Monday, May 25, 2009

Glennie, Scott - RW - Brandon WHL

Scott Glennie / Brandon Wheat Kings WHL

RW-R / 6-1.25, 177 / 22-Feb-91

Skating: 75 / Skill: 65 / Sense: 60 / Compete: 60 / Tough: 45

Strengths: Fantastic skater with excellent pure speed. Plays an energetic game. Versatile puck skill and good offensive sense. Stepped up with great post-season performance after returning from broken elbow.

Weaknesses: Awfully easy to knock down/off the puck (if you can catch him). Turned into more of a perimetre player this season - that worries me a bit. Slight build and needs to get stronger.

Terrific skating ability - dangerous top speed, very shifty. Frequently beats d-men with that extra gear. Can handle the puck at speed. Had a lot of full- or partial-breakaways. When he didn't beat the d-man, he'd often have to take it around behind the net to wait for his linemates to catch up. Skating and high energy level allows him to be a really effective forechecker and penalty killer. Underrated skill level and hockey sense. Will take a hit to make a play, but will need to get stronger to survive the pro game.

My notes on him from last season vs. this season look like two totally different players. Great improvement in skating ability transformed him into a puck-rushing finesse speed demon. Kept hoping the gritty grinder from his rookie year would resurface this year, but didn't see much of that. Almost never drops the gloves (only 1 fight the whole year, in an after the whistle crease scrum).

Summary: Erased all the doubts about his status as a pro prospect coming into this season - legitimate mid-first rounder now. Slight nagging question in my head about where the gritty physical game went, but don't really care too much given the great improvement in skating and offensive creativity.

Draft Day: I think he goes somewhere in that 10-20 range. I think he could come off the board in the 10-13 area, which would surprise some people. Hard to imagine him falling lower than about 20-22nd overall.

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