Ball of fire whose injury-riddled season had him sitting as an after thought out of the first round. As first look, he was looked at as strong defensive zone guy with a nice power play presence, but upon further investigation, appears to have sleeper in the first round. At six foot and a solid 200 pounds, you quickly see an aggressive all-around defenseman who read the options for his end, escapes a strong forecheck, and targets teammates on the way out. Uses his defensive partner well when he goes "d to d." Probably a bit under-rated on the offensive side. A quick "touch and pass" player in the offensive zone who gets the puck to his own open attackers. Will pinch down along the wall much to the chagrin of the opposition, trying to gain possession. This young man, named after martial artist, displays Jet Li core strength, and relished contact in compact space. He seems the winner in each and every physical confrontation. Besides being a devastating contact player that instills enough respect that opponents try to avoid hit hits, he has a very quick stick, breaking up passes in both the neutral and defensive zones. Unheralded offensively at this juncture, he reads and finds teammates on their way to passing lanes. Displays smarts and patience when at the top of the umbrella on the power play. The season wasn't kind to him, nor were many of the evaluations, because he might have been playing hurt or "careful" due to his injury. This is a player who may be off the board earlier than many expect.
--Bill Placzek--
