Notebook: Canonica, Dean, Raty & More
Every season, FCHockey’s scouts are scouring the globe to get eyes on prospects eligible for the 2021 NHL Draft and beyond.
They spend countless hours watching both live games and game tape to get the best possible analysis on the prospects entering the NHL Draft. Our Unpacking the Scouting Notebook series takes a look at some of the reports that FCHockey’s scouts have filed over the past week.
From Lorenzo Canonica to the U20 SM-sarja’s Aatu Raty, here’s a glimpse at our scout’s analysis from the past week.
Lorenzo Canonica, C, Team Switzerland (U20 Exhibition)
Switzerland 8 – Germany 4 – July 20, 2020
Scouting report by Joseph Aleong
Lorenzo Canonica, who was snapped up by Shawinigan in this year’s CHL Import Draft, looks to be one of the top Swiss players available for next year’s draft. Quick and shifty skater who gets up to top speed quickly with smooth edgework that gives him great elusiveness in open ice. Sits low in his stride but doesn’t get full extension on his strides and relies more on crossovers to build speed; this seemed to limit his explosiveness as the game wore on. Creative and skilled puckhandler, and while he shows a tendency to over-handle at times, he also pulled off a couple highlight-reel moves that led directly to scoring chances in this one. Succeeds at handling the puck and making plays inside movement, making him a threat in transition and when fighting through contact. Shows great vision, shoulder-checking before he picks up the puck and showing creative footwork to open up passing lanes. He’s unafraid of getting to the dirty areas of the ice and finds open ice to present a shooting target for his linemates. His shot lacks power currently, but he does have a quick release and good timing when driving to the net off the cycle. Inconsistent with his defensive reads and coverage but shows good skill at reading passing lanes and creating turnovers with his stick. Looks quite slender on the ice, not engaging physically when given the chance and getting pushed off the puck in board battles too easily. Works hard in transition and shows aggressive positioning when breaking the puck out of his own end.
Zach Dean, C, Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)
Gatineau 1 – Victoriaville 4 – November 27, 2020
Scouting report by Olivia McArter
This was my first viewing of Zach Dean and I was very impressed. He has a quick release and is really good with his shot generation. With Dean’s quick releases, his passing isn’t always accurate to his linemates which he does need to work on. His stickhandling skills and quick hands help him to protect the puck when it is in his possession which shows off his puck protection skills. Dean has really good edge work and is able to dance around his opponents, especially when he has the puck and is able to switch direction with ease. Dean is a very fast skater too. He has quick power strides and is able to read plays really well that helps him get into a potential scoring opportunity or help his teammates make a safe play really quick. He’s able to visualize quickly to see where the puck could end up and he’s there to make the play. Dean is very good offensively but in this game specifically, he needs to work on his defensive zone play. I saw where there were a couple of instances where he stood around and didn’t try very hard to get the puck from his opponent and one instance where he didn’t try, leading to a scoring opportunity. Overall, I am very impressed and I’m intrigued to see more from him.
Tyler Haskins, C, Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)
Des Moines 2 – Sioux Falls 4 – November 25, 2020
Scouting report by Chris Smith
Tyler Haskins had a fairly quiet game overall, he was noticeable on the PP where he is used in the high bumper position, where he did a fine job redirecting pucks to the net and acting as a decoy, he does a good job of fronting the puck and making himself a pass option. He’s a player who can make quick decisions and plays around the net, that is where he spends a lot of his time in the offensive zone. Haskins is an average skater, a bit too bent over in his stride and it limits his overall speed and pace of play. Haskins is an adequate defensive player, positionally he was in the right spots, was willing to block shots but would like to see him stop on the puck more often. A few times he got caught chasing the puck in his own end. At the next level, he has the tools and ability to be a potential complementary player as he is smart and plays in the dirty areas.
Simon Knak, RW, HC Davos (NL)
Davos 7 – Rapperswil 5 – November 27, 2020
Scouting Report by Dennis Schellenberg
The 2002-born and undrafted Simon Knak has been loaned to HC Davos to start the season with and had a decent start. In this turbulent game against Rapperswil, Knak showed decent net presence and was ready for a deflected shot around the crease. Displaying his natural goalscoring nose, he always put his stick onto the ice as he tried to create havoc in front of the opposing goaltender. He was effective in looking for open spots around the net and was available for passes to create dangerous scoring chances. Was able to fire the puck with great velocity and did not need a lot of time and space to lift the puck when set up with a pass. Compared to earlier views at national team level, he has been improving his explosivity in the first strides. Is able to take off much faster than a few months ago and possesses nice top speed. Is hard to separate from the puck when hitting full speed as he can use his long reach nicely and keep chasing opponents away from the puck. He could still improve his defensive side of the game as he often tends to float around in no man’s land instead of following his opponent and get more involved in plays and battles. Could use his long reach more effective in interrupting plays.
Aatu Raty, C, Karpat U20 (U20 SM-sarja)
Karpat U20 4 – KalPa U20 2 – November 20, 2020
Scouting report by Josh Bell
While he might not be at the top of this class anymore, Aatu Raty is still a skilled prospect. Perhaps this was just a strong game for him, but there was a lot to like. His best asset is his skating. Utilizing crossovers to building speed and replacing forward strides with lateral crossovers to gain and maintain speed. I especially like that he builds speed as he changes direction. He shows strong balance and very good posture. Very good on his edges. He’s not afraid to drive to the net, another big plus for me. Often, you see prospects take the outside lane, but Raty seems to always be looking to drive the middle. There was one rush, where he helped create a 2-on-1, passing it across, but then took his foot off the gas and missed an opportunity to either receive a pass or grab the bouncing rebound. He consistently drives the offense, excelling in his transition and often leading the entry by carrying it in. His vision is excellent, finding the lanes very well and processing how the game is evolving around him and reacting. He knows how to cut players off, with or without the puck, cutting through player’s hands to create space, and protect the puck. After gaining the zone at times, he can tend to lose his dynamic posture, resorting to the “A” stance and losing his mobility. Battles very hard for the puck in the corners and along the boards. On one occasion, he wasn’t giving his all when defending the rush, coasting on the way back and skating by the open man in front of the net, who shortly after scored, undefended. I liked his puck movement, picking up a nice assist from behind the net, putting it straight up the slot to his man. He scored a goal with some nice zig-zagging of defenders, but the shot wasn’t particularly strong, more of a throw on the net as he would in warm-up. Overall, there’s a very good prospect here. I’d like to see him a little more engaged off the puck, and not take his foot off the gas on rushes going both ways, but there are many traits that make him a high-end prospect in this class.
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