| Joseph Willis | Saginaw Spirit | OHL | L | C | 5’10” | 165 | Saginaw Spirit | 2022 | Elmhurst, IL | 2005 | 2022-2023: C |
OHL: Saginaw vs Erie, December 6, 2022: Totaled 19:53 in ice time including 1:06 while on the power play and 0:38 while shorthanded. Willis was positioned as a the net front on the PP from where it looked as if his role was to set picks while keeping his stick free and clear on the ice for shot pass tips. His penalty kill time came at the end of Erie’s power plays where it looked like Saginaw was trying to capitalize by creating shorthanded offense and late in the third period that happened when Willis broke free for a shorthanded breakaway. During 5 on 5 situations he was very effective while cycling through the tops of the circles and into the high slot. He ran the scissor play very well and showed the ability to open up for a better shooting option. He finished tied for a game high 7 shots on net with 2 of them being grade “A” opportunities. Interestingly on both grade “A’s” he brought the puck to his backhand and tried to finesse the puck in. The left wing went 1/2 on face-offs, had 6 giveaways, 3 takeaways and won 20% of his 10 puck battles.
OHL: Saginaw vs Oshawa, November 6, 2022: Totaled 15:46 in ice time including 4:23 while on the power play. He did not play on the penalty kill. Willis was primarily positioned as the bumper on the PP, but he did show the situational awareness to slide to the top of the crease or extended goal line when the opportunity arose. He showed more situational awareness on Saginaw’s second goal of the game as he read that he was the F3 and covered for his pinching defenseman. He then corralled a bouncing puck off the wall and found his weakside defenseman activating through the middle lane. He showed the hand eye coordination to get his stick on two high slot tips and we liked how he moved his feet towards the net after the he got his stick on the puck. Midway through through the third while involved in an offensive zone cycle he found the quiet area for a grade “A” opportunity. He unfortunately fired the shot high and wide. Although he played left wing, he did take three face-offs and won two. Willis had 6 giveaways, 2 takeaways and won 60% of his 5 puck battles.
NTDP Evaluation Camp, May 23, 2021: Willis is coming off an “A-” grade at U15 Nationals but he was even better here. The up and down, open ice style of play of the camp played to his strengths as a speedy playmaker. He demonstrated slick hands and the ability to beat defenders with pace and with quick, elusive moves. He can access his full set of skills at top speed; he split defenders on zone entries with his burst and fearless approach, he turned defenders inside out on 1v1s and displayed a bullet release – one in particular where he flew up ice, cut in at the faceoff dot a ripped a snap shot off the top crossbar. He’s got mature offensive instincts and knows who to slow it down and delay and change speed to manipulate the gap and create space for himself instead of just buzzing around top speed at all times. Willis lacks ideal size for the USHL but he’s got the burst and shifty footwork to escape pressure and walk defenders out of the corners and from all the wall. His edges and explosive first step make him dangerous in the transition game as he can pull away from opponents and make split second decisions with the puck. Willis has tight cradle and controls the puck well at speed, he can get shots off in stride and not only find his teammates in scoring areas but get them the puck without having to slow down. The Chicago Mission standout made a cross ice backhand saucer pass on the tape with real zip on it which is actually a really hard thing to do, especially in stride. A backhand sauce play is touch and skill play so combining that with the power of a hard pass shows excellent command of the puck and advanced skill. He had a nice carry through the neutral zone where he dished to the wall and then accelerated up the middle and got it back on a zone entry showing great understanding of time and space. Grade: B+
U15: USA Hockey Nationals, May 18, 2021: Willis led a talented Mission team in points with 4 goals and 3 assists in 5 games. He’s a skilled playmaker, he can play fast or he can slow it down and dictate the pace of play and he’s both crafty and creative with the puck on his stick. He has an expansive set of moves to get around defenders and is not a one-trick pony and he does everything with his head up either reading a defender or reading a goalie. He controls the puck both at pace and in traffic and he’s got a quick, accurate release where he can score both inside and outside the dots. He scored a brilliant 5-hole goal in tight catching a hard centering pass and instead of one-touching it or re-directing he caught it, delayed a second with a deke to get the goalie moving a slid it 5-hole. His best heads up play like that was actually in overtime to send his team to the semi-finals where he went with speed behind the net saw the goalie was looking the other way and immediately went for the wrap around and snuck it just between the post and the goalies skates to advance. He scored off a one-timer on the rush showing he can bare down and finish and he scored a quick release snap shot in the high slot coming off the cycle so he is a versatile goal scorer and finds ways to make plays in every situation. Where he’s shown the most improvement from earlier in the season to now is that he’s trusting his footwork and speed and not overexposing the puck trying to stickhandle his way through opponents. The amount of chances he created this tournament driving wide around a defender was a lot; he either drew opponents to him and slid pucks to the slot or he’d accelerate by them and cut in on his own or circle back and hit late trailers coming down the slot. He’s someone that grabs everyone’s attention when he’s on the ice and he was another player for Mission that was used on both penalty kill and power play situations. An NTDP/USHL/OHL prospect who will have plenty of options going forward. Grade: A-
