USHL: Ronnie Attard, D, Tri-City

The USHL is a league especially well suited for late bloomers. Attard fits that description to a ‘t’. In his first year of draft eligibility, he put up five points for the Storm. In his second season, he improved to 15. As can be seen below, he is well above one point per game this season.

He has no physical red marks, as his size is above average even by NHL standards, he is an above average skater, and he shoots from his right side. The Western Michigan commit gives off a Jake Muzzin vibe, perhaps slightly less aggressive but similarly effective. The all-situations defender could be ready for the pros after two seasons on campus. He could be selected as high as the third round.

Ronnie Attard. Photo by Hickling Images.

Skating: Tall and lanky, Attard is an impressive skater. His stride is clean and strong and he eats up the ice fairly effortlessly. He is capable of skating the puck out of his own zone with ease. His quick feet also shine when closing in on an opponent who has made the call to enter the Tri-City zone on Attard’s watch, Grade: 55

Shot: Despite having missed 12 league games – many due to his inclusion on the American roster at the World Junior A Challenge – Attard leads all USHL defensemen in goals scored with 22, a full five more than the runner up. Some of this is luck as he will not continue to score on over 20% of his shots in college or the pros. 10 of the 22 goals are power play markers and he does show a knack for jumping up from the blueline into a big lane to improve his odds. He has a nice one-timer when playing on his off-hand. Even if we can expect his shooting percentage to decline over time, there will be no regression to his handedness. He will always have a right handed shot and that is highly prioritized in the NHL.  Grade: 50

Skills: Nothing fancy here. Attard moves the puck well He is very good at getting the biscuit out of his own zone, whether carrying it, passing it, or chipping it off the glass. Has tremendous stick reach and uses it often and judiciously.  Grade: 50

Smarts: As a soon-to-be 20 year-old, I expect better reads from Attard than I would from a 17 year-old. He delivers. This was best demonstrated in a recent viewing when I saw him kill nearly two full minutes of a 3-on-5 situation. He fills up passing and shooting lanes. He uses his fantastic reach to bat pucks away from opponents. He gaps up well. From a game processing perspective, he is ready for the next level.  Grade: 60

Physicality: Attard has great size and if he continues to fill out, he could be a real bear. His hits are hard, although he is not a very violent player. He has cleaned up his game a lot. After spending 126 minutes in the box last season, he is at 46 minutes to date. Tough to play against without being frightening.  Grade: 55

Overall Future Projection (OFP) = 55

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