[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts (Hidden Gems Edition, Vol. 32):

LHC Liam Kilfoil (5'11",176lbs)
Halifax (QMJHL): 62gp/ 21g/ 25a/ 46pts, -24, 14 PIM

Liam Kilfoil (ranked # 96 NA Skaters) may not have set the world on fire this season offensively, but his 46 points were enough to lead the 16th-place (out of 18 teams) Mooseheads in scoring. As a participant in the 2024 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup for Team Canada, he was tied for 9th on the team with 3 points in 5 games- ahead of names like Ben Kindel, Braeden Cootes, Tyler Hopkins, Jake O'Brien, and Ethan Czata. A 200-ft center who can play in any situation, Kilfoil is known to be a stalwart defensive player on a club that gave up the 13th-most goals-against in the Q, and is the leading goal-getter on one of the lowest-scoring teams in the CHL (17th in the Q for goals-for). His reputation is that of a leader (he wears an A), and a hard-worker on-and-off the ice, with outstanding character and compete; he plays at a high pace with unrelenting motor, providing his team with energy, and is always engaged, and perpetually in-motion.

Kilfoil skates very well on long, powerful strides, and is light and agile on his edges, but could use another gear to better separate in open-ice. He is a play-builder with a high IQ who relocates to areas of greater advantage in high-danger after passing off in give-and-go sequences, showing plus-level distribution skills and advanced awareness, skating with his head on a swivel to keep an inventory of his options. He can push back defenders off the rush to make room for drop-passes to the trailer, employs delays and cut-backs to open space, skates dangerous routes off-puck to cause havoc and manipulate opponents, and can pull off some dangerous cross-ice passes through traffic on occasion. His shot could use more power, but he utilizes a stunning release that can paralyze goalies, and he can fire off the catch with fair precision. Kilfoil times his attacks to the net judiciously to capitalize off of rebounds and loose pucks in the crease, and possesses sharp hand-eye coordination for redirecting pucks. He frequently cuts inside, and buzzes around the net, locating soft spots in the slot to weave in and out of, while waiting to strike. He will plant himself at the net-front to take abuse, set up the screen, and to battle for positioning to clean up garbage in the vicinity of the goaltender.

Though it's difficult to gauge his projectability as an offensive catalyst on a team as bad as the Mooseheads, his abilities on the other side of the puck aren't in doubt. Kilfoil is somewhat of a defensive specialist, with ideal positioning, elevated awareness and anticipation, and a well-timed stick for pokes, sweeps, and slashes to disrupt possession. A superb penalty-killer, he is details-oriented and exhibits good habits, taking away the middle effectively and working tirelessly to keep attacks to the outside by matching footwork to his opponents. He locks down attackers by pinning them to the boards, blocks shots willingly, gets into lanes, and intercepts passes. In the neutral zone, he hounds puck-carriers on the breakout to cause turnovers, uncontrolled plays, resets, and forced dump-ins. Kilfoil can struggle a bit with puck-control at top-speed, but he otherwise owns quick hands to deke past defenders, dangle around sticks on the fly, and stickhandle through layers of traffic. While he will battle tenaciously for loose pucks, push back on opponents to make room, and bump carriers off of the puck, he is not much of a hitter, and not an overly physical player- preferring instead to utilize his smart stick and exemplary positioning to do his dirty work. Kilfoil could be called a safe pick, but smaller players are losing popularity with scouts, and a lack of physicality might be seen as a big detriment. I still see him being picked in the middle rounds.