Player: Austin Strand
Position: RD
Shoots: R
Age at start of 2019-2020 season: 22
Size: 6-4 216
Draft position: Undrafted
How obtained: Signed as a free agent on November 27th, 2017
Years pro: 1
Prior season Team: Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) GP: 69 G: 25 A: 39 PIM: 75 +/- : -2
2018-2019 Team: Ontario Reign (AHL) GP: 43 G: 7 A: 11 PIM: 30 +/-: -4
Signed through: 2019-2020 season
Review: Austin Strand passed through two NHL drafts unnoticed and undrafted, but came out blazing in his 19/20 year old season for the Seattle Thunderbirds and soon was being followed closely by the Kings, who with a lack of depth in the organization in 2017 quickly signed him to an ELC in November of that year as a free agent. He did not disappoint, racking up 25 goals from the blue line in his last WHL season. Strand came into rookie camp last year and I think most who saw him would say he looked fairly poised for a new pro and had one of the better showings in what otherwise was a dismal rookie camp for the team in 2018. During one of the tourney games Strand was struck in the head with a puck which put him on the sidelines the rest of camp with concussion symptoms before being cut to Ontario. Strand was one of the players I was most looking forward to seeing to start the season, but I'd have to wait until late November to get that chance. It appears Coach Stothers did not have a lot of confidence in the 1st year pro to start the campaign, and the with team playing so poorly defensively, opted to go with more experienced players. The concussion was not an issue as Strand played in the preseason in early October. With the Reign carrying eight defensemen, and with Strand having failed to get into a game the first couple of weeks, Strand was sent to ECHL Manchester to begin his pro career. Strand played 9 games for the Monarchs, scoring his first pro goal and adding 2 assists with a +1 rating before being recalled to Ontario (he switched places with Reddekopp who was sent to the ECHL). Strand made his AHL debut on November 25th, but did not become a fixture in the line up until mid-December, becoming a regular starter from then on. When the Kings signed Strand, he was described as an excellent skater. For a big man, he does move at a good pace, but need to improve his balance. I noticed on more than one occassion he lost his balance while making a turn with the puck resulting in dangerous turnovers, and sometimes he had trouble despite his size staying on his skates along the boards. Some of that may be a strength issue. Strand is a tall man at 6-4, but looks to have a bit of a wiry frame. Like most rookie pros, Strand is learning his craft and progressed during the season, posting a reasonable -4 rating on a very poor defensive team. He can use his long reach effectively, but need to close gaps quicker and anticipate opposing rushes better to not get beat to the outside. Not overly physical, but he'll use his size along the boards to his advantage. Two areas that stood out to me where his poise with the puck (generally read the game well and made safe passes despite being new to the faster pace), and his ability to get shots through on goal. He scored 7 goals, and I'd swear he hit 7-10 crossbar's and posts during the season. With a little luck, he would have scored in double digits. When he gets time and space, he can bring it with velocity on his slap shot but takes too big of a wind up at times resulting in shots being blocked. He is effective getting his wrist shots through.
Outlook: I think the best way to describe Strand is that he is a project player. He does some things well, and he has a lot of areas that need some tuning. I'd like to see him play with a little more pace and gumption to his game. He has an NHL level shot from the point, and does posses some poise offensively. This season he'll know what to expect and should be a regular on the Ontario blue line, hopefully manning the right point on the PP. I don't suspect he'll be ready for an NHL call up this year unless his game quickly rises to the next level during his AHL campaign, but I would not rule him out getting a look in 2020-2021 if he is re-signed at the age of 23.
Chance for success at the next level: The answer will boil down to this. Can he play NHL level defense? Right now I would say it's too early to tell, but I'm hopeful. He'll need to build upon his rookie campaign with continued improvement in all zones and become one of coach Stothers trusted go to men on defense. With so many new faces defensively again this coming season, the second year pro will be counted on to hold down one of the spots on the right side for the Reign in 2019-2020.