How physical is he? 6’3 LHD
I found this snippet on a QMJHL on top-10 draft prospects, November edition.
- Tyson Hinds | LD | Shawinigan Cataractes
By being 6’3’’ tall and weighing in at 180 pounds, Tyson Hinds is just plain nasty to play against. The rough and tough defender from Gatineau, Quebec skates extremely well for his size and never shies away from throwing his body around.
He defends very well for the Cataractes, with a highly active stick and great body position. Hinds will never be a massive point getter, but every team values a stay-at-home defender like him. In 63 career games with Shawinigan, Hinds has 2 goals, 10 assists and a +7 rating.
No flash here, just a solid high character blueliner that will do just about anything to win puck battles down low. His vision and crisp passing allow him to transition the puck to the highly skilled Cataractes forwards with ease.
He developed his offense once he was traded to Rimouski as Rimouski liked to push its defenseman to participate in the offense. Here's a
quote from the Draft Analyst:
Hinds began the season primarily as a third-pairing defenseman, rotating between the right and left sides. He currently has a lanky build but should fill out. At first glance, he seemed to play a safe, low-risk game but he has developed a more aggressive style since being traded. Several factors play into this, such as Rimouski’s up-tempo system versus the conservative style Shawinigan expects from most of their defensemen in a forward-centric attack.
Why does this situation remind me about Fleury looking more aggressive offensively in his 12-game stint with us? heh.