One of the most athletically gifted defenders available this year, Isaiah George has a largely positive impact at both ends because of his terrific mobility. The production has not been incredibly strong this year and George is still improving his confidence and poise with the puck, but the upside is significant if he can learn to harness his quickness and high-end skill. Even if George’s offensive game never truly develops, his floor is still relatively high as a defensive player because of his four-way mobility and often aggressive defensive approach. His game is far from perfect, and he has struggled to maintain a consistent engagement level, but under the tutelage of the Hunters, George should develop into a solid NHL prospect. Even after a poor showing at the CHL Top Prospect’s game, George simply has too much potential as a modern day, mobile, two-way defender for him to fall outside of the second round this draft. His raw approach, yet elite physical tools remind me of watching TJ Brodie in his NHL draft year with Saginaw (2008) and I believe George has similar NHL potential.
Isaiah George
Date of Birth: 2004-02-15
Position: D, Shoots: L
H/W: 6'1", 194lbs
Stats to Date: (GP-G-A-PTS-PIMS)
London, OHL (62-6-17-23)
Skating
Quite simply, George has to be considered one of the draft’s proficient movers. His four-way mobility is smooth and effortless. His quickness and ability to build speed quickly out of cuts is impressive. As such, he has been a standout for the London Knights at both ends this season, his rookie year in the OHL. As proof of his skating dominance, let’s look at George’s results from the CHL Top Prospect’s Game testing. 3rd in forward skate, with and without the puck. 1st in backwards skating, with and without the puck (his backwards skating times were considerably quicker than anyone else in the field). He also finished fourth overall in the testing (all categories combined), proving how remarkable an athlete he is and how considerable his physical tools are. Early in the season, George was pretty tentative to use his quickness to join or lead the attack, playing more of a safe game with the puck. However, as the season progressed, he has become increasingly comfortable using his skating talents to impact the game offensively, be it stepping up in the neutral zone to retrieve a puck or leading the attack out of the defensive end. From a defensive perspective, George’s four-way mobility is extremely impressive. He transitions from forwards to backwards (and vice versa) with relative ease, allowing him to consistently beat attackers to retrievals. And given how well he moves backwards, he maintains gaps well when defending transitional attacks, angling attackers off, preventing them from getting to the net. George has also become a master of using c-cuts and pivots to hold pucks in the offensive zone, exploding out of said cuts to counterattack quickly. The modern NHL defender has to be a competent mover and George is more than that.
George first shows his impressive transitional skating, going backwards to forwards effortlessly and quickly to cut off the exit attempt. Then he stops and changes direction on a dime, completely freezing the three Flint players already ahead of the attack. The quick counterattack allows London to regain the offensive zone quickly (although George fumbles the scoring chance in the slot after).
How about an end to end rush? George does this on the regular now. Once he builds that head of steam across the blueline, he is rarely held up. George is also becoming increasingly more aggressive in the offensive zone, as we see him chip and chase to recover his own dump in.
George quickly accelerates up ice as if he were shot out of a cannon. He accepts the pass already at full speed and never breaks stride, gaining the zone effortlessly and then making a great feed into the slot to set up a great scoring chance.
“George gets their first for the Knights,” is a phrase uttered many times every game. He is just nearly impossible to get behind. He never seems to lose a race to the puck and that makes London hard to pin in their zone when he is on the ice.
George also defends transitional attacks extremely well because of his impressive backwards quickness. This quickness also affords him the opportunity to play aggressively as a defender. He consistently steps up early on attackers, even if he could be complacent and just stay with them stride for stride. By doing this, he does not give Sarnia an opportunity to hold possession, again preventing the offense from setting up in the London zone.
Grade: 60
Shot
George does have a fair number of weapons that he feels comfortable using. He has a quick wrister that he uses to get pucks on net, generally keeping it low to generate rebounds or deflections. He can one-time pucks with a slapshot, although his slapper does tend to lack the accuracy and effectiveness of his wrister. George will also jump up in the play and use a wrist shot with a longer wind-up. When he uses this, he actually generates significant velocity and can beat goaltenders cleanly. Overall, however, George’s shot is not a consistent weapon at this time. What I would love to see from him moving forward is the ability and confidence to use his quick feet to open up shooting lanes for himself to exploit. He does this occasionally but has had some trouble finishing on his chances. If he moves laterally to create space, it’s usually a weak wrister from the point immediately after making the first man miss.
This was Isaiah George’s first OHL goal, a shorthanded tally. He starts the breakout and then beats everyone down the ice to become a passing option, roofing his wrist shot top shelf.
As mentioned, George will use his feet to create space inside the offensive zone, however it is not to help him step into the slot or step into a heavy point shot. If he does shoot in these situations, he simply tries to throw the puck on net, a low danger shot from the perimeter. He would probably be better holding on to that puck and swinging around wide to try to open up a lane cross ice to exploit.
Grade: 45
Skills
George is undeniably skilled with the puck. It is the application of said skill that is extremely raw. One might point to George’s limited offensive output this season and assume that his offensive potential is also limited. But this is why it is important to watch the games and not just stat watch. George does not yet have the confidence to consistently extend his rushes. He will often make a quick exit pass as he approaches his own blueline, rarely extending through the neutral zone, even though when he does, he is rarely stopped because of his explosive stride. And when he does break into the offensive zone, George demands attention and he is occasionally able to get a puck into the slot for a scoring chance. Although most of the time, these rushes end up with a dump in or a pass to a wing at the half wall. George’s exit pass and heads up defensive zone passing are also impressive features of his game. He consistently uses shoulder checks to survey the ice before retrieving pucks and as such, he can start the breakout quickly and efficiently with an accurate stretch pass. Where George sometimes runs into issues is when he tries to overcomplicate his breakouts. He has good hands and can miss sticks in transition, but he relies on his feet to do most of the work in this regard. If forechecks close on him quickly, he occasionally tries to force his way out of the zone and turnovers can be an issue. Additionally, George is still learning how to best use his skills to hold the offensive blueline and make plays coming off the line. He can make that first defender miss, especially if they defend him aggressively (his escapability is excellent because of his lateral quickness), however he often then gets angled off and nothing comes of what should be a resulting defensive breakdown. Instead of moving laterally, he needs to be more aggressive to step up into the slot and play deeper in the offensive zone more consistently if he wants to produce more offensively. He most definitely possesses the recovery ability as a skater to take more chances.