U15: Shattuck-St. Mary’s at Chicago Mission, March 23, 2021: Good size forward, good skating, speed, and skills. Joseph was in on two of the four goals the Mission scored this weekend, picking up a few assists. He was getting his shots through and on the net. Perreault tipped one of Joseph’s shots on Friday night in for a goal. On Saturday Joseph took a pass from Perreault, gained the zone driving wide on the defender. He pulled the escape move to the boards and put a perfect pass onto Reeder’s tape in front for a goal. Grade A-
U15: Team Wisconsin vs Chicago Mission, March 16, 2021: Joseph picked up 2 goals and three assists this weekend. He plays at a good pace and can execute at it too. One of the goals Joseph scored, he exploded getting on step on the defenseman and Perreault put the puck on his tape for backdoor tap in. Then on one of the prettier plays of the weekend was the give-and-go with Perreault on a 2on1. Joseph received the puck and did not force it back to Perreault, he took his time and found the right seam to give it back to him. Great weekend for Joseph, kid should have opened some eyes. Grade A-
HPHL 15U: Chicago Mission vs Bolts, February 4, 2021: Good speed, skating, and skills. Joseph showed good speed and the ability to handle the puck at a high pace. He would try to get the rush going with his speed coming out of his own end and through the neutral zone. Joseph scored in Game 2 on a 3on2, going to the net hard, Reeder found the seam and Joseph wasted no time catching the puck and scoring. Grade B
U15 HPHL: Chicago Mission vs Detroit Compuware, January 29, 2021: Joseph picked up a few assists this weekend. Played with vision and playmaking as he moved the puck to teammates that had better scoring opportunities. Game 1 he chased down a rebound and escaped from traffic to hit the point. In the 2nd game he did a high cycle on top of the umbrella powerplay with McCall. Joseph felt pressure and dished to McCall for the goal. Joseph was moving his feet and really seeing the ice this weekend. Grade B+
U15: Chicago Mission vs Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, January 17, 2021: Joseph showed vision and his hands this weekend. The patience showed by Joseph on the Mission PP goal late in Game 2, he found a lane and made a perfect pass over to Jastrzebski for the goal. With time and space Joseph can get his shot of quickly. Grade B
U15: CCM South Bend Shootout , January 15, 2021: Joseph is a strong skater with skilled hands who creates scoring opportunities on the rush and off of the cycle. He scored a nice goal on the rush as he beat the goalie stick side low. He has good vision as he set up his teammate for a one timer in the slot area. He works hard on the forecheck as he puts pressure on the defender and creates turnovers. Grade B
U15: Chicago Mission vs Detroit Little Caesars, December 22, 2020: Joseph has good vision on the ice and jumps on his opportunities. He competes hard and get in on the forecheck and hustles back on the backcheck. Good hands and make good solid passes. Grade B-
15O High Performance Hockey League Detroit, November 5, 2020: Joseph is a skilled player who uses his speed and hands to create scoring opportunities. He is a smart player with good vision as he set up his teammates for goals. He will park himself in front of the goalie on the power play as he battles for rebounds or goes back door as he had some scoring chances. He had a great opportunity off of the rush as he used his speed and cut to the middle to get shot off. Grade B
U14: 2020 International Silver Stick, May 24, 2020: Willis scored on a rebound goal in tight as he crashed the net and quickly found the loose puck. He is strong in his skating and in his body. He showed he could curl back, wait and make plays. He knew how to blow up opponents’ gaps and create space. He is dodgy and his edges are strong. He threw some sauce on 2v1 which showed quick, slick hands. Again, we kept noting that he would pull up and make plays on line rush which showed patience and poise.. He played a solid style, saw some first power play time with a talented team and made everyone around him better. Grade: B-
U14 HPHL Playoffs, February 13, 2020: Joseph has good size and strength as he wins faceoffs and plays well defensively. He has quick hands and uses his edges to cut back and beat defenders 1 vs 1. He has the ability to move the puck quickly and get open as he will use his quick release. He created some scoring chances in the offensive zone as he used his vision and the ability to move his feet and get open.
STX 68 Combine, September 3, 2019: Willis’ speed jumped out at us immediately. He is a total burner. Equally impressive is his acceleration; he gets to his top gear in a hurry. Very smart player who makes a lot of goo decisions with the puck and creates offense with his speed and instincts.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images