Colorado Avalanche Draft Profile: Offense-Minded Jacob Perreault

The Colorado Avalanche have the #27 selection. Will they spend it on the offense-minded Jacob Perreault?

The Colorado Avalanche are not participating in the draft lottery that takes place in a couple days, and boy am I grateful. As a Cup-contending team that made the playoffs outright, they’ll be choosing in the low 20s in the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft.

That’s a tough position to try and select a player. He’s still first round, so you expect him to make the NHL at some point. However, you see gaps in players’ games at that level. Guys can go late first or early second, and it’s actually a pretty big distinction between that handful of slots.

Of course, the understanding is that a team picking in the low 20s doesn’t need a player to help the team right away. They can afford to send him back to his major juniors or to college to get a little more seasoned.

That’s certainly the case with the Colorado Avalanche. They’re a deep team. Nonetheless, they want a passable player with their #27 selection.

Is center Jacob Perreault that player? The 5-foot-11, 198-pound center is ranked #17 by Central Scouting for North American skaters. He’s expected to go between #16 to #28 in the draft. The latter half of that is in the Avalanche’s range.

So, let’s have a look at this prospect.

Jacob Perreault Stats

Jacob Perreault has been playing for the Sarnia Sting for the last two seasons. They weren’t very good this season, though they made the playoffs the previous season.

Perreault had good stats both season. In his rookie year, he played 63 games. In that time, he recorded 30 goals and 25 assists for 55 points.

He did even better this season. In 57 games, he recorded an impressive 39 goals and 31 assists for 70 points. This is clearly a player who can score.

Jacob Perreault Highlights

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The young center, who happens to be the son of longtime NHLer Yanic Perreault, gets mixed reviews. Scouts see both good and bad in his play. However, they all agree he plays good offense, and that’s certainly supported by Perreault’s stats.

Bill Placzek of DraftSite appreciates his “strong offensive tendencies,” adding, “[he] seems to smell blood in many of his chances.”

Placzek isn’t a fan of his skating, calling it a concern. Indeed, he talks about how great his dangles and dynamic moves are, but adds they might not mask his skating deficiencies.

Ben Kerr of Last Word on Hockey doesn’t see a problem with Perreault at all, calling him “one of the best skates at the CHL Top Prospects Game.” Apparently he won some awards in the skills competition for his skating.

Like Placzek, Kerr sees a lot to link in Perreault’s offensive game:

"“Perreault is a dangerous offensive player. Perreault combines his slick hands with his excellent skating ability. This makes him extremely dangerous in one-on-one situations.”"

Kerr also praises his hands and his wrist shot. However, the deficiencies he sees in Perreault comes down to his defense. Kerr calls it a work in profress.

Well, we’d better see for ourselves.

He does seem to have a variety of shots. Hard to judge his defense and skating in such short clips.

Jacob Perreault and the Colorado Avalanche

Whether the Colorado Avalanche take a chance on Jacob Perreault, if he’s still available at #27, depends on his skating and defense. Both are important to the team. They won’t want a first-rounder who’s poor on his skates. And they value the 200-foot game.

I think Perreault would be a bigger benefit to a team that values size and scoring. Maybe he’ll win some footraces, maybe he’ll win some defensive battles, but it looks like he’s going to win on some goalies.

All that is in the future anyway. He’s expected to spend the next year or two at least in the major juniors.

light. Related Story. Johnson Wins Best Hockey Smile

The Colorado Avalanche will get a work in progress with the #27 selection. I don’t know if it will be Jacob Perreault, though.

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