The narrative was nauseatingly repetitious last season – Dylan Strome was playing in Connor McDavid’s shadow with the Erie Otters in 2014-15, never realizing his true potential as a no. 1-caliber center. That storyline has finally been put to rest since McDavid made the Edmonton Oilers roster this year and Strome was sent back to Erie.
The third overall pick by the Arizona Coyotes at the 2015 NHL Draft, Strome was subsequently named team captain upon his return to the Otters. In his first game, he got right into the swing of things with a five-assist night against the Niagara IceDogs. Since then, he has registered at least one point in all but two games he has played. With 34 points (9G, 25A) in just 16 games played, Strome is closing in on Erie teammate Alex DeBrincat for the OHL scoring lead, just six points back of the winger’s 40 points.
If there’s one thing Strome will not be able to catch DeBrincat in, it’s goal-scoring, as the diminutive forward has scored 27 goals in 19 games and already looks like the runaway favorite for the lead in that category at season’s end. Regardless, Strome led the OHL in point scoring last season and tied with fellow Arizona Coyotes prospect for the CHL scoring lead with 129 points in 68 games.
Congrats to @ArizonaCoyotes prospect @stromer19 of #OHL @ErieOtters named #CHL Player of the Week with 10PTS in 4GP pic.twitter.com/30i9JqOzP7
— CanadianHockeyLeague (@CHLHockey) November 18, 2015
It’s a feat that was very important for Strome because when McDavid went down with an injury last November and missed two months of hockey, the then-alternate captain was counted on to be the de facto leader, both in the locker room and on the stat sheet. He certainly delivered, and his draft stock skyrocketed as a result, resulting in a third-overall draft selection by Arizona in June.
Strome attended the Coyotes’ training camp this year and while he is certainly considered a potential future franchise center, it was determined that he needed some added major junior hockey experience to gain more confidence and work on his overall game.
He’s proven he was a dynamic player in junior, but he’s still a young player. He’s a big part of the future for us. The biggest change to the NHL is size and speed. He’s got good size, but the tempo the game is played at is something he’s got to adjust to.
– Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett
Strome is obviously doing pretty well so far in his third (and probably final) OHL campaign so far. He was very good in october, but November has been doubly impressive. In just six games this month, he has scored 18 points (5G, 13A). That’s a three-point-per-game pace, and it’s a huge step up from scoring 16 points in 10 games in October. His performance to this point in November earned him the honor of being named the OHL Player of the Week last week, and he doesn’t look like he’ll be slowing down anytime soon (he was just named CHL Player of the Week, too).
For me, (when McDavid went down is) when Dylan’s game took off. I saw him two or three times during that period, and he was ringing up four or five points a night. That’s when you really start to get excited. I know it’s hard for these top guys to go back to junior. But the next step for Dylan is to make that World Junior team and be a leader. You look at Max Domi two years ago (and) the player he is now, and there is no comparison.
There just hasn’t been a lot of time for [Strome] to do just the general strength development that he’s going to need to play at this level. To me, it’s about how much he pushes himself in the next little while to make this team. You hope he grabs hold of an opportunity, but another year of development wouldn’t be bad either.
– Coyotes general manager Don Maloney
Strome is a lock for the Canadian U20 World Junior team this year, and the World Junior Championships are fast approaching. There was some talk that he had a shot at making it as an underage player last year, but McDavid and Kingston Frontenacs forward Lawson Crouse were the only underage players that cracked that roster. They won the gold medal at that tournament, so Strome will be playing under heavy pressure to defend his nation’s title.
There’s no doubt that he will do just that, and you can expect him to be either at, or near the top of the WJC as well as in the OHL in scoring at season’s end.
The post Strome Climbing OHL Scoring Leaders List appeared first on Todays SlapShot.