While Jack Hughes is highlighting the 2019 NHL Draft, Alex Turcotte, one of his teammates with the U.S. National Junior Team, is still being ranked at the top of the draft.
Born in February 2001, Turcotte manages to get 15 goals and 47 points in 39 USDP games with the US. National U17 team. That stands up pretty good against past top prospect productions. He also got 8 goals and 32 points in 31 USHL games. He then got the chance to play with the Us national U18 team where he got 3 goals and 16 points in 19 USDP games. Despite all those crazy numbers, I was even more impressed with is play on the ice. Turcotte is a dynamic two-way center that is known as a great skater and complete player. But now, enough of all those stats, let’s look at every aspect of Alex Turcotte’s game. That means skating, shooting, passing, stick-Handling, defensive game, physicality, hockey IQ and competitiveness.
Skating
By far the best strength of his game, Turcotte’s skating is one of the best of the draft. He is amazingly fast and he got a great acceleration. He can shift gears in a matter of instant and easily pass any defenceman. He is always hustling and keeps his feet moving in all three zones. His edge work is good, but not amazing. He more often than not use speed or stick-handling to pass a defenceman rather than use edge work. He can accelerate in many different ways and he is able to start from his own zone and still be the first one to reach the opponent’s net. He easily gets 5 stars for his skating.
Here is the best 35m from both Alex Newhook and Alex Turcotte throughout my 15 viewings of both players. There might be instances where they had a better time, but there is one thing we can say without a doubt, they are both super fast. Newhook gets the win for now. #2019NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/A0OgZ04Ebe
— Andy Lehoux (@Andylehoux1) August 31, 2018
Shooting
Turcotte has a decent shot. He can fire a quick, precise wrister when he’s at high speed or a super powerful wrist shot when he has more time and space. He has a good release that allows him to have a pretty diverse artillery. He had 31 goals throughout 102 games this year. I would want to see him shoot a bit more, but just evaluating his shot, I would give him 4 stars.
Passing
Turcotte’s vision is really good. He loves to skate around the offensive zone and find a passing line. His bread and butter is that saucer pass to the crease. With his flashy style of play, he often attracts the opponent on him leaving more space for his teammate in the slot and Turcotte is often able to find them. On zone exits, he can quickly pass at a high speed while continuing to accelerate and his reaction time to open passing line is almost non-existent. Overall, he’s a pretty decent passer. I wouldn’t consider him as a playmaker, but he does often set up teammates for easy goals. I will give him 4 stars.
Stick-Handling
Turcotte has some quick hands. He can stick-handle while gaining speed, stopping or turning and still keep the puck moving at a high pace. On a breakaway, he loves to shoot the puck on the near side, or fake that shot to go to the far side where he often beats the goalie with his speed. Stick-handling is an important part of his game. He uses it on zone exit, zone entries and continuously in the offensive zone. 5 stars
Defensive Game
Turcotte is a good 2-way center, but what makes him so good defensively is his intention. He really put efforts to backcheck and cover his guy. There are plenty of examples, but on this one single play, Turcotte started as the last guy behind and manage to overtake his teammates just to come back defensively and still took part of the counter-attack. In the defensive zone, he reacts quickly when the puck goes near his guy and throw some good stick-lift here and there. I will give him 4 stars.
Physicality
Alex Turcotte is 5 foot 11 and weight 194 pounds. If he’s undersized, he does not step back from any physical challenge. With is intensity, he is able to get out of board battle with the puck a surprising amount of time. He protects the puck fairly well and never gives up even if he loses the possession. He’s not a physical player, but he’s never completely outmatched in physical battles, so I’m going to give him 3 stars.
Hockey IQ
With his flashy speed and stick-handling, he likes to attract all the pressure on him to open his teammates. His complete set of skill allows him to jump from strategy to strategy and adapts to his opponent play. Every one of his plays are flashy but calculated. I will give him 4 stars for Hockey IQ.
Competitiveness
When I first saw Turcotte’s highlights, I saw a speedy and skilled forward, but I was amazingly impressed with his intensity and competitiveness. He is always moving and puts all his efforts to recover the puck or just backcheck to cover the extra forward. Even at the end his shifts, Turcotte is able to backcheck, restart the attack and backcheck again without stopping. He might be 5 foot 11, but he does not stop an instant before jumping into board battle or a puck in the crease. With Peyton Krebs, he is, in my opinion, the most intense prospect from the top of the draft. So he definitely gets 5 stars.
So in my opinion, Alex Turcotte should be in contention for the #2 spot with Kaapo Kakko. He’s a complete, but yet very dynamic player and a type of forward that you won’t find often. He can shoot, he can pass, he can outskate you, he can dangle you, he can defend against you and he won’t often be outmatched physically. That’s what I call a complete player. I understand other prospects like Dylan Cozens, Kirby Dach, Peyton Krebs and Alex Newhook are often rank ahead of Turcotte and that’s totally fair. They are all very close to each other and those players give us a different set of skills, but I personally think Turcotte is starting the year with a step ahead.
Anyway, what do YOU think of Alex Turcotte. Is he a top 5 prospect, is he the second best center behind Jack Hughes or am I wrong and he shouldn’t be in this conversation? I would love to see your opinion!
Andy Lehoux is one of YouTube’s foremost NHL draft prospect profilers. His videos are amongst the best you’ll find online and on a personal note, I love his French accent. It really adds a different flavor to his reports.
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