Here we’ve put together a collection of scouting reports and highlights of newly drafted forward, Ryan McLeod. The Edmonton Oilers selected McLeod with the 40th overall pick in the second round despite being higher on many lists and rankings. In McLeod, the Oilers have another offensive centre on their depth chart and a second straight player that ended up slipping right into their hands the draft.
BIO:
Born: September 1st, 1999 — City: Oakville, Ontario
Height: 6 feet 2 inches — Weight: 200 lbs [188 cm/91 kg]
SCOUTING REPORTS
Dustin Nielson in his Post-Draft Report Card:
Once again the Oilers had a player who was expected by many to go higher fall into their laps. Most drafting rankings and insiders expected McLeod to be a late first rounder.
He’s projected as a third line center/winger with the possibility of playing a bit higher in the line up at times. A versatile forward with size who skates the like the wind fits perfectly with where the Oilers are headed. His favourite player and namesake is Ryan Smyth so he should get bonus points.
Overall Grade of Oilers Selection B+
From the ISS:
“High end skater and shows ability to accelerate through the neutral zone. Hands are good with ability to release shot in stride. Backcheck and forecheck effort inconsistent. Projects as a third line checking winger at NHL level.”
From CanucksArmy’s prospect profiles:
McLeod is a fantastic skater that sees him skate low in his stance with strong and long strides that allow him to generate speed quickly though his powerful legs. He has soft hands with the puck when in stride and in a standstill, with the ability to thread passes extremely well. He combines all that with great vision and anticipation to find gaps in his opponent’s coverage.
His has a great snapshot that can beat the goalie clean or that he uses to create rebounds. Since he has such a high-level hockey IQ, he constantly has his head up and is intentionally making those plays. It’s not simply a ‘throw the puck’ at the net and hope for the best, you can see that he recognizes what to do and does it.
The Steelheads forward is a skilled player that is a constant threat with the puck because he can create in a variety of ways.
“One of the most fascinating players in this draft class. At this point, the parts are greater than the sum. If and when it all comes together, you have a player who should impact the game at the next level.”
A natural center, McLeod is already strong on draws and distributes the puck efficiently to his team mates. His skating isn’t as fast as his brothers, but is still a strength to his game as he has good acceleration, strong edge work and agility and is very strong on his skates. McLeod is more of a playmaker as he has excellent vision, puck skills and is more adept at setting teammates up than finishing, but he does have a good, quick and accurate wrist shot. McLeod is already strong on draws and has good size, but could be a little more aggressive. He plays a responsible two-way game and has no glaring holes to his game.
With continued development, McLeod could become a two-way middle-six centre in the NHL. The question here is the upside. It is doubtful that he has enough offensive tools to centre a top line. However, he could fit in nicely on a second line, providing secondary offence and matching the other team’s top line. As a late birthdate player, expect him to spend one more year in junior and then move on to the NHL In terms of style, his game is reminiscent of Ryan Kesler, but without the great shot.
The younger brother and teammate of Devils’ prospect center Michael McLeod plays a similar up-tempo game based on speed and power. Ryan consistently provides offense, but he’s also a responsible player who knows how to use his size and strength to win most of his puck battles. Because of his size, skill and speed, McLeod probably is one of the biggest “upside” picks in a draft thin at center. He’s often overlooked because he didn’t play at any international events or prospect showcases outside of the one-game Top Prospects Game exhibition. He’s a very good playmaker reliable finishing around the net, and he’s a strong, powerful skater with a blistering shot who can play either center or wing. McLeod distinguished himself as a lethal option who could shoulder big minutes after Michael and sniping winger Owen Tippett left for NHL training camp. He may not possess his sibling’s blinding speed, but he is agile and difficult to knock off balance. McLeod’s time as a depth player revealed a prospect with pro-quality puck skills who can be deployed to address any in-game concerns his coach may have.
PRE-DRAFT RANKINGS
VIDEO AND HIGHLIGHTS
Post Draft Interview:
Ryan McLeod highlight pack from 2017-18:
A second highlight pack:
JUNIOR STATS
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | TP | PIM | +/- | PGP | G | A | TP | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | Toronto Marlboros Bantam AAA | GTBHL | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||
| Toronto Marlboros Mn Mdgt AAA | GTMMHL | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||
| 2014-15 | Toronto Marlboros Mn Mdgt AAA “A” | GTMMHL | 74 | 30 | 51 | 81 | 46 | |||||||
| Oakville Blades | OJHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2015-16 | Mississauga Steelheads | OHL | 62 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 16 | -6 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Canada White U17 | WHC-17 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||
| 2016-17 | Mississauga Steelheads | OHL | 68 | 9 | 33 | 42 | 36 | 12 | 20 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 2 | 13 |
| 2017-18 | Mississauga Steelheads “A” | OHL | 68 | 26 | 44 | 70 | 26 | -2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | -4 |
TOURNAMENT STATS
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | TP | PIM | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | Team Ontario | CWG | 6 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 4 | |
| Toronto Marlboros Mn Mdgt AAA “A” | OHL Cup | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Team GTHL Blue | OGC-16 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2013-14 | Toronto Marlboros Mn Mdgt AAA | OHL Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015-16 | Team Gold | U17-Dev | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2016-17 | Canada U18 | Hlinka Memorial | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
Previously:
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Would it be safe to say that teams ahead took players with more potential upside even tho it’s more probable Mcleod has a better chance of a nhl career?
This draft is deep. Great pick.
When looking at players drafted after Mcleod, Bode Wilde is the only one that kinda stands out for me. So I like the pick, but probably would’ve taken the right shot defender myself
why? we literally now have 4 legit right side d prospects.
Why? Not all prospects pan out, and the return in trade for a righty d-man is max value. Just ask the Devils.
As far as bode being a rhd thats great for him , I think we’ve got our man in the rhd we got and we have other rds in the system comming up . we did have to find another good fw prospect we might have that too in macloud.
Fair enough, I’m not complaining. I just think rhd have an inflated value due to the scarcity of them is all. I think McLeod has an nhl future, and I’m happy he’s an Oiler
Yeah, I think I hear what you’re saying. It seems like projected 3rd line centres could be found easier than a right-shot defender. I did hear that a few people had issues with Wilde, which is why he fell so far down in the draft. Maybe that’s why the Oilers didn’t go for him?
and other teams passed on Wilde too likely because of his off ice problems. we weren’t the only ones!
I like the pick. If he can be a middle six guy that is perfect. It’s nice to have the flexibility of a guy who can play C or Wing, A guy like JJ on the team right now, is great. If he can help provide a little bit of offence that’s even better
Ya i hear you on the inflated value thing .
Highlights make him look like quite the steal. Hope he gets time to develop and turn into a solid player for the Oilers.
Seems like a Colgiano type player. How could you argue with that?
Maybe not the right spot to ask, but I keep wondering about the right-shot defenceman that the Oilers drafted a while ago: Vincent Desharnais.
Im projecting evan bouchard as a justin falk on steroids. in 2 to 3 yrs .
I’m reserving all judgment on Bouchard. I refuse to get excited. I was excited about Gagner, Paajarvi, Yakupov, Puljujarvi, etc… hoping for the best, expecting the worse.
I think Faulk is reasonable
Impressive highlights package. Anyone else see the resemblance to RNH in his posture? He’s god some pretty slick hands, and a sneaky quick wrist shot.
This is what Chia is good at…
Did you see the picture of Chia? He looks like me. Garrison from South Park.
This guy was Soo happy to be an Oiler. That’s the way it should be. Bouchard will love playing with 97. They will feed off each other. We need another Ryan Smyth. Very excited to see how McLeod does. Center or wing is ideal
He sounds like a terrific kid – love his attitude.
I’m guessing that Don Cherry will call him ‘a good Kingston boy err what ahh Mississauga over dem dere ahh ya know?’
Good pick at forward for the second round. I hear he is legit on face offs.
Great skater!
Not a great skater.
Scouts and context. Lets stretch a small sample size into a narrative that people can use, even though in many cases we spend more time on building the narrative than actually watching the player.
I am always amused that these “expert opinions” never indicate where or when the scout actually saw the player or how many times. Its a clown show that we are to believe is a bunch of insider knowledge based on research.
Its not.
At all.
No wonder teams hire their own guys.
amen brother
I never seen him play but I like the sounds of his skill set. Speed, size and hockey IQ. If he can be a solid 3rd centre in a few years…that’s a big win.