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We continue our series reviewing NHL affiliated prospects playing in various development leagues around the world with our Western Scout/Analyst Vince Gibbons weighing in on the players who have caught attention in the WHL with their elevated play so far this season. Next week we will look at the players in the QMJHL. If you missed Brock Otten’s look at OHL prospects you can find the link below in the article.
Sam McGilligan, a member of our video squad, introduces Logan Cooley to this space with a close look at his game and why he is ranked inside the top ten of our recent 2022 NHL Draft ranking, and the top player out of the US National Team Program.
As the World Junior Championship approaches, you will want to check out our team previews on www.mckeenshockey.com. With the announcement of Team Canada’s roster yesterday, Brock Otten will break down the key players in the coming days. We will have much more coverage on the tournament as we approach puck drop, including a look at the top 2022 NHL Draft prospects who made their respective squads in this column.
The McKeen’s team are scouting and writing about prospects all season long and provide in-depth reports on our website: www.mckeenshockey.com
Prospects in the News: WHL Impressive Affiliated Prospects– Late Round Successes in first part of season.
By Vince Gibbons
A few weeks ago, my colleague Brock Otten provided an update on what NHL prospects are looking like in the OHL after the long layoff. If you missed it, you should check it out here.
For my part I will walk you through some of the most impressive NHL drafted prospects in the WHL so far this season. A year ago, the WHL bubble was better than nothing, but this new season has given young players a real chance to impress and show the progression that was made despite Covid-19 and a lack of competitive games over the past year. Some players have had their names on the marquee already with Dylan Guenther, Sebastian Cossa, and Kaiden Guhle being recent first round picks and teammates on a stacked Edmonton Oil Kings. Other first round selections like Carson Lambos, Nolan Allen and Jake Neighbours are still worthy of their status as solid prospects but this article will look at guys taken beyond the first round as many have kicked of this season at another level.
The first of these gem’s is Flyers sixth rounder Connor McClennon who currently leads the WHL in goals, while being second in points to linemate and future top 10 pick Matthew Savoie. The skills have always been there but when you stand 5’8 and weigh a 160 pounds the odds are long for you to become an impact player. His work ethic, forecheck and effort off the puck are a big part of why he was still drafted when other smaller players were not. McClennon is a highly competitive player who doesn’t back down and has a high motor game. His speed isn’t elite, which is a concern for a smaller player, but he does so many other things well. He has an excellent release and one-timer. He is a player that will shoot from distance and has enough deception in his shot that he can have success from there. His game off the puck, particularly his back pressure is strong and while he certainly benefits from playing on one of the top lines in Junior hockey, he is far from a passenger. It is still a long road and McClennon will likely spend a couple years in AHL, but he looks more like a legitimate prospect than a later round flyer, which is more than the Flyers could have expected when they drafted him.
Ducks fifth rounder Sean Tschigerl projects as a bottom of the lineup type player who blocks shots, finishes check and gets in lanes. Offensively his game is solid but not necessarily spectacular. He is good with the puck on his stick, but he is better and more dangerous in the cycle game or on the forecheck where he just outworks everyone. Most of his success comes from being the hardest working guy on the ice. He is more of a finisher than a playmaker and a lot of his goals come from in and around the net. He has good puck tipping skills and is always battling for position in front of the net. He is the type of player you win with because his attitude and effort are never in question.
A 2020 4th round selection of the Pittsburgh Penguins is another small player who has taken a real step forward this year. On a struggling Medicine Hat team, Lukas Svejkovsky has shown he can drive play, create on his own and elevate the players around him. He leads the team in goals (11), assists (17), points (28), shots (98) and the player behind him in each category isn’t even close. Bogdans Hodass is second with 16 points and 76 shots. It’s not just the production that is attractive. The team looks different with him on the ice. He handles the puck well, leads the rush through the neutral zone, and is always looking to create turnovers. Few players have shown they can impact the game like he can.
