Saturday, May 30, 2009

McKenzie, Curtis - RW/LW - Penticton BCHL

Curtis McKenzie / Penticton Vees BCHL

RW/LW-L / 6-1.5, 192 / 21-Feb-91

Skating: 55 / Skill: 60 / Sense: 55 / Compete: 65 / Tough: 65

Strengths: Gritty two-way game. Underrated skill. Plays with a lot of fire and likes to throw the body around.

Weaknesses: Skating is so-so at best.

There's so much to like about this player - he can score, he can hit, he drops the gloves, and he shows just enough finesse skill to be really projectable. Scores goals in lots of ways. Has a knack for tips and deflections out front. Doesn't get enough credit for his finesse ability. He can pick the corners on the move or thread some nice passes through traffic.

First step quickness and speed could be better. But has good balance and agility. For the style he plays, I don't think his skating is going to be a problem.

Will go into the dirty areas and compete physically. Plays in all situations and is very responsible defensively. Throws some pretty big open ice hits. Sticks up for his teammates and is pretty good when he drops the gloves.

Summary: I love this guy and don't know why he doesn't get more attention. I may have him way higher than most, but I'd probably start arguing for him with a 2nd round pick. And if I lost that argument and it came back around to the 3rd round and he was still there, I'd flip over the table to get this guy.

Draft Day: I have to believe there's a team or two who see the same things in this guy I do and will take him in the top 75 picks or so.

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