Ethan Szmagaj (4.25 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C+) Defense
(1) Brain – Ethan is a savvy defenseman. In the defensive end he uses anticipation to beat the opposition to the scoring areas and maintain clear shooting lanes. This allows him to control sticks and rarely do you see rebound opportunities from his man. His anticipation is also obvious in the way he communicates to his partner and low forward. He calls out switches early and on turnovers he is a vocal outlet for his partner. While defending line rushes Ethan reads the entire surface showing excellent ice awareness and again communicates very well with his partner and the backchecking forwards. We also feel he has a high understanding of when to activate from the offensive blue line. He does not just mindlessly fire down the wall for a high cycle or just head to the backdoor for something to do. Ethan reads when his forward is on his forehand or backhand, anticipating if his forward will try utilizing a 1 on 1 escape or if the best option his for him to activate and provide support.
(2) Vision & Poise – He is cool calm and collected with the puck. He uses his smooth first touch for quick ups in transition, as well as having the poise to look a forechecker off while finding the stretch guy. He does not panic when receiving a poor pass along the offensive blueline. He handles it smoothly and has the poise / skills to find his forward’s sticks for a tip or hit the net with a quick snap shot. He also shows great vision while defending by not hyper-focusing on the puck carrier. Even as the strong side defender on a line rush, Ethan has his head on a swivel searching for the next wave of attackers.
(3) Feet – He is a powerful skater with a low center of balance and an explosive stride. Ethan is quick and smooth while pivoting and does not cross his feet while defending. His strong edges allow him to retrieve pucks at full speed while forecheckers are on his back and his powerful cross under creates separation after gaining the net. Ethan’s skating is an asset.
(4) Compete & Effort – Maximum effort player who looks smooth while doing it.
(5) Contact or Physicality – He has strong hands and wins physical battles against larger players. He uses his feet and low center of gravity to create leverage. He is a hard working three zone player.
(6) Release – He gets his shots away quickly and hits the net. To become more of a long term asset Ethan must continue developing his power from the point. Although he hits the net consistently, we would like to see him be more deceptive and unpredictable in the hopes of generating more rebounds.
(7) One Timer Ability – He does not have a rocket, but he does have an expanded shooting zone and hits the net. We feel this is a skill that Ethan will continue developing over the next few years. He is athletic and will get stronger.
(8) Body Language – Ethan plays a mature game and does not get rattled or overwhelmed. He is control of his emotions and we feel he will wear a letter while playing for Michigan.
(9) Special Teams Potential – He has the anticipation and instincts to be a high level penalty killer. We feel Ethan will be second unit power play option, but if he continues to develop a more powerful point shot he has the first touch and vision to contribute on a top unit.
(10) Intangibles – His brain. Ethan processes the game and makes decisions quickly rather waiting to see what happens. Defensively his decisions force turnovers and generate the transition game that is played in today’s National Hockey League. He is not a coast to coast offensive defenseman, but he moves the puck quickly and hits the tape in stride. In our experiences this what NHL coaches request from their GMs and who highly skilled NHL point producers want on the ice with them.