By Patrick King SPORTSNET.CA Hidden behind a calm and quiet demeanor, Stefan Elliott embodies the talent and upside that will make him a hot commodity in next summer's National Hockey League draft.
The sophomore defenceman for the Saskatoon Blades has received a lot of praise for his steady and consistent play since joining the team last season and is one of the main reasons for the turnaround in Saskatoon. As head coach and general manager Lorne Molleken explained, his star prefers to lead by example.
"He's a quiet person," Molleken said. "He's very dedicated to the game and to his studies and he, to me, leads by example in all areas. He's not really a ra-ra type of guy but just watching him interacting with his teammates, he fits in quite nicely."
Elliott has done more than simply fit in on the ice, however. The 17-year-old North Vancouver, B.C. product is being touted as a first round pick in the NHL draft due to his elite on-ice vision and heady two-way play.
Heading into the weekend, Elliott is among the top 10 defencemen in Western Hockey League scoring with eight goals and seven assists for 15 points in 19 games.
"He's very smart and he makes great decisions with the puck all the time and I think that's his greatest strength," teammate Jyri Niemi said.
On the surface, Elliott appears to be a solid offensive defenceman. But as Molleken sees it, what makes Elliott such a special player isn't just his offence but his underrated defensive play.
"Certainly he's one of the most offensive-minded defencemen in our league and a lot of people tend to look solely at that but he's probably the best one-on-one guy that I've seen in our league," Molleken said. "He's a real solid all-around player that has lots of offensive upside."
Molleken should know. It was Elliott's upside two years ago that Molleken sought when he parted with veteran and Blades fan-favourite Devin Setoguchi. Mired in a rebuilding year, Molleken parted with his biggest asset early in the season by trading Setoguchi to the Prince George Cougars for Elliott and a first round pick in last summer's bantam draft.
In Setoguchi, the Cougars got a player who helped lead them to the Western Conference final before losing to the eventual Memorial Cup champion Vancouver Giants. The Blades, meanwhile, have a player they've built their team around along with another top prospect.
"Our scouts liked (Elliott) an awful lot," said Molleken, whose scouts could only watch as Prince George selected Elliott 12th overall in the 2006 WHL bantam draft, three spots ahead of their first pick.
Elliott then became one of the brightest stories in an otherwise dismal rebuilding season a year ago. In spite of the team's lack of production, Elliott was given plenty of ice time which he admits helped him grow as a player.
"(Molleken) put me out in every situation and believed in me and it really gave me the confidence that I could do it and it really helped me grow," Elliott said. "Now I'm confident and hoping to improve on that this year."
Among his goals of helping his team make and succeed in the playoffs were a few personal goals. After finishing his first season with 40 points and a minus-18 rating, Elliott said he'd like to reach 50 points and improve his plus-minus.
Although he's viewed as a first round pick, Elliott has paid little attention to the draft so far. In fact, Elliott has yet to decide on an agent which can be surprising for a player with his level of talent.
Two years ago, Patrick Kane surprised the hockey world when he declared he would go into the 2007 NHL Entry Draft without an agent. Kane went first overall to Chicago, signing on with an agency shortly after the draft.
"No, I won't take it that far," Elliott said when asked if he might follow in Kane's footsteps by going into the draft without representation.
Elliott can hardly be blamed for taking his time in making his decision with regards to representation. In addition to being one of the more successful academic players on his team, Molleken said Elliott's intelligence comes into play when defending against opposing forwards.
"He's not an overly physical player but he puts players in bad situations where they're forced to do something they don't want to do with the puck," he said. "One of the biggest things in my mind that's very noticeable is the way he uses his stick and that's one of the things that as a defenceman in the National Hockey League level is real, real important."
While Molleken was wary of comparing his stud defenceman to any present or former players, he was quick to praise Elliott's play in turning around the franchise.
"He's created his own identity and he's been a huge part of the turnaround that we've had this year so full marks to him," he said.
And beneath the calm and quiet demeanor could very well lay a future franchise player. |
