A giant on the ice, but he has the ability to combine his size with a agile and mobile game. His agility comes as a surprise because he’s so physically imposing but has great lateral movement and footwork making him effective in the transition game. His long legs allow him to move up and down the ice in very few strides, but he has a bit of a wonky skating technique that needs some tweaking to truly take his game to another level. His bread and butter is his ability in the defensive zone, his positional discipline and size allow him to break up plays in the defensive zone and box opponents out from the net front areas. His skating makes him vulnerable on the rush, his size can help him recover but he gets beat a little too frequently for a guy with his physical attributes. Hurtig also needs to become more imposing, at times he can be a little reactive instead of dictating the play himself. The game has changed and defensive-minded defensemen are a little harder to come by, but if Hurtig can improve his puck skills and offensive ability a little bit and continue to play his strong defensive game he has a chance to become an NHL player.

– FCHockey’s 2021 NHL Draft Guide