Claimed: Thomas Sankara Rookie Profile [1/2]

[Tyler 881]

Thomas Sankara

Burkina Faso/Canada

Defenseman

Season 57 Draftee

Las Vegas Aces

 

Thomas Sankara was born in Burkina Faso at the turn of the century before moving to Canada at a young age. He began playing hockey just as soon as he arrived in Montreal and has excelled to one degree or another at every level of hockey. He played his entire life in the province of Quebec and in the Quebec League before deciding to sign with the Las Vegas of the VHLM for his rookie season. He is one of the Aces most trusted defenseman as a rookie and is looking like a potential late first or early second round draft pick in the upcoming Season 57 VHL Draft.

 

Pro's

 

Defensive IQ: He is as smart on the ice as he is anything else. In his own zone he rarely misses an assignment and when he does he is typically the first one to acknowledge his own mistake in order to grow from it. He is still developing of course but he projects to be a very solid middle of the road defenseman on any VHL team who should have a decently long career due to his defensive IQ.

 

Skating: Among defenders for the Season 57 draft he is looking more and more like a premier skater. He has effortless strides that allows him to get back on an odd man rush against or to join the rush offensively if need be. He is not the more explosive skater but he tends to have a great fluid stride that keeps him on pace with just about anyone on the ice.

 

Shot: He has a cannon slap shot from the blue line which should net him quite a few goals and make him lethal on the power play. He is only a rookie but he is already showing this off in the VHLM and has a pro ready shot already. His wrist shot lacks some velocity but he makes up for it with having a shot that is accurate, along the ice and usually prone for tips from his players in front of the goalie.

 

Con's

 

Passing: to be more specific, his first pass up the ice is not the best and seeing as it is becoming one of the most important aspects in hockey, it is a bothering trend in his game. He still has a relatively accurate pass to his blue line partner, but it seems as if his passing up the ice is sticking out like a sore thumb in the VHLM.

 

Discipline: He does take bad penalties from time to time but he also has an issue with keeping his cool on the ice in certain situations. That isn't to say he is unclutch or anything, but when things conspire against the young player he does tend to be a little bit hot headed.

 

Puck Handling: Despite being a two way defender, Sankara's ability with the puck is not where it needs to be to be a premier draft choice. He struggles with the puck on his stick in situations where he needs to be creative and although he is looking to work on it, it is one of the reasons he is not looked upon as a top draft pick.

 

VHL Comparable: Roman Sokolov  (Season 53 Draftee)

 

Scouting Service Ranking: Unranked

 

Amateur Services Ranking: 7.0 B (should reach potential, should be a good second pairing defenseman)