The son of former Selke award winner John Madden, Tyler brings similar discipline away from the puck. His season was impacted by injury, but remains ranked as late third round pick in our most season rankings. Ryan Wagman 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.
| Tyler Madden | 2018 Draft Eligible |
|---|---|
| Position: C, Shoots R | H/W: 5-10", 155 lbs |
| Stats to date (GP-G-A-PTS-PIMS) | Central Illinois Flying Aces, USHL (18-6-8-14-20) |
| Tri-City Storm, USHL (32-9-11-20-24) |
Skating: Most little players who make it, overcome their lack of size with abundant speed. Madden will have to find a different avenue to the top. He is an OK skater, although he lacks in a breakaway second gear. Where he somewhat makes up for it is in his body control. He has very good edges, allowing him to change his angle for passes or shots in a way that is very difficult for opponents to properly defend against. Grade: 55
Shot: Like many smaller players, Madden lacks too much strength in his shots. When he has the time and space to lean on it, he can let go of a wrist shot with pretty nice snap. Projects as far more of a playmaker than a shooter in the offensive end, even though he has taken nearly three shots per game this year between Central Illinois and Tri-City. Grade: 50
Skills: Madden has plus skills as a playmaker and puck handler. He can escape jams with either option, shifting slightly to find a passing lane to a teammate, or shifting a lot more to stickhandle his way out of traffic. His passes are clean and can quickly turn an offensive foray up a few notches. His hands are generally very quick, allowing him to play away with the puck on his stick. As some creativity and could stand to show it off more often. Grade: 55
Smarts: Tyler Madden is a chip off the old block. His father, John, played 898 regular season games in the NHL, winning three Stanley Cups and one Frank Selke Award as the best defensive forward in the league. The younger Madden is very diligent off the puck, playing the outer ring of defense on the PK and very active in the backcheck. He always demonstrates plus effort and rarely is caught out in a bad position in his own zone. He has very high awareness and frequently picks off loose pucks in the neutral and defensive zones. As hinted at above, Madden’s path to the top as a smaller player is not through his speed, but through his very impressive hockey IQ. Grade: 60
Physicality: Many players are small these days. Madden is just more obviously undersized than most. Some players play bigger than their listed height/weight. Not this guy. He has very negligible physical presence and doe not really show any inclination towards that style of game. The best that can be said is that he has decent upper body strength and can use his stick to list that of an opponent. Grade: 40
Summary: An interesting thing about Tyler Madden’s draft year is that he scored more regularly on a horrid Central Illinois team than he did after being dealt to a stronger squad in Tri-City. The injuries he dealt with in the season’s second half likely played a role in his relative offensive struggles. The Northeastern commit should be able to forge a greater offensive role at the next level, while gaining his coach’s trust with his very strong two-way play. For as much as the league is trending smaller these days, he still needs to get somewhat bigger to help him compensate for the bumps and bruises he is sure to receive as he moves up the ladder.
Overall Future Projection (OFP) = 53.75