While the first two positions in this draft are, for the most part, largely agreed upon, things start to open up from this third position onward.
At the third position, the draft board shifts to check in with the most highly-touted defenseman in this class, in Chase Reid. Coming off of an over point-per-game season with the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL, Reid brings close to a full package in size and puck-moving ability, making him an attractive option to any team picking at the top of this draft and looking to bolster their back end.
Pre-draft rankings
Ranked #3 by Elite Prospects
Ranked #6 by Sportsnet (Jason Bukala)
Ranked #1 by The Athletic (Corey Pronman)
Ranked #10 by Chris Peters (FloHockey)
Statistics
What’s there to like?
All in all, Reid is one of the more interesting puck moving, offensive zone creating defensemen in this class.
Reid has the tools to be an involved player in all areas of the game — jumping up into the rush, using his edges to flex a bit of elusiveness (he’s quite good at crossing up defenders and getting through traffic), or activating lower in the offensive zone to wheel and play more actively in the cycle — but what makes him particularly effective in all of this is the awareness that he has, knowing how to chose his spots of when to get more involved with the puck and when to defer to avoid getting himself into trouble.
Still, it’s a good two-way presence that he brings: his puck protection is strong, and while he isn’t a tremendous physical presence, he’s able to leverage his frame well. His off-puck presence — scanning the ice, how he gets to loose pucks, and where he places them with passes when he has them — is meticulous, well-calculated, but not overly decisive to the point of slowness.
What props up that game nicely as well is the strength of his passing game. He’s very much a pass-first defender, and that first pass is excellent. His ability to find fleeting seams (if not outright create them) and hit them with accuracy is truly high-end, and though less flashy, his ability to come off the boards with the puck and get it off his stick quickly is really effective, and that all makes for an exciting watch. His shot as well is quite good, with a good level of threat from the perimeter, as is his ability to pinch up and get himself into more prime scoring areas — and 18 goals tallied over this season as a reward for that work is a tidy figure indeed. There’s a question here about how well that will translate to the next levels — his tools here being good but not exceptional — but in some ways that’s the lesser exciting part of his complete game package, with how well he does everything else.
And finally, after wrapping up this last season in the OHL, Reid is jumping straight into this next step up in his development path, with a commitment to play at Michigan State in the fall. And while we expect that this might require him working through some amount of a learning curve — as is the case with most players jumping from juniors to the college game — we know well around here how much good even one season at that program can do, so that makes for an exciting step for Reid to be taking.
What’s not to like?
While there’s a lot in Reid’s profile that makes him reasonably projectable as a prospect, the skating is the one major exception to this. His tools on a rush, broadly, are good — his awareness, as we said, and his ability to work well in a give-and-go — but there’s a bit of raw speed lacking in his game that might hold him back at the next level. Now, the good news is that this is a skill he can work on, and perhaps it will be that a bit more dedicated strength training (which he’ll certainly get a lot of built into his college schedule next season) can bring him along to where he needs to be, but with it remaining as a weaker point for now, it does complicate the picture of just how effective he could be at the NHL level.
Beyond that, it’s also worth acknowledging that while there was a lot in Reid’s profile that makes him effective — his defensive involvement is high and his awareness is generally quite sound — but he does have these moments from time to time when he makes a bad read on a breakout or throws a puck somewhat aimlessly into space, and those moments can blow up on him badly. As we said, those moments are reasonably few and far between, but the level of risk in his game still isn’t zero, and the team that draft him will have to reckon with that.
How would he fit in the Flyers’ system?
The Flyers’ cupboard is stacked reasonably well with young-ish defensemen (so much so that they’re facing a bit of a logjam heading into next season), but the stores, particularly at the top end, do thin out a bit outside of that NHL logjam and a couple of players pushing closer towards contention in the AHL. So while this position isn’t an area of desperate need for them, to add a player like Reid who can help support the offense they’re working towards building up would make for a good add, as they look to push the capabilities of their system to the next level over these next few seasons.
That said, the offensive question marks, though, could be a real reason to give a team like the Flyers a bit of pause, as their more pressing need in continuing to build up their prospect pool is picking up a defenseman who can, particularly, quarterback a power play, to be a true difference maker in that area, and give them more than they’ve been getting over these difficult last several years. Reid does a lot well, but he’s far from a sure thing to be that guy for an NHL team. Still, if a player like Reid falls into your lap, we’re inclined to say that you make the pick and figure it out later, because the whole of the package is so good.
Could the Flyers actually get him?
That said, this likely isn’t going to be an issue for the Flyers. Reid has some shooters, but he also had some skeptics, but even those most stringent of skeptics wouldn’t have him falling down outside of the top-10. He could slip a bit, but it’s hard to even imagining him falling past the top-5, putting him well outside of the range that the Flyers would be able to move up into, should they even want to go that route.
What scouts are saying
“Reid, like Carels, could easily be selected ahead of this slot. He’s an outstanding skater who averaged over 26 minutes per game of ice time with the Hounds and contributed 18 goals and 30 assists in 48 regular-season games. He provides a transitional element and a heavy/accurate shot from distance. Reid is active and hard to defend in the offensive zone, but agile and quick enough to retreat and defend on time when pucks are turned over. Reid is committed to Michigan State starting in the fall.”
–Jason Bukala, Sportsnet
“Reid is a talented defenseman with a lot of offensive tools. He has the speed, hands, vision and shot to generate chances and be a leading scorer for an NHL team. Reid can create in transition and off the blue line with his feet and creativity, showing high-end improvisation skills. Reid isn’t overly physical, but he works hard enough and makes plenty of stops due to his reach, feet and compete level even while playing an aggressive style of play offensively. He projects as a major minutes NHL defenseman who can run a first power play.”
-Corey Pronman, the Athletic
Next up, we’re welcoming Caleb Malhotra to the poll — a well-rounded center heading to college hockey in the fall with a famous last name.
“A BU commit and the son of Abbotsford Canucks head coach and former NHLer Manny Malhotra, Caleb is a well-rounded center (like his dad) who impressed scouts and folks around the OHL alike with the immediate impact he made on a deep Bulldogs team this season. He contributed at five-on-five on their “third” line to start the year and slotted into their top power play with forwards Adam Benak, Marek Vanacker and Jake O’Brien right away, and then elevated at big events, in big games, and into an outstanding playoffs. He’s also PKing as a rookie for them, has gotten better and better as the year has gone on, and stood out and wore the “C” at the CHL USA Prospects Challenge.
Malhotra is already a very mature player, with good stick detail and sound and reliable habits at an early age. He plays with pace, skates well, puts himself in good spots and has an advanced feel for the game. He plays the game with a ton of poise, holding onto pucks and finding his way out of trouble with smart decisions over it. He has legit hands. He has shown more and more individual skill and has a real knack for making little plays with possession. He’ll go to the front of the net, and competes every shift. He’s also a summer birthday with clear physical development in front of him. He’s now viewed as the draft’s top center and could go as early as No. 2 or No. 3. He needs to fill out his frame, and his shot doesn’t come off hard, but those things should come and already have, and he has the rest of the tools needed to become a winning top-six center in the league.”
– Scott Wheeler, The Athletic
