| Draft Type | Round | Pick | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Projection | 3 | 89 |
Huge Latvian centre who can dominate the center of the ice. Makes plays in traffic and wins puck battles and can dangle some and used wide body and long reach to protect the puck. In a key game the World Juniors U-20 round-robin against Germany, he opened the scoring with a hard snappy writer while cutting in the middle, created an excellent screen in front on a power play goal from the point. can uses his edges to power out of the corners. Powers straight to the net looking for rebounds. Protects pucks well on the cycle. Has soft hands for receiving and giving passes. A big-bodied kid who plays strong on the puck and is diligent backchecker. A high character kid with surprising feet, and lots of tools in place, although his playmaking and vision are just average.
--Bill Płaczek--
