Sean Monahan – Ottawa 67s – 2013 NHL Draft

Despite an outstanding performance in his OHL Draft year, Sean Monahan fell to 16th in the 2010 OHL Priority Draft, before being picked by the Ottawa 67’s. Over the past two seasons, Sean has turned out to be the steal of that draft, putting in a solid performance as a rookie. He really upped his game this season and was a dominant force in helping the 67’s capture the 2012 OHL East Division Title. Ottawa battled injuries and Monahan was called upon to be the guy for the 67’s down the middle and responded extremely well.

Monahan isn’t the kind of player that blows you away with flash and dash. He is a player who beats you with his intelligence and hockey sense. He does everything well, but his positioning and play without the puck is really what compliments his already good skill set. Many times this year, Monahan seemed to disappear while the pressure builds with the puck carrier and by the time the pass is made to Monahan, he’s found a perfect position on the ice and managed to elude the entire defense in the process. When he does possess the puck, he carries it with confidence and really sees the ice well and connects with his options.

He recognizes when there is a lane or a match-up he can exploit and does it very well. He has a laser of a shot and threads the puck very accurately with his passing ability. If there’s one area we’d like to see Monahan improve on, it would be his physical play. We expect to see Sean be one of the first selections of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. The talented Nathan MacKinnon of the Halifax Mooseheads has the edge on Monahan right now among forwards. However, Sean does possess one thing that Nathan does not, which is size. This will be a part of the debate that continues on, as we get closer to the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.