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Sandman · 03-12-2024, 12:35 AM

Draft Thoughts (Where the Lowest Price is the Law Edition):

It's quite difficult to project players from the Prep School League, but LW Will Zellers looks like the real deal. Right now, he's first in scoring in the Prep circuit with 48 goals, and 95 points in 48 games for Shattuck-St.Mary's, but his coming-out party happened at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he looked better than most of his peers, and got rave reviews for his performance. In that tournament, he was tied for 9th overall in scoring (2nd in goals), and 2nd for Team USA, behind Trevor Connelly, with 5 goals and 7 points in 5 games (Connelly finished with 10 points), en route to a Bronze medal.

Unlike Connelly, Zellers is not particularly flashy or dynamic, he just takes care of business. He isn't an elite skater either, more quick than outright fast, but his mechanics look sound, with edgework and smooth transitions that give him a shifty, "darty" quality, and good 4-way agility. Zellers isn't the greatest driver, but has lightning-quick processing speed to read and react to what's around him, and makes teammates better by consistently setting them up for prime scoring chances, and high percentage plays. He exhibits high-end IQ and vision, as well as strong puck skill. Zellers is still a better shooter than distributor however, and though his shot gets him a ton of goals at the Prep School level, it could use more power. A big chunk of his goal output comes from finishing in-close around the net, and from converting rebounds and second-chance opportunities- he works his way inside, hunting for loose pucks, and can beat goalies 1-on-1. Still, he will shoot from anywhere, and has a quick enough release to beat goaltenders from distance in the Prep League.

Zellers is a bit of a competitive sparkplug, and plays much bigger than his 5'11",170lb frame- he goes to war in the trenches to win pucks, and will fight for position in front of the net. He forechecks with energy, and physicality, and causes turnovers aplenty with his clever stickwork. He has the ability to push pace, or slow down and let the play come to him, and he exerts penetrating transitional play using his puck-control, and shiftiness. Z is responsible defensively, always on the right side of the puck, with exemplary positioning, and stickwork, and gets into the prime spots to be a conduit for breakouts. From what I have read, Zellers spends a lot of time in the gym, and is committed to getting better every day, which is quite encouraging- most kids his age need plenty of work on their strength. He will need work on his shot, and his skating, but some of that will be cleared up the stronger he gets. Zellers is committed to the U of North Dakota for 2024-25, after de-committing to Boston U. Look for him to be selected in the 3rd round.

03-12-2024, 12:35 AM	#937
Sandman Franchise Player Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Calgary Exp:	Draft Thoughts (Where the Lowest Price is the Law Edition): It's quite difficult to project players from the Prep School League, but LW Will Zellers looks like the real deal. Right now, he's first in scoring in the Prep circuit with 48 goals, and 95 points in 48 games for Shattuck-St.Mary's, but his coming-out party happened at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he looked better than most of his peers, and got rave reviews for his performance. In that tournament, he was tied for 9th overall in scoring (2nd in goals), and 2nd for Team USA, behind Trevor Connelly, with 5 goals and 7 points in 5 games (Connelly finished with 10 points), en route to a Bronze medal. Unlike Connelly, Zellers is not particularly flashy or dynamic, he just takes care of business. He isn't an elite skater either, more quick than outright fast, but his mechanics look sound, with edgework and smooth transitions that give him a shifty, "darty" quality, and good 4-way agility. Zellers isn't the greatest driver, but has lightning-quick processing speed to read and react to what's around him, and makes teammates better by consistently setting them up for prime scoring chances, and high percentage plays. He exhibits high-end IQ and vision, as well as strong puck skill. Zellers is still a better shooter than distributor however, and though his shot gets him a ton of goals at the Prep School level, it could use more power. A big chunk of his goal output comes from finishing in-close around the net, and from converting rebounds and second-chance opportunities- he works his way inside, hunting for loose pucks, and can beat goalies 1-on-1. Still, he will shoot from anywhere, and has a quick enough release to beat goaltenders from distance in the Prep League. Zellers is a bit of a competitive sparkplug, and plays much bigger than his 5'11",170lb frame- he goes to war in the trenches to win pucks, and will fight for position in front of the net. He forechecks with energy, and physicality, and causes turnovers aplenty with his clever stickwork. He has the ability to push pace, or slow down and let the play come to him, and he exerts penetrating transitional play using his puck-control, and shiftiness. Z is responsible defensively, always on the right side of the puck, with exemplary positioning, and stickwork, and gets into the prime spots to be a conduit for breakouts. From what I have read, Zellers spends a lot of time in the gym, and is committed to getting better every day, which is quite encouraging- most kids his age need plenty of work on their strength. He will need work on his shot, and his skating, but some of that will be cleared up the stronger he gets. Zellers is committed to the U of North Dakota for 2024-25, after de-committing to Boston U. Look for him to be selected in the 3rd round.