Notebook: Edvinsson, Nause, Rolofs & 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 Notebook series takes a look at some of the reports that FCHockey’s scouts have filed over the past week.
Here’s a glimpse at our scout’s analysis.
Simon Edvinsson, D, Frölunda HC (SHL)
HV71 1 – Frölunda 4 – December 30, 2020
Scouting report by Dylan Galloway
Big, highly mobile defender who is constantly jumping up into the play. There’s no doubt Simon Edvinsson has the ability to skate the puck up ice and displays excellent transition speed. His skating and vision immediately stand out on the offensive side of the puck. His constant and quick movements combined with good 4-way mobility is hard to miss with a frame like that. His vision of passing and skating lanes is quite good on the rush, but I found he lacked the ability to execute on this once in the offensive zone. He has all the tools to get there, but once in the offensive zone, he struggles to take that next and final step of driving the net or creating in the high danger areas. Edvinsson owns quite a smooth and powerful shot from the perimeter though and is capable of creating scoring chances in the slot with this shot. On the defensive side of the puck, Edvinsson was a bit of a mess in this game. A number of careless giveaways, including once in his own zone that lead to a goal were tough to look past. When he’s at his best he can be excellent at closing the gap on the break-in and box opponents out from the middle ice with his long stick and good physicality. Sometimes he can lean a bit too heavily on his reach, falling a step behind the play and really reaching in with his stick, putting him off balance and forcing him to stop moving his feet. That being said, when he does move his feet he’s one of the faster players on the ice and is capable of getting good body positioning to separate the puck from the puck carrier. When he’s on the ice he goes hard and is really pushing the pace up the ice, always looking for that offensive break. This can sometimes affect his defensive positioning, but he has the skating ability to make up for those mistakes. Overall there are a ton of tools to really like with Edvinsson, I do worry about his ability to put it all together but will need more views to make that determination.
Brett Harrison, C, Koovee U20 (U20 SM-sarja) – Loan
Koovee Jr. 4 – Lukko Jr. 3 – January 23, 2021
Scouting report by Olivia McArtur
Brett Harrison did well in his first game with Koovee U20. He had an up and down game and he wasn’t quite adjusted to the European ice. In the first of the game, he was a quick-paced skater and had moments of keeping up with the game pace but more than often I found him behind the play. When he had control of the puck he was able to go through traffic and into the offensive zone while keeping the puck in his possession. Throughout the first, he often looked lost and confused about where he should be. The second period was his best of the game. It seemed he had settled in more and was more physical and confident in his play. He was decent along the boards and was able to get the puck free and out to his linemates. He had really good passing and has a good hard shot. Though he had a few good moments, his play was much like the first period. Looked lost, often behind the play and just didn’t seem ready. Harrison had pretty good balance. When he had possession of the puck his opponents tried to knock him off of it but was able to stay up and in control to keep possession. Overall, this was a decent first game for Harrison. Once he adjusts to the European ice style I believe he will do much better as a player.
Joona Korhonen, LW, Ilves U20 (U20 SM-sarja)
TPS U20 6 – Ilves U20 5 – November 28, 2020
Scouting report by Josh Bell
Joona Korhonen does a very nice job to come back and support the D, breaks up a scoring chance with his feet and active stick. Good skating, wins a race in the OZ, but his team isn’t in place and options are limited. Tries to buy time but holds it too long, losing possession. Nice forechecking. Forces a turnback and then forces a rushed decision. Playing on the PK. Forces a turnover in the OZ, nice pass ends up being a shot assist. Stops the play in the NZ, really impressed with the two-way ability. Shows good awareness in the DZ, knowing when to come down and support the D. Shot on the rush, gets a ton of bend in his stick, taking it right into the house, shooting in stride. Just misses a one-time chance, timing just off on the connection. Again in the OZ, his team turns it over, he comes in and steals it back. Turnover machine. Scores in this one, granted it’s from the goalie turning it over. But, right place and taps in an easy one. Impressive stickhandler. Relied on by the coach heavily in OT. Very impressive in both ends. Likely a bottom-six player, but could be a pretty safe pick.