Dylan Garand is another fourth-round selection this time for the New York Rangers. He is a lock for Canada at the WJC where he is a returning player. Garand isn’t the largest goalie, but he has incredible athleticism and reflexes that allow him to excel. He has strong lateral movement and gets a quick, strong push when moving post to post. He puck tracking is another area where he sets himself apart. When he is on his game his movement is controlled and concise keeping him square and ready to react if he gives up a rebound.
Vegas selected Jakub Demek with the last pick of the fourth round in 2021. Edmonton Oil Kings took a chance and brought the hulking 6’4 center to North America, where after a quick settling in period, he has become a key player down the middle on a strong Oil Kings Roster. He brings an edge to a team that has a lot of skilled forwards. His strengths really complement highly skilled players, and his average skating doesn’t hamper him from keeping up to a higher paced game. He has good skills and can make plays both along the wall and in front of the net, which is what you want out of a big, strong forward. He isn’t going to be a high-end finisher but his passing from below the dots and his ability to retrieve pucks on the forecheck make him an ideal complementary player.
Daemon Hunt was a third-round pick of the Minnesota Wild who was plagued by injury in his draft year. He has a lot of attributes that made Kaiden Guhle a first-round pick; good size, strength, and ability to control his own zone, with good agility for his size, but like Guhle the offensive upside was a question mark. Hunt has continued to make improvements offensively and he is a big shot from the point on the powerplay. He isn’t an elite puck handler, but he makes smart steady plays and has a great one-timer and wrist shot that he can get through to the net. He currently leads the WHL in goals (9). He isn’t a puck rushing defender by any stretch, but he is capable of carrying through the neutral zone. He is strong in board battles but is also a good open ice defender where he manages gaps and will step up and make a play to end a rush.
Justin Sourdif plays a speed game but has a surprising heaviness and physical game. He does not shy away from driving to the hard parts of the ice and is always working to get himself into a dangerous position. He is a play driver through the neutral zone where he will carry the puck and attack with pace. His speed catches opponents off guard and he is dangerous in open ice with his combination of that speed and soft hands. He has always shown the ability to finish plays, but this season has really shown he can distribute the puck. He makes good passes and leads guys in the rush. He is a confident puck carrier that can beat opponents’ multiple ways.
Logan Stankoven is a pick that the Dallas Stars must be thrilled with. The vertically challenged forward is still able to get things done on the ice. He is a great rush player where he can attack with pace, change speeds to create some space and then attack again. His shot, particularly his release, is dangerous. He is a perimeter player but not in the negative sense, he can hold the puck out there until a lane opens to drive the net. He likes to push towards the front of the net and his pace and quick acceleration make him hard to keep tabs on in the attacking zone. He is a player that excels in the transition game. His size does give him some limitations and the cycle game is not his strong suit, either defending or attacking. When he is covering the point, he is very solid, his quickness out to the blue line alters shots and forces quick decisions from opponents. He is also good at breaking up passes and protecting cross ice plays, but below the dots and along the wall he needs to be stronger. He is a dominating player in the WHL this year
Tristan Robins was a late second round pick for the San Jose Sharks who continues to impress. His skating and hands make him a puck carrier and rush leader through the neutral zone. He is great at reading the situation and know when to push the pace or when to slow down for a brief second. He creates a lot of space for teammates by adjusting his pace, giving trailers a chance to skate into space, traffic to set up in front of the net, or slowing a defender down to push past him to attack the net. Robins is a pretty complete player defensively with his attention to detail in his own zone very good. He supports below the dots even if he is physically overmatched, but he wins his share of battles with speed, using his feet, hands, or stick to move the puck.