While George’s Top Prospect’s Game performance left some to be desired, this was a real positive play for him from the event. He escapes pressure in the defensive zone, beats three team white players to the offensive zone and then heads to the net front after taking a hit, where he gets a great scoring chance.
Electing to use the slot as your exit lane can be a risky endeavour, but George pulls it off, effectively starting the breakout. His quickness and hands can work together well and it allows him to be an exit machine for the Knights when he is playing with confidence.
This is such a skilled and determined hold by George as he fights through contact, extends the puck out and helps to keep London in the offensive zone. Again, I would love to see him use his quickness and skill to do this more often.
Another nice play by George as he jumps up in the play, beats multiple defenders to the slot and gets a chance in tight. If his shot was just a bit better, he could have double digit goals this year with the kind of high danger scoring chances that he earns when he wants to step up.
Grade: 55
Smarts
As mentioned, George has a lot going for him, but it is the application of his skill set that can leave some scratching their heads. A player blessed with excellent physical tools; George can be an extremely effective player. However, his toolkit is raw. As mentioned, his scanning habits in the defensive zone are excellent. He almost always uses shoulder checks before recovering the puck and has the utmost confidence in his skating ability providing him an escape from the forecheck. Defensively, he is an asset because of how aggressively he shuts down the transition game and because of how impossible it is to beat him to loose pucks. Inside the offensive zone, he will pinch to keep pucks in and has the potential to develop into a powerplay quarterback because of his quick feet and ability to get into the middle. However, turnovers have been an issue for George dating back to his days with the Toronto Marlboros of the GTHL. He is currently at his best when he keeps things simple. Yet…we want him to take more chances with the puck to create more offense. When he does that currently, he can get himself into trouble because his vision in the offensive end does not show as well as you might like. Most of the time he shakes free of the defense, it results in him earning a scoring chance that he does not capitalize on. The result of said plays is rarely George finding an open teammate with a pass after causing a defensive breakdown. He has a single primary assist on the season thus far. So the question is, does George process the game well enough to be a significant offensive contributor? Additionally, turnovers have been an issue in the defensive end at times when he gets pinned down by the forecheck, because he opts for the lower percentage play or tries to force his way through it, rather than chipping it out of harm's way or swinging it back around. He can be late to identify when those lanes are closing in around him. All that said, George is in the right development program. London, under Mark Hunter, has done remarkably well at developing defenders and I have the utmost confidence that they will be able to bring out the best in George’s skill set.
First a positive play from George. Great pinch to keep the play alive behind the net then the feed out front to Sean McGurn who makes a great pass to create the goal.
While George is generally an excellent transitional defender, he can struggle in zone coverage because of lapses in concentration. Here is one such example from the recent Top Prospect’s game. He gets caught watching the puck and the shooter and fails to recognize the other team white forward taking up position near the crease. The result is a goal against.
This is definitely not textbook transitional defending. This is a poor read by George. He needs to realize that the Rangers forward is attacking solo and is really not the kind of threat that requires such an aggressive approach, especially given the defensive support he has collapsing around him on the other side and that he has an angle to force him to his backhand. If he maintains his gap here, he could angle him off and likely force a dump in. Instead, he gets burned.
Usually, George does a good job of recovering dump ins and exiting the zone cleanly. But as mentioned, there are times where he has momentary lapses of judgment when under pressure. He takes a bad route to this dump in as it catches him by surprise, then he does not shoulder check and is caught standing still, resulting in a turnover that ends up in the back of the net.
George tries to jump this dump in attempt, but it ends up being a poor decision as his feet are moving too quick for his hands and he overskates the puck. The result is a two on one and a goal for Windsor. Truthfully, I think this play has some bad luck elements to it. Again, we want George to be more aggressive using his quickness. If he secures that dump in, he will be able to create a likely three on two and put the Spitfires back on their heels. It is just not executed well.
Grade: 50
Physicality/Compete
At this point, George’s defensive and physical engagement is best characterized as inconsistent. However, we need to grade this appropriately and determine what the likely end game is for him as a physical player. I believe that when George’s development is complete, he will be an above average physical player. I think at times he just gets too complacent and reliant on his feet, and his focus wavers. There are times where George is completely dialed in physically and when that happens, he is an impressive defensive player. I think George also has the potential to be a high end shot blocker because of how well he moves backwards and laterally, so taking away shooting lanes will be something that he eventually does well as he gains experience. To be a better player currently, George just needs to be more difficult to play against in the slot and near the net, as his failure to tie up forwards has led to a fair amount of goals against for London this season.
Just a fantastic defensive play by George here. He closes quickly and takes out the Flint forward, flipping the script, allowing London to counter attack quickly.
Another solid physical play by George. He takes a hit to hold the line but when the puck eventually comes out, he is there to step up on the Windsor forward preventing a clean breakout.
But then we have plays like this. George looks borderline disinterested in defending the crease as the Sarnia forward drives the net. His partner gets burned, but George offers no support after he plays the puck and not the man, resulting in a goal against.
Grade: 55
OFP: 53.25
A note on the 20-80 scale used above. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.