[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts (Slovenian Assassin Edition):

Before he joined the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL this season, LHD Jan Golicic dominated the Austrian U18 league in 2022-23 with 37 points in 18 games. It must have been a massive adjustment to play this year in Canadian Major Junior, but the 6'6",198lb monster rearguard did ok, with 3 goals and 29 points in 65 games. With defensemen seemingly not scoring as much as past years in the Q, his 29 points puts him in a tie for 31st overall in league scoring by D. He's first in scoring from the blueline on the Olympiques, with numbers that are actually impressive when one considers that Gatineau finished 14th out of 18 teams in the standings, and was third-worst in scoring goals. The native of Jesenice, Slovenia was selected 44th overall in the 2022 CHL Import Draft, and is still quite young with a June 30th birthday. Gatineau was just recently eliminated from the playoffs by the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in 5 games, and Golicic had no points.

Though Golicic excels in his own end, he still retains an offensive mindset, perhaps from his days in Austria. He contributes to the offensive side of the puck by distributing well when his team is installed in their opponents' zone, and he can find teammates with passes through traffic to high-danger areas. He will join the rush at times, and sometimes seizes the opportunity to pinch into the play from the point. His shot from the point isn't very threatening right now, but he gets it on net consistently and uses it as a playmaking tool to facilitate second-chance opportunities for his teammates, and to cause havok in the crease. He protects the puck well using his body and enormous wingspan, with reasonably good puck skill and handling- it's difficult to strip him of possession. Unfortunately, his mobility is an issue as his boots are a bit heavy right now, with sluggish acceleration- though he makes up for it somewhat with his size and reach, at least at the junior level. He uses his size well to win battles, overpower opponents, and leverage his way around the ice.

Despite his mobility issues, he's a contributor to the Olympiques' transition with short carries, and give-and-go's. He's quite adept at retrievals, scanning the ice over his shoulder and making simple, short-range first-passes to kick-off the breakout. He will stretch the ice with a long-bomb on occasion, but can miss the mark if pressured when doing so. He seems to be in his element in the D zone, and is able to make stop after stop with his gigantic reach, combined with his active stick. He angles opponents to the outside, where they are either bowled over or pinned to the boards, while being separated from the puck. Opponents who venture near his crease are either boxed out or roughed up. There's a ton of potential in this package, but I don't think he'll put up big points at the next level. If he can fix his skating, and we're living in an age where that might be possible, he would make a fine bottom-pairing D in the NHL, with the potential for a bit more. There's some attributes here that make GM's salivate, but I don't see him getting picked before the 5th/6th round.