E-Mac's 2011 NHL Entry Draft Top 120: Nick Shore #55

By Eldon MacDonald

55. Nick Shore - “The Bargain” - C/RW - USA

Vitals: Size - 6’0”, 200 lb.; Shoots right; Born 28-Sep-92 - Denver, CO
Team: Denver, WCHA
2010-11 Stats: 33-7-11-18-37

Rankings:
38 - The Hockey News per TSN
43 - ISS per TSN
47 - Future Considerations Final Rankings
49 - Kirk Luedeke's Top 50
54 - Bob MacKenzie's June Poll of Scouts (HM’s = 61 to 85)
54 - hfboards Readers’ Poll
55 - E-Mac's 2011 NHL Entry Draft Top 120
57 - The Scouting Report Top 100
64 - Christopher Ralph's Top 210
70 - NHL Central Scouting's Final Rankings (56th North American skater)
71 - Cory Pronman's Top 100
Draft result:
82 - Los Angeles Kings

I always worry about ranking university players because they always seem to underperform compared to expectations coming into the year, mainly because freshmen usually don’t get the quantity or quality of ice time that they would get if they played junior hockey. So, there is potential for getting a bargain in drafting Nick Shore, the younger brother of Drew Shore (drafted 44th by Florida in 2009) and the older brother of Quentin who was part of the USA NDP U17 team this year. Nick came into the year with high expectations after getting 20 points in 26 games for the US NDP program last year and had a decent but not overwhelming 18 points in 33 games. By way of comparison, his brother Drew had 19 points in 41 games in his first year at the University of Denver and this year broke out with 46 points in 40 games. Would bro Drew be drafted higher if a team knew what they know now, probably.

So, enough with the draft ruminations, what about Nick Shore, the hockey player? His acceleration is top-notch (brother Drew’s assessment), his top end speed is decent, his shot is better than his brother Drew’s (self-assessment), his face-off ability is above average, he is a good puck distributor, he is defensively responsible and can be used in all situations and brings a decent physicality to his game. However, what makes Nick special is his overall hockey IQ and coachability so you know that he is only going to get better and better. Might a big break-out season be in store for Nick next year. Hint, think about brother Drew’s second season at Denver (this year) before you answer.

I have Nick at 55 which I believe is a bargain - however, Nick could easily go in the early second by a more knowledgeable buyer than me.