Brassard: “I know plus-minus, a lot of people say it doesn’t show the type of player you are because you can be on a team that plays against the best teams or the worst teams and it can vary a lot,” he said. “I don’t really have a go-to stat, but if I had to pick one it would be plus-minus.
Also things liked blocked shots and hits are huge.”
Brassard is a healthy plus-16 this season.
“By no means is he a poor skater,” Nemisz said. “But like anyone trying to go to the professional level where it’s a really fast game, he’s got to work on his agility.”
On the flipside,
talent evaluators were impressed with Brassard’s two-way game and his ability to create offence.
“
I really take pride in the amount of shots on goal I have. I think I’m third in the league among defencemen (he’s fourth),” Brassard said. “One thing I can contribute back there is getting the puck on net from the point. They’re not always going to be high-quality shots from a defenceman, but getting the puck down there for the forwards to do their work, that’s something that teams noticed about me.
“And I think
my commitment to defence and my ability to play against the other team’s top players is something else that stood out.”
Nemisz concured.
“
He has been an excellent puck mover, making plays from the back end,” Nemisz noted. “
He has a really, really good shot from the blueline too. There’s a dangerous wrister that always seems to get through. He’s got a real good hockey IQ. He’s got a really good pulse for the game and he’s a guy we lean on to provide offence.
“He’s done a good job balancing that because when we really need him to push for offence, he can create, but he can also lock it down and play a real structured game.”
Skating is a must-have skill for a modern defenceman as the game gets faster and faster.
If Brassard’s not going to be the quickest guy on the ice, he feels he can compensate in other ways.
“Positioning, gap control, always being up with the play, always being hard on forwards and hard in the D zone with physical play, I think those are the biggest things a defenceman nowadays needs to succeed,” Brassard explained. “I’ve been told to continue to work on those things and I think I’ve been doing that pretty well this year.”
Brassard has collected 60 penalty minutes in 64 games, two minutes at a time with no fighting majors. In 2014-15, playing for the midget AAA Barrie Colts, he rolled up 172 minutes in 50 games, but Brassard said he doesn’t often drop the mitts.
“I definitely wouldn’t classify myself as a fighter, but I would classify myself as a hard guy to play against,” he said. “
I play against top lines night in and night out and I try to get under their skin. Sometimes the ref will take both guys, or just me if I’ve crossed the line a little bit.”
“He’s always involved physically and he’s right on that edge,” Nemisz added. “
You notice him every single game. He’s never sleep-walking out there. He’s an impact player for us every night.”
When I talked to him, Brassard said he had recently been playing on the Oshawa D with William Ennis, a draft-eligible 2000-born defenceman.
“He’s a left-handed guy who’s kind of more of a defensive shutdown guy,” Brassard said. “I think we really pair well together where I can join the rush and know that he’ll be back. I’m really hoping he’ll hear his name called on draft day because I really think he’s one of the most underrated guys in this draft.”
“He’s flying under the radar, but he’s a really good guy to play with.”
I mentioned off the top that Brassard now looks like a good candidate to play in Utica next year.
The transition to pro is a tough one for juniors, a leap that separates prospects from suspects.
“I’m all learning at this point. I’m taking everything my coaches and the Canucks tell me and trying to work on it, trying to make them happy
so maybe I’ll be lucky enough to earn a contract in the next year or two,” Brassard said. “I’d be happy coming back to Oshawa because I think we’re heading in the right direction and I think we’ll be really good next year, but if I am lucky enough to earn a contract, I’d love to start my pro career in Utica and hopefully take off from there.”
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