Sophomore Standout Tyler Graovac

Graovac is deft at cycling the puck. He’s strong along the boards, but better than that, he’s willing to use his size to power away from the boards to get the puck into higher percentage shooting areas. He also doesn’t give up on a play. If the first thing he tries doesn’t create a scoring opportunity, he'll try something else. He is also a hard worker, which makes him a useful penalty kill contributor. Scouts watching him in junior mentioned that he needs to improve his skating.While it's not surprising that a player who is 6'4" would lack maneuverability, he does seem to have decent speed.

Graovac (wearing number 4) helps create this goal by getting separation from the Oklahoma City defenders and staying in a scoring area. By staying open to receive a pass, he helps out Hagel along the boards. Even better, he shoots the puck when he gets it. He doesn't score, but the rebound goes into a great scoring area for his teammate, Mitchell who also shoots and doesn’t score. Finally, the chaos created by these two shots allows Hagel to put the puck in the net. But this goal is not created without Graovac’s original shot and it’s not created without all three forwards working as a unit. It’s common to see Graovac waiting in that area of the ice, giving his teammates options. This sort of goal isn't exactly gritty, but it’s the kind of play that develops out of hard work.