CANUCKSARMY’S 2018 NHL DRAFT PROFILES: #56 Anderson MacDonald
5 years ago
Anderson MacDonald had a fantastic D-1 season that saw him post 29 goals as a 16-year-old in the QMJHL.
Given that production, there were high hopes for the winger heading into this year. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to replicate that success in his draft season and thus has fallen down the draft boards. Despite not meeting the expectations placed on him after his rookie season, there is still some serious talent within the Moncton Wildcats forward and appears to be a swing for the fences type of pick in the second round.
Recognizing that potential, the concerns to his game, and disappointment is why Anderson MacDonald lands in the 56th slot of the 2018 NHL Draft Rankings.
Bio
- Age/Birthdate: 17.33/ May 16, 2000
- Birthplace: Quispamsis, NB, CAN
- Frame:6-foot-2/ 205 lbs
- Position:Left Wing
- Handedness:Left
- Draft Year Team:Moncton Wildcats(QMJHL)
- Accomplishments/Awards:
- 2014-2015
- NBPEIMMHL Second All-Star Team
- 2015-2016
- NBPEIMMHL Champion
- NBPEIMMHL First All-Star Team
- Telus Cup Silver Medal
- YOG Silver Medal
- 2016-2017
- QMJHL All-Rookie Team
- 2017-2018
- Hlinka Memorial Gold Medal
Stats
Career
MacDonald was drafted 10th overall in the 2016 QMJHL Entry Draft before being traded to the Moncton Wildcats this summer. He has represented Canada at the U17 level and at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament. His disappointing season and the fact that the Wildcats were eliminated only days before the tournament started resulted in him not being selected for the U18 World Juniors to close out this season.
2017-18 Season
| GP | G | A | P | SEAL | INV% | 5v5 Pr INV% | 5v5 eP160 | Sh/Gp | Sh% | GF% | GF%rel | GD60rel | XLS% | XPR | xVAL |
| 58 | 27 | 18 | 45 | 0.82 | 24.1% | 18.6% | 1.24 | 2.76 | 17% | 38.0% | -6.0% | -0.73 | 17% | 40.2 | 1.6 |
Some red flags here in terms of 5v5 event tracker – that’s a lot of red. He jumps out in terms of SEAL, XLS%, and his shooting numbers.
Adjusted Scoring (SEAL)
Team Relative
The Wildcats leaned on MacDonald a bit and his production leaves a little to be desired. It all ties into the disappointing season that the winger had. All of his most common linemates produced better results in terms of points per 60 and GF% and that is concerning. It’s also a worry that he was a drag on his linemates in terms of GF% in WOWY’s.
Cohort Based
His 29 goal output during the 2016-17 season provided an extremely impressive 52.8% success rate among his cohorts. His drop in production this season saw that number fall to 17.3% with an expected production of 40.2 points per 82 games. The majority of his closest matches ended being bottom six players but they didn’t see the same production in their D-1 years like MacDonald did.
Our Take
MacDonald is a goal scorer through and through. Goals can be hard to score and MacDonald is good at doing that, but there is concern that he is one dimensional in that sense.
He skates well for his size and uses his frame to create space for himself. Willing to drive the net with the puck through his ability to lean over the puck and protect it with his body. Although that is a strength of his game, he does need to use it more often. He can often be timid in his play and can disappear into the fold.
Consistency is another aspect to his game that he needs to work on – if he were to use his skill-set on a more consistent basis, he could’ve been a dominant goal scorer in the QMJHL this season. Known for his shot, averaging only 2.75 shots per game at that level was exactly noteworthy. Those limited shot totals resulted in a lofty shooting percentage.
His skating is good for his size and he is strong on his skates although he doesn’t generally use that to get in on the forecheck and grind. He instead uses his hockey IQ to slip into gaps and holes in coverage.
The Quispamsis native was expected to be a large part of the offence for the Wildcats but was unable to beat his goal totals from last season and ended up as the 5th leading scorer on Moncton.
MacDonald has the makings of a power forward at the NHL level, using his size, speed and shot to put up some goals. There are real concerns about his game and that should be noted when assessing him fully. But his shot already has a pro level release and accuracy to it. He may not be someone that I would target in the draft due to those concerns about consistency and disappearing into the background for long periods but there is a chance that he rebounds next season and gets back on the track to being the prospect that his D-1 season showed.
Further Reading
| Consolidated | Average | Future Considerations | Hockey Prospect.com | ISS Hockey | McKeen’s | The Athletic | TSN Bob McKenzie | TSN Craig Button | The Hockey News | Sportsnet | ESPN | Dobber Prospects |
| 81 | 77.9 | 69 | $$ | 75 | 83 | 70 | 115 |
His offense is going to get him noticed, and we could see a big number of goals in his draft year. If that happens, his lack of dimension as a prospect will be overlooked by teams who need goal scorers. There is still time for him to clean up elements of his game and emerge as a more responsible player.
MacDonald is a prototypical power-forward with some natural goal-scoring ability…moves around the ice fairly well for a guy his size, generating good levels of speed, even if he lacks that explosive first step right now…battles along the boards, and makes plays with his big frame…plays with a chip on his shoulder and physical edge, fighting for his space and standing up for teammates regularly…not just brawn, but also processes the game at a high level…knows where to go to get scoring opportunities, and manoeuvres himself with power and determination into those prime scoring areas without fear…grinds it out against all comers, and will battle hard along the boards to retrieve pucks…impressive ability to shield the puck with his frame…has a strong shot with a quick release, and he gets a lot of power off without having to wind up too much…displays his shot with a ton of accuracy…has good vision and has shown a willingness to play a two-way game…has the skill and size, but will need consistent compete level to develop into a top-end winger in the NHL
