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Tyler Brennan Scouting Report: 2022 NHL Draft #62

Tyler Brennan Scouting Report

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 2022 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 bring you our Tyler Brennan Scouting Report.

Drafted in the first round, 21st overall, in the 2018 WHL Draft, the depth chart and the COVID pandemic have prevented Tyler Brennan from becoming a starting goalie in the WHL until December of this year. Brennan is just a few days too young to have been eligible for the 2021 NHL Draft. He played for a rebuilding Prince George Cougars team, appearing in 39 regular-season games. Brennan went 11-25-2 with a 3.58 goals-against-average and .899 save percentage. He also appeared in four playoff games. Brennan went 0-3-0 as the Cougars were swept in the first round by the Portland Winter Hawks. It certainly wasn’t Brennan’s fault as he had a 1.86 goals-against-average and a .954 save percentage. Brennan played for Team White at the CHL Top Prospects Game.

In 2020-21, Brennan played just four games. He was 2-2-0 with a .933 save percentage and 2.16 goals-against-average. He was also a backup goalie for Team Canada at the Under-18 World Championships. While Brennan didn’t play, he did win a gold medal. In 2019-20, Brennan went 4-6-1 in 15 games with a 3.34 GAA and .887 save percentage. He was the starting goalie for Team Canada White at the Under-17 World Hockey Challenge.

Tyler Brennan Scouting Report

Goalie — shoots Left — catches Left
Born September 27th, 2003 — Winnipeg, Manitoba
Height 6’3.75″ — Weight 185 lbs [193 cm / 83 kg]

Skating And Talent Analysis

At just under six-foot-four, Brennan has the type of ideal size that NHL teams are looking for with a modern goalie prospect. Add to that excellent skating skills and he is able to take up a lot of the net. Brennan gets out to the top of the crease, cutting down his angles and giving shooters little of the net to shoot at. Technically sound, his angles are almost always spot on, and he is square to the puck. This is helped by his strong skating and edge work. Brennan tracks the puck well and moves side-to-side quickly, making saves on cross-ice passes. He also can get back up quickly, avoiding being deked by opponents.

Brennan has strong legs. He gets down in the butterfly quickly and also gets back up quickly. He also has an effective blocker and glove hand. Like many young goalies, Brennan needs to work on his rebound control. However, even when he does give up a rebound, Brennan is quick to square up to the puck and make the next save. He could get better at directing shots into the corners and keeping rebounds closer to him though. He also needs a bit of work on covering up the space between his body and his arms. Brennan sometimes is beaten in that area. Brennan is an athletic goalie. He can get himself back into position and make some miraculous saves even if caught out of position. This is rare though, as Brennan doesn’t get caught out of position often.

Mental Make-Up

Brennan’s biggest asset is his mental game. He studies opponents extremely hard and knows their tendencies. He is one step ahead of the play at nearly all times. Brennan reads the play on the ice and anticipates what is going to happen. He makes difficult saves look easy by almost always being in the right position and square to the puck. Brennan is calm and cool in the crease. While he was peppered with shots in Prince George, he stayed calm and cool in the crease. Brennan understands the situation, slowing things down and getting a whistle when needed and moving the puck when the other team is tired or on a change. He is a leader on his teams and defenders look to him as the backbone of the team.

Brennan is quick to forget about goals against. He is ready to make the next save after the faceoff. He does not let mistakes spiral out of control and dwell on them.

Puck Handling

Brennan needs some work in this area. While he likes to get out of his net and intercept dump-ins or stop pucks behind the net, he needs to work on his control and passing abilities. When he leaves his net, it can sometimes be a bit of an adventure. Brennan will need to work on making a first pass to his defenders and not giving the puck away or this will be a liability in his game.

Projection and Comparison

With Brennan’s size, technique and athleticism, he is one of the best goalie prospects in what is considered to be a poor class of goaltenders this year. Brennan is one of the exceptions though and has the potential to develop into a starting NHL goalie if things go properly. Like most goalies, Brennan is a project. He has a year of regular WHL eligibility left. The team that drafts him could bring him to the AHL in 2023-24, or allow him to play an overage season in the WHL. With limited game action over the course of the pandemic, it will be important that Brennan is playing a starter’s workload and not relegated to backup duties. His game is reminiscent of Braden Holtby. This is a stylistic comparison only though and not one based on skill and ability.

Highlights

The following is a compilation of some of the highlight packages and features of Tyler Brennan that are available on youtube and Twitter.

 

Check back later for our next NHL Draft article.

 

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