Welcome back to Top Shelf Prospects, the daily column that brings you the next crop of professional hockey players. Each day I will bring you a new player profile or topical article in the lead-up to the 2019 NHL Draft. Be sure to bookmark the site, follow me on Twitter, and spread the word for the site that will bring you analytical and critical profiles and scouting reports! Last Word On Hockey Prospects is your new headquarters for everything “NHL Draft”! We have a complete listing of our draft articles here. Today we look we feature NHL Draft Scouting Reports for Prospects 91-100.
Its almost here, draft day. With 80 full NHL Draft scouting reports in the books, and 10 mini-reports published earlier today, I continue with the shorter write-ups to take us over 100 prospect scouting reports published. If history is any indication, some of these players will get taken in the fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds. In my opinion, they will be big time steals at those picks. Without further ado, we present our next ten prospects in the NHL Draft Scouting Reports series.
2019 NHL Draft Scouting Reports
91.) Trent Miner, Goaltender, Vancouver Giants, WHL, 6’1″ 187 lbs
Miner played 32 games for the Giants in the regular season, putting up a 1.98 goals-against-average and .924 save percentage. He also played in six playoff games but his 2.73 goals-against-average and .885 save percentage. It is not that unusual that as the Giants made their run to the conference final, they leaned on experienced goalie David Tendeck. This should not diminish Miner’s standing as a prospect.
Miner tracks the puck extremely well and is almost always square to the shooter and in the right position to make the save. His lateral movement and puck tracking are near elite. His technique is very good, as he challenges shooters and takes away the net by coming out of the net, but recovers quickly as well. He gets up and down in his butterfly quickly and also has a very good glove hand.
92.) Graeme Clarke, Right Wing, Ottawa 67s, OHL, 5’11.5″ 175 lbs
Clarke is a sniper, with an excellent wrist shot and release. He also maintains puck possession with strong work along the boards and in the cycle game. Clarke has soft hands and can make moves on opposing defenders to create space. This would be more effective if he can improve is skating. While Clarke has a good first few steps, he can improve his top-end speed and his agility. He is very smart though, and this helps him to get into the right positions and compensate for the lack of speed. Clarke also has good vision and passing skills.
93.) Ryder Donovan, Centre, Dubuque Fighting Saints, USHL, 6’3″ 186 lbs
Donovan spent most of his season playing college hockey but also had time with Dubuque as well as with Team USA at the Ivan Hlinka tournament. A big, powerful forward, Donovan is a good skater for his size. He gets in quickly on the forecheck and has the agility and edgework to maneuver through traffic. Donovan uses his frame to play a physical game, pressuring defenders and creating turnovers. Once he gets the puck, he can fire it on the net with a quick release or quickly pass it to a teammate. He needs to work on his stickhandling and puck protection skills though.
94.) Judd Caulfield, Right Wing, US National Team Development Program, USHL, 6’3.5″ 205 lbs
Another member of the US NTDP, Caulfield is a solid all-around forward who seems to do everything well, but has no one skill that is really outstanding. He has good size and a can play a physical game in all three zones but does not blow you away with big hits. He is a good skater who can keep up with the play but does not have game-breaking speed. Caulfield is solid in his own end, committed to backchecking and providing support to the defence. He plays a simple game in the offensive end, moving the puck to teammates in good areas and letting go a hard and accurate wrist shot.
95.) Layton Ahac, Left Defence, Prince George Spruce Kings, BCHL, 6’2.5″ 190 lbs
Ahac is another player who doesn’t have any single outstanding skill but also does not have any real weaknesses. Ahac is a very good skater, with speed in both directions as well as the edgework, agility, and pivots to play a two-way game. He is a solid passer, effective at starting the breakout or playing at the opponents blue line, but it is not clear that he will be a huge power play producer either. He uses his skating ability to maintain good gap control and forces attackers to the outside and away from prime scoring areas. Ahac also reads the play well and effectively uses his long stick to cut down passing lanes. He is not afraid to block shots.
96.) Ethan Phillips, Centre, Sioux Falls Stampede, USHL, 5’9″ 150 lbs
Phillips is a smaller skater who makes up for that lack of size with excellent skating ability. He is a real threat on the rush, as once he gets a step on a defender he can blow by them and cut to the net. Add in excellent agility and Phillips can manoeuver through traffic both with and without the puck. He does not let his size get in the way of playing a gritty game, as he fights hard in the corners and in front of the net. With the puck on his stick, Phillips plays the role of playmaker, making passes through tight seams and setting up teammates for scoring chances. His shot is decent but could improve with more muscle on his frame.
97.) Isaiah Saville, Goaltender, Tri-City Storm, USHL, 6’1″ 198 lbs
Saville put up a .925 save percentage in 34 games with Tri-City this season. He is headed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha next season. Saville is a bit undersized but hides that by getting well out of his crease and challenging shooters. He is an excellent skater getting back into the net quickly if attackers try to deke him. His side-to-side movement is especially good as he moves across the crease quickly. He is very athletic and can make a number of ridiculous saves. Saville will need to improve his rebound control going forward.
98.) Mikhail Abramov, Right Wing/Centre, Victoriaville Tigres, QMJHL, 5’10.5″ 165 lbs
Abramov was the 97th overall pick in the CHL Import Draft. He was impressive at this summer’s Ivan Hlinka with seven points in five games. Abramov also put up seven points in six games at last year’s Under-17 World Hockey Challenge. He is another undersized but talented playmaker. Abramov creates space with his quick changes of speed and direction. He takes advantage of being an outstanding skater and having quick hands to create passing lanes with subtle changes of direction or changes in angles. Abramov protects the puck well and can wait for a teammate to get open before setting him up for a scoring change.
99.) Ronnie Attard, Right Defence, Tri-City Storm, USHL, 6’3.75″ 205 lbs
Attard has been passed over in two previous drafts, but after an outstanding season with Tri-City could see his name called in Vancouver. He put up 30 goals and 64 points in 48 games, outstanding numbers for a defenceman. Attard is headed to Western Michigan next season. Attard is a very good skater. He covers a lot of ice. Attard can join the rush or pinch at the blue line and still get back defensively. He has very good size and is willing to play a physical game. Opposing forwards need to keep their heads up on his side of the ice. He also has an absolute cannon of a slap shot, along with a good wrist shot and a quick release.
100.) Domenick Fensore, Left Defence, US NTDP, USHL, 5’7.5″ 153 lbs
Fensore has everything a team would want in a defenceman, except for size. He is a dynamic skater who pairs that with excellent puck handling ability. This allows him to carry the puck out of danger in his own end as well as to lead the rush through the neutral zone. Fensore can quarterback the powerplay with excellent vision and passing skills. He can put the puck through tight seams and set up teammates for an excellent scoring chance. Fensore uses his skating and a quick stick to stop opponents, however, his size can be a liability against bigger forwards.
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