Malik L'Italien

Scouting Notes

L'Italien showed off his wide array of tools throughout this game. The size/skating combo here is absolutely prototype for a legitimate NHL all-situations player. He showed the top speed necessary to keep up with smaller quicker players streaming down the wing, as well as the lateral mobility to handle change of direction and close on guys quickly. Had a few pretty notable hits in this game and displayed a physical edge throughout - he's regularly engaged in this part of the game. His retrievals and breakouts were consistently solid, and he showed some real heads up play in terms of picking good spots to join the rush. He was very good as a puck carrier and showed an ability to make the first guy miss before moving the puck - creating odd-man rushes in his teams favor. The odd instance of misplaying the puck or giveaways occured, but they were minimal and he more than made up for it with positives. This is an excellent prospect.