“One of the most creative and intelligent offensive defenders that I’ve seen come through the OHL in my lengthy time covering the league. He just rarely makes a mistake or a poor read with the puck. Inside the offensive blueline, he’s so tough to pin down because his feet move in sync with his hands; it gives him elite-level escapability. Inside Saginaw’s free-flowing system, he’s given a ton of freedom to activate and be aggressive. He gets breakaways. He accepts outlet passes streaking up the wing. With that comes cheating the defensive zone for offense, but it’s that classic trade-off…only you’re not used to seeing it from a defender. His game will require refinement at the next level as he learns to reign things in a bit; learning a new system will necessitate patience. There’s definitely a need to improve his defensive play, especially in those higher-traffic areas. He’s not soft, but he needs to get stronger. I also believe that he could stand to improve his explosiveness moving forward and coming out of transitions. He’s a very smooth and fluid skater; his edgework was among the best in this draft class. However, for the NHL level, he’s going to need to get quicker to escape the forecheck and to help him with his transitions to be first to retrievals. The upside here is obviously significant. You’re looking at a primary powerplay quarterback who could be among the league’s top point producers from the backend. The question is, just how much will his defensive game develop and how much will he need to be sheltered at even strength?”