Scott Shawinganen - Rookie Profile [1/2]

[Cornflakers 73]

 

Scott Shawinganen

 

Position: C

Age: 18 (11/26/1999)

Height: 6’4”

Weight: 186

Hometown: Ottawa, ON

Junior Hockey: Ottawa 67s (OHL)

NHL Comparables: John Tavares, Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews

 

Hockey History

 

Scott Shawinganen is a highly respected prospect to be on every teams radar come next seasons draft. He began his hockey career a bit later than usual, but has been given opportunity to perform, and has seized every chance he has had. He began playing in Middle School, in Ottawa, Ontario. He graduated through the ranks and even played a couple seasons, which lead to a Memorial Cup Final appearance in only his second year. He was the main go to guy for PK, PP, and defensive zone faceoffs. Scott was electric to watch, he has a pass first mentality, a strong work ethic, and a hockey sense that rivals some of the best in the game.

 

Strengths

 

Hockey Sense -

Scott possesses the innate ability to always know who is where around him. His teammates would be the first to agree that he has “eyes in the back of his head”. His level of aptitude on the ice translates at the Junior level. Scott lead the league in Assists, +/-, and does all the little things that stats don’t track. He is strong on the backcheck, knows when to pinch, and has an exceptional reach when playing the cycle game along the boards. Although he doesn’t come from a VHL lineage, Scott has proved his worth and has the brains to take it to the next level for sure.

 

Passing -

Scott is mature. He doesn’t crash for the net, cherry pick passes, or shy away from going into the boards. Scott is what we all wish to see in a forward. He is selfless. He makes everyone around him better. Combined with all of these characteristics, Scott has one of the smoothest passes we have seen in a long time. Scott is able to flip the puck from behind his blue-line, diagonally, through the air, onto a 2x2 piece of rubber just on the neutral side of his opponent. We’ve seen Scott make some crazy shots from a distance. It’s almost as if he has the ability to parabolically calculate the trajectory of his passes so they seem like every play there’s a “seeing eye dog”. Look for Scott to get even better once various coaching staff and facilities are made available to him.

 

Skating -

Growing up in the National Capital Region, Scott has been skating since he was a kid. He started skating at a professional level in late High School, but has shown that it just comes naturally. He would skate long nights along the frozen waters of Lakes, Ponds, and the world renowned Rideau Canal. Scott is not only a smooth skater at length, but he has insane acceleration. This makes him a huge threat and a solid 200 foot player. His top speed and agility are unparalleled. The mix of passing, accuracy, and common sense, added with his sharp blades, makes Scott a threat to watch out for.

 

Areas of Improvement

 

Strength -

Although Scott has an imposing frame, he still has some work to do to catch up to his peers in this regard. This is not saying Scott is weak. He is tall, lanky, and needs to put on some muscle between now and the combine if he is looking to go top 5. If the draft were today, we’d project Scott to be around #15-#30. His upper body strength is a bit ahead of his legs. His upbringing is probably to thank for this, farming. Scott can battle along the boards with his upper body strength, but can sometimes be knocked down easier than his peers. Although he is quick to get back up, this does sometimes mean a loss of possession.

 

Scoring -

Scott is a pass first individual. He is selfless on and off the ice. His aim and accuracy is among the best. However the power in his shot could use some work. Scott is much more comfortable dangling and setting up other players. He still finds the back of the net on occasion when he’s called upon. Look for him to have at least double the amount of assists than he has goals. He may find his niche in this league, and with more coaching and playing with higher calibre forwards, he can find his scoring touch.

 

Aggression -

Scott isint known to be a hot head. However he can take bad penalties. As Scott matures, he’ll likely grow out of retaliation. This is an area that good coaching can help Scott navigate. Although he’s fantastic and responsible on the ice, in certain situations Scott can become overwhelmed and he isint confrontational in nature, but things happen on the ice and some scouts have reported that he’s been in the box when it could have been avoided. His abilities far make up for this blip on an otherwise stellar stat sheet.

 

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Review:

Awesome write-up! Nice, long, and descriptive. Could probably do with some bolding of the headings to help separate it a bit, but it's solid nonetheless.

Lots of wording went into this and it was an enjoyable read. Good work!

Those are some superstar NHL compareables to live up to!