Claimed: Corey Klopfenstein Rookie Profile

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Corey Klopfenstein Rookie Profile

 

Corey Klopfenstein is an 18 year old prospect currently playing for the Ottawa Lynx of the PMHL. He is the younger brother of PHL defenseman Cole Klopfenstein, and looks to make a similar mark in the world of professional hockey. He played his junior career out with his hometown London Knights, before entering himself into the VHLM Draft, where he was selected 21st overall. Klopfenstein is a solidly build prospect, standing in at 6'2" and weighing 210 lbs. However, he isn't known to throw his weight around as he is more of a pure offensive center.

 

 

Pros: Klopfenstein's biggest overall strength is his ability to generate offence and help his team win games through point production.

 

Passing: Passing is the bread & butter of Klopfenstein's game. He is purely a playmaking center by name & trade, and his passing ability shows it. His passing ability is well developed so far, as he is able to find his teammates with ease and especially link up with Luigi De Rossi in order to help pad his goal totals. Currently, Klopfenstein is top 10 in scoring for VHLM Centers, most of the points coming from assists. With that being said, there is still room for him to approve passing wise to hopefully become a first round selection in the VHL draft.

 

Puck Handling: Another strong aspect to Klopfenstein's game is his ability to handle the puck and stick handle around opponents. He's no Pavel Datsyuk, but he can dangle the absolute tits off of some defenders in the VHLM. His strong puck handling also makes it harder for the opponents to strip the puck from him in order to drive possession play and run the cycle down low.

 

Skating: Another strong aspect to Klopfenstein's game is his skating ability. His ability to blow up the ice is underappreciated, as he is able to not only strip opponents of the puck and head up the ice for offensive opportunities, but he is also able to back check extremely strong in order to break up opposing offensive opportunities.

 

Weaknesses: Klopfenstein's overall weakness is the lack of physical play that he offers, as well as the lack of shooting that he does.

 

Shooting: Klopfenstein's biggest drawback is his unsureness of his shot. When he does happen to let it go, it has a good chance of tickling the twine, but very rarely does it ever happen. His coaches and teammates sometimes get frustrated with Klopfenstein's unsureness on pulling the trigger, which could lead to blown offensive opportunities and defensive breakdowns.

 

Checking: Corey is not a physical player at all. He usually stays out of corners, unless he is helping his defensemen retrieve the puck. Klopfenstein could work on his physical play in order to become a better two-way center, and become more than a one-dimensional playmaking winger.

 

Discipline: Klopfenstein's discipline has came into question once or twice already during the VHLM season. He has taken more than one stick infraction against himself, which has put the team a man down and even caused goals against. You can't have that from your *potential* first line center.