With 10 Moose games in the books, here is my cursory "scouting report" of some of the Jets' key prospects with the Moose.
Ville Heinola
Skating - Heinola's skating looks a lot stronger now than his first stint with the Jets. In particular, he has much better acceleration and top-end speed, which allows him to recover defensively on transition and to carry the puck with some power from his own zone and through the neutral zone. His edge work and mobility is very good, and getting better. He is a very elusive player. Overall, Heinola's skating is now at least at an NHL average level, and his mobility might be a bit higher than that.
Puck handling - Heinola is a confident and effective puck handler, with an ability to move quickly with very good puck control. This is particularly evident in the offensive zone when he walks the blue line or beats the first line of defenders to make a foray deeper into the offensive zone. Overall, this is an area of strength.
Passing - Heinola has continued to show a high end passing ability. His "short game" in his own zone is highly developed, with deft passes. Occasionally, he has a bit too much risk, but more often than not his plays lead to good zone exits. He is a very good stretch passer, with accuracy and some deception. His passing in the offensive zone is also very advanced, showing creativity and accuracy and deception.
Shooting - Heinola's shot is average or below average. He gets the puck on net and avoids blocks, but his shot lacks power and he seldom beats a goalie cleanly, even with good positioning. His goal scoring will depend on well-placed shots with traffic in front.
Transition defense - Heinola maintains a tight gap through the neutral zone, but doesn't often get caught out of position. He has good pivots and agility, so he's able to maintain position on fast players on the outside.
Zone defense - This is perhaps Heinola's weakest area. He is good at maintaining position on cycling players, and wins some battles with a good stick. But he can get a bit lost on his coverages at times, and in particular struggles to protect the area around his crease and the slot.
Hockey sense - Heinola processes the game at a very high level, anticipating play both offensively and defensively. One of his biggest strengths is his deceptiveness with the puck. He creates a lot of space / lanes for plays through misdirection, etc.
Overall assessment and projection - Heinola looks like a sure-fire top-4 puck-moving D. I think he can step into an NHL line-up now, particularly if he's paired with a strong within-zone defender. I am particularly impressed with the development of his skating.
Dylan Samberg
Skating – Samberg is a powerful skater, with good acceleration and a good top speed. He uses a powerful stride to carry the puck around his net and lead a rush, and with a good top speed he is good at transporting the puck through the neutral zone. His top end speed is not elite, but certainly very good for a player of his size. His agility is also very good, particularly for his size, as he is able to pivot and turn quickly and maintain position.
Puck handling – Samberg is confident with the puck, and can maintain control at speed and while maneuvering. He occasionally will make moves to beat a first-line defender from the point. But Samberg’s puckhandling is still fairly basic. He isn’t going to dangle very often, and instead is more about solid puck carrying in strong turns and straight lines.
Passing – Samberg is a very good passer. I’ve been impressed by his short passing game in his own zone. He makes quick and accurate short passes. He is an accurate stretch passer, though not spectacular. He makes solid passes in the offensive zone, often finding seams or looking for sticks in front for deflections, etc.
Shooting – Samberg has a heavy shot, but his release is a bit inconsistent and he lacks some accuracy. I don’t think he’ll be a strong scorer from the point, but his shot is ahead of players like Forbort, Beaulieu, DeMelo.
Transition defense – This is a big strength for Samberg. He maintains very tight gaps, and uses his reach and stick positioning to disrupt transition starting close to the opponents’ blue line and back through the entire neutral zone. His skating / agility allows him to maintain the type gaps, and turn when needed.
Zone defense – Samberg has solid positioning and anticipation, and is a powerful defender along the boards and around the crease. He is able to stop cycles and create turnovers, while positioning his body and stick to cut off seam plays. This is a real strength.
Hockey sense – Samberg shows quick thinking and reactions, and usually makes good decisions. He doesn’t just make the most obvious plays that can lead to dump outs, but is willing to go against pressure, etc.
Overall assessment and projection – I think Samberg projects to a top-4 defensive D, that could round out a top pairing with an appropriate partner. I think he’s ready for the NHL now, and could certainly play on the 3rd pair, or 2nd pair in the right situation.
Declan Chisholm
Skating – Chisholm is a very good skater, with good speed and acceleration and agility. He is able to use his speed to pressure and recover, and to beat opponents with the puck.
Puck handling – Chisholm is a solid puck handler at speed. He isn’t a high end puck handler, but he is able to maintain control at high speeds, through turns, etc.
Passing – He’s a solid passer, though still fairly basic in what he tries to do. He’s more inclined to make creative passes in the offensive zone.
Shooting – He has a solid shot, but nothing too special. He does a relatively good job of getting the puck through from the point.
Transition defense – Chisholm is solid on transition defense. His gaps are variable, but generally good. He has the skating / mobility to maintain good gaps, but doesn’t do it as consistently as I think he will.
Zone defense – He’s better in his zone defense than I expected. He’s diligent, can break up cycles, and positions himself well.
Hockey sense – Chisholm has good hockey sense both offensively and defensively. He processes the game quickly.
Overall assessment and projection – I think Chisholm certainly looks like he has NHL potential, at least on a bottom pair. His combination of physical tools and hockey sense are good attributes. He might be a year or two away, but he’s closer than I thought.
Cole Perfetti
Skating – Perfetti’s skating remains a “work in progress”. He has agility and some quickness in tight areas, but he lacks acceleration and top-end speed. Although it’s not a key to his game, you can see that he would be much more effective at the AHL level if he had more speed and power in his game.
Puck handling – Perfetti is a very deft puck handler. He can beat players one-on-one, and has a great knack of getting the puck to teammates. He struggles at the AHL level to maintain puck control under physical pressure, which perhaps will come with more strength and experience. But he clearly has some room for improvement to build on a very good foundation.
Passing – He’s a brilliant passer, with touch and accuracy and can make passes on the forehand an backhand, and from awkward situations.
Shooting – Perfetti’s shot is accurate, with a good release. He’s missed a few corners, but I think that once he dials in he’s going to convert on the goal-scoring front.
Transition defense – Perfetti is smart and diligent, but lacks speed and strength to be really effective in preventing rushes or creating strong back pressure.
Zone defense – Perfetti has good positioning and anticipation. But his lack of strength and quickness makes it difficult for him to stop plays.
Hockey sense – Very high end, with great vision and timing.
Overall assessment and projection – Perfetti looks like he’ll be a very effective top-6 forward. It’s a bit hard to assess this type of player at the AHL level, because he’s going to play off of other top talents when he’s at his peak. I think he’s at least a year away from breaking into the NHL, but when he gets there I think he’ll be a good complement to the Jets’ forward group.
GDT: WCQF Game 3: Dallas Stars @ Vegas Golden Knights | 7:30PM PT |
Series Talk: ECQF: Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs (BOS Leads 3-1)
