Nathan Schwartz Updated Scouting Report

[Njschwartz03 33]

Nathan Schwartz, a six foot one, hundred and ninety-three pound center from Pennsylvania, was once a highly touted player. At one point it was believed he was the best player his age, but at some point his stock took a big hit leaving his professional hockey future in question. In this report, we will be taking a deep dives in his greatest strengths and weaknesses, as well as an evaluation as to why his stock took such a hit.

 

Strengths:

Schwartz has an exceptional feel for the offensive side of the game. He always knows how to get his shot off in any situation and has other worldly vision. He sets up his line mates for easy goals with lethally accurate passes. His wrist shot is incredibly strong and he uses his hands very well to get it off at tough angles.

Schwartz is a phenomenal skater and handles the puck with ease. He may well be pound for pound one of the fastest guys to ever touch the ice. Blink and you might miss him, he gets down the ice as fast as McDavid, and can finish at the crease as strong as Lindros in his prime. Bodies from defenders seem to not phase the kid as he is very strong while attacking the crease. He also has a deep bag of tricks that will leave defenders looking silly, whether it’s a simple as a toe drag and release or a quick spin move he can leave spectators in all with his skills.

On the faceoff, Schwartz is very solid. There is room for improvement but he still projects as an above average winner on the puck drop.

Physicality is another strong suit of his game, however he is not very quick to implement it to his game. With the right coaches, he could become a very physically dominant force that will drive opponents wild night in and night out.

 

Weaknesses

Concentration is the biggest area in need of improvement. Schwartz tends to lack focus at times in the neutral zone, leading to costly turnovers or overly greedy passes the go astray. If he can dial this in it will help him become even more of a dominant point scorer, seeing more possession time in the offensive zone every game.

Defensive fundamentals also need serious improvement. Schwartz seems lackadaisical on the defensive end. Poor discipline leading to penalties, underwhelming stick skills, and an overall lack of effort. If under the right coach, Schwartz could be fine tuned into a weapon in the defensive zone, his size and speed alone would allow for it, it’s all a matter of hard work and effort on that end.

Injuries. They have plagued Schwartz’s young career thus far and is a major factor setting back his development. The number one key to any player meeting their full potential is ice time. And Schwartz seemed to not see enough of it at the lower levels. He missed a full season from a knee injury suffered in training that nearly ended his career, and a few years later missed half of his games with an ankle injury. Schwartz needs to stay healthy if any team at the top level would want to put him on their roster.

 

It is very clear that Schwartz’s injury history was the major factor in his stock tanking heading into the VHLM draft. He was simply seen as a boom or bust prospect. GM’s knew if he could stay healthy he could become a franchise player, but the key word is IF. Schwartz has not proven he can stay healthy and until he does teams may not take him seriously as a prospect.

Rumors also circulated around front offices across the league about Schwartz’s dedication to the game. They point to his lack of effort and development on the defensive end as the major indicator to that. I call bogus. There are many players at the professional levels who show very little involvement defensively yet more than make up for it on offense. I truly believe Schwartz played such little defense because he thought team weren’t looking at him for it and because he played at such a low level of competition that he just didn’t have to. It also could have something to do with his desire to stay healthy, and the spending too much energy on defense would cause his legs to give out when he needed them most.

That also brings us to the third reason his stock fell. Competition. Schwartz played in a very weak regional scene in South Jersey on a very talented team. Some questioned that maybe his stats were so good because his team was so much better than others. While that is certainly true, you just cannot deny talent when you see it. Schwartz passes the eye test, plain and simple. Size, speed, skills, and shot, he has it all. Schwartz will certainly make all the team that pass on him regret their decisions. I compare his game to the like of McDavid or Crosby, because his offensive game is so complete and he is also a similar athlete to the two of them. He has franchise caliber player written all over him.

[Nathan_8 205]

Great scouting report, and hopefully that knee stays healthy were going to need it this season

[LucyXpher 580]

Great article!  He’s gonna be a heck of a player!

[jake 84]

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[AJW 1,749]

Let’s go!!