| Owen Dyer | HoneyBaked U16 | Midget | R | D | 6’3″ | 201 | Clarkston, MI | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
Neutral Zone NHL’s Ian Moran’s comments, August 2021: Owen is long, his stick is on the ice as he defends in straight lines and has a very nice smooth stride that in my opinion will allow him to carry more weight as he develops and trains. In the defensive zone he establishes body position early, moving to the skating lane of the opposing forwards as the puck is cycled high and he shows nice acceleration when closing on opponents to end the low cycle. Owen plays with some snarl and shows the athleticism to step up on players during neutral zone transition. Offensively he is at his best when he keeps it simple, but he does show some elusiveness along the offensive blue when looking for clear shooting lanes. During defensive one on one situations there are times when Owen can become extended and his upper body will get out over his toes, but I feel this can be worked on through technique and repetitions in practice. As a 6’3″ 200lb right shot defenseman who has the skill set to play both sides equally well I believe that National League teams should be doing their research on this kid.
USA Hockey Selects 17’s, July 14, 2021: Dyer is a big body defenseman out of Honeybaked U16 who has gone undrafted the past two years in the USHL but proved his worth here outperforming several Draft picks and even a few current players. He’s a strong-edged skater and snaps passes off on the tape without delay where the puck explodes off his blade. He is strong on his stick, plays the body and has a heavy game down below the dots and around the net leaning on opponents and pushing them off pucks. He has a long reach with his 6’3” frame and can strip opponents and poke pucks but more often he uses it to block passing and shooting lanes to disrupt line rushes. Dyer is more defensive than offensive but he moves it quickly in transition to start rushes up the ice and he can make crisp outlet passes in stride. He was effective on both special teams units; he has a strong stick, good body positioning and willing to block shots and he can also patrol the offensive blue line, get shots to the net and snap passes around to his teammates. He defends well 1v1 and against rushes because he knows his game; he gives the right gap for his skating ability and reach and will step up and play the body to force dump-ins or make big open ice hits. Only knock for him would be that he does get sucked out beyond the dots at times and can be overly aggressive but we like his toughness and bite. He’s tough to play against with his size, strength and athleticism but his last game here he had a lot of possession time and was walking defenders out from behind his net and leading rushes up ice which showed a skill dimension to his game we didn’t know he had. Impressive showing here with a 1-1-2 line in 4 games and will likely garner more NCAA/Junior attention. Grade: B+
U16: Elite Hockey Showcase, Fort Wayne, Indiana, December 15, 2020: Dyer is a big physical player with a long smooth stride. He is pretty crafty with the puck for a player of his size and makes hard accurate passes. Owen brings a hard, heavy shot when he is able to get it off. GRADE: C+
U15: Midwest Exposure Series Showcase, September 25, 2020: Owen has great size at 6’2” 185 lbs he is physical and uses his reach to angle and eliminate attacking forwards. He has a strong heavy shot from the point and uses it at the right times as very few of his shots were blocked. He made it very difficult for attacking players to get secondary scoring chances and made a simple tape to tape first pass. Very sound strong d-man. Grade B
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
Game Stats are from InStat.