Michael Bianconi (4.25 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C) Defense
Neutral Zone NHL’s Ian Moran’s comments, April 2020: Michael is a smooth skating two way defender. He has poise with the puck in traffic and is willing to take a hit to make a play. He has a strong smooth stride with very good lateral mobility which he uses to generate passing lanes on breakouts or to join the rush as an extra attacker. Positionally Michael is sound through the neutral zone while reading line rushes and again shows very good lateral mobility when pinching off the play early. There are times when he can be out muscled in defensive situations, but he maintains net side positioning so we feel with added strength his two way game will blossom. Michael is a long shot to be drafted this year, but there is little doubt that his skating and intelligence will keep the attention of NHL teams as a prospect for 2021 draft.
Guelph Storm Draft Prospects, February 2020: On Tuesday February 4th we watched the Storm play host to the Erie Otters. Michael played in this game, but in our opinion he was neither a positive or negative factor in the outcome. Pavel Gogolev, Luka Profaca and Nico Daws were evaluated.
February NHL Draft Rankings: Michael was a ‘C’ rated NHL prospect.
Guelph Storm – NHL Draft Prospect Update, November 2019: Bianconi continues to develop as he sees increased responsibility with Guelph after an early season trade. Bianconi skates well and continues to be effective in breaking down forechecks. He gets to pucks quickly, he knows where the puck should go and he moves the puck efficiently. Bianconi’s key attribute in his defensive zone is his quick closing speed and his body positioning. He is a young defender who Guelph trusts – he plays in key situations, kills penalties, and matches well with his mobility and foot speed vs opposing top forwards. Added strength will help Bianconi win more pucks in his zone as the season progresses. Offensively Bianconi plays a simple game, his pinches are well timed, his passes are generally conservative to the boards to wingers moving with pace. We would like to see him direct more pucks to the net. Bianconi is quick enough to retrieve pucks on the offensive blue line, but consistently looks to move the puck down low vs directing pucks towards the net. A player we will continue to check in on as the season progresses. Game Grade: C+ Other players evaluated Nico Daws, Cooper Walker, Andrei Bakanov, Benjamin McFarlane, Zack Terry and Luca Profaca.
OHL – Erie at Guelph NHL Prospects, October 2019: Michael was recently traded to Guelph and has since seen playing time in a top 4 defender role with the Storm. A mobile defender who manages pucks well, he spends little time in his zone under pressure. He plays a simple offensive game with crisp effective passes to start the breakout. Michael’s key asset is his skating which he uses to be first on pucks in the defensive zone and create a quick transition. He uses body positioning well in all 3 zones and manages his gap very well on opposing players. As a new player to the Storm, Michael has the all round game to grow into his new top 4 role effectively and quite possibly be a top pairing guy in the near future. He is a player we will be watching closely as the season progresses. Game Grade: C+ Other players evaluated: Jamie Drysdale, Brendan Hoffman, Andrei Bakanov and Luka Profaca.
Marlies Holiday Classic, February 2018: Good two way defenseman who moves the puck well and has the ability to lead or follow up the attack. Steady as usual at the Marlies tournament and was a key factor in JRC’s run to win the finals. Michael has good size and moves his feet real well. He is active all over the ice and has the ability to cover a lot of ground. Plays well all over the rink, stays in pretty good positions and uses his teammates well. A steady force, plays the game the right way, takes what is given, doesn’t cheat.
OHL Draft December Rankings, December 2017: Michael was our 7th ranked defenseman.
GTHL 2017 Prospects All-Star Game, December 2017: Good two-way defenseman who moves the puck well and has the ability to lead or follow up the attack. Michael has good size and moves his feet real well. Played a steady game that was less flashy and involved in the offensive game compared to viewings in the regular season. Defensively won races for the puck.
Battle of the Border, December 2017: Michael played in all situations and was very effective in doing so. He showed good mobility and ability to turn while facing speed on the rush. He won one on one battles and paid attention to details. His ability to be versatile and be accountable resulted in a lot of quality minutes from the blue line. Owen Power and Ryan O’Rourke received ‘A+’ evaluations while Mitchell Miller and Jack Bar received ‘A’ evaluations. Michael received a ‘B’.
OHL Draft October Rankings: Michael was ranked #19.
Toronto Titans Tournament, November 2017: Bianconi is a tall, athletic defenseman who certainly looks the part of a major prospect. He is poised, has smooth hands and controls the pace of the game with the puck on his stick. He can lead or follow up a rush and makes swift, tape-to-tape passes in all three zones. Defensively, he played a strong physical game, maintained a good gap, and showed an excellent stick in situations around the net. He led the team on both the power play and penalty kill situations and had a bullet wrist and snap shot from the top of the circles. He scored a beautiful snap shot top corner goal on the power play from the top of the circles. He’s only going to improve as he gets stronger and learns the details of the game. Michael was the 5th rated defenseman in the Titan’s Tourney behind Jamie Drysdale, Owen Power, Ryan O’Rourke and Jake Murray.
Wendy Dufton, October 2017: Michael good two-way defenseman who moves the puck well and has the ability to lead or follow up the attack. He has good size and moves his feet real well. Michael showed well again this weekend in London and was active all over the ice and has the ability to cover a lot of ground. He was able to make plays well all over the rink and was clever enough to play a strong positional game. He is a steady force on the back end who plays the right way, he takes what is given, and doesn’t cheat the game. The Wendy Dufton was jammed with potential NHL Draft picks: Quinton Byfield, Jamie Drysdale, Lleyton Moore, Cole Perfetti, Evan Vierling, Stephen Halliday, Owen Power, Ryan Alexander, Jake Murray, Ryan O’Rourke, Daniil Chayka, Reid Valade, Jack Bar, James Hardie, Jake Uberti, Michael Renwick, Luke Evangelista, Tyson Foerster, Riley Piercey, David Jesus, Dylan Robinson, Alec Belanger, Zayde Wisdom and Frankie Carogioiello.
World Selects Invite (2002), June 2017: Another tall, slender raw forward off of East Coast Selects who showed nice upside. He is subtle but smart, made efficient short passes in the neutral zone and just inside the offensive blue line. He should get OHL attention next year as he makes the transition from Bantam to minor midget. The defensemen who dominated at the 2017 WSI looks like a who’s who of the 2020 NHL Draft Ygor Smirnov, Jacob Truscott, Ryan O’Rourke, Jarod Crespo, Ronan Seeley, Connor Kelley, Gerard Keane, Jamie Drysdale, Vasily Machulin, Owen Gallatin, Lleyton Moore, Jack Thompson, Timothy Lovell, Nate Schweitzer, Hank Kempf, Eamon Powell, Hugo Styf, Donovan Sebrango, David Jesus, Michael Suda, Christian Jimenez as well as 2021 prospects Daniil Chayka, Vinnie Iorio and Bryce Montgomery.
The Cup North American Championship (U14), January 2017: Hard heavy shot from the point that he seems to get through most of the time. Great pinches and one caused a goal for his team. Good vision and gap control and his gap to his attacking forwards is very tight almost to the point to look like he is the fourth forward. Other 2020 NHL Draft hopefuls who evaluated well as U14s are Zayde Wisdom, Ryan Kirwan, Luke Tuch, Dylan Robinson, Christian Jimenez, Eamon Powell, David Jesus and goalie Marco Constantini.