| Jackson Blake | Chicago Steel | USHL | R | F | 5’9″ | 148 | North Dakota | 2022 | Eden Prarie, MN | 2003 | 2020-2021: B- |
USHL: Weekend #4, October 27, 2021: A very, very elite offensive winger. His stick skills and puck work absolutely jump out at you after only watching him for a shift. He is extremely skilled in all aspects and is very creative in the things he tries and executes to generate offense. If there is a knock on him, it would be his stature. He is extremely small and frail in size, but he never got hit the entire weekend. His skating ability and shiftiness with his speed and deception make him almost impossible to lay a body on. Even in the corners, he was so fast at spinning out of checks and changing directions, that defensemen couldn’t contain him or pin him to the boards. His hockey IQ is also elite. It matches his ability to play with the puck and is a lethal combination offensively. You can see his hockey IQ on display by the way he can generate offense by himself with no time and space. He draws so many bodies and so much attention from his opponents, that when he isn’t beating multiple guys 1-1, he is smart enough and talented enough to get pucks to his teammates that are wide open with all the time in the world. This is why you will see him on the scoresheet nightly, both in goal and assist column. On top of all of his raw talent and skills, I loved his ability to hound pucks. He is so effective when he has the puck, but he doesn’t wait around for the puck to come to him. He has a great motor on him, engaging in battles to win pucks back and a willingness to be first on open pucks so he could get to work offensively right away. Grade: A
Neutral Zone NHL’s Ian Moran’s comments, April 2021: The first thing you notice about Jackson is his foolish speed and agility. His feet are impressive. He changes pace so smoothly that defenders get lost and Jackson has all day to make plays which leads me right to his brain. Jackson processes situations very quickly and correctly. Defenders over commit, he finds the quiet area to take advantage of the space for himself or his teammates. It’s obvious to me that he has spent a ton of time watching games with his Father. He knows when to fly the zone. He knows when to provide close support. He naturally fills lanes on the rush and has a nice easy first touch that allows him to make plays at top speed. Jackson is a kid who will go in the middle rounds and when it’s all said and done we will all be asking how he didn’t go higher.
2021 Minnesota State Tournament Class AA, April 19, 2021: Jackson is a high IQ, dynamic playmaking forward who can slow the whole game down and pick apart defences. He changes speed, he has exceptional poise and patience with the puck always waiting the extra second to let the lane open and make a play. He has elusive stickhandling ability and touch on his passes and can effortlessly sauce passes at full speed. He can create offence from nothing and had numerous no-look passes to his teammates on the tape showing his awareness and ability to read the ice. His playmaking ability here was unmatched; he sauced passes into space, he pulled up to hit laters on the rush and would curl and dip and drop to put defenders on their heels and open up space for his teammates. He’s more of a play creator and passer than he is a finisher which was evident in his impressive stat line of 3 goals and 8 assists in 3 games including the state championship winner on a 5-hole wrister off the rush in overtime. A true possession-style forward who always has the puck on his stick compliment with eyes in the back of his head to find every passing seam and the skill to deliver it on tape. He has natural instincts, he can make split-second decisions and doesn’t throw pucks away with his composure and ability to slow it down and break down defenders 1v1 or entire structures with precision passing. His reads on the power play were outstanding stretching out his opponents and baiting them towards him before moving the puck to the open space. The MVP of the tournament and despite his lack of size and inconsistent competitive level in his own end; he has the brain, the elusiveness and the skill to hear his name called in this year’s NHL Draft. College: North Dakota Grade: A+
MN High School: #2 Benilde St. Margaret’s vs #3 Eden Prairie Eagles, February 19, 2021: Jackson has been a nice addition since returning from the USHL. His vision is outstanding he made an elite level back door no-look pass for a one-time goal on the pp. He has strong edges and elusive moves get defenders crossed over and switched edges to beat them against the grain. He showed his size will deter him from playing he was awkwardly hit into the boards and was helped off but returned later visibly hurting and still managed to be a threat each shift. He was very difficult to contain and escapes fast and moves quickly in and out of traffic with puck possession. Grade A+
2020 Minnesota High School ‘AA’ State Tournament, March 2020: Jackson looks oddly similar to that of Joe Miller a year or two ago. He is a smaller right-handed shot who has a ton of room to grow strength. His skating doesn’t show the jump yet but his hockey IQ was obvious. He saw the ice and read pressure from all angles of attack. His slick stick allowed him to make quick plays and to set up line mates for scoring chances. He didn’t show fear and got around the traffic areas in order get extra touches on the puck. Jackson should be a fun player to watch next season as his game grows! STATS (1-2-3)
