Meet the Penguins 2nd Round Draft Pick Tristan Broz

Well, another NHL Entry Draft is in the Books. Our Pittsburgh Penguins did not get many opportunities, particularly early in the Draft, but we now have 5 new Prospects in the organization. Yawn.

Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to sound as negative and mean as it did. Looking down the players Bios and Scouting Reports, there may be 1 or 2 players that could eventually do something, some time in the future. But then again, what did I expect? After all, what did they tell us when Ron Hextall succeeded the mercurial Jim Rutherford? He is patient and takes his time to build his team.

And for me (and maybe some others) there is good news; for the first time in a long time there were no new draftees under 6’0” tall.

So, without further ado, let’s meet the new Prospects, starting with Hextall’s 2nd round pick Tristan Broz.

Scouting Report
Depending on what site you look at Broz was rated as high as 28th and as low as 73rd.

Playmaking: Broz’s playmaking has been described as “not flashy” but “deceptively good” and “effective” by Alex Chauvancy of The Hockey Writers and Paul Zuk of smahtscouting.

Passing: Nobody compared Broz’s passing ability with Sidney Crosby’s, but they did have good things to say. Zuk wrote “He also has good vision, especially with the puck on his stick. Broz can execute a zone entry, open up his hips to maximize his puck distribution options, and seek out a high danger chance for a teammate.” And Ben Kerr of The Last Word on Hockey noted “Broz also has very good vision and passing skills. He can find an open teammate and pass the puck through tight areas in order to create a scoring chance.”

Shooting: Steven Kournianos of The Draft Analyst wrote “Broz also demonstrates a knack for finding the back of the net. He can score off a variety of shots, including one-timer opportunities and wrist shots from a distance. Although he is most effective with mid-range chances, Broz also scores from in tight by redirecting point shots or stuffing in rebounds.” Chauvancy reported “He’ll sneakily find his way into high-danger areas and convert when it looks like he isn’t involved in the play.” And Chris Pronman of The Athletic noted “If given time, he also has a great shot and can pick corners from mid-range.”

Skating: Kerr reported that Broz is a good skater but needs some improvement, “He is more quick than fast, with an excellent first step and very good acceleration. However, over long distances, Broz’s top-end speed is merely slightly above average.” And “His agility and edgework are excellent though. Broz is very dangerous in tight spaces. He can make a quick change or direction and quickly change speeds to get away from a defender and create space.” Kerr also noted “Broz does a decent job of fighting through checks and being strong on the puck at the junior level, but this will be challenged as he continues to move forward.”

Zuk would appear to agree “Generally speaking, Broz possesses good speed, acceleration and agility. He isn’t a consistently explosive skater, but can turn the afterburners on and blow past defenders when needed. Broz also has fairly quick feet, which allows him to get the jump on defenders while breaking into the offensive zone. Broz utilizes crossovers to build up speed, which helps him to fly through the neutral zone in transition. His edges are also really good, and he can elude defenders relatively easy with sharp, slick footwork.”

Chris Dilks of sbncollegehockey joins Kerr and Zuk in a lukewarm assessment of Broz’s skating, “While Broz is very good when he gets some space to work with on the offensive rush, he doesn’t really have the foot speed and acceleration to create plays in tight areas. He’s most effective when he can win pucks in the defensive zone, or set up on the perimeter in the offensive zone and then feed pucks to a speedier teammate.”

Josh Bell of FC Hockey adds “Good build-up through crossovers, shows some good speed leading the exits and through transition, nice change of direction to get through the NZ. However, does lose a few races as the game goes on. Tries to dangle through three defenders and loses it. Definitely looks to cheat towards the OZ at times, sometimes paying off, sometimes getting caught.”

Hands: Dilks thinks Broz doesn’t have great stickhandling but good stick work. He writes “But more important is his ability to win puck battles with his quick hands. His ability to pull pucks out of scrums, break up plays defensively with a strong stick, and win 50/50 battles for the puck is outstanding” and “I also love his ability to handle tough passes. There’s an old scouting adage that what separates an NHL player from a minor leaguer is how well they can handle a puck passed into their skates, and Broz checks that box. If the puck comes near him, it’s almost a guarantee it will leave with his team having possession.”

Defense: Our friend Mike might find what Zuk wrote about Broz encouraging “Broz is a reliable, responsible defensive player. He’s utilized in the defensive zone just as much as any other zone, and can be the catalyst for Fargo’s defensive zone breakouts, when needed. Broz is also an effective player along the boards in the defensive and neutral zones, and has little to no issue sacrificing his body to make a play. Additionally, Broz commonly pinches down to assist his defensemen in coverage, or to retrieve a contested puck, and he can do so with a decent rate of success.”

Dilks also likes what he sees in Broz’s defensive game “I also loved his effort on the backcheck. He’s a legit two-way forward that can make plays on both ends of the ice.”

Powerplay: Zuk thinks “Broz is a dynamo on the powerplay, and can play anywhere on the ice with the man advantage…. he loves to post up by the half-wall on the right side of the ice, as he’s scored nearly half of his goals this season in that spot. Broz can snap the puck around to teammates, but he’s also quite lethal at putting the finishing touches on a nice passing sequence.” And “He’s also very talented and successful at controlled zone entries, especially on the powerplay. Broz can easily draw 2-3 defenders on to his person when entering the attacking zone, helping him to distribute the puck to a teammate in open ice.”

Penalty Killing: Zuk also noted that Broz plays a fair bit of time on the PK. “Broz is also an effective penalty killer …. Broz is able to execute poke checks and jar the puck loose from attackers successfully with his active stick.”

Conclusions: After reading through all of these scouting reports one would think that Hextall got a gem in the 2nd round of this year’s Entry Draft. Maybe he did. However, optimism runs rife at this time of the year and that is a good thing. We need it, after another disappointing 1st round exit. It may be better to temper our expectations a bit. Broz is several years away. Most scouts agree he needs to mature and put on more muscle. More importantly, after all the glowing talk about Broz’s offensive and even defensive skills, Dilks and Zuk only project him as a middle six player.

Next Up: I will dig through the scouting reports of Hextall’s other picks.