The Kings use the first of their two seventh-round picks on Chaz Reddekopp from Victoria.
Here’s what they’re saying about the 6’3″ defender, who rocketed from 199th to 82nd in the final rankings for North American skaters.
Cody Nickolet (there’s way more at link):
Chaz Reddekopp is big and well-rounded blueliner for the Victoria Royals…owns a sturdy mechanical skating stride…not the fastest in his front skating but possesses a good amount of power and decent acceleration…really bends his legs and drives hard when getting up to his full speed…backwards mobility is also rather strong, allowing him to keep good gaps…footwork could be cleaned up in tight spaces both in the offensive and defensive zones… isn’t a dynamic puck mover but gets the job done…handles it quite well for a player in a defensive mold and of his size…executes simple and basic outlets with ease but isn’t a guy that will do anything dynamic offensively and won’t create his own offence…has an adequate slapshot that has power…wrist shot is hard…accuracy in his shooting game could use more work, as could his footwork to get into a shooting position…a reliable defensive player…gap work is usually fairly tight and seems to understand hip and shoulder angles in his 1 on 1 defence…a very capable shot blocker…clears the crease, anchors his body position well in battles…is an eliminator along the walls…throws big hits and hits with a high amount of frequency…could stand to be a bit more disciplined in his defensive play overall, picking his spots a bit better when it comes to lunging hits or reaches for pucks in 1 on 1’s…long reach, physicality and mobility make him a very intriguing package of a player…hockey sense seems passable overall, reads the play well and doesn’t seem to get flustered much in his own zone…
BSN Denver:
The top WHL defenders of this draft have been more or less agreed upon (Ivan Provorov, Brandon Carlo, Noah Juulsen, Ryan Pilon) but some aspects of Reddekopp’s game can almost match those guys, at least in the defensive zone. Reddekopp is a solid, mature defender who rarely makes flashy plays because he doesn’t have to.
Reddekopp also did quite well at the Combine, scoring high on the Wingate Test and Aerobic Fitness.
