Rookie Profile: Pascal Batz [1/2]

[efiug 320]

Pascal Batz
Centre
6'1"
177lbs
Hometown: Engelberg, Switzerland



PROS
 

Passing: Batz had 39 assists this past season, and he is certainly bound to get better as time progresses. His great passing makes him a useful player in most situations on the ice, whether it is a breakout pass to centre ice for a breakaway, a cross ice pass for a one timer on the power play, or anything in between Batz is the man that you can depend on.
 

Faceoffs: Batz was 51.91% on the dot this past season and took 2200 faceoffs. Faceoffs are super important to get a guaranteed possesion and put yourself in greater control with the puck. A reliable faceoff man is great on the penalty kill and the power play and that is where Batz has spent a lot of time as 527 of his 1816 minutes played were on special teams, adding up to a little over 29% of his playing time last season.
 

Defense: Batz is a defensive centre so it is not surprising to see that he is good defensively. He was trusted to play first line on the penalty kill in all situations. He always seems to find himself in the right spots on the ice and has outworked some of the offenses of the best teams this season. He is also not afraid to block shots and was one of the best shot blocking forwards on the team last season.
 

CONS
 

Shot: Batz is not a goal scorer proven by his 6 goals on the season, only 4 of which came during 5v5 play. He accrued a shooting percentage of 5.36% which was second worst on his team. While he certainly racks up the shots with 112 on this past season he can't convert these chances into goals.
 

Size: Batz lacks the bulk needed to be a top centre in the league, but that will certainly come in time as he has the height needed. Expect him to try and fill out and gain that all important muscle mass over the offseason.
 

Checking: Batz's physical game is nearly nonexistent and he definitely needs to work on it quite a bit. He often has been knocked off of the puck and beaten in board battles. To fix this he will either need to gain size and strength or play a better defensive game where he can keep the puck on his stick for longer.

 

[Greg_Di 1,022]

Review: Great rookie profile. My only recommendation would be to add "scouts notes" at the beginning. Brief paragraph describing the player. The goals will come soon!