| Guillaume Richard | Tri City Storm | USHL | L | D | 6’2″ | 170 | Maine | 2021 | Cap Sante, QC | 2003 | 2020-2021: B |
USHL: Tri City vs Omaha, December 22, 2020: Guillaume is a smooth skating defenseman that has good hips and good vision with the puck. Guillaume uses his skating to break his team out, evading forecheckers and using the net to create space and start the attack up ice. He also moves really well through the neutral zone, skating the puck himself and moving it to his teammates when he has to. Guillaume really excels on the powerplay, especially bringing the puck up ice and entering the zone. He had a number of clean zone entries while Tri-City was on the powerplay, helping his team set up and start their offense without any trouble. Guillaume also works well on the offensive blueline, looking for lanes to the net to fire his wrist shot through. Overall, Guillaume had a solid game for Tri-City and looked calm with the puck on his stick. Grade: B+
Northeast Pack U16 Showcase, November 2019: Puck rushing Defenseman that you really couldn’t find any flaws to his game. He controlled the tempo of most games knowing when to rush or when to use his teammates. Played in all situations. Not just a one dimensional Offensive defenseman. Very impressed that defensively he played with an edge. Very good at reading the rush in front of him and really aggressive on any loose pucks or question of control situations. Showed straight line speed and defensive agile feet with pivoting skills that will only get better as he continues to grow and improve his core strength. Progression continues he will be a force in Hockey East. College: Maine. Grade A
U16: ECC Labor Day, September 2019: there is the top of the class for defenseman and then there is Richard who was playing at another level at this event. The first round QMJHL draft pick (Victoriaville) is listed at 6’ 162 and the Quebec native was impressive in every facet of the game. He still has more weight to add to his frame but his balance on his skates was vastly impressive and he was able to lean harder on his edges as a result. His mobility in all four directions and in all three zones was simply excellent. He is able to transition the puck by himself and drive to the net if you give him a lane or you can shut you down on your way into the zone. There is no fear in his game: he has the confidence that he’s going to find a way to beat you. He showed multiple times during this tournament that he was all in. In one case making a really nice sliding block of a 2-on-1 pass and at another turn making an all-out dive to stop a breakaway opportunity and forced the puck into the corner. His recovery speed is excellent and he isn’t afraid to use it moving into the offensive zone with a nice shifty shoulder fake as well. He is equally skilled on his backhand and forehand when he moves offensively and his ability to walk the blue line was sublime. It seemed as though forwards could not get away from him at the other end and you couldn’t put a net on him in the offensive end either. Terrific outing by in athletic and skilled two-way defender. Grade: A+ College: Maine
Canada Winter Games, March 2019: Strong defender who was heavy on pucks and physical clearing the front of the net. Won stick battles consistently and always made a crisp breakout or transition pass. Moved well in the back end for Team Quebec zipping tape to tape passes through seams on the powerplay as well as blasting shot from the point through traffic. College: Maine Grade: B
Quebec Midget AAA Challenge, January 2019: Missed a couple of games in the showcase but when in the lineup he was extremely sound and efficient. A top ranked defenseman in Quebec, Richard has enjoyed a great season because of his anticipation and awareness in all areas of the ice. Richard knows when it is time to be creative offensively and know when to shut it down in the defensive zone. Had impressive patience on with the puck when he is in control from the point. Instead of just firing it at net, he takes an extra second to look for an open man creating high percentage scoring opportunities. As the season progresses, he only seems to be getting better. Huge get for the Black Bears as he will be a top defenseman in college. College: Maine