vees:blog

SEASON RECAP

Isaac spent his 16-year-old season playing in his hometown as a member of the 'Jr. B' KIJHL Champion Nelson Leafs, and made three cameo appearances with the Vees as an affiliated player where he recorded a single assist. It was clear the Vees were very interested in the younger brother Alex MacLeod - who played four years for the Vees and is now heading into his Junior season at Michigan Tech. Isaac routinely made visits to watch his brother play in Trail whenever the Vees played there and despite being over four years younger, he was always looking down at his 200+ lbs brother. A prospect indeed.

To start this season Isaac found himself a part of a young but deep D-core in Penticton that had veteran defenders Matt Paltridge and Derik Johnson, fellow rookies Joey LaLeggia, Byron Sorensen and Luke Curadi, and training camp surprise Bo Dolan who suited up in the USHL before arriving in Penticton.

Early on, the top pairing (Paltridge & Johnson) played against other teams top lines a ton, Curadi and LaLeggia were paired up regularly as they cut their teeth in the BCHL, and Dolan, MacLeod and Sorensen were mixed and matched regularly depending on line-ups and scratches. The team had seven very good defenders.

While Isaac moves the puck well and skates extremely well for a 6'5 defender, he had a tough time earning power play time for the Vees due to the wealth of talent on the points. LaLeggia and Alex Szczechura (a forward) were fixtures on the top unit that operated brilliantly nearly all season. On the second unit Dolan & Paltridge manned the points and did well ringing up goals and assists. When Isaac was there he was good, but not great.

A November injury to Bo Dolan in November got Isaac on the ice more in the second half of the season where Isaac got more time at even strength and on special teams. Throughout the year Issac seemed to get more and more comfortable in the BCHL - rushing the puck more often, getting more pucks to the net, and more shoulders into opponents. Not a flick of the switch, but a steady constant improvement.

When the playoffs rolled around an injury to Vees top defender Matt Paltridge forced Issac into big minutes, and he responded by playing his best hockey and most physical hockey of the season against the Vernon Vipers, who happened to be the national champs this year.

THREE SCOUTS, THREE QUOTES

I spoke with 3 different NHL Scouts for an anonymous assessment of Isaac and his prospect of being drafted.

"Size is the key thing. He's raw. A project type player. He's going to BC (Boston College), so he has four years to develop more as a hockey player"

"He has the ability for a lot of improvement. He's a big guy that improved throughout the year and displaying increasing physicality in the defensive zone and he's still just growing into his body."

"Isaac has the size, he's going to a good school, and a great program. He's going to be a big strong puck moving defenseman"

RANKINGS

NHL Central Scouting Midterm Ranking: 133rd among North American Skaters

NHL Central Scouting Final Ranking: 133rd among North American Skaters (no change)

DRAFT EXPECTATIONS

Isaac's ceiling remains a bit of an unknown. He will probably be 20 pounds heavier as a pro, will see his shot improve, and will likely play a full four years at one of the top NCAA hockey programs - Boston College. 'Project' is the term one of the scouts used, and I would agree; not because Isaac won't be a great player, but because it will take time and patience and might not pay dividends for 4-6 years for an NHL team should they select him.

That said, Isaac likely has a better chance of being drafted because he is going the NCAA route. Rather than an NHL team having to make a decision on Isaac (sign him to a professional contract) in two years, the team gets a full four years (should Isaac play four years of college) to see what kind of player he'll turn out to be and then make that decision.