2011 Draft Watch: Mitch Topping

Mitch Topping (2011), D, Chilliwack

Bruins' blueliner is at his best when he uses his mobility and superior skating ability .. listed at 6-foot-1, 185-pounds .. fairly consistent about trying to give his goalie a good view of the shot, but would be more effective if he displayed even a bit of a physical presence or intimidation factor .. gets a terrific burst out of the gate and really can get a good head of steam coming out of the Bruins' zone .. sometimes skates the puck through danger areas, but is usually elusive enough to get away with it .. boasts the overall quickness and agility to close the gap on a puckcarrier as well as using his stick adeptly to back off the attacking forward .. must work on being harder to knock off the puck .. can be guilty of watching the play in his own zone as well as still getting caught misreading the play and making poor decisions, i.e., like when to finish the check and when not to so as not to get caught up the ice .. has appeared to lose intensity and focus if the game is out of reach .. plays on both special teams.

Communicates well with his partner, Tyler Stahl, yet the duo have been prone to many mistakes early in the season .. like many younger blueliners is not adverse to trying to force a bad pass through traffic and having it turn in to a scoring chance against .. needs to make sure he takes the man and not get locked in to watching the puck, which allows shiftier forwards to go around him .. sports some obvious upside, however his poor decision making at times and lack of grit might be the difference in Topping being drafted.

Factoid: Was chosen by the Chilliwack Bruins' in the first round, 8th overall in the 2008 WHL Bantam Draft.

Current Season: 7gp, 0-2-2

Last Season: 60gp, 4-9-13 (WHL)