RJ Thatcher - Scouting Report

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RJ Thatcher - Scouting Report

 

Rodney-Jay Thatcher (RJ Thatcher) was born in Papua New Guinea. He worked his way up and signed with the Mexico City Kings in the middle of the season. He proved himself to be a promising player so the Kings decided to draft him 9th overall in the S74 VHLM Draft. In his short S73 stint, he scored 3 goals and 4 assists in 19 games. Currently, 55 games into S74, Thatcher has put up 38 goals and 34 assists. He's 7th in the VHLM in goals, best on his team, while also having the 3rd-most assists on his team. This is very good production from someone who's on a playoff team and was considered to be "too raw" at the 9th overall pick.

 

Physicals

 

RJ Thatcher stands at 6'1" (185 cm.) and weighs 200 lbs. (91 kg). This is a very standard physique, as when comparing to the NHL, their players have an average weight and height of 199 lbs. and 6'1". Being 18 years old, there's a chance he could grow a bit more, but it's unlikely that he'll deviate from these numbers. Thatcher won't wow you at first glance, but his stature also won't be detrimental to his play.

 

Mentals

 

This is one glaring weakness of Thatcher. He's only 18 years old and he started playing ice hockey at the age of 13, albeit playing field hockey years before that. Compared to other prospects who have been on the ice for life, his awareness and in-game intelligence is far behind theirs. However, given his insane raw talent, a VHL team with a great youth development program can help him get this part of his game up to speed.

 

Technical Skills - Pros

 

--Scoring--

Thatcher is a scorer, plain and simple. This is evident by his current rank in the VHLM's goal leaders, that being 9th-best. His number of shots is also 6th-best, proving that he isn't erratic with his shooting. VHL GMs: if you want to draft RJ, be prepared to let him shoot the puck.

--Defense--

This one is a surprise, eh? Despite playing at the LW, Thatcher is known to be a very strong defender. He's not the type to try and level the puck-handler, but he has good positioning and poke-checking skills.

 

Technical Skills - Cons

 

--Puck Handling--

"Puck handling? Why would I need to grab the pucks?" Safe to say that puck-handling is a weak spot of Thatcher. Early on in the season, it was impossible to run the offense through him because he kept turning the puck over. However, he's starting to improve in this area. 

--Discipline--

This one ties into his lack of experience, but Thatcher isn't a very disciplined player. Although he won't be dirty on the ice, he commits simple errors that gift the opposition the puck or a powerplay.

 

 

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