Jonathan Diaby – Victoriaville Tigres – 2013 NHL Draft

Diaby is a defensive project and could become a physical shutdown defenseman at the next level. He uses his long reach well to contain the opposition and

he reads the play fairly well too. He needs to work on his speed and footwork in the defensive zone, as he was often got beat by speedy forwards going wide on him. He likes to get his nose dirty and will block shots for his team. He proved to be valuable on the penalty kill as well. Other than his speed, Diaby needs to make better use of his huge body to punish the opponents along the boards. He did it at times, but he needs to be even more physical if he wants to make it to the next level. The biggest improvement we saw in him this season is on the transition. At the beginning of the season he was insecure with the puck and made some sloppy plays. As the season went on he was much more comfortable, to the point where he is now able to effectively lead the counter-attack and sometimes execute quick and difficult plays. Diaby also showed some leadership and showed off his good fighting abilities this season. He was named Victoriaville’s top performer of the playoffs after an early exit. We know he likes to train hard during the off-season, and will surely be more bulked up by the start of next season.