I’m a fan of Evan Jardine who just oozes a calm, cerebral presence on the puck and is for my money, one of the best passing forwards in the draft this year that not enough people are talking about.

Jardine is constantly pre-scanning before he receives a pass or picks up a puck, and this habit of his makes him really good at diagnosing and navigating pressure. He can sense and feel the pressure, where it’s coming from, and with good awareness of where his teammates are, he can make quick, subtle and efficient movements to get his body where it needs to be, and the puck where it needs to go. That’s the hallmark of Jardine’s passing, it’s always purposeful. He’s so smart; he gets to loose pucks quickly, and because he always knows what he wants to do with the puck before he gets it, he can make quick decisions with the puck to get it to his teammates in space.

It’s truly impressive. Because the core of his passing comes from his vision and hockey sense, rather than his hands and skating, it appears understated on screen. However, Jardine demonstrates an undeniable ability to find passing lanes.

No look tips under pressure along the boards to get his teammate the puck with space, constantly making cross-seam passes that force the defence to scramble and recover, slipping passes through skates and sticks to teammates in the slot, backhand saucers in his own zone to clear the first layer of the forecheck and get his defensemen into open ice, etc. He makes it look so easy, but Youngstown consistently created dangerous scoring chances when he was on the ice. While he definitely leans passer over the shooter, I did like what I saw from his shot when he showcased it. It’s a snappy, quick release that he can fit through traffic, and while he won’t be winning any Rocket Richards with that shot, I think it’s a sneaky good one.

I really love how effective and efficient his stick work is, too. He has a quick and accurate stick lift that lets him pick out pucks in the periphery of board battles, and his hand-eye coordination is deft, allowing him to tip and corral bouncing and airborne pucks. Unfortunately, I would like to see him be harder to play against. On the puck, he protects it well before making passes, but I find a really concerning lack of engagement on forechecks and in board battles. While his stick lift is effective, it’s not infallible, and it seemed he was particularly susceptible to contact.

Overall, I’m enthusiastic about Jardine’s combination of hockey IQ, passing ability, and his efficient play style. My reservations lie with his ability to engage more in the other areas of his game away from the puck. He’s a name that deserves more hype, but I’m sure he’ll get his flowers as the season progresses.-