Week 3 Prospect Report: Jarrod Maidens

I am back again for another week with, yet another, prospect report. This week, here at In The O, we are going to take a look at the play of Jarrod Maidens. The second year Owen Sound Attack stand out first made a real name for himself at the 2011 Mastercard Memorial Cup. This is what makes him special and a little of what he needs to work on:

NHL Draft Prospect: Jarrod Maidens—Owen Sound Attack

The Line:
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 178 lbs
Shoots: Left
Position: Center
Draft Eligible: 2012

A big body, who plays even bigger -- is Jarrod Maidens’ game in as simple terms as I can muster. The Ridgeway, Ontario native plays a mean, power forward style of game that agitates his opponents and puts points up on the scoreboard.

Maidens likes to go to the net with authority and many of his goals are scored in close, banging away at loose pucks. But don’t be fooled by this; he has NHL-level stick skills that let him make nifty moves in close, along the boards and at speed through the neutral zone. Even though his style of play would dictate that maybe his skating is not up to par, this is not the case. Maidens does not struggle getting up and down the ice and can oftentimes be the first man back on the back-check after being the first man in on the fore-check.

There are a few facets of the game that he needs to focus on improving. When defending in a one on one situation he tends to over-commit on plays and can be burned. He also needs to work on his first three steps when accelerating. His travel speed is good, but like a big machine it takes some time for him to get wound up. If he can find some explosiveness in his first three steps he could really excel at the next level.

Maidens, has a large upside and has the potential to be drafted in the first round in this coming NHL entry draft.

NHL Player Comparison: Derrick Brassard