Minnesota High School Elite League IIT , November 2019: When you first see Jackson you think, wow that little guy is a nice player. As you keep watching you realize he’s a great player with a ton of upside. He is small, but he’s also the smartest guy on the ice every time he steps on it. You know a player is really smart when they can have the puck as much as him and avoid big hits. His vision and touch on the puck was second to none at the tournament. He saw plays developing before the rest of the players. His game will only get better as he gets stronger. College: North Dakota
Minnesota High School Elite League – Weekend #1, September 2019: Blake showed a ton of skill and an ability to dominate as a younger player in the league. The puck is glued to his stick and has an ability to attack defenders in ways others can’t. Scored a great break away goal and created chances for his team every shift. Watching Blake this fall will be enjoyable. Grade: A, A College: North Dakota
Neutral Zone NHL’s Ian Moran’s comments, August 2019: Jackson is as an exciting to watch player in this age group as you will find. He’s obviously going to get stronger which will lead to more speed an quickness, and let’s face it that is a scary thought. Defensemen are afraid of him. They retreat early to save their butts thinking they’ll look good, when in reality Jackson will cut laterally and make them look like a fish out of water. I like his game. I love his competitiveness. And I think we’ve got a real player here.
Select 16’s USA Hockey National Camp, July 2019: Jackson Blake was named to the Five Nations team, as he was excellent here. He was a no brainer as the North Dakota commit was superb. He is small and light, but that was never a factor to put him at a disadvantage. Jackson had a large amount of puck possession time and was magic when it was on his stick; that made him dangerous every time he was on the ice. His game starts with strong skating, appearing balanced, quick and quite mobile on the ice. He could emerge from any situation with his feet, dodging hits and changing direction. He was tough to catch, but when he did encounter contact, he did get knocked off pucks, but slid with it or shook it off. He will have to get stronger, but that is obvious and at his age, not a concern. He toe dragged around defensemen and shot in one motion. He found ice and processed his options rapidly. He was always around the puck and thus, always making plays. His skill, speed, vision, competitiveness, IQ/processor are all elite. His shot needs some work and he must become tougher to play against but overall, he was one of the best players here. Jackson was selected to Neutral Zone’s Select 16’s All-Star Team College: North Dakota Grade: A
World Selects Invite 2003 Division, June 2019: Jackson is an undersized player, but doesn’t let it hinder his confidence with and without the puck. He’s light on his skates and extremely shifty which makes him hard to read and hard to hit as well. Has an unbelievable set of hands along with great vision and understanding of the game makes him a magician with the puck. Very high hockey IQ allows him to adapt and change his style of play based on the way the game is being played. Made several “nothing to something” plays with his elite puck handling abilities. North Dakota commit was making highlight reel plays all tournament long. College: North Dakota
Minnesota 2003 Rankings, March 2018: What he lacks in size (5’2ish) he makes up for with offensive creativity and rare hockey sense. Blake has a tremendous backhand and slick hands in tight. He’s weak right now, but it doesn’t stop him from going to dirty areas in corners or net front with or without the puck. On the PP, he’ll aggressively attack from the goal line and creates opportunities nearly every time he touches the puck. He’s elusive and shifty. He lacks power and acceleration but is so aware of his surroundings that he’s effective without those attributes right now. As he grows and adds strength, he’ll only get better and better. Dad is former NHLer Jason Blake.
Battle for the Blue Ox Tournament, November 2017: Blake was a goal scorer here, finishing the tournament with seven goals. He’s a very short forward at around 5-foot-2) with smooth hands, particularly in tight, where he is able to pull pucks to his backhand and elevate shots from close range. He takes pucks into traffic and shows grit and aggressiveness in corners. Very aware of space and his surroundings, Jackson shows high IQ and is very creative.
MN Bantam Elite League, August 2017: Jackson reminds us of Joe Miller, both in stature and in game play. The heady forward is both small and light but he thinks the game at an elite level and has puck skills to go along with a shifty skating style. Jackson is hard to make contact on when he has the puck in the middle of the ice as he can easily shift around defenders. He doesn’t have the hardest shot so he had to maneuver closer to the net for his chances and wasn’t a threat from outside but that will come as he gets older and stronger. Jackson is the son of former NHLer Jason Blake who played over 900 games in the league and is a Minnesota native.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images