Travis Kudleychuk - LaFlem Scouting Profile #6



Summary: Travis Kudleychuk was selected 19th overall as the first selection in the fourth round by the Prince George Firebirds. At this point in the draft, the Firebirds were looking to add another forward after picking Leon Webb (LW), Luke Fleming ©, and and Rick Chleb (D) in the first, second, and third rounds respectively. Kudleychuk wasn't very hyped before the draft, but he delivered in a big way for his team this season and had a respectable 5 goals and 25 assists with a +3 rating in 52 games. He played on the top line at times, logging big minutes while maintaining strong defensive skills in his own end, personifying the two-way style he brings to the table. It's safe to say that this strong prospect is one of the best feel good stories of the S24 SMJHL Draft.

Regular Season Stats: (GP = 52) (G = 5) (A = 25) (+/- = +3) (Penalty Minutes = 48) (Hits = 52) (Shots Blocked = 13)

Playoff Stats: (GP = 5) (G = 0) (A = 5) (+/- = -1) (Penalty Minutes = 8) (Hits = 10) (Shots Blocked = 4)

Build: TPE = 291 (42 BANKED)

CK = Checking: 60
FG = Fighting: 25
DI = Discipline: 67
SK = Skating: 80
ST = Strength: 80
EN = Endurance: 70
DU = Durability: 50
PH = Puck Handling: 71
FO = Face Offs: 76
PA = Passing: 80
SC = Scoring: 50
DF = Defense: 80
PS = Penalty Shot: 50

Strengths:

Passing and Defensive Positioning - If you're going to pick apart Travis Kudleychuk the first thing you notice aboue him is his intelligence on the ice. He's able to read what's going quite well at all times and can feed the puck to his teammates with little effort. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time in order to either disrupt an opponent's offensive play or poke a puck off someone's stick in their own end and make a play of his own. A natural playmaker, Kudleychuk is a natural at both ends of the ice, and he seems to be the best defensive forward on the Firebirds team. Assuming he stays down in the SMJHL next season, you can expect him to play big minutes on the penalty kill and power play while being much more productive in all areas than last year.

Strength and Face Offs - With his solid but somewhat mild size at 6'0", 190 pounds, you would be surprised hard this man has been working in the gym. There are a lot of things that "Kuddles" does well. Playing in his defensive end on the penalty kill is one of them. He takes winning face offs very seriously, and losing one draw out of five is just not good enough for him. Continuously evolving his defensive game is something that "Kuddles" will probably never give up on. He still has room for improvement, obviously, but what SHL GMs see so far is pretty encouraging. His extreme work ethic meshes well with his already strong face off ability, and it will show as he may enter his sophmore season in the SMJHL with his club next season.

Skating - Being able to get around the ice isn't a problem for Kudleychuk. He's put a lot of focus into improving his skating ability since the start of the season, becoming one of the stronger aspects of his game in no time. If given the time and space, no one is more happy to make you look like a fool than him. He still has a lot of work to do like all young hockey players, but if he continues on the path of growth that he's been on, Kudleychuk will likely become one of the better skaters in the SmJHL altogether. His +3 rating in the regular season isn't mind blowing, but it's an indicator of his strong skating and defensive abilities as a center and how responsible he is defensively.

Weaknesses:

Endurance - Of all the areas Kudleychuk can work on in order to handle the workload given to him, it's endurance. While being a strong skater that can leave some opposing players in the dust, he can only keep up this level of play for so long. More often than not, this young center usually relies on his strong defensive positioning rather than using raw athletic ability to play at a high level throughout any given game. One has to wonder how much better his overall skillset would improve if he could consistently be fresh instead of tired from the amount of work placed on him.

Goal Scoring - Don't get it confused, Travis Kudleychuk is a very talented athlete. It's just that he's not exactly a natural goal scorer at all. He's self aware of this fact, which is why he plays such a strong playmaking game. Every player has their major weakness, and this is it for him. He had an unimpressive 6.10% shooting percentage in the regular season which is likely a result of bad puck luck. He'll get better next year in this area for sure, but what can you expect from someone who can do practically anything? Some sort of weakness, that's what.

Personality: Of all the players in this year's draft class, Travis Kudleychuk is a pretty damn good personality in and out of the locker room. He has also been featued in a lot of great media articles which has made him a pretty wealthy man. According to DJ Stanley of the Prince George Firebirds, "Kuddles" as he's been affectionally named by his teammates, is one of the best players on the team to approach and learn from as well. He is a solid presence anywhere he goes and his leadership ability is unquestioned. If he had come out of his shell before the S24 SMJHL Draft he would have been a first or second round selection for sure, but that does not matter now heading into the SHL Draft.

Draft Projection: Early 1st - Mid 1st

Closing Statement: Travis Kudleychuk is a complete package as far as forwards go. He doesn't shy away from physical play which is a big plus in this year's draft class, and his strong offensive and defensive instincts are hard to pass up on. combine this with his great intelligence in and out of the rink and you have a very scary center prospect on your hands. His qualifications for success are all there, and it's up to the SHL GMs to decide how long it will take before he is taken in the first round. That being said, you might just regret passing up on him early.

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sigs by ToeDragon84

Thanks for the write up man. Had a great year in the LR with you, can't wait for another one. You cup hungry yet?

Originally posted by BeanSobie@Aug 4 2015, 06:28 PM
Thanks for the write up man. Had a great year in the LR with you, can't wait for another one. You cup hungry yet?

You know it bud.

sigs by ToeDragon84

Def my vote for send down A.
to AlternateCaptainKuddles