Olen Zellweger

Skating:

Elite. Great speed and ability to do quick turns with skates and manage to have fast speed also on backward skating. Usually joining the rush attacks as a 4th forward. Can also move fastly through the blueline from left to right or vice versa or rush to more forward towards goal for scoring chances.

Passing/Handling:

Elite. Has great stickhandling and will have the ability to pass the puck. His rush attacks and other very active movement will usually create chances for also passing for goal scoring chances. Also he will generate a much of passes from his shots which will be valuable in fantasy. In PP he can work as an PP QP because of his three-way threat: movement, shooting, passing.

Shooting:

Good. Has very accurate shot and has good shoot volumes (over 3 shots on goal per game on AHL). Can either use the shot from the left circle area when rushing towards to net or from right hand side on PP situations or when has has moved to there from left side to receive pass for shooting chances with having the possiblity to have his left hand side down. Also will shoot the puck much from the blueline which can either go directly in or cause rebound goal scoring chances.

IQ (Vision, Anticipation, Panic/Poise):

Elite. Especially on offensive zone. Always on the move looking for the next chances or adjusting his position to be more dangerous either if getting the puck or able to move with the puck inside the offensive zone. Can react quickly to changing situations without hasty decisions.

Forechecking:

Very active on devensive situations , alltough not using too much of his body.

Defense:

Will be a question mark. Will use very heavily his stick on his defensive play and be very active on rush D and bet hugely to be able to get the puck away, and if not getting that can lead him to be playing himself out of these situations and allow opponents to go through pass him. This can also lead to positive outcomes when getting the puck away and instantly able to transition to the attack. In long defensive zone situations where opponent is having the domination of the game, he is not on his best and puck battles at the front of the net could be hard for him for larger size opponents. Should be paired with a good two-way D capable of moving the puck (like D. Toews with Makar).

Best Asset:

His active play which will generate a lot of offensive chances for this team.

Biggest Concern:

His active play will be also his biggest concern in a way if he can't position himself well enough on defensive situations as such he could be a liability on D zone.

Top Tier/Role Potential:

Top attacking D of his team and PP1 QB. Should rack points and get atleast 50+ points when really adjusted to NHL. Probable on good team with supporting talent should be able to be there on TOP-10 on D scoring. On fantasy probable light on BASH othervise than for SHG.

Justification for Top Tier Assessment:

Offensive side talents are so exceptional for him so hard to see him not able to the reach them.

50th Percentile Tier/Role:

PP2 player with 3rd pairing usage on 5vs5.

Justification for 50th Percentile Tier Assessment:

If he can't get out of his defensive liabilities he probable can't be trusted with a major ice-time as such would be played on safe minutes and second PP usage.

Stylistic Comparable:

Bryan Rafalski

Scouts Final Thoughts and Additional Stats/Info: