Analyzing Strome’s Primary Points in 2016–2017
The ability to skate and to drive to the net are two of the more important traits most National Hockey League forwards need to be successful. Although Hamilton Bulldog Matthew Strome illustrated his capability to find his way to the net during his draft year, the Ontario Hockey League forward saw his draft stock fall due to concerns over his skating. With the presumed conclusion that they solved this issue with one of their better current prospects, the Philadelphia Flyers and general manager Ron Hextall decided to grab the hulking forward with the 106th overall selection in the fourth round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
Strome seems to strive in every facet of the game except for skating, as detailed by Curtis Joe’s scouting report for Elite Prospects:
“A big, skilled winger that plays a complete and consistent game. Battles hard for puck possession and is relentless on both the power play and penalty kill. Plays a hard-nosed game and uses his size to establish his presence around the net. Has good hands, an accurate shot, and zero compromise hockey sense. His skating and overall balance off the rush and in-transition is a work in progress that is continuing to get better by the day. That being said, his vision is excellent and his offensive talent is apparent; he is able to play at a fast pace. Being able to keep up is a big part of that, and, moving forward, he has the potential to develop into a strong two-way winger that is hard to play against and can be relied on in all situations.”
The concern over Strome’s skating is a fair one, but there is plenty of skill from the player who notched 34 goals and 28 assists in 62 OHL regular season games last season to overcome that weakness. Two sources of hope for Strome are his siblings, who should both be in the NHL this upcoming season. Ryan was taken fifth overall by the New York Islanders in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and compiled 134 points in 273 regular season and playoff games for the club before being dealt to the Edmonton Oilers this offseason. Dylan was taken third overall in the very top-heavy 2015 NHL Entry Draft and saw seven games for the Arizona Coyotes during the 2016–2017 season. Dylan also had 75 points in 35 regular season games for the Erie Otters and served as captain of Team Canada in the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Under-20 World Junior Championship. Both of Strome’s brothers were regarded as weak skaters when scouted for their drafts and are still considered problematic skaters by many, but they both look to be helping their organizations at the NHL level.
Another source of hope for Strome is Flyers’ prospect Oskar Lindblom. Hextall and company took Lindblom in the fifth round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft after the 6'2" Swedish forward dropped due to skating concerns. Thanks to patience and proper coaching, Lindblom finished with 47 points in 52 games for Brynas IF in the Swedish Hockey League last year to be named Swedish Forward of the Year in one of the best hockey leagues in the world. Lindblom is set to make the Orange and Black’s roster and is anticipated to be a contributor from day one.
With Strome’s skill set bringing intrigue to Flyers’ fans and analysts, let’s look at how the power forward racked up his 35 goals and 20 primary assists during the 2016–2017 OHL season and 2017 OHL postseason.
GOES TO THE NET
As mentioned above, one of Strome’s best assets is his ability to drive to the net and score goals. The Flyers’ prospect finished 11th with 36 high-danger shots and fifth with 13 high-danger goals out of the 498 players in the OHL last season.
Going back and looking at all 35 of his goals from last season and the 2017 playoffs, it looks as though Strome scored 17 of his goals either in the crease or just outside of the blue paint. Since four of his goals were just to the side of the net, these most likely weren’t tracked as high-danger chances because they didn’t fall into the home-plate area. It wasn’t just Strome’s ability to sit in front of the net and grab rebounds, he showcased great hand-eye coordination near the net.
He showed his ability to redirect the puck without being set up in front of the goalie when the shot was taken, like his tally against the Oshawa Generals on January 13th. Strome also had impressive goals where he demonstrated domination down low as seen in his goals against the Sudbury Wolves on October 15th and against the Kingston Frontenacs on February 26th.
Although it didn’t occur often, Strome used his ability to drive to the crease to record assists, as his first point of the 2016–2017 campaign came on a failed dunk that created an extremely easy goal for Matt Luff against the Mississauga Steelheads on September 23rd.
Strome was also able to provide goals away from the net as well, as the forward showed his ability to carry the puck past defensemen in the offensive zone during a Bulldogs’ cycle to set up his above-average shot. This can be seen on his second goal against the Owen Sound Attack on September 28th and his game-winning goal against the Generals on January 6th. The Flyers’ prospect also worked multiple defenders on a rush chance this year, as he converted on a 1-on-2 against the Barrie Colts on November 24th.
POWER PLAY OFFICE
Of Strome’s 10 power-play goals this past season, six of them were scored just to the right of the crease or from the right side of the crease. Again, due to some of his goals coming just wide of the home-plate area, Strome recorded four high-dangers goals and 11 high-danger shots at 5-on-4, which was good enough to finish eighth in the OHL in both categories (Connor Bunnaman, another Flyers’ prospect, finished second in the OHL with seven high-danger goals and finished first with 29 high-danger shots).
Although Strome is a left-handed shot and works on the right side of the crease, his net presence is somewhat reminiscent of Wayne Simmonds, a right-handed shot who provides the same type of play on the left side of the crease on the man advantage. To clarify, that isn’t to say Strome will become the next Simmonds, but there are similarities to the way they wait right next to the net and create once they have the puck down low as prototypical goal-scoring power forwards. If Strome is able to progress in his development over the next few years, the best possible outcome is he becomes a replacement for Simmonds if he were to leave Philadelphia.
FLASHES OF ON-ICE VISION AND HOCKEY SENSE
Although he had many of his goals created for him by teammates, Strome did provide examples of the hockey IQ that Hextall and company most likely saw and liked.
Hamilton’s 5–4 win over the Guelph Storm on October 8th had two assists that depicted these skills, as he quickly completed a no-look backhanded pass to Niki Petti for the goal and a long stretch pass from the defensive zone where he bounced the puck off the boards to Luff for a 2-on-1 rush goal. Strome also won a board battle and threw a pass to Petti in the slot against the Attack on February 8th and feathered a pass to New Jersey Devils’ prospect Marian Studenic on February 18th against the Ottawa 67’s.
LUFF AND WILL BITTEN HELPED
Strome led the Bulldogs with 34 goals and 62 points last season, but the Bulldogs did have six players who finished with 49 points or more. Two of those players were Luff and Will Bitten. Luff is an undrafted 20-year-old who posted 49 points in 45 games and will play for the Ontario Reign in the American Hockey League during the 2017–2018 campaign as a member of the Los Angeles Kings’ organization. Bitten recorded 30 goals in his draft year, which helped him to be selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the third round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Although he saw his goal, assist, and point totals all decrease by a slight amount this past season, Bitten is still a two-way player with a ton of offensive upside who finished second on Hamilton with 57 points.
On top of playing with these two players a lot this past season, Strome also had the help of Petti, Michael Cramarossa, and Brandon Saigeon who made up the other three players with 49 points or more for Hamilton. Petti is a 21-year-old player who served as the team’s alternate captain and signed an AHL contract with Laval Rocket, who will be the new Canadiens’ affiliate. Cramarossa and Saigeon are both overagers in the OHL, as Cramarossa is 21 years old and Saigeon is 19 years old.
Much like Frost, Strome may have had help from his teammates, but they weren’t the only reason the Flyers’ prospect put up points. Hockey sense, his shot, and his ability to crash the net led to his totals.
CONCLUSION
The potential for Strome to have an impact for the Flyers at the NHL level is very clear. If he is able to improve his skating, it seems as though the other pieces will fall into place. His ability to put himself around the crease regardless of the rush or cycle setup paired with the ability at times he has shown for creating opportunities for his teammates leads one to believe he will one day be in the NHL.
