Gaffney is a small player who possesses quick feet and a nice touch of the puck. His speed isn’t top end, but it is above average, and it’s aided by his quick and smooth skating that allows him to get the jump on his opponents and stay ahead of them. His skating stride is short though and he could improve his edges and backwards skating where he often gets beat wide on simple plays. He plays with speed through the neutral zone and is relentless into the offensive zone. He plays with a lot of hustle but it’s not always smart hustle and he can sometimes play himself off the puck. He is aggressive on the puck and his recognition of where the play is going stands out in both his play on and off the puck. His goalscoring ability comes from having some creative touches on the puck and he has the capability to create plays that lead to dangerous chances for himself and his team. He has strong vision that allows him to get the puck to his teammates in creative ways. He likes to find and exploit openings in the opponents’ zone to make plays happen. The defensive zone isn’t his strong suit just yet, but he has potential. He tends to find himself out of position at times in his own end and gets caught chasing the puck too much. He could be stronger on his skates in his own end where he tends to get pushed around a bit.

– FCHockey’s 2020 NHL Draft Guide