2016 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: A Closer Look at the 2nd Tier of Defensemen, Charles McAvoy and Jake Bean
Throughout the month of June, we will be focusing in on certain prospects with individual prospect profiles in order to get a better look at who the next NHLers are.
The 2016 NHL Draft has a group of defensemen close to the top of the draft rankings that are projected to be future top four defensemen in the NHL.
Those defensemen are OHLers Jakob Chychrun, Olli Juolevi, Mikhail Sergachev. The next defensemen knocking on that door are Charlie McAvoy and Calgary Hitmen blueliner Jake Bean.
Chychrun, Juolevi, and Sergachev are the more complete defensive prospects competing to become the first defenseman taken in the upcoming draft in June, sometimes leaving McAvoy and Bean to be left out of the discussion.
McAvoy is not a defenseman to be taken lightly in this draft.
A solid two-way defenseman, he can play on the powerplay or stay back on an odd-man rush. He doesn’t take control of the game, but he is a major factor in any game he is in the lineup for.
His vision in the offensive zone is a huge positive in his game. The passes are crisp and to the right spots. The same goes for his playmaking when moving the puck out of his own zone and into the offensive zone.
In the defensive zone, McAvoy can cover the gap fairly well, with room to improve. He often covers the pass and doesn’t rush the puck carrier enough.
"“McAvoy, who has always exhibited terrific puck possession skills, a strong skating ability and poise with the puck on his stick, is looking to show NHL scouts that he has what it takes to be drafted in the top half of the first round with his play in all three zones.” – SB Nation"
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McAvoy weighed in at the Combine at 199.3 lbs and stood just above 6′ flat, so he can obviously bulk up a bit more. That shouldn’t deter any team from taking him if they miss out on the big three defensemen.
McAvoy will become a terrific possession player on the back-end. Perhaps finishing his college career with Boston University will allow his skills to develop and frame to fill out to NHL expectations.
If a team decides to go in a different direction for the next pick for their defense roster, Jake Bean is another solid option. Bean has more work to do to build up his frame, weighing in at 173 lbs at the Combine, but once he gains the right amount of size his skills will correlate perfectly.
Bean is another solid puck moving defenseman who will increase any team’s zone entering effectiveness.
His playmaking ability and skating have a strong foundation with room to build on and his shot is quite strong as well.
His defensive zone coverage and physical play lack the consistency that is passing skills have, but he does show flashes of brilliance when breaking up plays in his own zone and getting the puck moving the other way.
"“Bean is a slick, pass first, puck moving blue liner who is absolutely deadly in transition. He has quick feet that allow him skate with the puck and the vision to quickly find his passing options. Has solid composure and will calmly skate the puck out of pressure before head manning a pass up to streaking forwards. His defensive ability needs work as right now it consists of an active stick he uses to try to shut down opponents as they’re coming down wide on the rush. Needs some added strength and to improve his defensive positioning.” – Future Considerations"
Next: NHL Mock Draft 6.0: 7 Rounds of Prospect Analysis
Bean will need some more time in the WHL in order to develop and bulk up before being brought up to an NHL team; however, with the higher ceiling, it may be a better option to take Bean ahead of McAvoy.
Although there is a top-tier of defensemen in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft, Charlie McAvoy and Jake Bean make up a fine second tier that will contribute to any NHL team in the future.