Avalanche Draft Profile: Kailer Yamamoto

Get to Know Kailer Yamamoto

Date of Birth: 9/29/1998
Place of Birth: Spokane, WA, USA
Ht: 5’8″ Wt: 159 lbs
Shoots: Right
Position: Left Wing
Team (League): Spokane Chiefs (WHL)

Statistics

What Scouts See

Last Word on Sports:

Undersized at just 5’9″, Yamamoto is a tremendous skater. His top end speed is excellent. Yamamoto creates odd-man rushes with his speed, and can beat defenders to the outside and cut to the net. He also is very quick to loose pucks with great acceleration and a really quick first step. His ability to change speeds is a weapon, that can be used to fool defenders on the rush and in the cycle game. Excellent edge work and great agility also allow him to be extremely elusive in one-on-one situations. Yamamoto has a low centre of gravity, which helps him maintain his balance. He can get stronger, so that he is not pushed around along the boards at higher levels.

Yamamoto has tremendous hands, he is a great stick handler and can bury goals in tight to the goalie. He can make quick dekes in very tight spaces, helping him to beat defenders as well as goaltenders. Excellent hand-eye coordination allows Yamamoto to tip pucks on net. He has developed a harder shot this year, but could still use a bit more power before being ready for the pro game. Added muscle in his upper body, could help this happen. The release on his wrist shot and snap shot is very quick, and this helps him to fool goaltenders. He can release the puck without much of a wind-up at all.

Yamamoto is more of a playmaker than a goal scorer. He uses his quickness and stick handling to open up passing lanes. He has tremendous vision, and once an opening presents itself, he has the skill necessary feather a tape-to-tape pass to a teamate. Yamamoto has very good hockey IQ. He sees plays developing and takes advantage of those openings as they present themselves. His ability to extend plays in the offensive zone allows his teammates to get open.

Yamamoto’s defensive game is a bit of a work in progress. His smaller size can be a bit of a liability as he can be pushed around by bigger, stronger players. This will likely always be an issue, but can be improved with some added strength. That said he is not afraid to battle for loose pucks as well as become involved along the boards. He is an extremely hard worker who is involved in his own zone. Once he does get the puck, he can transition quickly to offense.

Future Considerations:

A pint-sized, yet dynamic, playmaker… small, speedy forward with excellent hockey sense and quick hands…has a strong work ethic that keeps him going…great overall quickness, first-step jump to create separation and an ability to alter speeds to create gaps…sneaky and stealth-like in finding prime scoring ice…very creative with the puck and shows off creative hands…uses his size to squeak through the tightest of holes…is a force in possession as he likes the puck on his stick, and is dangerous as a set-up man or shooter in the offensive zone…poised, clutch and aware…feisty on the forecheck, not physically, but uses his speed to force opponents into rushed plays while clogging up passing lanes with an active stick…one of those rare wingers who has the ability to affect the flow of a game like a center…a very special talent, high octane and cerebral.

What BSN Avalanche sees

Ohhh boy. This kid is about as interesting a prospect as you’ll find. Whereas Nikita Popugaev is given all the leash in the world because he’s 6’6″, Yamamoto is the exact opposite at just 5’8″ and every shift has to prove he’s worth a long-term investment from an NHL club. Thus far in his WHL career, he’s delivered at every turn.

Yamamoto is extremely skilled. Hands, skating, vision, passing, shooting, all of it. There isn’t anything he can’t do when he has the puck and unlike a lot of players his size, he doesn’t struggle in play off the puck. He’s very smart and understands how to use his limited size to the best of his ability in tight spaces and along the boards. His low center of gravity will be important as he gets into pro hockey and develops more lower body strength as that will allow him at least a puncher’s chance in board battles at higher levels.

Highlights

NHL Potential

The easy way out is to compare him to a similarly small player who excels on the wing in Johnny Gaudreau but the comparison remains apt. Yamamoto has the same kind of upside at the NHL level if he doesn’t allow his size to hold him back. He should be a first round selection sometime in the second half but as we’ve seen in previous years with similar players such as Rocco Grimaldi and Alex DeBrincat, that size is simply too daunting on draft day to keep them from sliding to the second round.

How Prospect Fits in Avalanche Organization

Yamamoto fits the bill for the Avalanche in that his skill level is extremely high, something the Avalanche lacks as an organization as a whole. His size will always be a question mark but as long as he continues to destroy the WHL, optimism will be the dominant feeling about him until he takes on the challenges pro hockey affords.

Already reticent to use Grimaldi in the NHL despite him being more talented than several veteran plugs who anchored a 48-point team last season, it would be a mild upset to see the Avalanche look Yamamoto’s direction but a pleasant surprise as his skill and offensive flair would be a welcome addition to an underwhelming forward prospect group.