In the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, the Swedes had a “dream line” comprised of three prospects that were first rounders: Liam Ohgren (picked 19th by the Minnesota Wild), Noah Ostlund (picked 16th by the Buffalo Sabres), and Jonathan Lekkerimaki (picked 15th by the Vancouver Canucks). In the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, we’ve seen that line in a different form coming out of the US National Team Development Program (US NTDP) with the likes of Will Smith (projected to go in the top 5-7), Ryan Leonard (projected to go in the top 10), and the player I’m going to focus on today in Gabe Perreault, who is a bit more divisive than the other two players on his line.
Perreault is a 5-foot-11, 165-pound winger hailing from Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, that produced at an insane level with the US NTDP, setting the new single-season scoring record after registering a ridiculous 53 goals and 79 assists, which came out to a total of 132 points in 63 games. Every time I look at that stat line, I’m floored.
If you’re not familiar with Perreault’s game and you saw that kind of production on paper, you might be confused as to why this guy is a divisive player. He scored more than the guy who is projected to go in the top 5 and the guy who is projected to go in the top 10 in the draft. What’s the issue? Well, before we get into those, let’s look at why he was so successful this season.
The way that Perreault thinks the game is almost unmatched. He earns points not only because he’s a talented player with the puck, but also because he knows where to attack and how to take advantage of defensive zone systems and the opposing players. His linemate Leonard has described him as “the smartest player in this draft,” and after watching film, that’s easy to believe.
The best tangible part of his game is his passing. He’s a smooth and deceptive facilitator that seems to have the easiest of times moving the puck from his stick to the stick of one of his linemates even in the most contested of areas.
For example, in the very first clip of this video, Perreault earns an assist after receiving the puck from the goal line by looking toward the net as if he’s going to shoot and then moving it across the ice with a soft touch to Leonard, who deposits it in the empty net.
Here’s another goal from the same video that does a great job of showing off Perreault’s smooth touch that ends up resulting in one of the easiest goals his linemate Leonard may ever score:
Again, Perreault received the puck in a fundamentally sound position. He then acted as if he was going to shoot, and then smoothly deposited the puck to Leonard’s stick, and he guided it into the net.
Perreault’s sweet hands in the distribution part of the game also transfer over to his ability to make space for himself and create lanes in the offensive zone and on the rush.
Below is a clip of him using those hands to get through defenders with some sweet stickhandling moves and score a goal after receiving the puck in stride through the neutral zone:
The concerns about Perreault are warranted. There are questions about how much of the offense that showed up in the scoresheet was really driven by him and not his linemates in Smith and Leonard, and there were times this season when those questions entered my mind as well. The other concern that scouts have with him is his skating. I’m higher on that part of his game than lots of other scouts are, and the good news is that he’s going to have plenty of time to work on it.
Perreault isn’t afraid to go to the front of the net, and he reads the game at such a high level. He’s not the biggest kid, but if he’s able to outthink the players that are bigger than him, he should have no problem transitioning to the highest level of hockey. You can’t teach hockey IQ, and I wouldn’t be ashamed to agree with those that have played with him for a long period of time and say I think he’s the smartest player in this draft. The combination of his mind and hands are enough for me to be excited about the kind of player he can become. So, even though there are some concerns, I would totally nab Perreault at 15th overall if he was still on the board. Â