Olivija Agate, as many scouts would tell you, is a bit of a project pick. She’s got a great head on her shoulders, a decent frame and some wonderful skating skills. She sees the ice better than most of her age level, and is in position to make plays all of the time. She positions herself tactfully, as if she were watching the game from a birds-eye view. She knows how to use her body to win the puck, and positions herself in ways that don’t require her to be the bigger player to succeed. Physicality may never be her strong suit, but she will not look like a fish out of water out there. Her skating is fluid and powerful, she has a great first stride, and her edgework is finely crafted. It is obvious that she has spent lots of time focusing on this aspect of her game, and sources tell us she has participated in figure skating, speed skating and downhill skating at various points in her development.

The parts that aren’t so SMJHL, or, to project further, SHL, ready are the majority of her technical game skills. She is not yet at the point where her stick is an extension of her body. Her skates are her weapon of choice, not her stick. She will need to develop those skills tremendously before she can make a dent in this system. Luckily, those are the types of things that one can teach rather easily. Will she be an all-league shooter in her career? Probably not. Will she be a notorious deker or playmaker, also unlikely, but if she can master the cycle, the stretch pass, getting pucks on net, and thieving pucks from opponents, this could be a world-class possession player.