2020 NHL Draft prospect profile: Tim Stützle scouting report

Stützle’s Tendencies

Stützle is a player that does a nice job focusing on the little things in his game, so I did my best picking up on those minor details.

For one, Stützle is a pass-first player. The only negative I can really pull from his preference being a passer over a shooter is the fact that he has a very good shot but doesn’t take advantage of it in situations where he should have.

He also relies heavily on his high-end awareness and anticipation. Stützle is very aware of how quickly he can read a play, and he knows he has better anticipation than most other players on the ice, so he takes advantage as often as possible. Another reason he does this is that he is a boy playing in a men’s league, and he can’t out-muscle players on a consistent basis in the DEL, thus he uses his head.

There’s one issue with him relying on his IQ rather than being aggressive, and it’s his lack of forechecking consistency. Now, this is a minor part of the game, and it’s something that can easily be adjusted as he adds more muscle and becomes more confident in his ability to win physical battles. However, as of now, he usually takes a back-seat to a teammate and is the second-man-in on the forecheck.

On the power play, Stützle plays along the half-wall and point area. He gets placed on his passing side there because he is an incredible quarterback from that spot. Stützle is so ridiculously good at finding teammates across the ice for one-timers.

He doesn’t play on the penalty kill, at least not much. In fact, Stützle is mainly utilized in the offensive zone. However, he is not necessarily bad in the defensive zone, as he keeps his head on a swivel. What that means is he doesn’t get caught watching or chasing the puck in an unorganized fashion, instead, keeping his eyes on the player he is supposed to cover, making sure to never lose his man.