A few days ago I covered the Left Shot defensemen at the top of the draft, so today I am going to cover off the right shot guys. Similarly, we probably have no business chasing D with our first rounder unless Sunny Mehta completely unloads the clip. While our left side could potentially use some future proofing, our right side is about 6-7 guys deep at the moment, but hey, crazier things have happened.
Right shot D are valued higher than left shot, mostly because there are less of them. And anytime
a team can get their hands on a high end right shot D prospect they are generally in pretty good shape (“generally” – see: NJ Devils). All 4 of these guys look to 100% become NHLers with all of them having high end projectable traits. So let’s get into them in the general consensus draft order:
Chase Reid
Reid is an American defenseman from Michigan, regularly mocked as the first defenseman to go off the board – and is even ranked first by some. He is 6’2”, a shade under 200 lbs and has been playing in the OHL for the Soo Greyhounds the past two seasons after rising through the Michigan youth ranks. He had a great showing last Christmas at the WJC where he will be a fixture for the US moving forward and next season he has committed to stay close to home at Michigan State. Reid looks to be a minute eating all situations pro, and there is very little he isn’t good at.
He is widely projected to be the first defenseman off the board, mocked as high as the Sharks at #2 and probably won’t last past the Rangers at #5. This first thing you will notice about Reid is his skating, he has elite edgework and breezes through all three zones with effortless ability. He also has a heavy accurate shot that he can pick corners with when he activates from the blueline, and gets through well from distance. His defensive details are solid as well, he displays a good stick in transition, good gap control and displays high end poise on retrievals. He can get a little aggressive trying to do too much, but that could be more a product of being so much better than everyone in the OHL than anything.
Take a look at his highlights and a shift by shift to get a taste of Reid’s game:
One thing that is really on display in his video is Reid’s passing ability. He has a good feel for pressure in all three zones, and shows a good stretch pass, Power Play vision, and seam vision in the offensive zone. What also stands out is he play a relatively simple, efficient game. He isn’t particularly physical – he doesn’t seek out big hits – but he seals guys well and will certainly add some muscle to his frame at the NCAA level. I’d see his ceiling as Werenski and his floor as Dobson.
Keaton Verhoeff
Verhoeff has had a roller coaster of a season from a draft projection – like Reid, was at one point in the #1 slot, but an iffy Frozen Four dropped him behind Reid. Verhoeff is a Saskatoon native and already a big boy at 6’4” 216 lbs and is going into his second season at the University of North Dakota. He has also been a mainstay on the blueline for Canada including wearing the C for the U18 WJC this past season.
Verhoeff is one of the only players that almost noone has projected outside the top 10, And is as high as #1 on Ryan Kennedy’s list. He and Reid do seem to be the general consensus to be the first D-men off the board, and I would be very surprised if he makes it past #5. Verhoeff is an elite offensive defenseman, displays great forward skating, a hard accurate shot and distributes well on the power play. He didn’t see any sort of drop off in his production rates from the WHL to the NCAA, which is somewhat surprising for a 17 year old. Unlike Reid, he does have some question marks around his defensive ability, particularly his rush defense which stems from some questions about his backwards mobility and pivoting. Also, unlike Reid, he definitely leans into his size more and seems to understand how to use his physical toolset.
Take a look at his highlights and a shift by shift for a glimpse at his game:
The first thing that stands out to me is this kid is a shooter. While a much better skater, he reminds me somewhat of Dougie Hamilton in how he activates A LOT from the point and when he has a clear lane he will rip it. I did see some of the questionable defensive choices noted in his scouting, but I honestly chalk that up to a 17 year old playing all situation minutes at the NCAA level. I did also see him stray outside the dots (a defensive no-no) on 2 different neutral zone turnovers/counter rushes against in the shift by shift, but he recovered well. This kid is going to be a good player – and will be interesting to see how he improves in his second season at UND.
