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- Sep 18, 2006
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He gets his own thread after having a rather solid year, slowly climbing up many lists as the season progressed.
He finished the year as my 18th ranked WHL player for the 2015 NHL Draft: http://whl-from-above.blogspot.ca/2015/05/final-whl-rankings-2015-nhl-draft.html
#18 Connor Hobbs
Team: Regina Pats
Position: D
Shoots: R
Height: 6’0.5
Weight: 187
GP: 45
Goals: 2
Assists: 16
Points: 18
Pts/Gm: 0.40
PIM: 36
Player Analysis: Connor Hobbs is a toolsy and abrasive two-way defender for the Regina Pats…possesses a rather knock-kneed skating stride…despite his rough-looking stride he gets around the ice well for the junior level…has explosive top speed and can change direction quickly and with fluidity…first few backwards cuts have power and allow him to transition to defence quickly…footwork defensively isn’t always perfect but has shown improvement this season…edges, footwork and hip angles on defence will need to show more improvement to play at the next level…has a tall, long and rather skinny look to his frame despite being listed at just a hair over 6’0… passes the puck extremely hard…really whips the biscuit around his own zone and isn’t afraid to attempt frequent stretch passes with somewhat inconsistent results…passing is fairly accurate for the most part…does have a tendency to force pucks into tight spots at times, rather than letting the play develop…like with his physical play (more on this in a second), he will need to improve his decision making with the puck as he gets more experience…pass reception and general puck handling skill exist but are somewhat inconsistent…have seen him bobble some routine passes…he shoots the puck extremely hard…owns a good one-timer, although the accuracy of his shot needs work…gets his feet in proper position to fire and seems to have the tools to score more than he did this year…wrist shot is good, release is quick…could stand to be a tad more aggressive jumping into the play at times but does make some solid aggressive plays when it comes to keeping pucks in the offensive zone…is punishing in the way he plays defence…is extremely aggressive with his body contact and often hits to hurt…is not shy to step up into the neutral zone and bury opposing players…will be a human missile if he can get up to 6’1.5 and closer to 210 pounds…picks his spots quite well regarding when he goes to lay hits but it would be an area that could use slight improvement with more experience…really works hard in his own zone playing an abrasive and up-tempo style of defence…not afraid to play a bit chippy and be somewhat of an agitator…while his length and decent mobility allows him to maintain tight gaps, he has shown some brain cramps defensively regarding simple and rather basic blown coverage plays…lack of overall experience shows itself at times regarding his basic defensive instincts, but I remain confident he doesn’t have any major hockey sense issues… would definitely classify him as a rather raw player (just over 50 regular season WHL games under his belt) with a bit of a wild stallion vibe to his game…with that being said, a lot of things he does have a “pro style†to them…showed me very good signs of improvement each time I saw him during the season…was used as a top pairing defenceman ever since being acquired by Regina mid-way through this season, really going through a “trial by fire†process due to a lack of general WHL experience before that trade… along with playing top minutes alongside Colby Williams he also was featured on both the main powerplay and penalty killing units…his PPG rate was T-10th best among all first-year draft-eligible WHL defenders this season…his even-strength PPG rate of 0.27 was T-9th among that same class of skaters…was originally a 4th round pick, 67th overall, by the Prince Albert Raiders at the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft…was traded to Medicine Hat during the 2013-14 season…early in the 2014-15 season he requested a trade from the Tigers after playing 12 games in a depth role…while he awaited a trade he spent time with the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks…was acquired by Regina as part of a massive trade, culminating with him landing on the Pats top defensive pairing for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs…his game overall leaves me with some general questions about what kind of defender he wants to be…despite that concern I see a lot of tools and a rather moldable player…while I see him as a raw player with some skating issues, he has all the tools, size and the aggressive mindset that teams covet…if all things go well I think he projects as a top 4 NHL defender who can play special teams while not necessarily being a true anchor on the PP…I would rank him as roughly a mid-4th round type of prospect and feel that he will come off the board sometime starting in the back half of that round come draft day…
