They both opened our eyes during The Avon Christmas Classic and have continued to impress throughout the month of January. One is a big aggressive athletic defender who is a monster in his end. His long term upside is undeniable. Meanwhile, the other is a rocket ship. He plays with incredible pace and intensity. His elite skills and play making make him dangerous every time he is on the ice. We are excited to watch their continued development leading up to Montreal.
Kennedy O’Connor (4 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C) Defense
Kennedy O’Connor (D, L, 6’3″, 197, Loomis Chaffee, 05/10/2001, UMass Amherst) -O’Connor is big and hard to play against. In fact, everything he does, he does hard. He made steps at his blue line and stopped the line rush with pop. The UMass commit stopped the cycle, pinned players, got off checks, pushed people from the front and made crisp passes to his outlets. He is really athletic and has gotten taller than we remember as he is listed at 6’3” now. He played on the first power play and ate up a lot of quality minutes for Loomis. His shot is college/NHL caliber and he can one time the puck on net with ease and real power. We also noted that he could carry the mail as he skated to pressure with the puck and also was able to go end to end. He is talented, his skating is solid and he has a ton of upside.
Tabor Heaslip (4 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C) Forward
Tabor Heaslip (F, L, 5’9″, 160, Avon Old Farms, 12/17/2001, Connecticut) -Tabor played like a torpedo. He played fast and looked dangerous for Avon every time he had possession. He can fly by defensemen off the edge or attack the directly with a slick stick. He passed the puck and moved to smart spots. We liked that he can separate quickly with his head up and the puck does not slow him. His shot is a rocket and he hunted pucks with intensity as if it belonged to him. Tabor played the point on the power play. He was fun to watch break the puck up ice as he created clean zone entries. He scored as he jumped a pass, went in clean and made a clever move for the score. He also was around the net and scored a goal on a redirect. Also tipped a shot that was waist high into the goal. Great hand-eye. He hit Young on the tape for a back-door power play tally. He is a talented and productive player with a lot of upside. His game is exciting and he consistently created chances here. Played fast and with intensity.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/ Hickling Images
Scouting Report: Brian Murphy