Josh Pillar (4 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C) Forward
Evaluation: Josh has great wheels. He uses them to be a very effective F1 on either the forecheck or backcheck, but he is not puck blind. He shows very good ice awareness by having his head on a swivel and adjusting his positioning to where his linemates are or where they are going. He shows developing strength while on the cycle protecting the puck. Where he can consistently hold off older larger defenders and still keep his head up to make plays. He is not afraid of playing in traffic or fighting through his opponent’s sticks to draw penalties. He is currently (3/20) seeing time on the 2nd PP, being used regularly in penalty killing situations & is taking face-offs in high leverages late game situations. He plays with grit and does the little things that help teams be successful. Josh has a good release and first touch, but both skills he will need to continue developing as he matures. There is a lot to like about this prospect’s game.
(1) Brain – Josh reads his teammates well. He is a dependable F3 in the offensive zone while keeping his zone depth at the same depth as the opponent’s forwards. He backchecks with a purpose and works with his defensemen to slow the rush and force bad angles. Both little things show us that Josh is coachable and understands how to play away from the puck.
(2) Vision & Poise – Although Josh gets his points through hard work and consistent effort, this does not mean he is not skilled enough to make plays. He reads the defenders gaps well and will take what is given. During the offensive zone cycle Josh protects the puck with his head up and can find teammates in the soft area or crashing the back door.
(3) Feet – He can fly. He plays a stop & start game and his quickness, lateral agility and explosive first step are an asset every professional coach wants on his bench.
(4) Compete & Effort – Max effort player.
(5) Contact or Physicality – Josh is grimey without taking foolish penalties and plays an in your face style.
(6) Release – Josh has a hard accurate shot, but we feel he will need to continue developing his first touch. His legs create the space, an improved first touch will generate more scoring opportunities in 5 on 5 situations and more time on the first power play.
(7) One Timer Ability – We have not seen Josh attempt many one timers.
(8) Body Language – He plays hard and competes.
(9) Special Teams Potential – We feel Josh does the things that high level penalty killers do. He’s very good on draws, blocks shots, has great feet and ice awareness. We do not see him as an NHL first unit power play option. We do see him as a goal line or net front option on power play #2, especially with a smoother first touch.
(10) Intangibles – His feet an ice awareness will always help him find a home. We feel Josh will be drafted this June. He will attend an NHL Development camp this summer & NHL training camp, head back to Kamloops with an incredible amount of confidence and a year from now people will be wondering how come he wasn’t drafted higher.
Photo Credit: ALLEN DOUGLAS/KTW