Matthew Poitras

Guelph centre-right wing  who doesn’t seem like high scoring draft candidate he was expected to be there, as he still hasn’t become anywhere near the offensive threat we expected. He can be very instinctive in the attack zone, does have quick hands, lateral agility, a nice release and puck skills. He will overhandle  pucks, lose them and not put in the hard work and effort to go win them back. He is not strong on the puck or that good in traffic, when it seemed like that was a strength awhile back. Needs his stride to engage his hips better. Even being a wing may be a stretch, since he lacks physical engagement along the defensive boards. And this is a player with very strong core strength and powerful leg drive.  Teams will see his high energy and pace but soon realize that it is really the only tool in place. It makes him a tremendous forechecking threat. His attention to detail as part of an offensive trio is lacking.  He had some difficulty getting open off-puck, but his playmaking devolves into passes to point shots, and lets loose too many blind passes. He quickly squares up in the release of his shots, but underwhelmed for the top line minutes he was allowed to play with Pastujov and pivot Zhilkin. He needs more strength and development. Unless he starts developing as a smart attacker, he gets relegated to a fourth line checker’s role in the higher levels.

—Bill Płaczek—