EJ Emery, RD/USDP
And finally, we got EJ Emery, whose 6’3 frame also stands out, and at 185 lbs, he’s closer to filling out his frame than many prospects who could go in the middle of the first round or even the early second round of the draft. Much like Charlie Elick, Emery isn’t a dynamic points producer, and when his efforts are displayed on the stat sheet, they are almost always in the form of assists.
This past season, Emery scored zero goals across his time in the NTPD (58 games) and the USHL (27 games), and 20 assists. But with such little production in the offensive zone, it’s nothing more than a development opportunity for a player who’s got his defensive game trending in the right direction.
But finding open teammates and letting them go to work in the offensive zone while on the ice could be Emery’s niche. A catalyst for big plays, in other words, and Stefano Rubino of The Hockey Writers provides a phenomenal account of what he does well in the neutral and offensive zones. Overall, it means that players like Emery don’t need to light up the basic stat sheet to show that he’s effective in the offensive zone.
In a way, he reminds me of Ryan Johnson, who has split time between the Buffalo Sabres and Rochester Americans. Johnson never put up the points in college, and that trend has continued to this day, but he creates, and Emery may end up as the same type of player.
(Statistics provided by Elite Prospects as of May 1st)