Decided to evaluate in depth on Blake Biondi, a prospect the Rangers have an apparent liking to....
For starters, he's listed on eliteprospects at 6'0"/181lbs., but he looks ALOT bigger than that. I would quite possibly say that he could be somewhere in the 6'3"/195lb. range. Nonetheless after watching, I came away pretty impressed with what I saw from him. His game is primarily made on his work ethic in all three zones. He digs hard, albeit not a great skater. He has a quick and elusive first step that gets him slightly ahead of defenders on an offensive/defensive rush. His vision is underrated, but he utmost loves to shoot the puck. It's quite accurate and powerful, too, especially the wrist. He's a right shot, so when he sets up to release he pushes off with the right leg and lets one fly. He protects the puck well against defenders and can create opportunities on the PP via the wing. I can see that he likes to make peripheral passes, like without looking at the player he's passing to but still gets the pass to that player. On the defensive, he's reliable. He has a very effective backcheck where he'll hound a player coming in with the puck, drive him to the boards and battle his way for the puck and go the other way.
Some downsides with him, though. Like I mentioned, he's not going to "wow" anyone with his skating, but it is kind of monotone. Not quite an extra gear, but his relentless work ethic makes me second guess myself on that assessment. I would like to see how he develops his skating over time, but for Minnesota High School, I wanted to see more flash for the type of player he's providing. Another key note is man coverage in the defensive zone. There were more times than not where he lost his man when playing on the defensive. This, unfortunately, led to some chances on net. He's got to keep his peripherals going in all three zones, not just the offensive. I think that will be worked on in the NCAA so I'm not too worried about that. One last gripe I have is that he seemed like he was just doing enough to be slightly better than his peers/opponents. Not a lot of experience against tougher, higher skilled players. This isn't really his fault, but I question how good he'll immediately be in the NCAA/pros. He'll need to prove more to be a consistent "key-in-the-cog" for Minny-Duluth.
All-in-all, I actually like this kid and can envision a potential. His work ethic is really good and has an underrated offensive game that could lead to some nice numbers down the line. He does need to work on his all around game in a harder league. I think the NCAA will be an adjustment period, for sure, and could ultimately end up needing all four years to develop. But if he does, I could see a middle-6 forward in a Jamie Benn, Zach Hyman, or (dare I say) Morgan Barron type player for the Rangers. After watching, I think I would give the kid a solid mid-late 2nd round option with some risk of not living up to his offensive potential. I think this could be a realistic target with the earlier of NYR's 3rds if he happens to fall.
*Sidenote*
He was the captain with Hermantown High and won the 2020 Minnesota Mr. Hockey Award. He will be a true freshman with Minnesota-Duluth whenever hockey starts back up.
