• PROSPECT-UPDATE ARCHIVE
Once again, we had a day with no top performances from draft prospects on Monday.
In fact, there were only a handful of games at the Tier II level and only
one major-junior matchup. Taht means it's time for another player feature.
The topic is Akil Thomas of the Niagara IceDogs, who is ranked 15th among North American skaters by Central Scouting. Thomas has a very good chance to be taken in the first round, and it's really a question of where he goes. A drop into the second round is possible, but not very likely. At worst, he should be a late first-round pick.
Thomas had a monster start to his 2017-18 OHL season, slowed down a bit as the long grind continued, but picked up the pace again in the final weeks of the regular season and playoffs. You can see his playoff highlights in the link below. His late-season resurgence enabled him to finish well over a point-per-game with 81 in 68.
He showed himself to be a great play-maker, finishing fifth in the league with 59 assists. He also had a 12-game scoring streak and 25 multi-point games. After the season, he played for Canada at the World Under-18 Championship, scoring a goal in the Canadians' opener. All in all, he was very consistent, which is a great thing to be at the major-junior level.
Perhaps the clip featured here should focus on his passing, but goals are always more fun. Not only that, but Thomas' goals really showed the determination he brought to his team during the postseason. Check them out: