Quick Evaluation: He has an effortless skating stride and has the ability to beat forecheckers 1 vs 1. He has a quick, accurate shot coming down the wall. He is very smart and patient with the puck. High IQ defender who is improving at a rapid rate. We feel he is just starting to scratch the surface of his potential.
Eamon Powell (4.25 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — B) Defense
(1) Brain – He reads line rushes well by not only looking at the first line of attackers, but by also reading the depth, speeds and movement of the second wave of the attack. Eamon’s defensive zone awareness and confidence shutting down the cycle seem to have improved every game we saw him play and he has developed into a legitimate top 4 NHL prospect.
(2) Vision & Poise – Eamon is confident with puck under pressure and does not panic. He has the puck skills to make quick 1 touch passes through tight areas or settle a poor pass quickly and find the stretching forward in stride.
(3) Feet – Excellent thrust and low hips while skating backwards allows him to maintain tight gaps and force turnovers. He retrieves pucks quickly and has the quickness to create time and space for himself and his partner.
(4) Compete & Effort – He has always been a competitive kid and won his share of battles, but as he has become stronger and more powerful he is winning more and more 50-50 pucks and turning them into quick outlets for transition.
(5) Contact or Physicality – Please see above. He is not an overly physical defender, but his improved strength is very noticeable in all facets of his game.
(6) Release – Quick release from the offensive blueline that does not hit shinpads and creates rebounds or secondary scoring opportunities. Although he does not have a lot of goals we feel he has the type of snap shot that can score when joining the rush.
(7) One Timer Ability – This is an area that Eamon will need to continue developing while at Boston College. We feel that for him to be a true top 4 NHL defenseman Eamon will need to expand his comfort zone for one timers. This is a skill that can be developed through time and effort.
(8) Body Language – Eamon is a confident player. He believes in himself and it shows. This does not mean he is arrogant. It means he believes in himself as a player and expects to be successful.
(9) Special Teams Potential – We feel that Eamon can be a defenseman that can play in any type of situation. He is smart, skilled, has great feet and is only going to improve while at Boston College.
(10) Intangibles – His improvement over the past 16 months has been obvious to anyone who has spent time watching him. We feel he will continue improving while in college and will turn pro as player who can play top 4 NHL minutes.