[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts:

Feb.14th: The Spokane Chiefs made some interesting trades leading up to the January 8th trade deadline to bolster their playoff aspirations, sending out potential NHL first-rounder F Mathis Preston, D Kaden Allan, and F Elias Pul (with multiple draft-picks), while getting back D Marek Howell, C Dominik Petr, F Tyus Sparks, a first-rounder, and Logan Wormald- who was leading the Lethbridge Hurricanes in scoring at the time of the trade. Since the deadline, the Chiefs have played .500 hockey, sitting 8th in the West, and 14th-overall in the 23-team WHL. Normally a background depth player for the Spokane Chiefs, "C"-rated LHC Brody Gillespie (6'0.75",194lbs) saw time in December with some of the better offensive producers on the team, Chase Harrington in particular, and responded with 7 points in 4 games at one point (he had 9 points in 11 December games). His efforts in those games gave him 16 points in 32 games at the time, but he has settled back into his defensive role since then, and now sports 7 goals and 22 points in 51 games. His fleeting pre-New Year's jump in production should come as no surprise, as Gillespie was the first-overall pick in the 2023 WHL US Import Draft by the Chiefs, and he was a participant in Team USA's entry in the summer's Hlinka tournament (no points), though he was deployed in a checking role. Gillespie is #138 for North Americans on Central Scouting's Mid-Term List.

Gillespie, who is a native of nearby Portland, Oregon, plays a rather mature, responsible game to positively affect the play in all three zones, with NHL habits and translatability. Supplying the Chiefs with unrelenting energy, and boundless motor, he plays with a bit of power in his game when needed, and uses his frame to win his fair share of battles and establish inside-positioning. Only 10 PIM though, which is a sign of his discipline, but perhaps also his need to add a meaner edge to his game. He's a heads-up player with good scanning habits and a quick processor, who only flashes the skill that made him the top-pick in the Import Draft in 2023, showing a soft-touch in his feeds, with a bit of deception to mask his intent, and the occasional eye for advantage-creation. His handling and puck-control are reliable, his protection skills are advanced, and he sometimes surprises defenders with a slick one-on-one move in traffic. There has also been plenty of signs of a natural goal-scorer's mentality, including the innate ability to spot small pockets of open space on the cycle, and a knowledge of how to use screens to his advantage, but he's not getting to the net as much as he should be, and is too often playing on the perimeter. The good news is that he can beat goalies from distance with his hard shot, and can fire a bullet while in-motion off the rush. There isn't a whole lot of creativity in his game right now, and he has been criticized in the past for not using his teammates as astutely as he could be. Gillespie wields above-average speed and agility on his edges, with a peppy first-step and explosiveness in small-areas; his quickness is furthered by his high workrate, and he accelerates to top-speed rapidly. He plays on the PK, and is often given PP2 duty, but is used primarily in defensive situations, and although I believe he could be a big WHL scorer in the next few years, his greatest value lies in his checking ability; he is a disruptive play-killer on the backcheck, proficient on the faceoff dot, and displays high-end awareness, habits, and details in own-zone scenarios. With potential as a checker in the NHL, and the potential for more, I think he will picked in later rounds in the 2026 Draft.