| Grady Gallatin | White Bear Lake Bears | Minnesota High School | L | D | 6’3″ | 180 | Uncomm. | White Bear Lake, MN | 2004 | Long Term Player Watch |
Minnesota HS: Centennial vs White Bear Lake, February 17, 2022: Gallatin is a tall, smooth skating defenseman. He played a very controlled game and did not show panic when under pressure. He moved the puck quickly and efficiently out of his zone. Several times he moved it and then would join in the rush. Gallatin made several defensive stops with anticipation and good reads. His length made him difficult to play against. Gallatin wasn’t overly physical player but used his body positionally to defend. He was a key to their penalty kill and played on the second power play unit. Grade: B+
Minnesota HS: Cretin-Derham Hall vs White Bear Lake, January 18, 2022: Gallatin is a confident defenseman with very smooth feet and good speed. Skating wise we like his deep knee bend and shoulder width skating base which gives the 6’3″ left shot very good lateral mobility. Defensively he plays with an active stick and uses his reach to take away passing lanes and generate turnovers. As he continues to gain experience and strength we would like to see him defend with more urgency and jam, but at this level his skating is so smooth that he can win most battles without needing to hammer anyone into the walls. He played the right flank on the power play where he looked to go back door or open up for a one-timer. There were times when over complicated things offensively rather than going with his first decision, but you have to be interested in a 6’3″ smooth skating defender.
Minnesota HS: Moorhead Spuds vs White Bear Lake, December 17, 2021: Other than his length, the first thing we noticed about Gallatin was the snap he put on his passes. During neutral zone transition he showed the deception to look at his partner before firing cross ice rockets right on the tape of White Bear’s weakside winger. Along the offensive zone he opened shooting or passing lanes by moving laterally and showed the quick hands to release knee height snap shots that generated rebounds. When his forwards were cycling Gallatin snuck backdoor a few times and had a beautiful one-time opportunity at the end of the first period. Truthfully it seemed as though he never left the ice and there is nothing better than game experience for a 6’3″ raw defenseman.
U18: Chicago Mission vs Minnesota Blades, September 17, 2021: Gallatin is long raw left shot defenseman with a very easy pivot. Through the neutral zone he moved well laterally while defending he rush and did a good job of disguising the length of his poke check. He showed a nice skating base with a long stride that finished with a toe push as well as above average acceleration when jumping into the rush. While boxing out or clearing shooting lanes we liked how Gallatin lowered his hips to generate more power rather than leaning forward to become off-balance. He had a few turnovers while shorthanded trying to make 200′ clears, but we blame that on USA Hockey and the foolish rule changes. He played his off side on the power play and although we did not see him shoot any one-timers, he did show the foot work to slide laterally while opening up to shoot. Gallatin is a 6’3″ work in progress who we feel has upside.
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