| Harrison Ballard | Wellington Dukes | OJHL | R | C | 6’2″ | 185 | UMass Amherst | 2022 | Aurora, ON | 2004 | 2021-2022: C+ |
OJHL: The OJHL Showcase, December 1, 2021: Ballard is a skating right shot center who was identified on the NHL Central Scouting list and it is easy to see why. He has excellent upside and is already a UMass commit. Ballard will have the opportunity to grow his game beyond junior and prior to becoming a professional. He confidently follows and anticipates the flow of the play, allowing him to support the puck carrier or arrive on a loose puck or generate a turnover. Instinctively, he moves himself in and out of traffic, in the offensive zone, as he adjusts his body and stick positioning for a potential puck. Ballard’s puck skills are very good, although he seemed to mishandle passes to him occasionally. He has a quick, sharp release, particularly coming in on the weak side. His skating is above average. He has good use of edges in small areas, quick feet provides him excellent acceleration from a dead stop. Ballard’s stride should lengthen and become more powerful with growth and training. He scored the eventual winning goal in mid-third period. Grade: A
Midget AAA: Wendy Dufton Memorial Tournament, November 3, 2019: Ballard is a lanky two way center with high puck skill and good vision. Ballard matched up well vs a few elite centers in a very tough pool with his strong skating and physical play down low in his zone. Ballard used good body positioning and length to win pucks down low and showed excellent vision in transition. Ballard was very effective offensively in a comeback win vs the previously undefeated Toronto Nationals. His power game and good reach caused problems for defenders off the rush and off the cycle. Grade: B+
2004s: Silver Stick, February 10, 2019: Born in Arizona and a dual citizen, Harrison played with plenty of speed. He got up and down the sheet as well as anyone here. Great size and can push bad gaps and snap the puck on the net. Showed great vision which served as a nice compliment to Andrade. He set Aaron up several times, including one pretty backdoor pass for a power play score and Caesars in the playoffs. Athletic player with size, speed and skill. We liked his upside as his game is versatile. Grade: B+