Draft Track: Five players to watch for the 2014 NHL Draft

Leon Draisaitl – LC – Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) – 6’1” 198

Draisaitl is a big, playmaking centre who plays a very similar game to current NHLer Joe Thornton. He has unbelievable vision out on the ice, uses his body well to protect the puck along the walls and then feeds his teammates with excellent passes when they get open for good scoring chances. As a rookie, Draisaitl received a lot of attention from opposing teams, but he consistently was able to produce points regardless of the amount of pressure he faced.

Draisaitl best asset is definitely his playmaking ability. He can thread a pass cross ice with a perfect saucer pass, make a one touch pass to an open player in the slot or make a behind the pass to a streaking teammate down the middle. Draisaitl is very unpredictable, and seems to always be able to find a play out on the ice that generates some sort of a chance for the Raiders. Not many players at his age can make the types of plays he can with the puck, and he seems to read the play a step ahead of everybody else. In terms of goal scoring ability, Draisaitl is definitely a pass first player, but he has shown the ability to finish in tight and quickly releasing the puck around the slot when given the opportunity. He has very good stickhandling abilities and is able to deke by opponents and use his long reach to his advantage.

An area of improvement for Draisaitl would be his skating abilities. He needs to work on his acceleration and overall speed. He covers a lot of ground with his long strides, but he could be quicker out on the ice to provide another weapon in his game. Defensively, Draisaitl is not bad in his own end. His ability to read the play without the puck improved, and looked like he was adjusting to the physical game of the league well. He could do a better job of being a more physical player and hit opponents off the puck.

Draisaitl’s potential is through the roof with his playmaking abilities. His play in his own end should improve with more experience and coaching as he continues to play. We will be watching this coming season to see how his skating will progress. He enters the season as a top 10 prospect on most rankings.

Photo Credits: OHL Images and WHL Media