NHL teams not long ago favored big, strong forwards and towering, punishing defensemen.
They still like those players, but clubs nowadays also value the smaller, skilled type who play with pace, see the ice well and move the puck.
Those are among Cole Perfetti’s best qualities, which is why the 5-10, 177-pound high-scoring center-left wing from the OHL Saginaw Spirit will be selected high Tuesday during the first round of the NHL draft.
He could go as high as No. 4 to the Detroit Red Wings.
NHL Central Scouting lauded Perfetti’s puck skills, vision and execution as being on another level, saying he has “incredible hockey IQ and feel for the game” and is a major threat every time he is on the ice.
“You have to be a quicker player. You have to think the game at a very high level and that suits me very well,” Perfetti said. “It’s good to see that hockey is going that way. Skill is at its highest.”
The Red Wings have ties to the Spirit. Current senior vice president Jimmy Devellano and former goaltender Chris Osgood joined Saginaw’s ownership group in 2016.
But that does not mean the Red Wings will lean toward taking a Spirit player with a selection that is so vital to their rebuild.
Perfetti said he had a couple of virtual meetings with the Red Wings but did not interact much with general manager Steve Yzerman, communicating mainly with amateur scouting director Kris Draper.
“(Yzerman) has been on the calls but for the most part he’s had his camera off and has been very quiet, just kind of listening,” Perfetti said. “He didn’t really ask too much. It was mainly Kris Draper who was running the calls and he was leading it and asking most of the questions. Yzerman wasn’t saying too much, he was kind of just sitting back with his screen off and I think taking notes and listening to what I had to say.”
Perfetti has participated in roughly 50 Zoom calls with about 20 teams.
“With Yzerman, I didn’t know what to expect going into it,” Perfetti said. “I just tried to be myself, show my personality, who I was, and hopefully he enjoyed that and got a lot out of that and I made a good impression.”
Perfetti likes playing a fast-paced, puck-possession style, like they do in Saginaw under coach Chris Lazary. Perfetti produced 37 goals and 74 assists in 61 games.
“He coaches a pro style and he’s playing the new style of hockey,” Perfetti said. “A lot of coaches are stuck in their olden ways, kind of chip pucks in and crash and bang, play hard, and you have to play within this structure to a T. Whereas with Chris, as long as you’re within this structure, he gives you leeway to make plays, be your own player and have a brain. Be creative and have fun.
“I think that’s really allowed me to flourish. I think if I was under a head coach where I had to dump the puck in every time I got over the red line and get on the forecheck, it would be frustrating and I wouldn’t be able to express how I really am as a player. We play fast and off the rush and as long as we’re within the system, filling in for one another and making sure we’re in good spots, we’re allowed to be creative.”
Perfetti played mostly wing his rookie season and split this past season between wing and center, his preferred position.
“I feel like I make more of an impact through the middle of the ice and I’m able to impact the game in greater ways as a centerman,” Perfetti said. “Being able to play both is going to be very beneficial when making the jump next year or the year after. I think it’s going to help me to get into the lineup and play key minutes and make an impact.”
Perfetti described himself as a “hockey nerd,” watching as much of the sport as he could since he was a child.
“Ever since I was young, I was always the kid that would go on YouTube on my dad’s computer and look up hockey highlights — best goals, shootout goals,” Perfetti said….
Read More: Saginaw Spirit’s Cole Perfetti brings skills Red Wings, NHL clubs covet