RHD Owen Murray,5'10"181lbs (Green Bay,USHL): 35gp/3g/13a/16pts,4PIM. Originally from Manitoba, Murray plays with passion, and is a favorite of his coaches. He plays behind a few vets though, so he doesn't always get the best ice-time, or opportunity. With Murray, there's never a lack of effort, he's never too fancy, and he's always reliable. Modern day defenseman, with speed, good puck skills, and helpful in transition. Controls pace and flow, and is the main guy for the Gamblers to start the breakout, with his smart decisions in passing, or by himself. He can make clean, controlled entries and exits.
Great feet, extremely quick acceleration, and powerful stride, he plays with pace. Strong lateral movement and backwards skating, both giving him excellent gap control. High-end edges, strong mechanics, and very elusive-he can change speed or direction quickly. High-end awareness, and because of his efforts, he seems to play up ice most of the time. Anticipates at an elite level, and at high-speed. Saavy and shifty, he doesn't commit too far forward in the play, he doesn't make bad pinches, and he knows when to take measured risks. Smooth, accurate passer who can dish in full flight. Holds the line well, keeping play in the offensive zone and finds the soft spots to pass or shoot. Good stick in battle, breaking up passes without telegraphing his intent. Handles the puck skillfully, and protects it well. His puck-control is high-end-the puck sticks to him, and is very hard to steal from him. He uses deceptive shoulder/head/hand fakes to manipulate, and deke past defenders. His shot is hard and accurate, and one of his strengths offensively is his ability to get pucks on net through traffic consistently. Defensively, he shuts down rushes, and closes gaps, applying immense pressure and forcing turnovers. Fantastic positioning to supress chances against-he's a pest defensively, and is always there in his opponents faces blocking passes, and utilizing both physical, and stick pressure.
Murray needs to get stronger, and keep building his offense, but he has a very high ceiling. He's committed to the University of Massachusetts-Amherst for next year. 4th-6th rounds.
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