Brandon Gormley

[FlyLife]

What is his offensive upside? Does he have the skills to eventually head the PP next to OEL?

I've read conflicting reports, so I'm sure there will be conflicting opinions here.

Click to read more...

 

[member 30781]

In juniors his offensive skills are WAY above average.

In the NHL, my best guess is he will likely top out at 40-45 points in a few seasons but will be a consistent 30-35 point scorer which is about average. He will be a guy who can chip in offensively when need but will not be looked at as the premium offensive dman in Phoenix. I think that honor goes to OEL.

 

[Kevin Forbes]

For Moncton, he plays in that role and they're 5th in the league in PP efficiency.

He's really good at distributing the puck and has a good passing game, with the vision to find the open man, yadda, yadda, yadda. He doesn't really have that big bomb of a point shot that some might look for in a defenseman on the powerplay, but he gets his shot off pretty quickly and it's accurate: six of his nine goals this year have come from the man advantage (worth noting that last year he scored nine over the entire season, with again six coming on the powerplay).
I also feel like he's shooting more than he was last year, but that might be just a byproduct of more playing time in those situations with Savard and Barberio gone.

But yeah, I would say he's more of a puck-mover than a triggerman. I'd be tempted to say he's more of a pass-first guy too, but his shot totals are up there as well for Moncton. I'm not abundantly familiar with OEL and what he brings, but if he's able to really tee it up, that could be quite a powerplay pairing for the Coyotes in the future.

 

[PhoPhan]

OEL can shoot, but he seems to opt more for the wrist/snap shot over the heavy slap shot. He's got a lot of other skills that overshadow his slapshot. For heavy shots in the pipeline, the Coyotes might find themselves relying more on Maxim Goncharov or Michael Stone, both of whom have cannons. Yandle is no slouch either, and I expect him to be around for a while.

As for Gormley, he seems to be a prototypical two-way guy. He was putting up astronomical numbers this year before his knee injury, which looks like it will sideline him for nearly a month. How he comes back from that is anyone's guess, but at the draft I was expecting him to become a Chris Phillips/Marc Staal second pairing shut down guy with limited offensive production, but his numbers this year make me think he'll see some powerplay time down the road, as crowded as the Coyotes blue line is.

 

[Mountainside]

For Moncton, he plays in that role and they're 5th in the league in PP efficiency.

He's really good at distributing the puck and has a good passing game, with the vision to find the open man, yadda, yadda, yadda. He doesn't really have that big bomb of a point shot that some might look for in a defenseman on the powerplay, but he gets his shot off pretty quickly and it's accurate: six of his nine goals this year have come from the man advantage (worth noting that last year he scored nine over the entire season, with again six coming on the powerplay).
I also feel like he's shooting more than he was last year, but that might be just a byproduct of more playing time in those situations with Savard and Barberio gone.

But yeah, I would say he's more of a puck-mover than a triggerman. I'd be tempted to say he's more of a pass-first guy too, but his shot totals are up there as well for Moncton. I'm not abundantly familiar with OEL and what he brings, but if he's able to really tee it up, that could be quite a powerplay pairing for the Coyotes in the future.

Gormley's shot is a bomb. Much of the Moncton PP runs around feeding him a one timer if it's available, and he doesn't usually hesitate to get it off. It was clocked low 90's I believe last year at Moncton's skills competition.

Other than that I agree, I don't think he will be a first class PP man in the NHL, but I think he's the kind of guy that can fit right in with a top tier PP guy ( a la OEL) and make for a deadly powerplay.

 

[gifted88]

He was the most complete Dman in the 2010 draft. His offensive isn't going to blow you out of the water but it is still above average. He does have the skill to be paired with an offensive guy on the PP. Him and OEL would move the puck quite well together imo.

What were the conflicting reports?

 

[Metalownall]

He was the most complete Dman in the 2010 draft. His offensive isn't going to blow you out of the water but it is still above average. He does have the skill to be paired with an offensive guy on the PP. Him and OEL would move the puck quite well together imo.

What were the conflicting reports?

IMO Cam Fowler is the best so far.. He brings a lot to the Ducks but we'll know better in 2-3 years when Gormley also graduates with the Coyotes

 

[SensFan26]

Gormley is going to be a better version of Chris Phillips. Very good in the defensive zone but can also get it done offensively. I expect he puts up 30 points a season.

 

[rt]

A more offensively inclined Michalek? Where as OEL is perhaps a more defensively inclined Kaberle? Any where near target?

 

[BobbyRyan9]

He brings a really strong defensive side to his game, but does have an offensive upside. I wouldn't say he's a full blown offensive defensemen though. His key skills in terms of offense is moving the puck up the ice either by skating or with a good pass. As to Kevin Forbes remark about him shooting more this season, I've noticed that too. Last year he seemed more reluctant to shoot while on the powerplay, but seems to be taking more shots this season. As for his NHL projection, I don't think he'll be a true number one powerplay quarterback. He could either complement someone else (like OEL) on the first powerplay unit or man the second unit. I'm not sure if he'll ever reach the status of a true number one defensemen, but he doesn't need to in Phoenix. There are other players in the defensive corp that will resume that responsibility. Atleast this is how I see him panning out, but he could be better.