2019 Draft Countdown No. 10: Trevor Zegras
By Faber
4 years agoTrevor Zegras
Date of Birth: March 20, 2001
Nation: USA
Position: C/LW
Shoots: Left
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 175 lbs
NHL teams will have a tough decision to make on June 21st when they are called to the stage to announce their first round pick in the NHL draft, names like Matt Boldy, Peyton Krebs, Victor Söderström and Cole Caufield have been thrown around as potential players that could be available to draft around the tenth overall pick. The thing is, there may be an easy decision for teams in the 8-10 range on June 21st, and that is if Centre/Winger Trevor Zegras is available.
Trevor Zegras stands at 6 foot tall and weighs in around 175 pounds, he played this season alongside Cam York, Jack Hughes, John Beecher and others with the United States National Team Development Program. In 60 games with the USNTDP he scored 26 goals and had 61 assists. Zegras saw time at both left wing and centre this season with the USNTDP and was key on the powerplay as the left wing set up man.
Immediately there are things to love about Zegras’ game, his passing needs to be talked about first. Zegras has been deemed the best playmaker in the draft and to a point I agree but I do think that the way Jack Hughes skates and creates plays that he should be known as the best playmaker in the draft but Zegras is the best passer I have seen so far and other scouts agree with that.
Zegras is a constant on the highlight reel due to his playmaking. He made some of the most creative, if not the most absurd plays, I saw all season. You are drafting Zegras with the intention of finding your first power play unit QB for the next decade. He is going to be the player who will get the puck to his team’s goal-scorers.
Corey Pronman, TheAthleticAn explosive skater who can act as a one-man breakout. He blends his terrific acceleration and north-south speed with lateral edge work and play creation though the neutral zone. Owns a heavy shot that is effective in all situations. His quick hands that embarrass oncoming forwards at the offensive blueline.
Cam Robinson, DobberProspects
Trevor Zegras has some great hands and enjoys showing them off, his ability to make tape to tape passes is jaw-dropping, he shows the ability to battle with a defender while also understanding where the right pass is going to be after that battle. That’s the thing that impresses me the most about Zegras, he is making a move on a defender while also still being one step ahead of the rest of the defence.
On this play he see’s Matt Boldy swing around the zone and move into the slot with some open ice and is able to spin on his forehand and deliver an accurate pass for a scoring chance.
Zegras was making cross ice passes look easy on the powerplay as he found himself on the left side of the dangerous USNTDP first unit plenty of times and was the first string QB on the second unit when he was asked to play on the right side as the primary puck possessor. Zegras is dynamic on the powerplay as he understands how to break down a defence and force them to open up the passing lanes that he wants.
Another thing that Zegras brings to a powerplay is the ability to retrieve the puck in the offensive zone, he has a heavy stick in board battles and is rarely outmuscled at this level even when competing against NCAA teams.
Here is Zegras battling on the boards in his defensive zone against the University of Maine.
Zegras follows this board battle up by carrying the puck up ice and getting a scoring chance with a silky give and go.
Zegras follows this board battle up by carrying the puck up ice and getting a scoring chance with a silky give and go.
Passing is definitely his highest rated ability but if you want to get specific, his ability to land saucer passes right on his teammates stick is incredible. Hockey fans have seen the evolution of the saucer pass over the years and it is used more and more every year, Zegras will be one who keeps that trend going, he loves the sauce and it makes for some beautiful scoring plays.
The odds that Zegras is actually available at 10 are pretty low if you ask me and if you ask some scouts that know alot more than me they would likely agree, I recently spoke with TSN’s director of scouting Craig Button on the Canucks Conversation podcast about Trevor Zegras and he actually believes that Zegras has a strong chance of being a top five pick and that he would not be shocked if a lot of teams have Zegras about Alex Turcotte on their draft boards.
If Zegras is there for the Vancouver Canucks at 10, they should be ecstatic, after Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes falling to them in the last two drafts they could be getting their next elite talent with Trevor Zegras. I project him to have a ceiling as a top line left winger but could also be somewhat of a hybrid and still be able to play centre down the road, we will see where Boston University chooses to use him this next year as he makes the jump to NCAA hockey.
Read also: Draft Prospect profile #13 Trevor Zegras (WingsNation)
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