Toby Fitzgerald - Defenseman - Rookie Profile [1/2]

[JohnnyT_77 16]

Toby Fitzgerald

Junior Team: QMJHL Quebec Remparts (#77)
VHL Team: Halifax 21st
Place of Birth: Halifax, NS, CAN
Ht: 6’4” Wt: 225 lbs
Shoots: Right
Position: D

Quick Hits

 

Fitzgerald’s claim to success so far in his young career, is being a two-way defenceman. With a defensive-first mentality, you wouldn’t normally see things that his stat line shows. Let’s face it, these are numbers you’d normally see from a purely offensive defenseman. So, if you’re concerned about offense, there’s no need to be. Take a look at his numbers last season. He posted a 21-68-89 in 67 games from the blue line and added 7-19-26 in 20 playoff games. He was just outstanding.

 

After seeing that are you worried about a one dimensional, offense only player? Fitzgerald is nothing of the sort. Not only is he a monster offensively, he brings it defensively too. His +\- his last 3 seasons have only improved (+23, +43, +67), and he isn't afraid to block shots or throw a hit. That, combined with the offense he brings to the table, makes him quite possibly one of the best two-way defencemen available in this draft. Not to mention, he plays with a bit of an edge and will mix things up if required. He had 194 PIM in addition to his outstanding offensive performance.

 

What's this all mean? 

Teams don’t want to miss out on this top talent as he gives them a chance to bring in a winner, a leader and someone who can help in so many ways.

To elaborate further, we have someone who plays the game the right way and is solid at just about everything he does. He can play both special teams units including power-play quarterback. He uses his deadly accurate shot and pinpoint passing to create scoring chances. But what makes him great is that he’s almost never out of position. He has no issue playing man-to-man in his own end and usually comes out on top.
 

If there’s questions about him though, it is mostly having to do with his skating ability, as it may not be the greatest. Scouts would like to see an extra gear in his skating. However, he skates fine and isn’t a true liability. But he is missing that top-gear and could lose races to pucks against speedy wingers. Look for him to refine this part of the game. Other than that, there isn’t much downside to this player.
 

What the Scouts think

“A talented two-way defenceman that can play in all situations and stay productive. Uses his edges well and is, for the most part, a very smooth skater; however, as he gets stronger and adjusts to a more up-tempo style of hockey, he will need to work on his speed in gap-closing. Offensively, he utilizes his keen sense of awareness to be in the right spot at the right time, every time. Soft hands and a deadly shot accentuate his ability to get creative, on occasion. Rock solid defensively, his strong positioning severely limits time and space for the opposition. All-in-all, a well-rounded, reliable, and consistent defenceman that can log a lot of ice time and provide his team with a stable presence on the back end.” – Brian Smith, VHLProspects.com
 

“A mobile and defender with size and strong puck skills who sticks to his opponents like glue. Fitzgerald is a rare specimen for a defender. He is a big-bodied puck mover with speed who plays with poise in all three zones. He is one of the top scoring blueliners thanks to his ability to run a power play, dictate the tempo of a game regardless of the situation and seize opportunities that nobody else was able to identify….. a strong, agile skater with a deceptively quick first step and the ability to make sharp directional changes in open ice. Getting the puck behind pesky opponents in the neutral zone can be done with either his wheels or with hard, crisp passes, but he isn’t the kind of defenseman who lets his forwards take it from there — he loves to jump into openings and create or finish from areas close to the hashmarks.” – Bob Tonner, Hockey Expert Magazine
 

“Fitz has some size at 6-4 and 225. However, he does not give up any skill as he has a tremendous outlet passing ability, distributes the puck extremely well, and has an accurate shot. Skating is far from a liability as he has strong edge work, gap control and can accelerate quickly to a high-end top gear.  All things being equal scouts and GMs will prefer the player with size and that should bode well for him in in his career.” – Peter Alexander, Prospect Ratings Index

Strengths

• One of best two-way defensemen available
• Strong on the puck
• Very smart
• Excellent positioning

Weaknesses (Improvements to work on)

• Overall skating: top-end speed
• Needs to keep anger in check, stay out of the penalty box
• Has a hard time saying no to a good roast beef sandwich

VHL Potential

Fitzgerald has one of the better overall skill sets in this draft. This makes his upside that of a solid top-four defender who can play in any situation. Think he falls just short of being a franchise defenseman, but he isn’t far off. Has the ceiling of a generational talent.

Offence – 8/10, Defence – 9/10

[Exlaxchronicles 415]

Very nice write up. Your punctuation, wording and sentence structure is good and it was a good read.

I like how you have bold titles for each paragraph and you go into enough depth of the player.

Nice to see his stats as wekk 

Good job!