Evan Nause, D, Québec Remparts (QMJHL)
Québec 2 – Gatineau 1 – November 26, 2020
Scouting report by Théo Lambert
Evan Nause is a big defenseman whose game lies on transition play. He is a very good puck mover, a decent skater, with some good speed and agility, and he combines these two qualities to get pucks out of his zone. His skating stride does not look perfect though. He can bank pass off the boards or complete direct passes from his forehand and his backhand. He did miss some passes because he did not put enough power, but these mistakes are easily fixable. He can also use his skating and body to get away from forecheckers and protect the puck. When the other team is on the rush, Nause controls his gap with the puck carrier well, as he quickly adjusts and adapts to the forward’s speed to kill the play or force a dump in. He can also finish the play with a good hit along the boards. One aspect that Nause might want to work on is his change of direction, as he was slow to switch from backwards skating to forward skating, which led to him being a little bit late on one rush. That would also help him controlling and keeping a good gap against faster and more agile skaters in the professional ranks. Nause can also join the rush and enter the offensive zone by himself, as he did with a lot of speed during this game. He exploited open space very well. In his zone, Nause is well-positioned and can use his stick to cut passing lanes and take the puck away from his opponents. In the offensive zone, he moves the puck very well, but I feel like he does not make the best shooting decisions. At times, he made shots from far off, when I think he could have jumped and took a couple of steps to create a better and more dangerous shooting lane for himself. The positive thing is that even though he might not constantly shoot from dangerous spots on the ice, he does create shooting lanes for himself with some nice footwork on the blue line. He used his agility and lateral skating to get away from his coverage and get shots on. He even jumped into open space to create a more dangerous chance and made a dangerous pass to the slot, but he only did so once. If he wants to produce more points, he will have to do so a lot more. I think Nause has got a good shot, but I do feel like he should try to release it quickly and to add more power to it as well.
Matvei Petrov, LW, MHK Krylia Sovetov Moskva (MHL)
MHK Dynamo 2 – Krylia Sovetov 4 – January 11, 2021
Scouting report by Brandon Holmes
It was an impressive showing for Matvei Petrov against Dynamo Moskva, as the 17-year-old winger was able to secure one goal and one assist during his 15:21 in time on ice. It’s clear Petrov is his team’s go-to offensive weapon, as more often than not the puck was put into his hands both in transition and in the offensive zone. While carrying the puck, it was clear Petrov possesses overall strong mobility and can find open space on the ice with good edgework and puck skills, however, there were a couple instances where his first step quickness was somewhat lacking and in turn limited how well he could stop and start and accelerate. In the offensive zone, there is no doubt that Petrov sees himself as a triggerman, the young winger loved to shoot the puck in this game and attempted 10 shots on goal, though only five of his attempts actually made it through the netminder. Petrov is a very light player at this stage in his development, as he weighs in at just a shade over 160 pounds, and this lightness on his skates does factor into a couple of areas of his game. As to be expected from a player in Petrov’s weight class, Petrov was fairly easily knocked off the puck and lost physical battles, however, his lack of strength did affect his shot as well, as he wasn’t quite able to get a ton of power behind his wrist shot and will be an area that I would like to see improvement in for a player that shoots the puck so much. Despite his lack of strength, Petrov did play a fairly competitive style of game, as he was unafraid of driving to high-danger, dirty areas of the ice in the offensive zone to get himself into shooting opportunities while also doing a good job of hounding pucks on the forecheck to cause turnovers. Though Petrov almost always opted to shoot in offensive situations, he did display some good playmaking ability particularly on the powerplay where he was able to make a superb cross-ice read and deliver a crisp pass for an easy one-time goal. Overall, Petrov is still a fairly raw winger in his current state, but there are plenty of tools to like in his work ethic, mobility, and shooting ability that should be amplified once he fills out his six-foot-one frame more.
Stuart Rolofs, LW, London Knights (OHL)
Oshawa 1 – London 5 – March 8, 2020
Scouting report by Dylan Galloway
Stuart Rolofs is a big winger who plays a decent 200-foot game. In this particular game against Oshawa, I found Rolofs to be a really solid positional player who was always just on the cusp of the play. He had some strong efforts with the puck deep in the offensive zone and also put in effort on the backcheck and in the defensive zone. The only thing holding him back from that next level was his acceleration and overall mediocre skating speed. Rolofs seems to have a good grasp of the game in all three zones. He’s capable of reading the play well and helping his team recover the puck high in his own zone and make a good exit pass, or help transition the puck himself. His lack of acceleration seems to come from playing in a fairly upright posture. Once he takes a few strides and leans a bit more into his stride at the hips he can produce some quick powerful strides that help him move at a solid rate of speed. Rolofs is very aware of the play on the ice and his head is constantly swivelling to track linemates and opponents. He’s constantly shoulder checking and does a great job of using his awareness of his surroundings to activate on pucks. His shot and puck skills were the weakest aspect of his game in this one, but he was able to generate a few chances on net regardless and I liked that he created these chances in multiple different ways, an odd-man rush, a breakaway, and regaining possession deep in the OZ. More views required for a projection of the player but I like the tools he brings to the table.
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