[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts (Henricks, not Hendricks Edition):

RHD Tanner Henricks is a name you may have seen a few times if you're one to regularly peruse various mocks and Draft lists, and has moved up and down all year long. He plied his trade this year with the Lincoln Stars of the USHL, posting 9 assists in 59 regular-season games, to go with 12 PIM, and 1 assist in 5 playoff games. He took part in last summer's Hlinka-Gretzky Cup for Team USA, with 1 assist in 5 games. Henricks is young by draft standards, with a July 25th birthday, and is ranked #79 (NA Skaters) by Central Scouting. This kid is a hard one to scout, as he doesn't seem to play the same way game-to-game, and flashes a different skill-set in each outing, perhaps indicating that he's highly inconsistent.

Henricks gets noticed not only for his size, at 6'3",194lbs, but also because he wields surprisingly fluid agility and footwork, with excellent mobility. His smooth edges give him good elusiveness, as well as solid lateral mobility, and he is able to pivot on a dime. He can show a propensity to overskate at times, or to arrive late for checks, but he compensates with a quick corrective gear. There's no real dynamic skills or high-end talents in his repertoire, and there's not much going on in the offensive zone with this player- he keeps his passes safe and simple. His puck-skills are mediocre as well, with rough handling, but he doesn't get a lot of touches anyway. He uses his body to win battles, and employs a robust amount of physicality, but he's very disciplined, and not very mean, per se. He is able to separate man from puck with hits, but also uses an active stick and a long reach. A real strength of his game is his proficiency in retrievals and breakouts, as well as his patience and poise in performance of these duties. He scans well to choose the best outlet, and makes reads while drawing pressure and opening space. Though he can make the odd bad pass, he registers a high number of controlled exits, and can stretch the ice on occasion with a long-bomb.

Henricks can shut down lanes in the neutral zone to kill the rush proactively, and can match footwork with the quickest players when applying gap control. He's a very capable defensive player with good habits, and flashes shutdown ability with strong awareness, smart positioning, and heavy physical engagement. He employs his mobility and an active stick to poke-check pucks away from attackers, intercept passes, and close down lanes. He forces opponents to the outside, and boxes attackers out from the net. Going forward, Henricks could use better poise under pressure, as there are times when he makes mistakes, and throws pucks away while under duress. There are times when he looks like a defensive stalwart, and other times where he looks lost, and can be caught puck-watching. It's imperative that he expands his puck-movement, and develops some kind of offensive game, rather than just shooting from the point. Henricks is a long-term project, but the good news for the team that drafts him is that he's committed to St. Cloud State for the 2025-26 season, giving him plenty of runway to grow his game. There's some long-term potential here for a bottom-pairing D with size and mobility. Look for him in rounds 5 or 6.