General Zod Scouting Report

[Matt_O 896]

General Zod

Defenseman, Las Vegas Aces

 

General Zod has blessed us from his home planet of Krypton and has decided to enter the S72 VHL draft. Being a General, he is a natural leader, and was an assistant captain for the Aces this season.  Statistically, he was the best defenseman in Vegas, leading their defense unit in points, assists, hits, and blocked shots. While Zod focuses on being a shutdown, defensive defenseman, he also has the ability to make plays, evident by his 65 assists this season. He evolved into a do it all defenseman this year in the VHLM, and he hopes he can continue that in the VHL.

 

Strengths

 

Physicality

Zod's best weapon is the way he uses his body. His huge 6'8 frame allows him to shield his opponents from the puck, and he also is very intimidating. His 201 hits were the tenth most in the VHLM this season, and he got off to a slow start. If he had his second half pace during the first half of the season, he could have cracked into the top five. If any team is in need of a shutdown, physical defenseman, General Zod is your guy.

 

Playmaking

At first, Zod had no interest in making plays. He wanted to put the puck in the back of the net with his monster slapshot. However, he realized that making plays and passing the puck is easier, especially when you have elite forwards such as SS Hornet, Joe Proto, Pengu, and the list goes on. Zod's ability to feed the puck to his teammates is second to none. While his assist total of 65 wasn't enough to make it into the top 10 this year, normally it would have been more than enough. If Zod played in S67, he would have been fifth place in assists for the year. Zod is an elite playmaker, but the absurd goal scoring in the VHLM (specifically Ottawa) has made his assist total seem like nothing. General Zod can make plays, despite entering the league as a pure defensive defenseman. 

 

Weaknesses

 

Blocking shots

You may be wondering, how is Zod a shutdown defenseman if he only has 79 blocked shots? Allow me to explain. Usually, players on bad teams tend to get more blocked shots than players on good teams because the bad teams are in their defensive zone more often. Vegas was one of the better teams in the VHLM this year, which would explain the low shot block totals. Not only that, but Zod still had the most blocked shots on his team. If Zod gets drafted to a below average team in the draft, I would anticipate his shot block totals go way up. However, that hasn't happened yet, so for now, this is a weakness for him.

 

If you select General Zod in the upcoming draft, you will be getting a special talent. His work ethic and commitment to getting better is stronger than ever. You will be getting a tough, physical defensive defenseman that also knows how to make plays. What else do you want from a player?