Joshua Kavanagh | Espanola Express | NOJHL | R | D | 6’1″ | 170 | Peterborough Petes | Hanmer, ON | 2003 | 2020-2021: C |
Neutral Zone NHL’s Ian Moran’s comments, November 2020: At this stage in his development Joshua is a bring strong defender who should be playing in the OHL right now. It’s important for him to be in game situations this season, so it is great that he can continue working on his game in the NOJHL with Espanola. As a younger player our Ontario crew loved his feet and willingness or ability to generate offense from the point and we all like the thought of a 6’1 right shot offensive defenseman.
NOJHL: French River vs Espanola, November 2020: Joshua is a big, strong kid who uses his size to his advantage and will drive to the net looking for rebounds or to screen the goalie. He actually won a faceoff cleanly as he set up his teammate for a goal off of the faceoff. He will play the point on the power play as he uses his vision to set up his teammates for one timers or will get pucks on net. Grade B
Wendy Dufton Memorial Tournament, November 2018: Kavanagh is an elite defenceman who creates plays from his own end. Always caught our attention when on the ice. He showed very well in the playoff rounds vs some fast Ajax and Don Mills forwards. He is an excellent skater and uses his pace for great gap control. Kavanagh has an offensive upside to his game – will jump up on rush to create odd man opportunities and then recovers back to D quickly. We also liked his ability to manage the powerplay and get pucks through to the net.
Toronto Titans Minor Midget Tournament, September 2018: Joshua an elite puck carrying defenseman who creates offense from his own end. He has a confidence carrying the puck from anywhere on the rink and showed great agility on his skates closing down forwards quickly. Offensively, Kavanaugh managed pucks well and made a number of smart pinches winning pucks. Defensively, Kavanaugh showed good IQ and gap control to ensure he was properly positioned vs attacking players