Claimed:Ken Anderson Rookie Profile [Final: 8]

[lere2001 90]

Position: Defense

Name: Ken Anderson

Number: 24
Age: 19
Height: 6'3”
Weight: 205 lbs
Player type: All-Around Defenseman

Handedness: Right

 

Overview:

 

Ken Anderson is an all-around defensive prospect from Edmonton, Alberta who currently plays for the Yukon Rush of the VHLM. Growing up in Edmonton, Anderson played for the local Maple Leafs Athletic Club from Atom level to Midget AAA level before getting his big break and being signed by the Yukon Rush. Last season, playing for MLAC, Anderson had nine goals and twenty-five assists in thirty-two games played. The VHLM is a next-level league but Anderson appears to be a next-level talent that should fit right in to the fast-paced VHLM style.

 

Pros:

 

Smooth Skating: Ken Anderson is a smooth skater. He is widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best skating defenseman to be a VHL prospect since Matt Bentley’s introduction to the league in season 35. His agility, speed, and overall mobility on ice is a real sight to behold as he is able to ease into his crossovers seamlessly to transition from forward and backward motion. Ken Anderson does not get burned by opposing players often, and this is precisely what makes him such a generational talent at the defenseman position. They say speed kills, but from a defensive perspective, you can fight fire with fire by killing speed with speed.

 

Crisp Passing: Anderson has always had a pass-first attitude as he seems to have the mature understanding that the first pass out of the zone is often the most important. While watching Ken Anderson at Rush practice, his mastery of the passing drills was apparent. Anderson’s unselfishness during games will earn him a lot more points over the course of the season than his shooting will. At the ripe age of nineteen, Anderson already has the ability to actively find passing lanes in the offensive zone and his slap-passes down low accounted for seventeen of his twenty-five assists in Midget AAA last season. With Yukon’s increased offensive firepower this year, that should be a weapon that Ken Anderson will be able to use to his advantage all season long.

 

Work Hard, Play Hard: It became evident at the very first moment that Ken Anderson stepped on the ice for his first practice with Yukon that he loves hockey and he has the drive and passion to make it big-time in this league. Anderson never sat out a drill, never stopped giving it his all, and impressed his new coaches for the entire practice. There are some players who will just let their natural talent carry them in to and through the professional leagues, but Ken Anderson is not one of those players. He works hard to be the player that he dreams of becoming.

 

Ken Anderson is able to speed past pursuing forwards with his slick skating style

 

Cons:

 

“Shoots Like A Girl”: Ken Anderson has never been one to make the “Red Sea part” when he winds up for a slap-shot, as he does not have a very hard shot in his arsenal. His nine goals last year were mostly the result of screened wrist shots from the point as he has no problem putting the puck on the net, just does not have the speed behind his shot which is necessary to threaten goaltenders at this level of the game. Ken Anderson will be featured on Yukon’s second powerplay line this season, but his main job will be distribution, not shooting.

 

Do You Even Lift, Bro?: Ken Anderson is undersized compared to the league average at the defenseman position. He has a sizeable frame, standing at six-foot-three-inches tall, but he is only two-hundred-and-five pounds, which will allow him to get out-battled by many of the league’s forwards. If Anderson wishes to become the shut-down defenseman who could eventually lead the VHL in plus-minus, he will have to use his years in the VHLM to bulk up and gain a considerable amount of muscle mass just to remain competitive.

 

Reality Check: Up to this point of his career, Ken Anderson has made a living out of well-timed poke checks and controlling his opponent’s stick. He has never been considered a bruiser and forwards have no problem making moves towards the boards on him as they have no fear of being body checked. Ken Anderson had recently revealed former NHL superstar, Scott Stevens, as a role-model for his game but Anderson still has quite a long way to go before he becomes the physical force that Stevens was known for being. When Anderson does get beat, it is often because he lacks the physicality to force larger forwards off of the puck down low and against the boards. This is a new league with larger players and Ken Anderson will need to be able to fight for the puck in the dirty areas of the ice in order to have a successful career in the VHLM.

 

Swing and a miss. You've gotta be able to line-up those body checks, kid.

 

While Ken Anderson does have weaknesses in his game that can be exploited at the moment, there is no doubt that with his work ethic, as he progresses as a professional, he will fill-in the gaps in his game and become a solid, if not great, defenseman in the VHLM and eventually the VHL.

[eaglesfan036 4,603]

Do you even lift bro?

[Molholt 2,185]

Overview: 2/2 - Yeah yeah yeah, good work!

 

Pros & Cons: 3/3 - Plenty of content here, good work.

 

Grammar: 2/2 -

in to -- into

NHL superstar, Scott Stevens, as a role-model for his game but -- superstar Scott Stevens as a role model for his game, but

 

Presentation: 1/1 - Looks good to me.

 

Overall: 8/8

[Victor 10,943]

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