DANNY NELSON

2024-06-04

Scout: Jeremy Vercillo

Skating:

He's an ok skater for someone of his size. He looked fine at the NCAA but a bit slow at WJC. He'll need to improve this to have a shot at making the NHL.

Passing/Handling:

There's nothing special about his stick skills. He's a much more off-puck player, both focusing on defense and creating havoc in front offensively.

Shooting:

His shot is average. He can finish when he gets a chance to shoot but doesn't get the opportunity to do so often.

IQ (Vision, Anticipation, Panic/Poise):

His defensive anticipation and IQ is quite strong. He's quick to get rid of the puck on offense then.

Forechecking:

He's a good forechecker but doesn't quite possess the speed to force the issue. He often ends up as the third guy high on a forecheck.

Defense:

He's good at keeping his body between the puck and the goal and breaking up plays.

Best Asset:

Defense and faceoffs.

Biggest Concern:

Speed. Unless he improves his footspeed I don't see him making an impact at the NHL level.

Top Tier/Role Potential:

35-40 point complementary C.

Justification for Top Tier Assessment:

If he makes it to the league, he'll have a tough time breaking out of the bottom-6. If any team can utilize his skillset it's the Islanders, but I think his best bet is to focus on his defense, faceoffs, and penalty killing to make an impact.

50th Percentile Tier/Role:

20 point 4th line + PK C

Justification for 50th Percentile Tier Assessment:

Like I said above, his strengths are defense, PK, and faceoffs. He's not tenacious enough to be a wrecking ball, but can hit too.

Stylistic Comparable:

Colton Sissons

Scouts Final Thoughts and Additional Stats/Info:

I think Nelson is a longshot to be fantasy relevant, even in the Islanders' poor system.

Games Scouted:

WJC vs Slovakia, a few Notre Dame regular season games