It's no secret that the Capitals have followed the Blackhawks and Penguins blueprint, building a core of young players through the draft under franchise forward, Alexander Ovechkin. It's also no secret that they have been unable to duplicate their success from the regular season into the playoffs. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Cody Eakin highlight a dwindling prospect group that has been mostly thrust into the spotlight for the Capitals franchise. It's not a bad thing, either; means they've done some good with some of their young up-and-comers.
"With the twenty-sixth pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, Washington selects from the Oshawa Generals - Boone Jenner."
No amounts of words can fully describe Jenner as a person and a player. The work ethic of the Dorchester native has had people watching for a while now. The type of player that teams win with, George McPhee (or any other General Manager) invests in his character paying off for a winning team in the future.
Jenner's biggest flaw is his skating. While his feet never stop moving, Jenner's strides look lumbered and heavy. He has no real break away speed, but that has never really stopped him. While the mechanics of his stride are lacking, he has shown significant progress since his rookie season in the OHL, and should continue to do so over the next few years. With his engine always on 'go', and the character he shows for improvement, I would bet on Jenner managing to make it work.
Offensively, Boone is a hound. He has quick hands in tight, and manages to finish on plays around the net. He has a tendency to overshoot, but that's something that can be worked out with coaching. When teams look for net presence, this is a guy to look to. Whenever in the offensive zone, Jenner is the first one in front of the goalie, and he'll plant his body there and stay. A 6'2, 196 lbs, he has the body to do so.
When Jenner excels is in the other two zones, where he shows a willingness and intelligence level to be a strong two-way center. His faceoff prowess is a strong part of his game, as is his willingness to engage physically. He never quits on a puck, and stays with his man until the job is done.
Jenner draws favorable comparisons to current Canuck,
Ryan Kesler. While Jenner may not show elite offensive instincts, he has shown a strong two-way game, as well as intelligence and hard work offensively. He may top out as a second line forward, or even fall back as a bottom six player, but he'll be an NHL player one day; the kind you win with. I don't expect to see him fall out of the first round.
If his skating issues weren't there, we'd be talking about Jenner being a Top Ten pick come June.
Taken Previously...
1. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
2. Gabriel Landeskog
3. Jonathan Huberdeau
4. Dougie Hamilton
5. Adam Larsson
6. Sean Couturier
7. Ryan Strome
8. Ryan Murphy
9. Duncan Siemens
10. Mark McNeill
11. Nathan Beaulieu
12. Jamie Oleksiak
13. Mika Zibanejad
14. Joel Armia
15. Mark Scheifele
16. Matt Puempel
17. Brandon Saad
18. Sven Bartschi
19. Joe Morrow
20. Zack Phillips
21. Tyler Biggs
22. Niklas Jensen
23. Ty Rattie
24. Jonas Brodin
25. J.T. Miller
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