| Christian Jimenez | Sioux City Musketeers | USHL | L | D | 5’9″ | 187 | Harvard | 2021 | Yorktown Heights, NY | 2002 | 2020-2021: Free Agent |
Neutral Zone NHL’s Ian Moran’s comments, May 2020: I’ll be honest, Christian had a much better season than I expected him to have. He obviously skates well and sees the ice well from an offensive stand point, but I honestly thought Christian would have a tough time adjusting to the size and physicality of the USHL. Boy was I wrong. He’s very strong on his feet and competitive. He’s goes into the corner with the expectation of shutting down the cycle or eliminating his man to create a turnover and that’s exactly what he does. He’s quick in any direction, does an excellent job of playing stick on puck and he is powerful. When he was younger I would see him get over extended and end up on his toes. I thought he would continue that trend in the USHL and the stronger guys would push him down or knock him off balance, but I consistently saw the opposite. Christian was able to keep his hips low and his chest high so his leverage point was always lower and more square than his opponents. It was actually great to see him develop and mature. I was never worried about how he processed the game from an offensive stand point because I always felt Christian was a pass first guy and that was certainly the case this year. He made his usual dependable quick decisions and made nice tape to tape passes all over the ice. It was a great year of development for Christian and I think we’re looking at a kid who has a future as a modern day NHL defender.
February NHL Draft Rankings: Christian was Neutral Zone’s 100th rated defenseman eligible for the 2020 NHL Draft.
USHL – Sioux Falls vs. Sioux City, December 2019: The steady defenseman has good skating ability, and is a high-level puck mover. The lefty showed a good defensive stick, as he won several pucks and broke up plays. He was quick to move pucks up the ice after winning battles. His skating allowed him to gain entry on the Powerplay, and he distributed the puck well on the man advantage. Grade: B
USHL – Sioux City NHL Prospects, October 2019: Christian comes to the USHL after being able to physically dominate his New England Prep School competition. This year will be an adjustment as he is competing with players who are much bigger and stronger than he is used to. His high level of compete and quickness are keeping him on our list.
U16 USA Hockey Nationals, May 2019: Jimenez was one of the top overall defenseman in the tournament with his balanced stride, powerful edges and soft, smooth hands. He has a powerful shot and score from beyond the tops of the circles. He’s a heads up player, he’s stocky, can get off checks and stretch the ice with his vision, touch and puck skill. He can slow the whole game down and make precision passes all over the ice and takes over on the power play. He doesn’t have elite speed but he’s very strong on his skates which allows him to win 50/50 battles and knock opponents away from the net front and off pucks behind the net. He’s got some bite and he does a good job mixing it up when he should and playing the angle and using his stick when he should. His puck handling is excellent and he can get himself out of a jam in a hurry and he can join the rush and be a forward option. He could improve his speed, speed quickness and transitional play as he’s gotten stronger but lost a step. He completed the tournament with a 1-6-7 line and anchored Yale’s blue line from start to finish. College: Harvard
HPHL/Beast Showcase U16, October 2018: Christian is a mobile defender that controls the play from the back-end. Consistently looks to push the pace with his skating. He gets moving quickly and is smooth with the puck on his stick in transition. He sees the ice well and finds passing lanes easily. He is a one-man breakout in his own zone and takes ice when given to him. Only downside to his game is at times he gets caught taking chances. High upside. Grade: A College: Harvard
USA Hockey Select 16 National Development Camp, July 2018: Jimenez was one of the more dominant players this week. Made the all-star game and the Five Nations team as well. He is thick, mobile and used a strong core and quick stick to defend. He almost always had a strength and balance advantage in his end below the dots. Up the ice, he is even more interesting. He was able to carry, create and supply lots of offense for his team. Easily played through contact, stickhandled around opponents and has a cannon of a shot. He is poised and is able to keep the puck for a split second longer to allow plays to develop. At times it was all too easy for Christian as he was stronger and more dynamic than his opponents. At times he ket the puck too long and at times he took some risks but it never affected him in a negative way. Lots of tools and truly dynamic. College: Harvard
Blue Line Elite Prep Cup, June 2018: Christian was the best player here. There were shifts he had the puck almost the entire time. He was a man against boys. Shot was heavy and accurate. He showed he could push pace with possession and wheel back to defend. Puck play was elusive and productive. He showed soft hands to catch passes. Quick hands to pick pucks from traffic and off the wall as well as to weave through sticks. Played easily through contact as his core is strong and thick. The players that could get near him, Christian simply engaged and protected the puck and got where he wanted to. He scored after stepping up from the blue, getting to the slot and firing one home. He scored on a tap-in on the rush from Rinaldi. Jimenez scored on the last day after he found a loose puck and fired it home on a short-side snipe. Then in the same shift, he intercepted a pass, took his ice set up a screen and fired one post and in. He moved laterally along the blue with a purpose, he hit with pop to defend and he played hard. His skating appears stiff but it is not as he is just stronger and thicker from the waist down than everyone else. Real solid performance. Very high ceiling for the second round USHL pick. College: Harvard
USHL Phase I Draft, May 2018: Christian was ranked 36th with a 4 Star Neutral Zone Amateur Star Rating.
