Pepin is a puck-moving offensive defenseman and smooth skater who uses his good agility and vision to find skating lanes and lead the breakout. He has an excellent mobility, showcasing smooth turns with the puck, effortless edge work and quick pivots. His stops and starts, acceleration and overall quickness are average, but he displays a decent top speed in transition thanks to his powerful stride. He displays good stick work defensively, using quick stick lifts and poke checks to create takeaways. His positioning, gap control and defensive awareness are questionable though and he is not a physical defender. He needs to play tougher on the puck, especially for his size. Aside from his weak play in the defensive zone, he can be efficient at getting the puck out of his zone and will utilize bounce passes off the boards to complete a zone exit. He takes some risks on the breakout, but he is confident in his ability and he handles pressure very well. He is very offensive-minded, always looking to jump on the attack and privileging potential counterattack to his defensive positioning. He reads plays and finds scoring opportunities with ease thanks to his tremendous offensive awareness and instincts, and his worth ethic is unquestionable. He has some soft hands that help him shift direction and dodge opponents seamlessly in transition. A late bloomer with an interesting potential but he seems to have the raw skills to work with.

– FCHockey’s 2020 NHL Draft Guide