release on his wrist shot and good accuracy. However he can stand to bulk up, and get even more power on it. His one-timer is decent, but can still be improved. Formenton isn’t the type of player to create his own shot, but if set up by a teammate he can score goals.
In terms of his ability to be a play maker, Formenton plays a very simple and straight forward game. He makes the safe pass, keeping possession, and the play moving. However, he does not really try to make passes through tight spaces, or to try and create something when it would be more of a difficult play. Formenton will need to play with a creative playmaker if he is to reach his full potential. He could also stand to bulk up, in order to be more effective in the high traffic areas. He tries to play a physical game, but this will be ineffective at high levels unless he gets a lot strong.
Defensive Game
Formenton is a willing backchecker, who fights for loose pucks, and can be very annoying to opposing players. He is tenacious with his support and back pressure and tries to be physical against his opponents. This is another area where he can be even better with more muscle.
Projection and Comparison
There have been many whispers about Christian Dvorak when talking about Alex Formenton’s potential. This is not to say that he plays a similar game, but rather about how Formenton has not gotten a lot of ice-time due to the depth of the London Knights, and that he could really break out next season. The team that drafts Formenton will be hoping he develops in a similar fashion. If he does, it could be a real draft day steal. In terms of a style comparison, Formenton plays a similar game to Max Pacioretty of the Montreal Canadiens. This is not a talent based comparison, but a stylistic one.
Highlights
The following is a compilation of videos, assembled from Youtube.
Check back tomorrow for the next prospect available on our draft board.
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