Stephen Halliday (4.75 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C+) Forward
(1) Brain – Gifted offensively. He feels pressure and moves easily to create space for himself or his teammates. He has excellent anticipation and consistently moves to where the puck is going rather than where it was.
(2) Vision & Poise – Very high end. Patience and no panic point. Sometimes it can get him in trouble, but the positives out weigh the negatives.
(3) Feet – Stephen will need to continue developing foot speed and explosiveness. This area is a weakness, but at 6’3 220lbs we feel his explosiveness will develop while at the University of North Dakota.
(4) Compete & Effort – We’ve noted that as the year has gone on his compete and willingness to extend wall play as improved.
(5) Contact or Physicality – Is strong along the wall and can be a force while cycling. Has no issues being the net front presence on the power play.
(6) Release – Quick, accurate and in stride. His first touch is elite and he handles poor passes with ease.
(7) One Timer Ability – Again, Stephen has very good hands and his one timer is a weapon. He has an expanded shooting zone and hits the net on any type of pass.
(8) Body Language – We have seen him slam a few sticks after plays have not gone his way, but that really doesn’t bother us.
(9) Special Teams Potential – He has power play written all over him. He is big enough to be a net front, skilled and smart enough to run the goal line or mid-wall.
(10) Intangibles – We love that he is going to North Dakota. He will be around highly motivated draft picks who want to play at the highest level.