[sureLoss]

More on Brandon Tanev

http://www.providencejournal.com/spo...nto-nhls-radar

Brandon Tanev is fast, faster, fastest. Speed is what sets the Providence College left wing apart from his peers.

Tanev — who famously scored the winning goal for the Friars in the national championship game against Boston University in April — can fly. His wheels and the way he uses them are the reasons he is drawing NHL attention these days.

The buzz appears to get louder with each passing weekend. In talking with scouts at PC games, one of the first names that comes up is Tanev, who is a free agent. Friar coach Nate Leaman is getting calls from NHL front offices. Media heavyweights, first Bob McKenzie and then Darren Dreger, are dropping his name.

Tanev is the fastest player I’ve seen in either Hockey East or the ECAC in several years. He was the fastest skater at last July’s Boston Bruins development camp. And he’s faster than anyone currently playing for the Providence Bruins.

"I don’t know if there’s going to be a guy anywhere that’s as fast as him. His speed changes games," says Leaman.

And that’s not all. While Tanev isn't a prolific scorer and has average size at 6 feet and 170 pounds, he has "a high-end motor," according to Leaman. "I haven’t coached a player that can skate like him and has the motor he has. That’s what makes him special. He’s got the combination of the two."

Says P-Bruin Noel Acciari, a former linemate of Tanev at PC, "He just brings a different type of speed to the game. He’s fun to play with, fun to watch. He hits, he gets in on the puck. His energy is unbelievable out there.

"He’s like that off the ice, too. He’s a ball of energy all the time. He’s a fun guy to be around."

With the NHL seemingly getting faster every season, bottom-six players with the ability to swarm the offensive zone, throw a few hits and provide an energy boost are in demand. Tanev does all that for the fourth-ranked Friars.

He is expected to have multiple NHL offers once his PC season ends in the spring. His adviser is Wade Arnott of Newport Sports Management, which represents the likes of Steven Stamkos and P.K. Subban.