NHL Draft War Room: Conner Bleackley

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Conner Bleackley

Conner Bleackley
Conner Bleackley (Photo: Brad Watson)

 

THW’s NHL Draft War Room Rankings (E-Mac): #27 (Feb 2014)

THW’s NHL Draft Rankings – The Next Ones Edition (aka Chris’s List): #14 (March 2014)

  • Hashtag: #TheRightStuff
  • Nickname: Bleaks
  • Team: #9, Red Deer, WHL
  • Position: Centre
  • Shoots: Right
  • Height: 6’1
  • Weight: 195 lb.
  • Born: High River, AB, 7-Feb-96
  • Twitter A/C: @Bleacks9

Stats

Other Rankings

13 – Future Considerations, Feb-14

16 – ISS, Feb-14

18 – HockeyProspect.com, Feb-14

21 – Craig Button, Jan-14

28 – Bob MacKenzie, Jan-14

40 – NHL Combined – Mid-term, Jan-14

Worth Retweeting

[For all prospects profiled in the THW NHL Draft War Room series:

2014 NHL Draft War Room: Prospect Profile Index]

Profiles

Quotable

  • FC Hockey’s Head Western Scout Zenon Heramsymiuk really likes what Bleackley brings to a team:

“Conner is a determined, competitive player who doesn’t take any shortcuts. He’s smart, gets to the right areas and is a catalyst for positive plays all over the ice. He doesn’t allow himself to be denied!”

From the THW War Room

  • Eldon MacDonald, THW: A few words on Conner Bleackley:
    • The Right Stuff –  OK, you are 17 years old and the Team Canada U20 Coach, Brent Sutter, makes you captain of his club team, the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL. You must have the right stuff: leadership, maturity, competitiveness, completeness and enough on-ice ability to lead by example. There you have Connor Bleackley.
    • 200 Foot Player – Connor is an all around forward in the making who plays effectively and efficiently in all three zones. He could use a little more weight and a little more physicality but good things come to those who work on them. He has a top notch wrister with a quick release, drives to the net and competes hard on the forecheck.
    • Draft placement – All over the map, from 13 to 40. Those that have him in the teens must be expecting even more offensive production from him than he has shown to date.

Editor’s Notes

  • Bleackley may just be the Bo Horvat or Curtis Lazar of this year’s draft – not necessarily replicating those prospects in terms of styles of play, but the fact that all three of these should be branded with “Can’t Miss”. They have NHL pros written all over them. Conner is already a solid two-way player with still room to grow from an offensive output standpoint.

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRBhbCARSy8

About NHL Draft War Room Series

This series is compiled by Eldon MacDonald and edited by @ChrisRalphTHW)