Towering 6' 6", 230 pound Kevin Bahl landed in the early second round of our December rankings at #37. A big mobile defender will always draw scouts attention and Bahl was named as one of the 40 roster members for the 2018 Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. Brock Otten breaks down his game below.
A note on the 20-80 scale used below. 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.
| Kevin Bahl | 2018 NHL Draft Eligible |
|---|---|
| Position: D, Shoots: L | H/W: 6-6", 230 lbs |
| Stats to Date: (GP-G-A-PTS-PIMS) | Ottawa 67's, (37-1-11-12-54) |
Kevin Bahl of the Ottawa 67's. Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images.
Skating: Hulking defender at 6’6, so you would expect his skating to be rough. That said, it is actually a lot better than you would think. And that is part of the allure. Bahl shows impressive mobility for a big man. His understanding of gap control and his length help him in the defensive end, but he stays with oncoming forwards well and his lateral mobility and turns are fairly smooth for a big man. Straight away, he lacks power and it limits his effectiveness as a puck rusher, but once he gets going, his top speed is pretty decent. Also displays solid footwork on the powerplay, where he shifts back and forth from the point to playing near the crease (think Zdeno Chara). I am grading it a 50 now, but there is potential for this to be a 55 with the right training and refinement. He is no Tyler Myers, but how many big defenders are? Grade: 50
Shot: Generally speaking, you expect a defender the size of Bahl to possess a big time point shot. As with his skating, he once again defies expectations. While he does a great job of getting a hard, low wrist shot to the net from the point, he is not very aggressive in utilizing his shot. In fact, I am not sure I have ever really seen him unleash a slapshot. It is about confidence. As he grows as a player, we should start to see him unleashing a booming point shot. With his size, it is sheer science that it would be in his wheel house. A lot of this grade is based on potential. Grade: 50
Skills: At this point, Bahl keeps things relatively simple at both ends. That in itself is a skill, because he rarely turns the puck over. He is sure handed in the defensive end and is a way better puck mover than your average big defender. Makes a clean, crisp outlet pass and will even skate the puck out of trouble, although he rarely extends rushes past the redline. Is adept at using his size and length to shield the puck from oncoming forecheckers. He also does a great job of keeping pucks in at the blueline. Grade: 50
Smarts: As mentioned, Bahl plays a relatively mistake free game. He shows well at both ends in terms of his decision making. Identifies passing lanes well, even under pressure of the forecheck. Defensively, he has a great stick, which combined with his length, makes him a very good penalty killer (both currently and potentially). Has started to really use his size to be a punishing force, but it has not been at the expense of his positioning in coverage. His gap control and reads off the rush are excellent. As he continues to gain confidence offensively and physically, this grade could increase further down the line. Grade: 55
Physicality: Just scratching the surface of his potential as a physically dominating defender. At 6-6”, 230lbs, Bahl is an absolute monster on the blueline. Last year, he was primarily a stick defender, but over the course of the last few months, we have seen him really transform into a very difficult player to match up against. Is starting to throw his body around in the corners to separate players from the puck along the wall and is playing with ferocity near the crease. Combine his potential physically with his more than adequate mobility and strong decision making, and you have the makings of a terrific stay at home defender. Grade: 60
Summary: Kevin Bahl remains a bit of a work in progress. His game continues to improve month by month and I do not think we know the type of player he could become as of yet. But when you pair his size, tenacity, and puck smarts together and you get a potential NHL defender. Just how high that potential is remains to be seen. But for what it is worth, I like Bahl better than I did Logan Stanley at this point in their respective draft years.
Overall Future Projection (OFP): 53