“Sjoholm is a small sized defender but he plays like a giant in the rink. He has average speed but a phenomenal balance that gives him an advantage in most physical situations on the ice. In his own end he does not have any problem facing technical and skilled forwards and he likes to shout them down by being close and physical in every aspect. When opponents dump the puck he reads the game well and is often the first player to get the puck and start a fast break out. Great 1st passes. He change directions quick and is not afraid of transporting the puck if he needs to. In the neutral zone Sjoholm is always close to the opponents and gives them very little time to be creative. In Penalty Killing he contributes a lot. Offensively it’s not bad but I would like to see more of Sjoholm and he could be more involved and playable at the blue line. He has great passes that often hits the stick of his teammates and ok puckhandling but this is still an area he needs to improve. Sjoholm is definitely a player to count on every game. He has a mindset that he could beat any player at any time and if he gets even stronger and bigger in the future he would definitely be a player that could close down many top-rated forwards.” – Frederik Haak

“To be honest, I’m not sure how much my thoughts have changed about Evans from last season’s analysis. About midseason in 2019-20, I thought Evans was a very effective and average all-around defenseman for the upcoming draft. He was smart, efficient, but did not have any particular skill element that I thought would lead to instantaneous success at the next levels. The back half of the year it seemed he added just enough speed to be able to push past wide on zone entries and establish play at the WHL level and that gave me the confidence to push him ahead of some of the other potential draft eligible players. This season, he is still a very effective all-around defenseman. His bread and butter seems to be his quickness to jump into space in the transition. Many times in this game and others, it does not take Evans long to be able to push into that open space given to him. You’ll also find him making smart transition passes. These elements also allow him to be a very smart PPQ with his ability to corral pucks in motion and make accurate passes side to side. He is certainly engaged defensively and maintains positioning fairly well. He can still get caught being pinned to the boards or not having that ability to spin off checks at times. In the offensive zone, he still does a wonderful job of receiving pucks in motion or while in stride which lets him move to the middle of the ice quicker and release the wrist shot quicker. That part of his game is very mature and developed. He has all the tools for being able to get well-timed wrist shots on net with decent accuracy and velocity. Getting them on net consistently is the real win. Overall, I’d say Evans has certainly become bigger, stronger, and faster, but I’m still not sure I’d expend a higher draft pick on him as I think he’s still got those same hurdles to continually jump over as he moves along.” – Joel Henderson

“Kisakov is a tricky prospect to evaluate because he does some things very well, but the weaknesses to his game are quite notable and seem hard to fix. He is truly sublime when he gets the puck on his stick, able to make fancy, high-end plays with it. He has the poise and vision that you want out of a playmaker, but he also shows a proficiency for speeding up the pace or making a quick surprise move to open something up for himself. There’s just a naturalness to what he can do with the puck. Moves around the ice pretty quickly and fluidly, and can easily receive passes and control the puck at speed. Shows some deception and slipperiness with his skating. Shot is somewhat weak, though it is quick, accurate, and he can disguise his release. Plays at a nice pace getting up and down the ice, including giving that extra bit of effort on the backcheck if his man is a threat. The biggest issue with his game is that he’s such a perimeter player, and he almost has to be. He’s skinny and frail, and when he tries to get inside he usually gets bumped off the puck at best or gets absolutely crushed at worst. He can occasionally carry the puck toward the net through traffic at this level with his hands and feet, though you really have to wonder how much that’s going to work for him at higher levels. He’s an easy player to physically win the puck from, and he loses more 50-50 puck battles than he wins. His frame is slight, so it seems unlikely that much time in the weight room is going to make much difference for him. His numbers for this season are a little inflated, as he played on a deep team with a lot of other guys who could draw attention and do heavy lifting. Kisakov has some NHL upside as a second-line offensive supporter and power play specialist, though there is some risk about him reaching that ceiling.” – Derek Neumeier

“Kidney is a skilled center who thinks the game extremely well, but on this occasion he had mixed results. He is seemingly being groomed to take on a main role with Acadie-Bathurst and finds himself being given every opportunity to play in all situations throughout the game. Kidney’s best asset is his ability to process information and create offensive plays but it was apparent in this game that a lack of speed and physical presence affected his ability to successfully complete those plays. Unfortunately for Kidney, at this point in his development he finds himself chasing the play a bit which greatly reduces his puck touches and limits the impact he can have. Kidney was able to take advantage of some opportunities this game and was impressive, as he held off a defender while scoring on a partial breakaway and shortly after that pulled a defenseman wide on a rush and completed a pass to the slot for an assist. However, more often than not Kidney found himself being knocked off the puck or squeezed out of space. Nonetheless, Kidney’s anticipation skills, vision and composure with the puck allow him to see offensive possibilities even if he is currently not able to fully exploit those chances. In the defensive zone, Kidney showed some inconsistencies. At times he was less engaged and seemed late to challenge opponents while at other times he was able to disrupt scoring chances, gain puck control and initiate zone exits. What he was able to do consistently was be effective in the faceoff circle. Kidney won several draws convincingly, but more importantly was that on lost draws he was able to tie up his man and contain him. Kidney also backchecked well through the middle of the ice with an active stick. Overall, Kidney has real potential and a good base of skills and tactics on which to build. His skating may presently lack some acceleration and speed but his edgework gives him excellent agility and allows him to glide and maintain maneuverability. Going forward, we should expect to see Kidney simplify his game in some instances in order to limit his turnovers. He will likely try to add his ability to use more of the offensive zone since he currently tends to seek open ice higher in the zone and has been less effective along the boards and less interested in playing lower in the zone. Improvements in certain key areas may unlock what could be a huge upside for Kidney.” – Shaun Richardson

“Gerasimyuk has a calming demeanor to his game, he is methodical with each movement and does not over pursue the puck. He can quickly move from side to side using his lower-body strength to push his body where it needs to go. In this game he struggled tracking the puck from distance. Three of the four goals he gave up all came from further back and Gerasimyuk didn’t react in time to make the save. He rarely finds himself out of position, usually he is square to the shooter and is able to cover most of the net with his frame. In the third period while trailing 4-2, Gerasimyuk faced a breakaway and due to his frame and his positioning in the net he took away any shooting lanes forcing his opponent to shoot the puck wide of the net. The most impressive thing Gerasimyuk displayed in this game was his composure. He gave up four goals, three of which he would have liked back but his attitude never changed, he never look rattled or angry he kept himself calm and under control and eventually helped his team get the win. There’s enough positives in his game to see him as one of the better goalies in the draft.” – Austin Broad