Mason McTavish

This big strong shoot-first heavy bodied centre has soft hands and a good feel for the puck on both the forehand and backhand. Cuts in and over with deft crossovers and use his heavy accurate shot when the puck comes back to him. His one-timer is a beauty, can score from tough angles, and he puts mustard on his passes. Reads his teammates and slices through coverages in and out of traffic. Plays in one gear: quick. Hard on the puck and scored impressive goals by picking the top and bottom corners of the net. Dauntless in his desire to cross through the high traffic in front to try and finish. Works as hard on the penalty-kill as he does as an attacker. Another horse who goes where he wants and sets up and isn't deterred by defenders attempting to challenge him. Has high-end puck reception skills in high traffic / small areas and good handles with any assortment of tricky pucks thrown his way. Was a member of the Canada’s 2021 IIHF Under-18 World Championship team, and I cannot remember him losing a draw. A terrific two-way part who is one of the safest picks in the top half of the first round. 

--Bill Placzek--