Gabe Chiarot played a Swiss-Army-Knife role for the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL this season.

A mid-season trade saw him go from a top-line role with the Brampton Steelheads to a middle-six role with the Kitchener Rangers – the points reflected it. Playing an even 31 games with each franchise, Chiarot scored 15 goals and 10 assists for 25 points with the Steelheads, and five goals and six assists for 11 points with the Rangers.

Come playoff time, when the temperature heats up and the physicality increases, Chiarot was placed on the Rangers’ top line with Sam O’Reilly and Dylan Edwards. In his elevated role, Chiarot scored five goals and six assists for 11 points in 18 postseason games, en route to a Memorial Cup title, where he added a goal and an assist in four games.

Chiarot’s outlook remains the same. He is your prototypical bottom-six, grind-you-down style of power forward. He’s aggressive along the walls and on the forecheck, retrieving pucks for his more offensive linemates. Chiarot isn’t afraid to go to the greasy areas in front of the net, but don’t expect him to be any sort of driver of offensive plays.

That’s just not his game, and that’s okay. The Hamilton, Ontario native even described his game as such: “I like to say I’m a physical power forward, you know, go to the areas where other guys don’t want to go to; in the corners, front of the net. I try to display my skills sometimes, but, you know, that doesn’t always happen. Just the little things that, you know, people don’t really recognize all the time, and get those greasy goals, you know, how a power forward would play.”

But the old regime clearly saw something in him to hand a sixth-round pick an NHL contract out of his first training camp. While the offensive side of his game doesn’t project to translate to NHL success, his work ethic, physicality, and the energy he brings alone give him a solid chance to play professionally, whether that’s in the NHL as a bottom-sixer or in a consistent role in the AHL.

Ceiling: If his offensive play and puck-handling continue to develop, he could provide a bottom-six, physical penalty-killing role in the NHL.

Floor: Playing on a deeper team taught Chiarot to develop different styles to his game. He went from a top offensive contributor on a poor team to a penalty-killing, physical role. He can provide for a team in a variety of roles, meaning his B-level game has him primed for a consistent middle-six AHL role if things don’t break right for him to make it to the NHL.

ETA: After winning the Memorial Cup in May, the Rangers are projected to see many of those older players graduate to the professional ranks. Chiarot likely joins that bunch. Signing an NHL contract last season, if Chiarot does decide to move on – which CanucksArmy believes he will – he cannot pursue the NCAA route and will be playing in the AHL with the Abbotsford Canucks. In our viewings of Chiarot, there is still some work to do in his development. We likely see Chiarot in Abbotsford for at least the next two seasons before he’s in the conversation for games in Vancouver.

Keep up to speed with our rankings so far with our honourable mentions and criteria, and our rankings thus far:

Never miss what matters in the game. From lineup changes to breaking trades and must-read analysis, CanucksArmy delivers the insight serious hockey fans rely on—straight to your inbox. Sign up for the CanucksArmy newsletter here!