A very unusual and raw prospect that shows extreme potential, his poise and ability to play big minutes in a game were not ignored by SMJHL GMs. While Nova shows he has the endurance to play down to the final seconds of a contest, he is criticized for his lack of playing physically at times. Coaches often pout at his tendency of rather shunning contact with the puck carrier, and who can blame them? He is a solid 6 foot 3" weighing at 215 pounds.

"Super" Nova as his High School teammates like to call him because of his clutch plays during intense moments, does have an uncanny ability to read plays well defensively and uses his stick to break up dangerous opportunities in his own end consistently. While his defensive IQ makes up for his lack of physical presence, he has been trusted well enough and also showed willingness to play full time defense when most needed by the coach, even though he is originally right winger.

The two way forward or defenseman (whatever you want him to be) has a very powerful and precise shot, which could potentially become elite level after some seasoning. He has good offensive awareness for his level of competition and can handle the puck smoothly. Nova is known to be a versatile player that never shys away from carrying the puck through the opposing blueline, he can also sometimes make defenders look silly with his soft hands and wreck havoc on the goal crease by being aggressive; he has all the makings of becoming a prototypical top 6 forward in the SHL.


Nova's shot is not to be taken lightly

The negatives to his skillset are passing and skating. While those things do not mater in lower levels, and he has shown a little improvement--- it is something he will not be able to get away with now or in the big league. Good news is that he is young and has a lot of time to work on those aspects of his game.

Part of the infamous deplorables, Nova signed out of the blue with the Detroit Falcons, as did many other prospects after never signing up for the official SMJHL draft. While this is totally legit; as we have seen plenty of players join forces in the past to sign with a team so they could play together--- this was a very controversial move at the time because it was a couple more players than usual who decided to team up and people did not have anything better to do in the offseason but to cry wolf.

He has yet to play a game in the juniors and is far from seeing action in the SHL, but he is expected to be heavily scouted once the junior season has started, also is anticipated to being a high priority pick in the future with nice upside.


Helping his goalie out and tying up forwards in the defensive and is no biggie for Nova

Strength: Can put in long minutes as a forward or on defense, either position he can thrive once he gets going, mature endurance and conditioning. Natural puckhandler, witty with the puck, sometimes creating dangerous opportunities and executing on chances with a hard shot. Defensively sound, just as efficient with his stick in his own end as he is on offense. Looks like he enjoys playing a pure two-way game, which can be frustrating for the opposing team every time he hits the ice.

Weakness: As he has insisted that he can play both wing and defense, we do not know yet how well this transition will go in the SHL, in which it already takes a lot out of a rookie to get used to the pace. Does not finish checks proficiently, which can sometimes tick a coach off; does not use his frame to his advantage. Though his puck handling makes up for it, he is not the fastest skater on the ice and can get caught flat footed. Playmaking skills can also be more polished.