Derek Deblois Will Join Hockey Team This Fall Comment Count

Brian

derek-deblois It's a hockey kind of day today. Prompted by paywalled info at The Wolverine, I pinged my contact with the Cedar Rapids USHL team and he confirmed that Derek Deblois will enroll at Michigan this fall. Deblois was "not included in the discussion" of the Roughriders' upcoming USHL draft protected list because he's on his way to Ann Arbor.

As to what kind of player Deblois is, here's that scouting report referenced earlier:

Derek Deblois              F          5’10”    177

Deblois projects as an offensive player and point producer.  He has quick hands and is able to handle the puck in traffic.  Deblois is equally adept at giving and receiving passes on his backhand.  He is also very calm with the puck and will make the quick pass if needed or he can hold the puck and wait for the play to develop.  Deblois has all shot types in his arsenal.  I can’t say that he has a hard shot but he is able to get it on net with a good release.  Deblois really impressed with his toughness and willingness to pay the price in front of the net.  He has a knack for getting open but when a defenseman played the body, Deblois battled for position and got his stick free for deflections.  Deblois was very disciplined and never rattled on those occasions.  He continued to go about his business with a workman-like resolve.

Deblois weaknesses are that he lacked speed and explosiveness.   He showed a willingness to backcheck but couldn’t get back quickly enough after some of the battles in front.  His puck skills in traffic are a nice attribute but his inability to separate himself from defenders might inhibit him at the next level.  Also, as much as he showed a willingness to take punishment in front, he was knocked off balance enough to notice that he could improve his lower body strength.  Deblois will have to gain some muscle at Michigan but I’m not sure if that will improve his balance and quickness or slow him down.

Older scouting reports consistently cite soft hands but conflict with the above when it comes to his willingness to play in traffic; sounds like he may have added a dimension to his game over the past year. Deblois had an 11-23-34 line in 55 games with Cedar Rapids; he was +17 and had three goals in five playoff games.

Sounds like a guy who will start his career in the bottom six and move his way up in a year or two; power play time could be immediate. For more on Deblois, check out Yost Built's commit post, this site's version of the same, or the extensive take from James Stachowiak from the Always Next Year post from last week. His team's site also has a four-minute interview with the kid.

Comments

JustGoBlue

May 7th, 2010 at 4:40 PM ^

to come in 2011?  I feel like we have some pretty good depth at forward without him, with only losing Lebler (and Czarnik, I guess) as a starter and bringing in Moffat and Fallon who should both be pretty good.  So if we're taking him early, it makes me feel like maybe Red knows something we don't about somebody potentially leaving.  Which makes me unhappy.  Assuage me, somebody.