Excerpt from Illegal Curve (posted by kanadienkyle)
Prospect Pulse: Brandon Burlon
Following up on yesterday’s PP featuring Joe Colborne, today’s Prospect Pulse examines another potential Junior A first rounder, Brandon Burlon. Burlon, who skates for the St. Mike’s Buzzers in the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League (Andrew Cogliano’s former squad) is a mobile defender blessed with excellent strength.A prototypical 2-way defenseman built for the “new” NHL, Burlon is a fluid skater who excels positionally and thinks the game like a veteran. He is rarely caught out of position, nor does he make many mistakes with or without the puck. Like many great players, he seems to have great vision on the ice and be able to anticipate the action.A good blend of size and mobility, the 6’0, 190 Burlon can play a physical game when called upon and is nasty in front of the net. He excels in breaking up the rush and is lethal in transition, where he can use his quick step to put defenders on their heels.Scouts and officials who saw him play at the World Jr. A Challenge felt that he was dominant all week and outperformed many more highly touted European rear-guards. Rated 26th overall by the Red Line Report, Burlon has verbally committed to the University of Michigan.
nhlentrydraft2008.com:
NHL Central Scouting’s Chris Edwards:
“He’s not an overly big defenseman, but he has really good mobility and a good shot from the point. He jumps up into the rush well, but needs to improve on his defensive reliability. He played in a really small rink this year and was still able to move the puck quickly and well. Puck-skill wise, he’s good, and as he moves up, his decision-making will improve.”
St. Michaels head coach and GM Richard Ricci:
“Brandon is a highly mobile defenseman with deceptive speed. His strengths include a pro shot and the ability to get it off quickly, especially one-timers. He has good vision on the ice and plays a controlled and composed game. Areas of improvement and growth include his physical play and decision-making of when to join the rush. He battles hard, is a fierce competitor and is extremely good at running a power-play.”