OLIVER MOORE

2024-06-19

Scout: Austin Kelly

Skating:

Exceptional skater. Moore has always been a great skater and it's translated well to the NCAA. Moore already looks like one of the best skaters in the NCAA. He has incredible pace with good, natural food speed. His glide is effortless and has strong 10-2 turns. Probably the most exciting part of Moore's game is how fast he is with and without the puck, just being able to carry the puck with that burst is valuable enough.

Passing/Handling:

Very strong playmaker. Moore has good vision and overall hockey sense with the puck that makes him a strong passer both in close and from wide. Does well in transition in large part to his quick speed, making hi a very capable puck mover, he's naturally skilled at puck carrying, which he likes to do a lot, mostly works it up the ice himself. Moore is good at setting up from his own end and quickly creating chances the other way.

Shooting:

Really nice goalscoring vision. He does well cutting through the ice and spotting chances. Not always the most high volume guy, Moore looks a bit more passive, perhaps because of Snuggerud's goalscoring ability being the focus. Some shots that've gone wide Moore can get better at being more accurate with.

IQ (Vision, Anticipation, Panic/Poise):

Very smart player who does really well reading the game. His quick speed allows him to target plays at blazing speeds, and his processing seems to be going as fast as his legs many times. He does seem a little too quick in getting his shot off at times, leading to some shots going wide.

Forechecking:

Defense:

He's 5'11 and 190lbs so he isn't a physical dynamo, but Moore has shown at the very least the willingness to battle for pucks and be a bit tough in positioning battles. Not overly physical in terms of using his body.

Best Asset:

Moore's high-end skating is the obvious answer, but big credit to his anticipation. It's one thing to be a fast player, but another to be able to read plays and know how to disrupt and break out. Moore is highly intelligent and aware of his surroundings, he plays with a lot of purpose.

Biggest Concern:

He's a small skill guy, so he takes a lot of hits he can't always match up on. Even with conditioning he'll likely be a bit light. He didn't have a perfect transition to the strength change going from the NTDP to NCAA, he's still clearly a work in progress, maybe 2-3 more years until he's NHL ready. He's played wing a bit for Minnesota and there's a potential he ends up there and not at center.

Top Tier/Role Potential:

Tier 2, Top-Six Forward. 25/40/65 totals is a potential peak. Moore could end up the #2 center behind Connor Bedard in Chicago.

Justification for Top Tier Assessment:

Moore is a highly mobile and electric talent with great two-way talent. There's flashes of a very deceptive player who'll not only move the game but self-create. The transition to college hockey wasn't always smooth, but if he is able to refine his game more, he may actually be very hard to stop. In the NHL, he'll have to be able to keep himself out of trouble, but if so, he can be a very exciting option for a team that needs players who can score when Bedard isn't on the ice, a potential long-term 2C option, or even 1st line wing.

50th Percentile Tier/Role:

Tier 3, Middle-six forward. 20/30/50 totals is a median assessment. Hard to see his speed not translating but the rest will have to show up consistently.

Justification for 50th Percentile Tier Assessment:

Moore could just be a winger at the NHL level, being able to create with his speed and puck handling, but hasn't been the most consistent goalscorer. He's still a bit of an uncertainty in shooting and physicality, and it may take a short while to determine how much of that can grow, especially without an elite goalscorer in Snuggerud where Moore has the reigns. Still projects to be a good setup man.

Stylistic Comparable:

There's not a lot of players who seem to be similar to Moore. He has the skating of a Dylan Larkin type with the size and well-roundedness of another former Gophers star in Logan Cooley. He may be a bit more likely to move to the wing as opposed to the other two.

Scouts Final Thoughts and Additional Stats/Info:

In my own personal view, Moore has shown moments that he could develop into a much better player, it's about being able to showcase he can handle finishing play and driving a line. He got to lead on the second line at the NTDP, and looked completely fine taking charge. That's who you hope Moore can be.

Games Scouted:

3/30/24 Minnesota vs Boston U

3/1/24 Minnesota vs Michigan