Calen Addison ranked just outside of the first round in our mid-season rankings. He finished sixth among WHL defenseman with 54 assists and ninth in defense scoring with 53 points. An elite skater with questions about his physicality, Vince Gibbons provides a detailed scouting report 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.
Skating
Calen Addison
2018 Draft Eligible
Position: D, Shoots R
H/W: 5-10", 180 lbs
Stats to date (GP-G-A-PTS-PIMS)
Lethbridge Hurricanes, WHL (68-11-54-65-53)
Shot: There is a steady stream of shots coming from his stick over the course of a game, he averages nearly three per game. He has not shown much of a slap shot this year but he does have a quick release on his snap and wrist shots that frequently get by the first defender. He gets a lot of assists from getting pucks to the net while the forwards crash the net looking for rebounds. Grade: 55
Skills: His elite level skating gives him a nice advantage over similarly skilled players. His passing and vision are very good both in transition and the offensive zone. Defensively he has a very good stick and stick check. That stick helps him get pucks moving along the wall, break up odd man rushes, and knock down clearing attempts at the opposition blue line. His passing is crisp and he leads guys very well so they maintain speed through the neutral zone. He is also capable of carrying the puck through the neutral zone with speed, usually only when down a goal or two late and they open up a bit more. Grade: 60
Smarts: Addison is a player who makes a lot of under the radar plays, solid first passes, and a lot of smart pinches that show he has above average hockey sense. He can get caught pinching on a simple chip play, but he has the recovery speed at this level that it does not cost him too often. In his own zone he focuses on moving pucks and creating angles for passes even when the forecheck is in his face. He needs to improve without the puck in his own zone as he can get hemmed in if he unable to get a quick turnover. He is not utilized in the top four defensive penalty killers which at least partially is due to his inability to end plays in his own zone. Grade: 50
Physicality: Addison’s largest risk is his inability to compete physically. If contact is made he loses the puck consistently. In addition to that he can get run over if he holds the blue line and the forward takes the body. He competes hard along the wall and boards but is not very effective unless he gets his stick on the puck. Some smaller guys are able to use leverage against bigger forwards to keep them off balance or distracted, however Addison too frequently cannot hold his position along the boards or in front of his net. He does play with a chip on his shoulder out there, it just is not very effective for him. Grade: 45
Summary: There is a lot to like about Calen Addison’s game when he has the puck. He skates extremely well and has a special ability to adjust at high speed. His passing and vision are excellent and make him an ideal distributor from the backend. He does somethings well in his own zone particularly with his stick, but needs to be able to hold his position better in front of his own net and find a way to stop teams cycling the puck against him.
Overall Future Projection (OFP): 54