ANDREW BASHA

2025-06-02

Scout: Josh Hutchinson

Skating:

Basha has an efficient and smooth stride which helps him accelerate up to his top speed in a very short amount of time. This helps him to transition the puck very well and often helps create odd man rushes in his favor. When he gets to his top speed he's one of the fastest players on the ice surface.

Passing/Handling:

Basha is a playmaker, plain and simple. He passes extremely well and finds teammates with ease in the offensive zone. He also handles the puck very well, easily kniving through defenders in transition and escaping pressure in the offensive zone.

Shooting:

"He either doesn't have a very heavy shot or doesn't have the confidence in his shot enough to use it. He's a pass first player that has the ability to get to scoring areas and finish but only at the most opportune times. He's a low volume shooter and will often pass up opportunities

to shoot the puck himself even when a shooting lane is open. He can be a little too cute, looking for the perfect passing play instead of just firing the puck."

IQ (Vision, Anticipation, Panic/Poise):

Basha has great vision. He always has his head up, surveying the entire ice surface looking for opportunities to feed his teammates the puck and often successfully doing so. He has a knack for finding holes in the defensive structure, especially in transition resulting strong controlled zone entries. He is extremely poised with the puck and always seems to be where he needs to be without the puck.

Forechecking:

At his best, his skating makes him a strong forechecker, putting pressure on the defense to makes quick plays when he comes bearing down on them. He also has a quick stick and can strip the defense of the puck with ease if they don't move it efficiently.

Defense:

Basha has solid defensive positioning with a good stick that can strip the puck and break up plays. He's not overly physical, but he's strong enough to win puck battles.

Best Asset:

Passing and puck handling. Basha is a shifty player with fantastic vision that should translate to the NHL level down the road.

Biggest Concern:

Reluctance to shoot. Having the threat of a shot can help open the defense up and make play-makers a little less predictable. Basha's playmaking ability is strong but developing a shot threat could take him from fringe NHL player/middle 6 winger to top 6 or top line contributor. However, I'm not convinced that he has a booming shot in his bag.

Top Tier/Role Potential:

Most likely a middle 6 winger with a 60 point ceiling.

Justification for Top Tier Assessment:

He has the skating, the vision and the IQ to keep up at the NHL level. The only reason his evaluation isn't higher is because of his reluctance to shoot or his lack of a heavy shot.

50th Percentile Tier/Role:

Justification for 50th Percentile Tier Assessment:

N/A

Stylistic Comparable:

William Eklund