Its a small sample size as he made this video based on watching one full game but his review seems to be a little low on him.
TLDR He can see why he is producing points in the ECAC as he is afforded a lot of open ice in high danger areas in game that will not be granted against structured defences. Wyttenbach seems to frequently vacate the zone early even when turnovers occur around his own blue line, and he doesn’t appear to control the puck for extended stretches. Instead, he relies heavily on one-touch passes and tends to hunt for open space to receive the puck rather than creating space for himself. It’s a very limited viewing sample, but it’s still useful to watch some tape on the NCAA scoring leader and add context to the raw box score production.
that entire video was the author trying to prove that he was right all along about not being to high on Wyttenbach.
The clip early in, when he enters the zone and then passes it into the middle is a good example...a) there were 3 teammates behind him b) he hits an open man in the slot, on the tape c) the guy fumbles the pass and it goes the other way d) it isn't an odd man rush. There was nothing wrong with that play, unless you want there to be something wrong with it.
For the most part, it's 20 minutes of criticizing his positional play - something NHL coaches will take care of anyways. No one claimed that Wyttenbach is a perfect player - that's why he went in the 5th round. But when it comes to prospects, I care a lot more about their tools than their positional play.
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I thought it was a balanced take, albeit in a game against Princeton, he will be gifted a lot of space.
Basically if he improves footspeed, most of these things take care of themselves (he can create separation without cheating, be in better positions defensively, break up more opportunities on the backcheck).
Very small sample against a defensively clueless team.
Is the whole conference like that? Not sure.
Also didn't get to see a lot of his puck handling there and that's a big part of determining how the offensive game translates
There was a lot of hard back checking by him. Skating was a little clunky but he got there, and having that effort as a base to work off of is certainly better than not having it.
Last edited by TrentCrimmIndependent; 03-04-2026 at 01:40 PM.
TLDR He can see why he is producing points in the ECAC as he is afforded a lot of open ice in high danger areas in game that will not be granted against structured defences. Wyttenbach seems to frequently vacate the zone early even when turnovers occur around his own blue line, and he doesn’t appear to control the puck for extended stretches. Instead, he relies heavily on one-touch passes and tends to hunt for open space to receive the puck rather than creating space for himself. It’s a very limited viewing sample, but it’s still useful to watch some tape on the NCAA scoring leader and add context to the raw box score production.
This is actually a pretty good assessment of Wyttenbach based on the multiple games I've watched. I mentioned each of these habits during or after game viewings, so I don't think he's being overly hard on the player. Still has incredibly soft hands and can make great passes along with snipe goals. Is he perfect? Nope. But he's a helluva prospect who has blown up this year. That's what should be exciting about him. He's over-achieving in a bigly way.
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Its a small sample size as he made this video based on watching one full game but his review seems to be a little low on him.
TLDR He can see why he is producing points in the ECAC as he is afforded a lot of open ice in high danger areas in game that will not be granted against structured defences. Wyttenbach seems to frequently vacate the zone early even when turnovers occur around his own blue line, and he doesn’t appear to control the puck for extended stretches. Instead, he relies heavily on one-touch passes and tends to hunt for open space to receive the puck rather than creating space for himself. It’s a very limited viewing sample, but it’s still useful to watch some tape on the NCAA scoring leader and add context to the raw box score production.
FWIW he is very high on both Reschny and Potter.
What does that mean? Don't good players look for openings to receive a pass? How does he "create space"? Sounds like something that happened on the second day of creation.
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What a season! I'm glad Wyttenbach isn't flying under anyone's radar anymore. It will be fun watching him on either the Flames or Wranglers maybe as soon as next year.