He finished the year as my 18th ranked WHL player for the 2015 NHL Draft: http://whl-from-above.blogspot.ca/2015/05/final-whl-rankings-2015-nhl-draft.html
#18 Connor Hobbs
Team: Regina Pats
Position: D
Shoots: R
Height: 6’0.5
Weight: 187
GP: 45
Goals: 2
Assists: 16
Points: 18
Pts/Gm: 0.40
PIM: 36
Player Analysis: Connor Hobbs is a toolsy and abrasive two-way defender for the Regina Pats…possesses a rather knock-kneed skating stride…despite his rough-looking stride he gets around the ice well for the junior level…has explosive top speed and can change direction quickly and with fluidity…first few backwards cuts have power and allow him to transition to defence quickly…footwork defensively isn’t always perfect but has shown improvement this season…edges, footwork and hip angles on defence will need to show more improvement to play at the next level…has a tall, long and rather skinny look to his frame despite being listed at just a hair over 6’0… passes the puck extremely hard…really whips the biscuit around his own zone and isn’t afraid to attempt frequent stretch passes with somewhat inconsistent results…passing is fairly accurate for the most part…does have a tendency to force pucks into tight spots at times, rather than letting the play develop…like with his physical play (more on this in a second), he will need to improve his decision making with the puck as he gets more experience…pass reception and general puck handling skill exist but are somewhat inconsistent…have seen him bobble some routine passes…he shoots the puck extremely hard…owns a good one-timer, although the accuracy of his shot needs work…gets his feet in proper position to fire and seems to have the tools to score more than he did this year…wrist shot is good, release is quick…could stand to be a tad more aggressive jumping into the play at times but does make some solid aggressive plays when it comes to keeping pucks in the offensive zone…is punishing in the way he plays defence…is extremely aggressive with his body contact and often hits to hurt…is not shy to step up into the neutral zone and bury opposing players…will be a human missile if he can get up to 6’1.5 and closer to 210 pounds…picks his spots quite well regarding when he goes to lay hits but it would be an area that could use slight improvement with more experience…really works hard in his own zone playing an abrasive and up-tempo style of defence…not afraid to play a bit chippy and be somewhat of an agitator…while his length and decent mobility allows him to maintain tight gaps, he has shown some brain cramps defensively regarding simple and rather basic blown coverage plays…lack of overall experience shows itself at times regarding his basic defensive instincts, but I remain confident he doesn’t have any major hockey sense issues… would definitely classify him as a rather raw player (just over 50 regular season WHL games under his belt) with a bit of a wild stallion vibe to his game…with that being said, a lot of things he does have a “pro style†to them…showed me very good signs of improvement each time I saw him during the season…was used as a top pairing defenceman ever since being acquired by Regina mid-way through this season, really going through a “trial by fire†process due to a lack of general WHL experience before that trade… along with playing top minutes alongside Colby Williams he also was featured on both the main powerplay and penalty killing units…his PPG rate was T-10th best among all first-year draft-eligible WHL defenders this season…his even-strength PPG rate of 0.27 was T-9th among that same class of skaters…was originally a 4th round pick, 67th overall, by the Prince Albert Raiders at the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft…was traded to Medicine Hat during the 2013-14 season…early in the 2014-15 season he requested a trade from the Tigers after playing 12 games in a depth role…while he awaited a trade he spent time with the SJHL’s Nipawin Hawks…was acquired by Regina as part of a massive trade, culminating with him landing on the Pats top defensive pairing for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs…his game overall leaves me with some general questions about what kind of defender he wants to be…despite that concern I see a lot of tools and a rather moldable player…while I see him as a raw player with some skating issues, he has all the tools, size and the aggressive mindset that teams covet…if all things go well I think he projects as a top 4 NHL defender who can play special teams while not necessarily being a true anchor on the PP…I would rank him as roughly a mid-4th round type of prospect and feel that he will come off the board sometime starting in the back half of that round come draft day…
