wcats

VHLM Team: Yukon Rush

Drafted: 1st pick 6th round 31st overall

Jersey Number: 54

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 220

Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Comparable players by: Wayne Simmonds, Rick Nash, Matthew Tkachuk, Joe Thornton, Corey Perry, Brad Marchand

Strengths

Skating: powerful strides, consistent speed for a player of his size. Hard to remove from the puck, legs always moving. A late bloomer who speed has increased significantly over the last few seasons through hard work with his strength and condition coaches. Extreme tenacity and relentless work ethic.

Puck Handling: Very responsible puck handler in the offensive zone. Keeps head up, confidence with the puck leads to a lot of completed no look passes and shots. Excellent use of big frame to shield and protect the puck from defenders. Does not try to do too much with the puck. More interested in efficiency over dangling.

Shooting/Passing: Blistering shot with surprising accuracy. Has been praised all his career for his lightning quick release which can often freeze opposing players and goalies. Confident shooter exposes a goalies weakness. Almost surgically picks them apart. Strong passing compared to the likes of Joe Thornton has garnered a lot of publicity on social media over the last few years. Including a segment with Canadian comedy hockey social media experts "On The Bench".

Weaknesses

Discipline: With all that potential talent he shows, the thing that has held him back and could in the future is discipline. With a hot head and aggressive play style comes taking a lot of unnecessary penalties. Leading his collegiate league in penalties over the last two seasons handedly. Has often left his team down a man multiple times a game. This is something that needs to be worked on if there is to be success at the next level.

Defense: this is an area that leaves something to be desired. From time to time looking confused in the defensive zone. Not sure where to be or who to cover during a cycle. Has shown improvement recently but still has a far way to go if he ever wants to be relied on in any special teams situations.

Leadership: Though being compared to great team leaders for their skill play, the other side of their game is leadership. This is something that he lacks at this point in his game probably goes hand in hand with his lack of discipline. His former teammates agreed that he could be a great leader if he matured and took leadership more seriously on a professional level.

Summary:

Dan Baillie has a lot of potential at the next level to have a long successful career. That is to say, if he chooses to. If his lack of discipline and leadership don't start to correct themselves very quickly he could find out very quickly what it's like to another number forgotten. Although, I'm sure if you were to ask Brad Marchand who has built a career on playing that style of hockey. He'd tell you what its like to be the most hated man in the NHL while also being very successful on the scoresheet.