Rocco and Darren are within a point of each other on 4 of 10 categories. Biggest split: Skating - Speed/Power (8.5 vs. 10.0). Strongest tool: Skating - Speed/Power at 9.3.
Each dot is that scout's average for the category across their reports. The white tick is the consensus: the average of every report, each counted once. A red dashed gap means the scouts are 1.5 points or more apart. Tap a row to see every report's score.
His skating is elite, with outstanding acceleration, top-end speed, and shiftiness. He’s incredibly fast and can create separation almost at will, making him a major threat in transition. His backwards skating is equally impressive and allows him to close gaps exceptionally well, recover defensively, and stay engaged against opposing attackers. When utilized properly, he can almost function as an extra defenceman on the ice. His skating keeps him consistently involved and is the defining element of his game. He can be impatient breaking out of the defensive zone, though, and takes a few too many big curls through the neutral zone.
He’s a very shoot-first player with a good shot and quick release. He can put real weight into his shots, frequently targeting the blockers, and is effective getting pucks off in tight. He also has a hard one-timer and can creep up on goalies from the top of the zone, making him a legitimate power-play shooting threat. His speed allows him to create offensive advantages and generate opportunities, but he doesn’t always make the most of them. He can skate himself into traffic rather than using the space he creates to find teammates.
His puck handling is decent, and his shiftiness allows him to make defenders miss, but he gets knocked off the puck or has it poked away too often. His rush playmaking is inconsistent, as he can force hopeful passes and rush his decisions. He can find the trailer and has shown the ability to make high-end passes that others might not see, but those plays aren’t consistent enough yet. He can be tunnel-visioned at times and defaults to shooting rather than recognizing passing opportunities. There is intriguing playmaking potential, but it remains unclear what type of playmaker he will become.
Defensively, his skating gives him a strong foundation. His ability to move backwards and close gaps is excellent, allowing him to stay in plays and make life difficult for opposing attackers. However, his defensive detail and decision-making remain inconsistent, and he can be impatient when trying to break the puck out. He showed a little more willingness to engage physically in this viewing, but physicality isn’t a major part of his game. He’s small and not particularly strong right now, and he doesn’t consistently impact opponents with his hits.
The skating is elite, the shiftiness is elite, and the shot is very good. His speed creates advantages at every level of the ice, and his backwards skating gives him some potential to become more effective defensively. However, his lack of strength, inconsistent puck protection, and rushed offensive decisions limit his overall impact. The biggest question is his playmaking. He has flashed the ability to make high-end plays, but he too often relies on his shot or skates himself into trouble instead of involving his teammates. Developing his vision, decision-making, and ability to capitalize on the space his skating creates will be key to his progression. This looks like a winger.
England had a good showing in this one, although I have seen him be downright dominant at times (Hlinka 2026) so there is another level up for him compared to this game, but overall he played quite well. He can absolutely fly and knows how to use his speed to create advantages all over the ice. The top speed and quickness are both amongst the best in this class, and "pace" would certainly be amongst his calling cards as a player. Did a nice job here using his shot, despite not scoring, and getting pucks off his stick really quickly. He also showed an ability to shoot it in stride which gave the goaltender trouble as he could be caught a bit off guard at times. An excellent playmaker, England showed an ability on multiple occasions to show shot in order to open up a no-look cross-ice passing lane. He also showed nice touch on his soft area passes, leaving them in spots for teammates to pick up in space. England was a one-man break-in for his team at times, using his speed to keep defenders on their heels, forcing them to leave larger gaps, and allowing for uncontested zone entries. He also utilized change-of-direction, as well as change-of-pace, effectively in this viewing. He could get pushed to the outside at times on his rushes, and a focus on driving the middle lane could open up even more options for him. Defensively we saw an excellent effort, although he can be puck-focused at times, on one occasion leaving his point man wide open for a quality look. His best play of the night was a really high IQ play off the rush where he noticed his linemate driving the middle lane. He threw a perfect shot-pass off the goalie's far pad and the rebound went right onto his teammates stick for an easy goal. Overall, this is one of the more electric players available in the 2027 Draft. He has a very realistic chance to be taken in the top half of the first round in June.