David Goyette was selected 11th overall by Sudbury in the 2020 OHL Priority Selection. Goyette was known for producing offense at a high level, but after losing a year of development, there were questions regarding how well he would adapt in his rookie OHL year. It didn’t take long to know that he was going to do just fine in the league. Goyette was quickly relied on heavily by Sudbury, centering the top line and playing on both special teams. Throughout the season, Goyette displayed his high-end skill by consistently producing points and creating chances for his team on a nightly basis. There aren’t many players in the draft like Goyette. He combines elite skating, high-end puck skills and creativity, skill as both a goal scorer and playmaker, while still being responsible defensively. Having the potential that he does, I strongly believe Goyette could become a second line center in the NHL and because of that, I would grade him as a first-round selection.
David Goyette | Date of Birth: 2004-03-27 |
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Position: C, Shoots: L | H/W: 5'11", 174lbs |
Stats to Date: (GP-G-A-PTS-PIMS) | Sudbury Wolves, OHL (66-33-40-73) |
Skating
Goyette’s skating is elite and among the best in the draft. He is able to separate himself from opponents consistently with his quick acceleration and top speed. With a use of very efficient crossovers and quick feet, Goyette is very deceptive and is very effective at creating controlled offensive zone entries for his team because of it. Goyette draws a lot of attention because of his skating, forcing opponents to adapt to his speed. He takes advantage of any room given to him and makes defenders pay when they make a late read. With Goyette’s elite skating already, he has even more room to grow and improve still. As he gets older and bigger, his strength will allow him to get more power in each stride and make him even more dangerous.
Throughout the season, Sudbury has relied on Goyette heavily for driving play, especially when in transition. In this clip we see Goyette intercept the puck in the defensive zone and start the breakout. He makes a quick deke to get past an opponent and then turns on the jets with three strong and efficient crossovers to accelerate and gain speed going into the neutral zone. With the speed that Goyette has coming through the neutral zone he often forces defenders back, like he does here, to gain the offensive zone. Goyette is smart at using space and will take advantage of it each time.
Not only is Goyette’s skating so effective because of the speed he possesses, but also because of his strong edges and ability to deceive opponents by quickly changing directions to create more space and escape pressure. After Goyette forces a turnover with a stick lift, he starts to skate into the corner but is aware of an opponent aggressively applying pressure on him. He makes a strong cut with his edges to change directions and gets away from the opponent, but is immediately met with another, so he makes the quick decision to make another abrupt cut to get into open space, skating towards the net. He then draws everyone’s attention to himself, so he takes advantage and finds his teammate in the slot, setting him up for a goal.
Grade: 65
Shot
Goyette doesn’t have the most powerful shot, but it’s quick, crisp and accurate. As he gets stronger, his shot should also get more powerful. He’s a smart shooter, looking for the best option rather than forcing shots from low danger areas just for the sake of it. The majority of the goals he scores are from him being in the right spot at the right time. Goyette isn’t afraid of going to the dirty areas and does so effectively with his strong puck stills, being able to handle the puck through traffic. Goyette is more of a playmaker, but as the season went on he looked to become more confident in himself and started to become more of a scorer, finishing the year with 33 goals. If Goyette continues to work on his shot in the offseason, he could put up big numbers next year and become a very dangerous dual threat.
Goyette is very hard to contain and defend against because of his speed and ability to know where and when to be at the right time. This makes him even more difficult to defend when on the powerplay. Goyette is always looking for open space to give his teammates great passing options and he does a great job at that in this play. Goyette starts the play in the neutral zone, but once he sees his defenseman start to attack the slot with the puck, he starts to skate backwards into position for a one timer. The defenseman feeds a perfect pass and Goyette finishes with a great one-timer, scoring far-side and right inside the post.
This is another example of Goyette always giving his teammates an option and his ability to find open space. Reading the play well, Goyette takes advantage of all of the open space in the slot and gets into position. He receives the pass, instantly gets his head up and picks the top corner with a quick release.
Grade: 50
Skills
Goyette’s puck skill and creativity have been on display all season long; making highlight reel plays with ease and showing great confidence when the puck is on his stick. He’s able to control and protect the puck at high pace, being very effective at getting through the neutral zone while under pressure. He rarely shows difficulty handling the puck and is able to get into high danger scoring areas because he’s so skilled with the puck in tight. Goyette uses his deception often to open up more space or give him more time. He’s very creative and hard to read because he uses slight hesitations, head fakes and other things to throw off his opponents. As Goyette grows, he will continue to learn more ways to deceive opponents and stay unpredictable. His puck skills will also translate and continue to improve as well as he already plays with such great pace.
After collecting the puck, Goyette starts to skate up the ice to exit the defensive zone. With his head up, he sees an incoming opponent and makes a slick move from forehand to backhand to avoid a check, then exits the zone. Goyette takes advantage of the open space in the neutral zone and attacks the offensive zone with speed, pressing the defenders back. He then skates towards the one opponent, forcing him to make a play, but Goyette times it well and makes a deke to get around him, resulting in the opponent being over-aggressive and Goyette drawing a penalty.
