Titus Stone Rookie Profile

[MD9 139]

TITUS STONE: Rookie Profile

 

Name: Titus Stone

Position: Defense

Age: 19

Height: 74 in

Weight: 220 lbs

Birthplace: Denver, Colorado, USA

 

In an era where offense is the name of the game, Titus Stone turned heads during his minor hockey career thanks to solid defensive play and a decidedly old-school mindset. For Stone, it's not about driving into the lane for a scoring opportunity or quarterbacking a power-play. It's about playing the body, blocking shots, and being the sort of defensive anchor that opens up the real offensive talent to wheel and deal without needing to fret over the capability of their man back on the one-on-one or odd-man-rush. There has been some question as to whether Stone has what it takes to convert this style of game to any success at the VHLM or VHL levels, but as a probable late draft pick, teams won't need to risk a whole lot for what could end up being something of an experiment. 

 

STRENGTHS

 

Defense: This goes without saying. Stone thinks almost exclusively about defense, playing a very traditional stay-at-home game. He's responsible when he has the puck and he rarely makes risky plays, with a preference on either setting up shop on the blue-line to hold the play in the offensive zone, or even hanging back in the neutral zone before his team gets the forecheck going. Because of his solid hockey IQ and particular focus, he is able to influence the game in a way that isn't always lauded by the critics, but is certainly well-appreciated by his own goaltenders.

 

Checking: Although Stone isn't a single-minded hitter in the same way that your prototypical grinders might be, he is more than willing to play the body to break up a play. Nine times out of ten, taking the open hit is going to be an easier solution to break up the offense than trying to get fancy with the stick, and so that's what he does. There are downsides to this of course, a simple takeaway might make for a quicker stretch pass, but on the whole his willingness to hit for the purpose of getting the puck, and not just to participating in the race for most hits, should be a net positive so long as it doesn't lead to penalties.

 

Puck Handling: Needless to say, Stone puts a lot of emphasis on responsible puck handling. He may not be setting up breakways with long, stretch passes or dazzling audiences with his stickwork, but he's going to do everything he can to hold onto the puck when he's got it. He doesn't commit many foolish turnovers and tends to keep things safe and sound.

 

WEAKNESSES

 

Offense: His offensive game is sluggish at best and anemic at worst. He doesn't have a particularly good shot, he isn't willing to take chances with his passes, and he doesn't have the wheels to go end-to-end like some other modern defencemen. This is a major downside to Stone and something he's going to need to work on if he wants VHL teams to ever look at him as a first pairing defender. Chances are, the most he will ever amount to is a decent passer once he fits into a particular offensive scheme. Maybe he can eventually work the second power-play pairing, but that's about it.

 

Discipline: This isn't something that comes up for most players, but given his willingness to make big hits and occasional habit of getting up to some fancy stickwork in-front of the net (and I'm not talking about the puck handling kind), he's going to need to put some serious work in to improving his focus so that he doesn't handicap his teams with poor penalties. It's one of the big reasons teams shy away from physical defenders, and something he should look at improving sooner rather than later.

 

Skating: As noted in the general 'offense' heading, Stone isn't a great skater. He's serviceable, but in today's fast game, serviceable isn't always good enough. He relies mostly on positioning and IQ to cash his paychecks in the defensive end, but once he makes it to the next level, that's probably not going to be good enough. He needs to improve majorly so he doesn't end up being just another pylon on the blueline for the VHL's high-volume scorers to embarrass on a nightly basis.

 

CAREER PROJECTION

 

It's too early to tell, but the most likely outcome for Stone is to wind up a no. 3 or 4 defenceman at the VHL level, logging average minutes in five on five but seeing extensive shifts during penalty kills and when teams are desperately trying to hold the lead. He's not your ideal two-way number one guy, and he's not a power play specialist. He's just a solid defenceman. The kind of player that helps, but not the kind you break the bank for in free agency.