NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Cliff Pu

Get to Know Cliff Pu

Date of Birth: June, 3 1998 (18)
Place of Birth: North York, ON
Ht: 6’1” Wt: 187 lbs
Shoots: Right
Position: Center/Right Wing
Team: London Knights

Buried in the London Knights bottom six, Cliff Pu is an intriguing and versatile forward prospect with a strong two way game and plenty of physicality to match. The question: will a team bet on his offensive game exploding when London’s top scorers move on next year?

Statistics

What Scouts See
Scott Wheeler, Future Considerations:

“Used as more of a depth scoring option due to London’s high-end talent up front, Pu has done an admirable job creating offence nonetheless while also limiting chances against and playing on the second PK unit. He’s good in the faceoff circle, a real strength, and wins battles along the wall. He has the talent to blossom into a scoring threat in the OHL but may need some time. Will help the Knights in what should be a deep playoff stretch. His versatility as someone who has played centre and the wing is a real asset.”

Craig Button, TSN, The Pipeline Show: May 14, 2016
“There’s two parts to Cliff’s game that I think are really important. Number one is he’s versatile. He can play offense, he can play defense. I’m not suggesting that he’s Patrice Bergeron but he has that kind of game, that style of a game. He’s not going to go end to end, he’s not going to wow you with any type of dangling moves, but he’s always in the right position, he’s always making the right plays, and he’s good on faceoffs. [. . .] The second thing about Cliff is that he really really understands what his game is. You’re not going to see that player push out of his strengths or try to do things that are not to his abilities and those are qualities: a really well roundedness, high end hockey sense, and an understanding of what your game is. Those are really good qualities.”

What BSN Avalanche sees
Cliff Pu reminds me a lot of Zachary Senyshyn leading up to the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. I had Senyshyn pegged as a great early 2nd round pick for the Avalanche before Don Sweeney lept off the board to select the dynamic winger early in the first round. The pick was mocked at the time, but Senyshyn responded with a dominant 45 goal season for Sault Ste. Marie.
Cliff Pu doesn’t boast the same explosive offensive skillset as Senyshyn, but his draft year circumstances are similar. Pu is an excellent skater with high end acceleration and a nose for the net but, buried on an extremely deep London Knights team he’s been squeezed into a bottom six role with almost no power play opportunities. Pu produced a somewhat meager 12 goals and 31 points in 63 games played, but produced at his best when London’s top players were away at the World Junior Championship and he was given more ice time. In the playoffs Pu improved to 8 goals and 13 points in 18 games en-route to an OHL Championship and another 1 goal and 3 points in 4 games en-route Memorial Cup victory.
His depth role has helped Pu develop into a strong two-way player, who wins a lot of faceoffs, is strong on the boards, and kills penalties. When Pu gets the puck he’s very quick to turn up ice, and he does an excellent job of using his acceleration to close gaps on unsuspecting defenders and blow past them. Pu likes to get into the dirty areas on the ice and battle physically, and his strong edgework and decent frame makes him difficult to push around. Pu is a smart, opportunistic hockey player who plays a sound positional game and uses his strong first three steps to jump on opponents when they make mistakes. He tracks the play well and is absolutely relentless in his pursuit of the puck defensively. Pu is more of a project, but one with high upside, well worth undertaking.

NHL Potential
Pu projects as a bottom six NHL forward who can provide some offensive depth if he reaches his ceiling.

Expected Draft Position
Most scouting services rank Pu somewhere near the beginning of the 3rd round, but given his success in a limited role in London, a team may gamble on his potential growth and reach slightly.

How Prospect Fits in Avalanche Organization
Thanks to a failure to draft and develop bottom six forwards the Avalanche’s bottom six has long been a revolving door of overpaid grinders and 1-year undrafted European imports. The development of JT Compher and the early returns on Julien Nantel suggest that the Avalanche may be on the verge of reversing that trend. The Avalanche have almost no forward depth in their AHL team or at lower development levels, so it’s hard to find a forward prospect in the draft who isn’t a good fit for the team’s needs. With decent size, good hockey IQ, and high end skating ability Cliff Pu possesses some of the traits that the Avalanche prize on draft day.