Tadhg Byrne: Scouting Report

[teknonym 61]

TADHG BYRNE: SCOUTING REPORT.

 

Position: Goaltender

Catches: Right

Height: 6’2

Weight: 216lbs

Birthday: June 3, 2002

Hometown: Dublin, Republic of Ireland.

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Tadhg Byrne is an intelligent goaltender, using all of his relatively average frame effectively to exceed expectations. He’s a quick goaltender, mentally and physically. It’s safe to assume his athleticism comes from Byrne’s sports background. His father had been an elite rugby union player for the Ireland national team and had captained multiple Six Nations championship teams. Byrne has a storied history with the Belfast Giants of the EIHL prior to his contract with the San Diego Marlins of the VHLM and has been very open about how difficult it was to play hockey in an environment that has only ever heard of the sport in relation to Canadian stereotypes. Byrne never stopped trying, and now he’s looking like a mid-to-late second round pick, but it’s more than possible that he claws his way into the first round if he keeps improving at the pace he is currently.

 

PROS

 

Hand Speed: Tadhg Byrne has incredibly fast hands. Byrne has been quoted as saying ‘My hands move faster than my eyes,’ and when you watch him, you’ll see that he’s not lying. The young goaltender has shown time and time again that he has some of the fastest hands in the VHLM, displaying his innate instinct to flash the glove or throw his blocker out without even seeing the puck fly sometimes. It’s an extraordinary part of his game that can’t be replicated. It’s all instinct and speed which leads to highlight reel saves and, more importantly, keeping pucks out of the net.

 

Rebound Control: The second strongest part of Byrne’s game is his rebound control. It’s not uncommon for a puck to go flying away from Byrne, but it’s rare that he doesn’t get it under control. Byrne has worked hard at his rebound control, ensuring he knows where the puck will go after it hits his pads and hustling to keep it away from the opponent. His hard work is paying off, with his GAA falling and his SV% rising. Rebound control is a massive part of any goalie’s game, and Byrne has told scouts that it’s a priority for him to get better at keeping the puck out of the hands of opposing skaters.

 

Tenacity: Anybody who has ever met Tadhg Byrne will tell you about his incredibly tenacious nature. The young man has a fire in his chest that burns brighter than the sun itself and it fuels him to run further, lift heavier, react quicker, and block shots better. This intangible is something that most people would discount, but sometimes intangibles say more about the player than statistics do. Being a talented player means nothing if you cannot hone your talent and refine it to perfection. Fortunately for Tadhg Byrne, he has both of those incredible qualities.

 

CONS

 

Agility: As athletic as Byrne is, his agility is nothing to be impressed by really. Whilst he is a quick goaltender, his movements will look staggered and robotic relatively often. This doesn’t lend itself to his reactionary playstyle and has led to more than a few goals for the opposing teams. Agility is something that should come to Byrne naturally, but it just doesn’t seem present in his game. According to sources, he is working on it, but slowly. If Byrne can become more agile, even if only by just a little bit, he will become double the goaltender he is currently.

 

Skating: Something that links to Byrne’s lacking agility is his skating. In net, his skating is mediocre at best, but outside of the net he looks incredibly clunky. This skating issue doesn’t usually stop him from performing exceptionally, but scouts have begun to wonder if part of that is due to the recent step-up by San Diego’s defensive core. Skating for Byrne seems to be something he’s putting towards the lower end of his list of things to excel at, so it’s just a matter of time until we see how that works out for the young goaltending prospect.

 

Media: Tadhg Byrne will not take to the media as many athletes will. His media presence is chaotic and inconsistent, with him more often than not making snarky comments to the reporters that can sometimes be misconstrued for genuinely offensive comments rather than banter. He’s passionate and fiery, but all of that is put in the wrong place when it comes to media days. It’s something he’ll get better at as time goes along, but for now he probably shouldn’t be put on any panels.

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When looking at Tadhg Byrne as a player of the great game of hockey, you’ll see a young goaltender preparing himself to debut on the world’s biggest stage in the nearing future. Everything Byrne does is in preparation for his future. The world will marvel at Tadhg Byrne when he appears on their TV screens, and it’ll come as a shock to no scout who has looked at the young Irishman.