Victor Foles Scouting Report

[Suzuki14 24]

                      Many of you will probably never have heard of Victor Foles, and for good reason. During S74 in the VHLM, he was bouncing around multiple teams playing fourth line minutes and recording almost no points. The big sniper has had a rough season overall, from being knocked from the playoffs in the first round to scoring only 3 goals in the regular season. Luckily, in the offseason, he has caught a little break, and used it to propel himself up the draft rankings for both the VHL and VHLM drafts, the latter being later today. Here are some strengths and weaknesses for Foles:

 

   

Strengths: 

 

Scoring

Of course. Scoring is Foles' biggest advantage over his opponent. He can just wire the puck, and with his 6'5, 187 frame, if he puts on more muscle, he will have a wicked hard shot. He loves how Alex Ovechkin hunts the dots on the power play and gets the one timers, and his coaches recognized that in the OHL, and he scored 50 goals there. 

 

Work Ethic

Foles is always one of the hardest working guys on the ice and in the gym. He always strives to be better and this year has thrown him tons of curveballs, so he's spent more time trying to improve his game as ever.

 

Speed

Foles is fast. Not quick, he doesn't have great reflexes and is really too big to be quick, but he is fast. If he is racing for a puck, he will get there first. His legs are like tree trunks, and when he gets pumping, not much can stop him from achieving his goal.

 

 

Weaknesses:

 

Strength

Foles is not a strong player. He is often beaten in puck battles by guys that are smaller than him, but are much more strong than him. It's the main thing he works on, and some days he spends more time in the gym than he does on the ice. Not desirable, but necessary. That's how he rolls

 

Defense
Foles was one of the most one sided players you could watch in junior. He still is, compared to some of his teammates. It's been an area of improvement on the ice, and it has come along, sort of. He still tends to lounge around the blue line when there's a battle in the corner, but he's getting better. 

 

Flexibility

Victor Foles is not flexible. Not in the slightest. Not in the way that he can't adapt to new surroundings, because he did that this year, when he was traded. No no, I'm talking about literal flexibility, as in if you can touch your toes. Foles cannot. It usually isn't a huge issue, but it makes him get injured more often than flexible, strong players. During a game in the OHL, he tweaked his groin, like not even that much. But he missed six games rehabbing it and stretching. Stretching is the main thing coaches tell Foles to do, and he does it a lot. But the road to flexibility is a long one, so he may have to focus on it for a while.

 

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