WHL: Josh Pillar, C/W, Kamloops (2020)

Josh Pillar was a first-round bantam pick but has yet to produce the numbers that might have been expected out of him in his NHL draft year. He is a versatile player that won't hurt his team when on the ice but doesn't do anything exceptionally well and lacks upside. He projects as a third liner at the NHL level if he can manage to improve his acceleration and strength to pro levels.

Josh Pillar. Photo by Allen Douglas/Kamloops Blazers.

Skating: Pillar possesses average top speed, but his first three steps are a bit clunky, a case of slow feet. Once he gets going, he can keep up with the play just fine. Grade: 45

Shot: Pillar doesn't possess the quickest of releases but given time and space to get a shot off he will utilize a decent wrister which is fairly accurate albeit unimpressive in velocity. Has a nice backhand from in tight. Poor one-timer. Grade: 45

Skills: A deceptively strong puck carrier who is adept at zone entries, as well as breakouts. Able to make passes in tight spaces with defenders closing but needs to work on moving the puck quicker in the offensive zone. Game hasn't slowed down enough yet for him to possess the vision to spot back-door and cross-seam passes. Plays on a team that employs an up-tempo system with pace and extremely quick puck movement and hasn't been able to do enough in this area to crack the top-six at even-strength. Pillar does have good poise with the puck though and has shown flashes of untapped potential on breakaways or in tight. Grade: 50

Smarts: With slightly above-average hockey sense, Pillar is able to play both centre and either wing position with a decent understanding of the duties of those positions and where to be on the ice. He is determined to find open ice to receive a pass and understands situations in games. Rarely takes risks. Calm under pressure and usually makes the correct decision with the puck in all three zones. Grade: 55

Physicality: Not really a big part of his game. Pillar does protect the puck deceptively well given his slight frame and is willing to dig pucks out of tied-up faceoffs and board scrums. He also is willing to go to the net-front area for deflections but is easily pushed out of those areas by bigger defenders. Grade: 45

Overall Future Projection (OFP): 48.75

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.