Braden Schneider (4.5 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — A) Defense
Neutral Zone NHL’s Ian Moran, June 2020: Braden is a big defender who moves really well and has very good overall instincts. I really enjoyed watching him play this year. He is the shut down guy that every team is looking for, but i honestly feel he has more offensive upside than people credit him for. He’s really strong and very physical. He’s another WHL player who plays with an edge and I feel like as an 02 birth year opponents were intimidated by him. He is excellent at clearing shooting lanes for his goalie and there are not many second chances when he’s on the ice. Offensively, I feel his skills are very good, but he is not an offensive defenseman. He takes care of his end first, generates turnovers and makes quick tape to tape outlet passes that his forwards handle very easily. In all three zones Braden feels pressure and will confidently make the simple play rather make a high risk option. I think he shows great ice awareness and doesn’t just jump into the play for something to do. He understands shift lengths and opponents and only jumps when it is to his team’s advantage. Again. he makes confident and mature reads that will only improve as he gains experience. He is active along the offensive blueline and is very effective at pinching down the wall to shut down the opponent’s zone exits. Braden is not a player who will run a number one power play, but he will be an option as a shooter on a top unit. He plays with a tight in your face gap using his quick feet to force dump-ins and is rarely beat in 1 on 1 situations. Braden is one of the few defensemen in this draft class who has the timing to go for the kill shot in open ice. I feel that with his size and strength he will be a National League defenseman for a long time. I feel with his leadership, undervalued puck skills and shutdown capabilities Braden is a top 10 selection.
Neutral Zone NHL’s Donald Godreau, June 2020: An every situation player at this level, and possibly at the next. He’s a workhorse of a defenseman, who is relied on in all the important situations, and eats up lots of big minutes for his team. A powerful skater, he seems to generate lots of horse power with each stride. Even in skating backwards, each stride, each shift in weight comes with a surge of power that allows him to cover a lot of distance quickly. His first strides are aggressive and quick, he transitions smoothly and while he isn’t a super elusive skater, he is still strong on his edges and plays in straight lines with good stop and start acceleration. He looks like a man on the ice, both in terms of his size, and his play. He defends with a mixture of brains and brawn. Against the rush, he isn’t going to bite on any feints or deception thrown at him, and when he gets into tight areas, he can be unforgiving with his physical play. He plays with confidence away from the puck and with it. He jumps into shooting lanes fine, defends with a heavy stick, and won’t be tricked into skating out of his positional strength for a chance to be physical. With th puck he has just enough agility to buy himself an extra half second, and the confidence to be patient with the puck, he doesn’t play with panic, and will make nice passes out of his zone. It isn’t natural for him to turn around on a breakout and reset, but he won’t force the puck either if there isn’t options there, he will look to gain the redline instead and dump the puck in. On the power play he plays on top of the blue line. He doesn’t have a ton of deception offensively, but again, he shows the poise to walk the line and look for shooting lanes. He’ll use his heavy wrister to fit pucks through shooting lanes, or pass off to better options. If he does go unmarked, he has a very heavy slap shot, and we’d like to see him continue to develop that shot into a more consistent one time option. Grade: A
2020 Draft Prospects from different leagues who have Improved their Draft Ratings. March 2020: Braden was one of seventeen 2020 NHL draft eligible players who improved their rankings with a strong 2019-20 season.
February NHL Draft Rankings: Braden was ranked #13 in Neutral Zone’s February NHL draft rankings and was our 4th highest ranked defenseman.
WHL – Single Game Evaluation vs Moose Jaw Warriors, December 2020: Schneider was the most complete player on the ice for his team. The composed defenseman can do it all. He is physical, competes hard, and plays a professional style game. He ran the Wheat Kings’ power-play as the top man of their umbrella and was the leader of the breakout. He works both sides of the ice efficiently and is an excellent puck mover to open teammates on the wings. He is very aware of his surroundings and is calm under pressure. On the breakout, his head is up and his long stride allows him to blow by the opposition – he makes it look effortless. Braden is a late 2001 and wears the “A” for his team showing his leadership at a young age. On the defensive end, he has very good gap control, will engage with his body, and has a very active stick. He is consistent and will take it end to end if given the space. He was very effective on the power-play, however, he did turn the puck over once which lead to an odd man rush in the opposite direction. In the last 30 seconds of the game, he chipped the puck high and hard off of the glass to get it out during a critical time of the game and was rewarded with an assist on the empty net goal. Game Grade: A-
December 1st NHL Draft Rankings: Braden was ranked 14th in Neutral Zone’s December rankings and was our 3rd highest ranked defenseman.
WHL – Ranking the 2020 NHL Draft Prospects, October 2019: Braden was Neutral Zone’s second highest rated Western Hockey League 2020 NHL Draft prospect and our second highest rated defenseman.