This summer in Plymouth Michigan, teams from Canada, the USA, Finland, and Sweden are taking part in a little exhibition tournament in preparation for the World Juniors this December. This is a good opportunity for players to put themselves on the national team radar. The Blue Jackets will have two players competing at this showcase: Pierre-Luc Dubois for Team Canada and Andrew Peeke for Team USA.
Dubois has been discussed here recently so need to talk too much about him again. If he’s not in the NHL he is a lock for Team Canada. He will be one of their top offensive players and potentially even their Captain.
Peeke is much more interesting as he hasn’t really been on the prospect radar despite his high draft status, 34th overall in 2016. He had an ok freshman season at the University of Notre Dame putting up 14 points in 40 games, but that isn’t enough to warrant much prospect hype just yet. When I wrote about Peeke last summer I noted that his offensive production was predominantly from the power play and secondary assists. I noted that he would have to improve his offensive game to take the next step. He wasn’t able to that, as he had just four power play points on the season. As he progress he should see more opportunities on the PP and should start putting up better numbers.
As most of the defencemen the Blue Jackets draft Peeke is more known for his size, strength and defensive abilities. Peeke ranked third among all NCAA defencemen with 95 blocks per College Hockey Inc. That may be considered a good thing but just keep this tweet in mind.
Blocking shots is like killing rats. Doing it is preferable to not, but if you’re doing it all the time it suggests you have bigger problems
— Kent Wilson (@Kent_Wilson) March 18, 2015
Peeke almost certainly didn’t have the puck much which is why he had to block so many shots. Again though you hope this is just because he’s a freshman and one of the younger players in the league. The hope is that he can overcome this as he gets older and more experienced with the league. If not it’s a big problem.
As far as Team USA goes, Peeke has a decent shot at making team in my opinion. He has that defensive reputation and his shot blocking would be an asset on Team USA’s penalty kill. Peeke is also the highest drafted prospect on the blueline, and one of just five defencemen (of 13) selected in the second round. I could see him filling the role Ryan Collins did a few years back. A sixth/seventh defencemen who is a staple on the penalty kill.
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