Tell me about him. What's his style?
A feisty two-way winger that uses his size and speed to open up space for himself and teammates. Understands both sides of the puck well, and skates hard up and down the ice. Positionally sound and reads plays well. While not always the fastest player on the ice, his skating ability is noteworthy and he can catch the opposition off-guard on the rush. Not afraid to get into the mix, and will get under the skin of opponents. Definitely a team-first player that will find a way to make an impact for his line with each shift. (Curtis Joe, EP 2017)
With the stats Gadjovich put up, most would think he would be a first round pick. However, there is one big issue that is putting him further down in the draft rankings, and that is his skating. His start-up and acceleration are a bit clunky, and he really needs to work on that. Once he gets going the speed isn’t as bad, but it really takes a while to reach that top end speed. This means winning races to loose pucks and other short burst actions can be an issue. He does have decent agility and edge work though, and can get by a defender in one-on-one situations. Gadjovich has good lower-body strength and balance. He is strong on the puck and cycles effectively.
If there is an encouraging sign here, it is that his skating is much better than it was a year ago. It even seemed to improve as the year went along, leading to the breakout. If teams believe that improvement can continue, he could rise up draft boards quickly.
Gadjovich’s entire statistical profile suggests someone worthy of a first-round pick, so even if a team has concerns about his skating or the possibility of inflated production, he’s going to be a fantastic bet to make in the second or third round. pGPS pegs Gadjovich’s likely career assignment as a middle-six forward, with an expected success percentage of 51.9%, but there’s enough upside to indicate the transformation into a first-line winger isn’t out of the question. One of his closest statistical matches is Jeff Carter, which is likely the best case scenario for Gadjovich, production-wise.
A bit wary of taking CHL players who just have the one big-goal season with no assists, after Virtanen. Obviously it's a different thing at #66 instead of #6 though. His D-1 and D seasons basically mirror Jake statistically.
A little concerning. Some guys improve their skating, some guys don't. But certainly a gamble you can take at this point.