Theo Rochette QMJHL game report: Quebec Remparts VS Halifax Mooseheads (2/29/20)
Theo Rochette (4.5 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — B-) Forward
When seeing Rochette in early January, he was coming off his mono sickness which kept him out for a couple of weeks. He looked like a different player in this one showing assertiveness with the puck, confidence with his touches and stronger on his feet. There is no doubting Rochette’s talent with the puck especially his vision and crisp accuracy. Rochette was noticeable all night and at times had the puck on a string slinging cross ice, cross box passes right on the tape. Laterally, he’s shifty on his skates and can bounce around to create space especially on the top of the circles off cycles or off the half wall once he sees some room. Luck in this game was not on his side missing a couple of great opportunities or having his linemates miss a couple of nice set ups back door. On the power play he set up a nice goal when he found his teammate across the box giving him an open shot to the net, having the net front player bang home the rebound. Rochette however does not have blazing speed off his first couple of steps and lacks that explosive breakaway speed. He’ll need to bulk up his frame to give him an extra edge on his players most notably when battling in the corners. If Rochette can play with a little more sandpaper, grit or some edge he can be an extremely solid player at the next level. Game Score: B+ Draft, Projection 2020: 3-5th round, NHL Comparison: Mats Zuccarello
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
Game Evaluation: Sotiri Athanasopoulos