When one things of a draft eligible defenseman in Brandon, the natural trigger is Ryan Pulock, expected to be a top-5 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft.
Eric Roy is certainly hoping two Wheat Kings can be in the conversation. It could be very likely, and Roy’s emergence shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Roy, set to enter his third season of WHL action despite being just 17, finished 10th among WHL blueliners last year with an impressive 11 goals and 53 points in 69 contests. When a defensemen puts up big offensive numbers, it’s usually assumed that he’s a smaller, speedier type player. However that couldn’t be further from the truth. Roy stands at an intimidating six-foot-three yet skates very well for a big man. That, combined with a hard shot makes him a force to be reckoned with in the offensive zone.
But contributing in scoring situations isn’t the only thing he’s effective at, according to Future Considerations scout Zenon Herasymiuk.
“He’s is a big rangy defenseman that can pitch in at both ends of the ice,” Herasmyiuk said of the Beauval, Saskatchewan product. “None of his skills will really stick out but he finds a way onto the scoresheet and has done very well in his own zone. His mix of size and mobility is his biggest asset.”
That size and mobility helps in his own end. His presence in the defensive zone is felt through blocking shots and moving players from the front of the net.
But it’s his strong, two-way play that has placed him 22nd in Future Considerations’ preliminary ranking for the 2013 NHL Draft.
And as the 2012-13 season quickly approaches, Roy is poised better than ever to take a giant leap forward and steal the spotlight for himself.