In a midweek game we watched Lawrence Academy travel to Thayer Academy in a highly scouted New England prep school match up. The physical battle ended in a very exciting 2-2 tie. Lawrence has a 2 players in our February NHL Draft Rankings, but there are a few others that National League teams should be keeping an eye on. Here are the players who stood out.
David Sacco (3.75 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C) Forward
David centers Lawrence’s top line. His high hockey IQ allows his line mates to take chances up the ice and force turnovers. He is a reliable high forward who naturally cuts the ice in half through body positioning and proper angles. He also has a very quick stick that generates turnovers in both 5 on 5 situations and while killing penalties. David runs the mid-wall on Lawrence’s top power play unit. He handles poor passes very well and has a smooth first touch. He one touches flat passes and has the vision, anticipation and touch to put passes through tight seems and into shooting areas where teammates can one time them. He was not has physical other times we have seen him, but when he made contact it was with authority and with the intent on separating the man from the puck. Although we project David as a winger in professional hockey, he was very good on draws in this game. Game Grade: A-
Riley Duran (4.25 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C) Forward
The Providence College commit was very noticeable. He was quick to pucks, finished his checks as a consistent F1 and looked to make plays after creating turnovers. Riley had a beautiful goal that would be described as nothing short of a bullet. The right shot forward showed poise coming down the slot, out weighting highly touted Thayer goalie Gavin Fitzpatrick and released a quick accurate snap shot that would have beaten any goalie in New England prep hockey. He was very effective killing penalties by stopping and starting in shooting lanes and having a very disruptive stick. Riley understands when to pressure and when to contain and was very reliable in all three zones. The power play did not run through Riley, but he is a solid net front presence and has mentality to battle for loose pucks to keep the killers on their heels or create blue area scoring chances. Game Grade: A–
Cole Teleki (4 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C) Defense
Cole is a big strong right shot defender. He is quick to shut down the cycle and shows good strength when separating opposing attackers from the puck. He moves the puck quickly in transition and shows the quickness to jump into plays as a forth attacker. He looked poised walking the offensive blue line finding shooting lanes and hitting the net. Defensively, Cole his a big body who maintains net side positioning and keeps shooting lanes clear. He is very good at tying up opposing players sticks and not allowing rebound opportunities. Cole is not in our February Draft Rankings, but he is a player we will be watching as the draft gets closer. Game Grade: B+
Players to watch for the 2021 NHL Draft
Tomas Pientka (3.75 Star Amateur Rating, 2021 NHL Grade — C) Goalie
This was NZ NHL’s first viewing of Tomas. He is very quick laterally. Although the game tying goal came on off of a rebound (the original shot hit his neck guard and took a funny bounce) we feel he has good rebound control and game awareness. Thayer put consistent bodies in the blue pant to disrupt his vision, but Tomas worked hard and kept his sight lines clear and fight for the puck. Game Grade: B+
Damien Carfagna (3.75 Star Amateur Rating, 2021 NHL Grade — C) Defense
Damien is compact and strong. He has quick feet, is very agile with or without the puck and showed very highly level poise in transition. Although he is averaging over a point per game, we view him as a solid puck moving defenseman who adds value to his team through moving the puck quickly and joining the rush as a late option. Game Grade: B