Prospect Info: Gavin McCarthy, Muskegon (USHL), BU Commit; RD - 86OA, 2023

Ace

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Oct 29, 2015
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You knew they were going to get either one of McCarthy or Musty. Sounds like maybe trying for both...
I think they were definitely trying to get up for Musty. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had taken him if Benson was gone. When Arizona was on the clock I thought they’d take Benson and had decided I was in on the Musty idea if they did.
 

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McCarthy at 98 with HP:

At this point, it feels like we’re framing up a smaller, softer offensive d-man. But that’s not the case, McCarthy is 6’1” and plays a surprisingly physical brand of hockey. He can knock some guys clean off their skates at times. Some of his hits are borderline late, but nonetheless, he offers a physical punch. It doesn’t appear as if he’s playing anywhere close to his weight either. He’s listed at around 180 pounds, and there’s some apparent core strength concerns based on some of his movements.

Almost every player has to fill out at this age, but with McCarthy, it’ll really be interesting to see if it takes him to another level or a different level. The tricky part – and again, there’s many with this player – is despite being a physical player, he’s not physical near his own net. He has very little urgency to cover the front of his net with any sort of purpose. He’s often late to get back there and when he gets there, he tends to just reach in and fish around. There are even instances where he turns his body away from the play at the oddest times. When he is actually defending near his net, he’s fairly easy to move off of his spot.

The toolset is interesting - the hits but offensive, the reaching defensively rather than being mean around the net... the need to grow.
 

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EP had him at 70:

Some bits -

A mid-season injury interrupted Gavin McCarthy’s near-point per game clip to start the season, but his diverse skill set was visible all season long. McCarthy’s part-robust defender, part-clever creator. He throws crushing hits, wins inside positioning, and eliminates off-puck threats.

When the puck arrives, his advantage-creating skills take over. He fakes out incoming forecheckers before hitting both long-range darts and slick short-range plays around opponents. There’s also plenty of flash to McCarthy’s puck game.

An anglechanging wrister and a non-stop activation game make him a constant threat. He tries complex passes and dekes, failing many, completing some

That variability is game-wide for McCarthy, making it his clearest pathway for improvement. Defensively, he often reaches and plants his feet, getting beat off the rush. On breakouts, lacks the skating to pull off his more complex moves, frequently cutting back into pressure, getting stripped by backpressure, and passing to no one
 

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I’m imagining how crappy I’d feel if he passed on me in this situation lol. Like..am i a bad person?


He mentioned bumping into him on the running trail by his house last week which seemed like a tell that he would be one of their picks.
 
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