Nation Network 2017 Prospect Profile: #25 – Jaret Anderson-Dolan
By Ryan Biech
6 years agoComing as the 25th ranked prospect in the Nation Network prospect profiles for the 2017 NHL Entry Draft is Jaret Anderson-Dolan from the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL.
The young centre from Calgary may be a slightly under-rated prospect heading into the draft, as he may not hear his name called until the early parts of day 2. But that shouldn’t take away from the skill-set and talent that Anderson-Dolan possesses. Using a statistical look, the young pivot shines even brighter.
Let’s dive in and take a deeper look at Jaret Anderson-Dolan.
Bio:
- Age: 17-years-old, 1999-09-12
- Birthplace: Calgary, AB, Canada
- Position: C
- Handedness: L
- Height: 5’11”
- Weight: 185 lbs
- Draft Year Team: Spokane Chiefs(WHL)
Stats:
| pGPS S | pGPS N | pGPS % | pGPS P/82 | pGPS R |
| 32 | 76 | 46.2% | 49.4 | 22.8 |
Scouts:
| NHL (CSS) | ISS | Future Considerations | HockeyProspect | McKenzie | McKeen’s | Pronman | Button |
| 21 | 31 | 43 | N/R | N/A | N/R | 43 | 31 |
A hard-working versatile forward who can play a gritty or finesse game…skates extremely well and loves to get low and drive off his low center of gravity to burn around players…very balanced on his feet, enabling him to change direction with quick pivots…leans on his stick and is very good at protecting the puck from being stripped…plays a lot bigger than the listed size and is an absolute menace with the puck on his stick…does not hesitate to shoot the puck and has a good release with velocity that is likely to continue developing…great vision and is confident putting pucks through tight space to make a skilled pass…makes smart reads on puck movement…a constant factor when on the ice…defensive awareness is strong…constantly on his toes to play the routes of high probability with a waiting stick…is that heart and soul, all hustle player who attacks from the defensive side of the puck and can be relied upon in all zones…has the potential to become a strong pro middle six two-way player.
Our Take:
If you haven’t had a chance to read Anderson-Dolan’s interview with the Spokesman-Review from earlier in May, you should check it out here.
One of the youngest players in this draft, there is a lot to like about Jaret Anderson-Dolan. If he was born four days later, he wouldn’t have even been eligible for this draft. He saw a steady rise in his production throughout the year that has improved his stock as the season progressed. That is something that scouts look for when seeing draft eligible prospects during their draft season.
Anderson-Dolan’s 39 goals were ranked 2nd amongst first time draft eligible forwards from the WHL, trailing only teammate Kailer Yamamoto. But his point totals drop him down to 7th and then 9th in points per game amongst that same peer group. I wouldn’t categorize him as a shooter, m0re of an all around player who makes the most of his opportunity. Despite his under 6’0″ size, he plays bigger and protects the puck very well. He isn’t a particularly quick skater but is very strong on his skates.
Unfortunately the WHL doesn’t track shots, but Anderson-Dolan doesn’t waste a chance to shoot a puck. He has good 200 foot game, plays responsibly in his zone and uses his teammates well to transition the puck out of the zone. He also has those leadership qualities that teams look for, which culminated with being named the captain of Team Canada of the U18 tournament this past summer. Despite not scoring any points, he was noticeable throughout the tournament doing all the little things to help the team won.
Another encouraging sign for Anderson-Dolan was that 82.6% of his points were primary points.
When we use pGPS to look at Anderson-Dolan, a very impressive 46.2% of comparable players went onto becoming NHL players with Daymond Langkow being the closest successful co-hort.
Obviously with any player like Anderson-Dolan, there will be a wide variety of roles for the players. If Anderson-Dolan can continue to round out his offensive game, he may be able to carve himself out an offensive role or as others have done, he may be able to find as niche as a two way bottom six forward who helps out with secondary scoring.
Anderson-Dolan has a lot of factors working in his favour. He has a well rounded game that should translate well as he progresses up the ladder but still possessing a good offensive game. The fact that he is three days away from the cut-off is encouraging as he is almost a full year younger than top prospect Nolan Patrick, that is a huge development difference for players this young.
He also showed improvement throughout the season, rounding out his offensive game with taking away from his defensive side. This draft class has a group of players between 22-45 that could be interchangeable, and thus it really just takes one team to like the player enough for them to jump to the front of the group. Anderson-Dolan might be that one who jumps to the front and hears his name called in the last third of the first round.
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