Top 200 American OHL Draft Prospects, April 2018: Christian was the 18th ranked American born player eligible for the OHL Draft.
NTDP & USHL Futures Draft Top 115 American 2002’s, March 2018: Christian was the 18 ranked defenseman with 4 Star Amateur rating.
Mid Term NTDP Bound Rankings, December 2017: Christian was Neutral Zone’s 15th ranked defenseman with a 4 Star Amateur Rating.
NE Prep Prospects Report 1, December 2017: The Harvard commit has a strong core and is skilled with the puck. He does not look new to prep hockey after an excellent midget career. Played power play where he is adept at moving in the zone to create shooting lanes. Can snap the puck and showed poise under pressure. There were some times he tried to do too much and skated himself into trouble in the middle zone but that should improve as he adjusts to prep hockey. High-end prospect that will get better as the year goes along. College: Harvard
Tier 1 Labor Day Classic (U16s), September 2017: Christian has played a lot of hockey this summer. Here he struggled early on but got better as the weekend moved along and the games got bigger. He has very strong legs and can skate the puck from his end at will. Showed off a hard shot, was excellent on the PP and can one-time it. His passing, specifically his outlets were not consistent and there were some stretches he struggled to make plays. He still stood out and was better than most. “A” player with a B+ weekend. College: Harvard B+
Junior Chowder Cup 2001 Division, August 2017: Jimenez has had a terrific spring and summer starting at Nationals, then Blue Line Prep, World Selects, National camp and now at Chowder Cup where he earned consistently solid reviews from all our scouts. He was good again here as a 2002 in the 2001 division. He played a balanced, strong game and used his core and strong legs to defend and create. He is very tough to knock off the puck and we really liked his hands. He showed more of an offensive flair than we have seen. His vision is good and he made good decisions on most of his pinches. He has a college ready shot and nice release. We liked his gaps. He is a compact player and does not dive in to defend. His skating is economical which allowed him to play a lot of minutes. He committed to Harvard soon after this event. College: Harvard
Blue Line Elite Prep Cup (U16s), June 2017: Athletic, three zone defender in the 2002 age group. His legs are strong and he can close off space and defend with leverage and strength. His outlets were crisp and accurate. His hands are strong. He is poised and productive in his passing on the PP. Christian shot to score and to tips/through screens. We had “well rounded” next to his name each game. We like his upside.
U14 USA Tier 1 Nationals, April 2017: Christian can play a number of ways. He has good size and a strong skating stride. He sees plays up ice and anticipated well when he defended. He has an excellent shot and moved well along the offensive blue line. He made some nice passes to the weak side on the PP and played in every situation for a good team
The Cup North American Championship (U14s), January 2017: Christian is a solid defender who is always in position and ready to make a play on the puck. He clears the puck well and handles things in his end of the ice very well. He finds the correct outlet and gets him the puck with crisp passes. He has a good shot and feds the net a lot in his games. Good when the puck is on his stick and will be very good on the rush and being that extra forward. Finds ways to get the puck on net and has a great accurate shot that he used to score a goal over the weekend.
