Thomas Bordeleau // Scouting report #2
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 179lbs.
D.O.B.: 1/03/02
Stats: 16 Goals, 30 Assists, 46 Points, 47 games played
Team: USNTDP U18, USHL & NCAA
Position: Center
Blue line to Blue line time: 1.90
Most outstanding stat: 132 SOG (1st), 12.1 SH%
Letter, (A-F)=Consistency, A being most consistent
Number, (1-5)=Tier of talent, 1 being highest
Rank:
20th by EliteProspects.com
31st by Future Considerations
37th by TSN/Craig Button
36th by McKeens Hockey
29th by NHL Central Scouting (NA Skaters)
51st by TSN/Bob McKenzie
21st by Dr. Tee Scouting
Scouting report:
My 2nd scouting report in this year's draft belongs to arguably my favorite player in the draft up with Robins, who we just talked about, Ozzy Wiesblatt, Jean-Luc Foudy, and Kasper Simontaival to name a few (SPOILERS!!!). This year with the United States national team development program Bordeleau did great playing against players up to 7 years older than him in the NCAA where he put up 28 points in 28 games playing against probably the hardest teams to play against in the NCAA from the Hockey East, and Big 10 conferences more often than not. Playing against USHL opponents he also showed a very impressive showing there as well, playing against opponents up to 4 years older than him with 7 goals, 11 assists, 18 points and 19 games played. So what are we waiting for? Let’s get right into it
Move - 3A
Bordeleau’s skating can be pretty hard to evaluate at times. Although some may be a Debby downer on his skating ability I think that it’s really something that his size is holding him back. If he were 6’ or even 5’11” Bordeleau’s skating would be spot on.
Despite that I clocked him at a not so good 1.90 seconds blue line to blue line I would definitely consider him the Wolf rather then the Cheetah in this case. He can use short bursts of high end speed but really uses his endurance, acceleration, and stamina to fight him through an entire shift at a very good speed. And you have to keep in mind that I clocked Alexis Lafrenière 1.89 seconds blue line to blue line. So don’t go off saying that Thomas Bordeleau is slow when he is 2 milliseconds away from beating the consensus no. 1 pick in this year's draft in a foot race.
Transitioning to the other main areas of Bordeleau’s skating and you’ll find that he’s not at all a bad skater. He has good separation, as well as explosiveness which helps him to maximize every stride to its very best. This also allows his stride to be very long and helps him to really be the Wolf in this case. There’s really nothing that Bordeleau really needs to improve on in his skating but there’s nothing really that stands out. The one thing that really makes me a fan of how he looks while skating is how effortless it looks. This year I have a teammate on my hockey team who skates exactly like this kid. He uses a long stride, and gets very low in his stance but it never looks really like he’s going fast but yet he always can beat a defender wide. To go with this Bordeleau is very strong on his feet, and lower legs which allows him to fight through checks, and get into those dirty areas around the ice. He is also very consistent which is what makes Thomas Bordeleau’s skating not as big of a failure as most people might think.
Dangle - 2B
This is what really makes Bordeleau a very big threat in the offensive zone. Even though a 2B may not seem the best rating to go with what I just said, but he’s in that small tier between what I would say a Ozzy Wiesblatt, and Vasili Ponomaryov.
He uses his quick thinking to know what move to make at the right time, and is extremely conservative. He doesn’t just go around dangling people just for the fun of it. He uses it to really adapt to high pressure situations and especially as a smaller player that is a great skill to have. He reminds me a tad of Daniil Gushchin. He possesses the talent and the tool box to make all the moves in the world but when he doesn’t need to he doesn’t waste time on stickhandling around. If he needs to put the puck between a defender's legs then he’ll do it. If he doesn’t then he won’t do it it’s that simple, and the fact that he can really translate that into his game is really something special. He maintains possession of the puck along the boards against bigger players especially at a very average rate, probably a little bit above average but there’s nothing that really sticks out in that department alone. Even though this may not be the greatest stand out in his game, and this alone may cause a bit of problems in the future if he can get a little stronger with his upper body rather than his lower body than this could be a very special, shifty stickhandling forward that we’re looking at in the near future.
Snipe - 1B
Bordeleau’s shot is very similar to that of Tristen Robins’. They are both very accurate, and they both possess a very quick release.
Something that isn’t so similar to Tristen Robins’ shot is that Bordeleau has a very unique ability that comes with an unbelievable ability to shoot while in motion. Although some may argue that Robins' still has a very good shot in motion I personally think that he has a good shot in motion as well, but I do think that Bordeleau has a better one. The best way to describe his shot honestly is great! The way that he manages to score goals, whether it’s a one-timer, or simply a wrister to put the puck on net. To go with all of it, his shot is very accurate. There were sometimes where he was being heavily guarded, or really far out from the net and I thought, “there’s no way that he can score!” But soon enough I learned that's not the case when you're playing a player like Bordeleau. And just to throw one other thing in there the 132 shots on goal wasn’t all trash shots. He has a very good shot selection, sort of like Cole Caufield, (someone who I use a lot in my comparisons :) where sometimes he can shoot from really far out, like the blue line, or top of the circle and still at least get a very good shot on net. What I’m trying to really explain is that he’s a player that is conservative. He’s got a good shot that you can trust in, so when he does shoot from far out you really can’t complain. That’s really why I like Thomas Bordeleau. He always knows what to do, and his hit really adds to the mad skills that he has.
Defensive mindset - 2A
Bordeleau is actually very, very reliable in the defensive end. Some people probably think that since he’s so small he’s really limited to what he can do, but Bordeleau really doesn’t let that stop him.
Bordeleau plays with a lot of determination in his own end of the ice. He works hard in corners for pucks, and is never afraid to get his hands dirty in puck battles, and in front of the net. He never gives up on a play, and for a smaller player that is something you rarely ever see. He plays a very smart, and good positional game away from the puck, and guards his man very well. He rarely ever puck watches as well. He anticipates play pretty well, picking off bad passes, and “correcting” defenders while sending lazy passes, and not skating. He’s a quick thinker and when he sees an opening he knows just the right time to jump ahead of the play to try and get a long breakout pass. He does this very consistently, while also not being a cherry picker and doing the exact opposite of what I just said. Despite the fact that he is a couple inches undersized and that sometimes he can be a little overwhelmed when going up against bigger players, like I said he’s very consistent, and always does what he can to help out in the defensive zone. In time, if he gets a couple inches taller, since he still is pretty young, he’s already very strong for someone his size, and he really builds off of his game I see him becoming a very reliable two way center with great skill.
Overall - 2B
Overall Bordeleau is a great player. He has silky smooth mits, a heck of a shot, and has good skating, and if he improves I think he’ll be borderline unstoppable! He is dynamic, and has the dual threat sense where he can be a very good goal scorer, or playmaker whichever his team needs most.
Player Comparison: Patrick Kane
Kane, and Bordeleau are both two dynamic playmaking forwards that have great stickhandling although the edge maybe goes to Kane, three shots are nearly identical, and they operate in very similar ways. To go with this there are both very smart players as well.
Dynamic center
Other reports: Draft dynasty, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0YBvsR-KURc