| Tyler Rubin | West Kelowna Warriors | BCHL | L | D | 5’10” | 160 | Princeton | 2022 | Wayland, MA | 2003 | 2021-2022: C |
BCHL: Cranbrook Bucks and West Kelowna Warriors, January 23, 2021: Rubin brings a steady presence shift in and shift out, whether that be in the offensive or defensive zone. Rubin’s ability to gap up in the neutral zone was impressive as he made it hard for his opponents to beat him in 1 on 1 situations. Additionally, in the offensive zone he reads plays well and can find open space between the blue line and the circles. He has good puck poise as he doesn’t panic while being pressured. Instead, Rubin uses his edge work and skating ability to separate himself from pressure to get shots through to the net or make passes to his teammates in scoring areas. Grade: B+
U18: USA Hockey Nationals, May 8, 2021: Rubin is a thinner, lean, mobile, athletic, left-shot defenseman that has excellent IQ. Tyler jumps on puck retrievals quickly which allowed him to break the puck out very efficiently, with either his legs or a great first pass. When the pressure is on, he showed great escapability, making the first guy always miss along with a very calm nature to his game. He never rushes pucks into difficult spots and can use his footwork and legs to hold possession until something opens up. In the offensive zone, he was tough to defend as he is incredibly elusive and can fake shots to open up lanes or freeze defenders. He has elite mobility in all areas and directions especially when he rushes the puck up and ice and is able to break away from the attacking forwards. Rubin smothers puck carriers when they enter his defensive zone and gives them no room to breathe, forcing turnovers or bad chips allowing his team to regain possession. His skating ability allows him to be more aggressive on his gaps as he has great recovery speed if ever needed. GRADE: A-
Neutral Zone’s Ed Besinger: Tyler is a quick puck-moving left-shot defender that plays for Belmont Hill and the Boston Junior Eagles. He is listed at 5’10 and 155 pounds and is committed to Princeton University. He will be playing his next season for West Kelowna in the BCHL. He is light on his feet and has a bounce in his stride. He reacts to changes on the ice quickly and uses above average balance and edges to quickly cut and change directions. He retrieves pucks well and won’t break stride before wheeling the puck up the ice. He is confident in his touches and snaps passes tape to tape to his wingers. He sees the ice fairly well and identifies the open man quickly. He gets his teammates the puck in space and has good pace on his passing. He is active at the offensive blue line and will jump backdoor. He has good feet and is athletic which lets him walk the line well, change shot angles and quickly pinch down on opposing wingers. Needs to get stronger which will increase his effectiveness in his own zone. He defends with his feet and does a good job getting in passing lanes and uses his stick to intercept pucks
Neutral Zone’s Michael Crawford: It is safe to say, even though there are no stats for plus + minus- recorded, Tyler is one of the best gap control defensemen in the US H.S./Prep league. His superior skating in both directions allows for him to be assertive in the neutral area breaking up one-on-one and two-on-one situations even before his own blue line. His understanding of stick reach along with lower centre of gravity strength advantage vs size in competitive battles is apparent. He is surprisingly strong for his lack in size stature and against larger the big guys usually end up on the seat of their pants. Tyler has extraordinary balance. He skates forwards and backwards with speed while carrying the puck dishing accurate passes then has the presence of mind to make quick decisions to either make a run into space or back off and get back to his post on the D. NZ New England Scouts really like this Tyler and think the NHL guys will be interested as well. He may be one of the best all around D men in the draft from a pure skating/skills standpoint. He is scheduled to go to CANADA and play in the BCHL with the West Kelowna Warriors in 2021-22 and then Princeton of NCAA D1 for the beginning of 2022-23. Plenty of time to work on his game as he should see lots of playing time at both stops. If not drafted, he could be a coveted free agent in a few years. His size will be an issue for some NHL teams but he is athletic and will play top minutes. That means he will get better and better.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images