This is a great play displaying Goyette’s ability to beat defenders one on one and play at high pace. One area that I find is important to look for (and that Goyette excels in), is his capability to handle and receive difficult passes. Here we see Goyette receive a bank pass on his backhand while under pressure in the neutral zone. As he gains the offensive zone, he makes an excellent move to dance around the defender by deking forehand to backhand and through their legs. Although the play results in his pass being blocked, it gives you an idea of the potential he has with his creativity and puck skills.
There were many clips I could’ve added displaying Goyette’s high level of skill, but I thought I had to add this one because it was a part of his four-goal game that was broadcasted nationally on TSN. While on the transition, Goyette uses his speed to draw in the defender. He makes a quick deke, faking to go inside, but goes outside and flies past the defender. Driving towards the net, Goyette protects the puck well from the other defender and is able to get a shot off. The initial shot gets saved, but he doesn’t give up on the play and finishes the rebound for a highlight play.
Grade: 60
Smarts
There are a lot of things to love about Goyette, but the thing that will allow him to have such great potential is the way he processes the game. He has an attacking mindset, always looking to create a play, no matter how little time or space he has. He reads plays very well and understands when to be aggressive or conservative, having the patience to wait for a passing lane to open, or having the instincts to make a quick pass through a small opening through traffic. Not only is Goyette smart offensively, but he has shown improvements in his defensive game to become a much more complete player. He uses his speed to cover a lot of ice and is much more responsible in all three zones, not cheating for offense.
This is a bit of a longer clip, but there’s a lot to like that Goyette does so I thought it was important to include. First is his vision to read the ice and find the open lanes to create an offensive zone entry. As the play continues away from Goyette, he reads the play well and is always in the perfect spot to give his teammates a passing option. When he receives a pass, he makes good decisions on when to prolong possession or make a quick pass depending on the situation. Since he is very positionally aware, he consistently beats opponents to pucks first. Although nothing results in a goal, Goyette was able to make a few high danger passes in this clip that display his great playmaking ability.
Here was a great sequence of Goyette on the penalty kill. Reading the play perfectly and intercepting the pass, Goyette then quickly takes off and creates a good chance on his backhand on a partial breakaway. He then gets back to cover defensively, and while applying pressure on the puck carrier with an active stick, he steals the puck away again. He forced two turnovers on the penalty kill.
Goyette hasn’t always been as strong defensively as he is now, but has shown great progress as the season went on. This is a clip from earlier in the season, showing Goyette’s lack of awareness in the defensive zone. While defending the rush, Goyette is caught puck watching, and doesn’t notice the open man in the slot. He attempts to block the pass, but because he doesn’t know where the other opponent is, he isn’t in the right place, and it results in a goal against.
This is a clip from more recently, displaying Goyette’s improvements with not puck watching, containing and defending the open man, but still being aware of where the puck is if needed to adapt to make a play. As the play starts, Goyette applies pressure and contains his opponent, giving little space. As they cross the slot, Goyette sees the puck carrier attacking the net, and as he shoots, Goyette redirects it in time. There is then a scramble at the net and the puck gets to the open defenseman, but Goyette quickly gets into the shooting lane and takes away the shot, applying great pressure.
Grade: 50
Physicality/Compete
I feel like Goyette’s competitiveness is underrated and doesn’t get talked about enough. You will rarely see Goyette taking a shift off, always moving his feet and trying to affect the game, both offensively and defensively. Goyette is always competing for the puck and doesn’t give up in battles along the board, consistently applying great pressure and having an active stick to try and force a takeaway. Although Goyette isn’t the biggest, he still engages physically and has no problem standing his ground when needed. There are moments when Goyette does get knocked off the puck rather easily against much bigger competition, but as he grows, he should be able to get stronger on the puck.
Here is a great play during the CHL Top Prospects Game where Goyette displayed his knack of never giving up on a play and his hunger for the puck. During a race for the puck, Goyette and an opponent both go down, but Goyette is quick to his feet, getting back into the battle for the puck. He lifts their stick and knocks the puck away from the opponent and the puck goes right to his teammate. He drives to the net and his teammate makes a great read and passes back to Goyette, creating a high danger scoring chance.
Goyette isn’t very physical, but there have been moments where he displays great strength and the ability to play physical when needed. In this sequence, Goyette applies pressure on the puck carrying defenseman. The defenseman passes the puck off the boards, but Goyette catches him off guard with a strong hit to finish his check, knocking him down. As this happens, his team forces a turnover. Goyette reads the play and attacks the net, giving his teammate a great option for the easy tap-in goal.
In this clip, Goyette displays a great backcheck to help out his team defensively while on the penalty kill. He’s able to read the play and follow the puck carrier into the defensive zone. While applying pressure, he’s able to easily steal the puck away with a sweeping stick, then gets the puck to his teammate to exit the zone.
Grade: 50
OFP: 55.5
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