Olen Zellweger was an early second round pick of the Anaheim Ducks and is the top producing defenseman in the WHL this season. His seven goals rank him fourth in the WHL while he is nearly at an assist per game. He is the one of three defenders to average over a point per game at this point in the season. The other two are at least a year older than him. Zellweger is as smooth of a skater as you will see out there. His skating is explosive and is the base of so much of his success on the ice. He has great edges and moves along the offensive blue line with ease making him hard to control. He is willing to attack from the blueline using his skating to create separation and lanes to distribute the puck. He is a very good transition defender where his speed and footwork enable him to close quickly, reach loose pucks and win cleanly a lot of what would be 50/50 battles without having to engage the opponent. In his own zone he is good at anticipating and makes good reads about the defensive rotation, and where the puck is going. He needs to be better along the wall and battling in front of his own net. Those two areas are the ones that need the most growth for him to be an NHL defenseman, but he should be a big part of Canada’s power play at the World Juniors in a couple of weeks.
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2022 NHL Draft Prospect: Logan Cooley
By Sam McGilligan
Logan Cooley, C, USNTDP, 5’10”, 180lbs
2021-22 Stats: 27GP – 18G – 20A – 38PTS
This year’s USNTDP (United States National Team Development Program) crop is filled to the brim with projectable NHL talent, and it’s arguably led by a highly creative, intelligent and dynamic centerman: Logan Cooley. The 5’10”, 174-pound pivot from Pittsburgh is one of the team’s most prolific scorers, with 38 points in 27 appearances, while also providing notable defensive and transitional contributions on a shift-by-shift basis. Very few draft eligible players are able to blend skill and agility together like Cooley can, and even fewer are able to weaponize these traits to drive play in projectable ways to the extent that he does. It is for this reason that Cooley is trending towards being a top five pick in the 2022 draft.
In the offensive zone, Cooley is a threat at all times. He is a true dual talent as a puck carrier, regularly displaying the ability to challenge both shooting and passing lanes simultaneously and identifying the most efficient option for the team. He doesn’t panic when making decisions, and often puts the puck into positions where his intentions are unclear to the defence, regardless of the pace of play. He can slow the game down to a crawl, pausing defenders while attacking whatever lanes they leave open, or he can use his 360-degree mobility while attacking at full speed to beat defenders the moment they commit their weight the wrong way. His non-descriptive body language, misdirecting eyes and sharp momentum changes make him extremely hard to read as a puck carrier and are the keys to his ability to draw in pressure and easily escape into open space, looking for the next dangerous play to make. It’s that ability to transform pressure into open ice, regardless of the pace, that allows Cooley to find so many opportunities to continuously drive positive results in the offensive zone.
Cooley’s strengths as a puck carrier continue outside of the offensive zone. He has the means to be an excellent transitional center in the NHL, as he attacks along the middle third of the ice while using give and go plays to find open space to carry or pass the puck into. His dynamic toolkit complements this approach, as his lateral mobility allows him to draw in players before sneaking around them, and his passing arsenal can be used in unison with his stickhandling abilities to manipulate and open lanes through the neutral zone on the fly. Combining these strong transitional fundamentals with his well-established skill base generates a large percentage of defensive zone exits and offensive zone entries with control, which is a must have trait for any top six NHL center.
Cooley’s game continues to excel when away from the puck. He’s an engaged defender when the opposition has the puck, locking down the dangerous areas of the defensive zone with terrific positioning of both his body and his stick, while his fast decision making allows him to make outlet plays within mere moments of receiving the puck. He’s a heavy back checker, able to angle off attackers and shut down dangerous passing lanes. After his team regains possession, Cooley’s high-speed processing makes his linemates’ jobs easier as he’s always cleverly positioned within the gaps of the opposing defensive structure, regardless of what zone the puck is in. It is the calculated off-puck movement that lets him be both the initiator and the finisher of a great setup, as well as the middleman linking efficient plays between various teammates.
With the season he’s having, Logan Cooley has deservedly entered his name in the discussion for second best center in the draft, and some would argue he has enough upside to contend for second overall alongside players like Joakim Kemell and Matt Savoie (among others). Regardless of where he goes in the draft, Cooley manages to be an efficient, play driving center that elevates the ceiling of his linemates while still being a joyous occasion to watch on a shift-by-shift basis, reminiscent of Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov. Any team that drafts him this summer will be ecstatic to have such a premier centerman on their roster for years to come.