Daxon Rudolph
First – what a name, we are about to go on a generational run of a new generation of “hockey guy” names. Rudolph has somewhat flown under the radar with all the attention directed at Reid’s ascension and Verhoeff, but it would be a mistake to overlook him. He quietly led Prince Albert in scoring and was 3rd in the league for defenseman with 28 goals and 78 points. He also tacked on 9 goals and 27 points in 19 playoff games en route to the WHL finals. He is also a big boy at 6’3” 205 and is committed to Denver next season.
Most scouts have him going at the end of the top 10, but there is an outside chance of him being available at 12. He displays high end hockey sense, 3-zone poise with the puck and displays a good shot and elite passing. The primary knock on him is passivity – he tends to hang back in play anticipating, as opposed to dictating, and prefers to use his size to seal lanes in stead of leaning on people.
his highlights and shift by shift are below:
This kid is just so…smart. The passivity knock on him I see more as a strength, as he just plays with so much poise and intelligence, it’s more that he knows what is going to happen. I also like that he plays a relatively simple game, but within that he has an elite feel for flow and his passing is simple and effective. He is fantastic at setting up one-timers which is largely predicated on feel for pressure. He also has a cannon for a shot and isn’t afraid to use it. He also is very solid defensively, has great gap control and uses his stick well. He could probably use his size a little more to lean on players and lay a hit or two, but that is mostly nitpicking. I really like his game and is probably the highest floor of all the defensemen in this draft and if he happens to fall to 12 I would definitely have a comparative pause with the available forwards.
Ryan Lin
Lin profiles as a potentially explosive offensive defenseman, albeit on the undersized side – standing 5’11” and 176 lbs from British Columbia, where he also has played for the Vancouver Giants for the past two seasons. Serving as the captain this past season (somewhat unusual for a 17 year old) he put up 14 goals, 57 points in 53 games. He has also consistently represented Canada in international tournaments helping the secure a gold medal in the spring of 2025 at the U18s, and a bronze medal at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup in the summer. He will be joining Rudolph next year at Denver.
Lin is a fantastic puck mover, shows a good blend of choices whether its passing or shooting, and is a high IQ player. Like most undersized defenseman he is an elite skater and knows how to both create and use time and space, particularly in the offensive zone. He also shows a high level of creativity in his passing, utilizing a variety of seam and skip passes to find his open teammates and if anything he has a pass first mentality. His best trait will come as a rush-based offensive defenseman, and he shows no fear leading or joining the rush as the 4th guy. However, sometimes that read is the wrong one and he can get himself into trouble over handling the puck or leaving no coverage behind him. That may have been a product of being a pretty bad Giants team that finished last in the BC division of the WHL last season, and Carle can coach better choices out of him with better players next year at Denver. His leadership has also been mentioned consistently, as I mentioned above it is rare for a 17 year old to be given the captaincy in Major Junior. Most rankings peg him going in the teens with the exception of Chris Peters who ranks him 9th. Of all the 1st round defenseman profiled so far, he is the most likely to be available to the Devils at 12.
So let’s see what this kid has got:
I really like this kid’s skating and he has great motor. He is relentless in pushing the pace up ice, joining the rush, or creating the rush. I wouldn’t mind seeing him use his teammates more to pass it up, but that could very well be a QoT conversation and as mentioned above he will be playing with much better players at Denver. He has great instincts in the top of the offensive zone and walks the blue line beautifully, scoring early in the shift by shift. He isn’t particularly physical as would be expected but he doesn’t shy away from engaging in battles, and shows a good amount of 2nd and 3rd efforts in puck battles. I will be very interested to see how his game translates, as he is a prime candidate to have some growing pains early but his intelligence and decision making should translate into a productive NHL career.
Conclusion and My Thoughts
I am still on team “draft a forward or trade the pick for more immediate needs” but there are certainly some intriguing defensemen in this draft and all four of these guy would be welcome additions to the Devils prospect pool IN A VACUUM. However, we live in a world where our prospect pool has been bled dry, especially up front, and we desperately need more goal scoring on this team as soon as next season.
Let me know what you think gang, only a few more days until we see what Sunny is made of!
LGD
