2021 Draft Profile:
LW/RW Matthew Coronato, Chicago USHL
Those of you who have been following my draft/prospect writing for years know I really like to be the first guy to pump up sleeper prospects and I absolutely love to advocate local prospects. No one checks both of these boxes quite like Long Island native Matthew Coronato.
The Chicago Steel have really become the best development program in the USHL, outside of the US-NTDP of course. They have uncovered and helped develop another gem in Coronato. What is there to attract us to this kid? Simply put -- he's a scorer. He's got a deadly shot and seems to be a magnet for loose pucks in the offensive zone; he's always in the softest scoring area with the type of instincts which cannot be taught. He is also a true dual threat -- without being an elite passer, Coronato is a very smart and very good puck distributor, especially down low.
I've heard Coronato knocked as a "smaller winger", but his build reminds me a lot of a young Zach Parise. The Long Islander is probably around 5'10-185, very solidly built with a lot of strength to crash creases and win board battles. He's not a perfect player, as his skating stride can be cleaned up some. I think the difference between his being seen as a middle-6 prospect with scoring pop or a top-6 scoring possibility rests on his chances of getting his skating speed and acceleration from "average" to "pretty good".
Let's go straight to the obvious -- if Coronato does not seem like a first round prospect when discussing his tool kit, we need to focus on just how high-end his scoring instincts are. In 31 USHL games -- a notoriously defensive league -- Coronato right now has 28 goals and 27 assists for 55 points. This is just ridiculous production. He competes extremely well which leads to incredible consistency -- Coronato had a team record scoring streak this year for the Steel. I've gotten to watch the USHL a bit more than normal due to this awful pandemic, and every game I've watched Coronato has brought a smile to my face.
Ultimately, I think Matthew's lack of high end speed and below 6'0 height will drop him to the 2nd round despite his gaudy numbers. This makes him a tremendous sleeper candidate for the Devils. Again, we're talking about a kid who is a threat to score any time he gets the puck in the offensive zone. He's probably in my first round rankings, albeit in the 25-30 range. I'm a fan, and Matthew Coronato is a great guy to keep an eye on in the months leading up tot he 2021 NHL draft.
LW/RW Matthew Coronato, Chicago USHL
Those of you who have been following my draft/prospect writing for years know I really like to be the first guy to pump up sleeper prospects and I absolutely love to advocate local prospects. No one checks both of these boxes quite like Long Island native Matthew Coronato.
The Chicago Steel have really become the best development program in the USHL, outside of the US-NTDP of course. They have uncovered and helped develop another gem in Coronato. What is there to attract us to this kid? Simply put -- he's a scorer. He's got a deadly shot and seems to be a magnet for loose pucks in the offensive zone; he's always in the softest scoring area with the type of instincts which cannot be taught. He is also a true dual threat -- without being an elite passer, Coronato is a very smart and very good puck distributor, especially down low.
I've heard Coronato knocked as a "smaller winger", but his build reminds me a lot of a young Zach Parise. The Long Islander is probably around 5'10-185, very solidly built with a lot of strength to crash creases and win board battles. He's not a perfect player, as his skating stride can be cleaned up some. I think the difference between his being seen as a middle-6 prospect with scoring pop or a top-6 scoring possibility rests on his chances of getting his skating speed and acceleration from "average" to "pretty good".
Let's go straight to the obvious -- if Coronato does not seem like a first round prospect when discussing his tool kit, we need to focus on just how high-end his scoring instincts are. In 31 USHL games -- a notoriously defensive league -- Coronato right now has 28 goals and 27 assists for 55 points. This is just ridiculous production. He competes extremely well which leads to incredible consistency -- Coronato had a team record scoring streak this year for the Steel. I've gotten to watch the USHL a bit more than normal due to this awful pandemic, and every game I've watched Coronato has brought a smile to my face.
Ultimately, I think Matthew's lack of high end speed and below 6'0 height will drop him to the 2nd round despite his gaudy numbers. This makes him a tremendous sleeper candidate for the Devils. Again, we're talking about a kid who is a threat to score any time he gets the puck in the offensive zone. He's probably in my first round rankings, albeit in the 25-30 range. I'm a fan, and Matthew Coronato is a great guy to keep an eye on in the months leading up tot he 2021 NHL draft.
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