Nick Sunderbruch Jr (C) Scouting report

[NickSunderbruch 361]

Player Name: Nicholas Sunderbruch Jr

Position: Center

Height: 6'1

Weight: 225 lbs

Age: 20

Short biography: Born in raised in Tampa Florida, son of former Toronto Legion winger Nick Sundebruch, played college hockey at Florida State at the Division III level, not due to lack of talent but because of loyalty to his hometown team.

 

Pros:

Sunderbruch is strong on faceoffs, and excels in shorthanded situations, often winning defensive zone faceoffs against larger and stronger players.

Excellent hockey IQ, likely developed and fostered by a hockey player father from a young age, quick to learn and add new aspects to his game.

An assist machine, before entering the minors he held the Florida State assist record at 115 assists in his Junior season, and is always looking for an open winger to pass.

On the topic of assists Sunderbruchs passing is absolutely astounding, almost never missing his target, yet also has the awareness to know when he needs to dump and chase.

Sunderbruchs speed is definitely good enough to keep pace in the league, even though his speed wouldn't be considered elite.

In terms of defense Sunderbruchs back checking is his game, rather than cherry picking Sunderbruch prefers to sit back and observe the play with his eyes before making difficult decisions.

 

Cons:

Sunderbruch is rather average sized for his position, not too small. but certainly not super big, his size can sometimes inhibit him from making difficult plays on the puck in the corner.

He has a bit of a below average wrist shot, and while his slapshot is strong, it lacks velocity and finish, GMs might be wary that he may miss open nets on anything north of the circle.

While Sunderbruch might have success passing, oftentimes he has a tendency to be a little to fancy for his teammates to receive his passing, which leaves points on the table at certain points in his games, a truly unfortunate scenario for such top end talent, perhaps the lack of talent on a DIII program contributes to this.

While Sunderbruchs speed can match the average on ice, he isn't at the elite level that a first line center should be on, this might lead to some struggles in the VHL or the VHLE.

 

Conclusion:

I'd say Sunderbruch is a solid second round talent in the big leagues, not a bad player but definitely a piece that will need to develop as time passes.

Sunderbruch would be a good fit for teams looking to pick up pieces to develop for the future rather than a team in a "win now" type of mindset, though he could certainly provide well for a solid third line surrounded by similar talent. I believe Nick is only a few steps away from being elite rather than just "above average".

I hope that we've all come out with a new outlook on this talented young prospect as he looks forward to the VHLM playoffs and hopes to make an impact on the ice for the Las Vegas Aces in his first career playoff appearance.