Justin Sourdif (4.25 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — B+) Forward
Neutral Zone NHL’s Donald Godreau, May 2020: Sourdif is a player that plays with a nice mix of skill, speed and grit. Where we worry about his game, is his inability to be consistent with his play. As a skater, Justin has a bit of a wide stride, but doesn’t struggle for speed, though at times, he can struggle for good acceleration. He is strong on his edges and can be a tough player to mark when he is bearing down in open ice. He shows some really slick hand skills, and has the ability to make defenders look a little silly with his puck skills a long with his foot work. He has numerous tools at his disposal and rarely approaches one on one opportunities with the same move(s). He can play with a bit of an edge, and play a determined game, looking to bully his way to the net, or being relentless on the forecheck. Mostly we see this great effort after plays that have died with him. Or if he’s made a mistake that has caused the loss of puck possession, Justin can become a relentless back checker in pursuit of the puck and undoing his previous mistake. He has a fantastic shot. A quick release, and a deadly accurate wrister that he can get off the ice quickly. On games where he brings his A level effort, he is an absolute difference maker and a nightmare to deal with. He can be a pest like player with his pursuit of the puck, he has a physical edge to him, and isn’t afraid to engage with his body, and when he gets it, his puck skills, shot, and his vision can make him one of the greatest threats in the league. But too often we see the effort comes and goes with Justin. We can tell that mentally he is fighting it, you can see him get frustrated when he turns the puck over and, then after a couple of lack lustre strides, you can see him click into effort mode and all of the sudden he is wreaking havoc on the puck carrier again. In the tight areas, Justin can be elusive and can buy himself time with the puck. Though he looks most comfortable playing with speed, he has the poise and patience to make plays to teammates, and elongate puck possession. We feel Justin has the chance to mature into a dynamic player at the next level with the ability to play up and down the lineup. Grade: B
Neutral Zone NHL’s Ian Moran, May 2020: The thing that jumps out to me is how well Justin handles poor passes cleanly. He can handle bouncing bobbling pucks on his backhand or feet and still make highly skilled plays without dusting the puck off. Having a great first touch like that is huge step towards having a career in the National Hockey League because there is not much time and space out there. I think he skates well and is quick laterally, but I do feel he will need to continue working on his explosiveness and first step as he continues to mature. With that being said, there is a lot to really like about Justin’s game. He’s smart in all three zones and understands spacing very well. Offensively I love how he generates time and space when playing without the puck and something that I feel is really important, Justin attacks the scoring area as a puck carrier. He improves his scoring chances and changes his shooting angle as well as anyone in the draft. He has a quick release and from the face-off dots in he is a threat to put the puck under the bar. Justin is a player who I feel has a lot of upside and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him as one of the better checking line players to come out of this draft class.
2020 NHL Draft Right Wing Rankings, May 2020: Justin was Neutral Zone’s 16th rated right wing eligible for the 2020 NHL draft.
February NHL Draft Rankings: Justin was ranked 63rd overall in Neutral Zone’s February 2020 NHL Draft rankings.
WHL – Ranking the 2020 NHL Draft Prospects, October 2019: Justin was ranked 5th in our October player rankings of WHL players who are eligible for the 2020 NHL Draft.
Mac’s AAA Midget Holiday Tournament, January 2018: Plays at a decent pace, but it’s his agility and edge work that make him a good skater and enable him to escape out of tight situations with the puck. He is a pass first player looking to set up his teammates and he shows the vision and hands to make plays. He will also work hard in scrums, but is most comfortable in the open space with the puck on his stick. Grade: B+
BCMMHL Showcase:, January 2018: Sourdif was the 3rd overall pick in the bantam draft and showed extremely well in the showcase. He does not play a pace game but has the ability to. His hockey IQ is extremely high making good plays in all 200 feet of the ice. He QB’s the PP as a forward and showed good poise on the breakout as well as along the blue line. He gets shots to the net and puts pucks to high percentage areas to find success. He skates with ease and will only get better with experience and strength.
WHL Cup (2002s), October 2017: Has excellent vision, and the ability to make long passes with accuracy and zip on them. Justin also shows nice upper body movement when in one on one situations to beat opponents, which is a nice asset to go a long with his strong skating stride. Although he isn’t tremendously agile, he generates lots of power and speed. Justin also has a hard shot, a wrist shot that is accurate and hard, and a heavy slap shot that he likes to use on the weakside of power plays. Grade: A-