NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Ryan Pilon

Get to Know Ryan Pilon

Date of Birth: October 10, 1996 (18)

Place of Birth: Duck Lake, Saskatchewan

Ht: 6’2” Wt: 206 lbs

Shoots: Left

Position: Defense

Team: Brandon Wheat Kings

The Brandon Wheat Kings made their way to the top of the WHL and into the final round of the WHL playoffs thanks in large part to the impressive defensive pairing of Ivan Provorov, who we profiled here a few weeks ago, and Ryan Pilon. Not only do the two play together in big situations for the Wheat Kings, but they also live together with the same billet family. The jelly to Provorov’s peanut butter, Pilon is a solid, minute-munching defenseman who plays at even strength and on the power play.

The 6’2,” 206 lb Pilon was drafted 3rd overall by the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft. The Hurricanes struggled early in his WHL career and, after another rocky start to the 2013-2014 season, Pilon requested a trade in hopes of playing somewhere he could further his personal development.  The request paid off and Pilon’s play improved with Brandon, eventually breaking out with 52 points in his draft season.

Statistics

What Scouts See

Cody Nickolet, WHL Scout for Future Considerations Hockey:

Ryan Pilon should be entertaining to track come the draft. Everything about his game screams “first round pick”. He’s fairly mobile, has a good frame, is passable defensively and has a very deep and well-rounded offensive toolbox. Unfortunately his compete and consistency hasn’t always been there in my viewings, leaving him lower on my draft board than some other people might expect. We’ll see which end of the spectrum comes to fruition come late June.

Dan Stewart, Future Considerations:

Pilon…is that safe, reliable, defense first blueliner who has been piling up points on a very good squad early on. He does make a solid pass but is not as offensively gifted as his stats line early in the season would suggest. Pilon does a good job handling some of the bigger WHL forwards with his physical play and strength as well as the smaller, faster attackers with sound positioning and an active stick. At his best when he keeps it simple and just focuses on keeping his zone clean.

What BSN Avalanche sees

In some ways it’s difficult to evaluate Ryan Pilon’s game fully due to all the time he spends on the ice with his defensive partner and projected Top 10 pick, Ivan Provorov. In all the places where Provorov’s game is dynamic, exciting, and at times downright explosive, Pilon is quiet, steady, and understated.

At 6’2” Ryan Pilon has a decent sized frame and, while he doesn’t dominate his opponents physically, he does use his size well to protect scoring lanes and force opposing players towards the boards. Pilon is an above average skater who plays his angles well in the defensive zone and rarely lets an opposing forward beat him to the front of the net. Offensively, Pilon makes hard tape-to-tape passes and has a fairly dangerous shot from the point.

Unfortunately, Pilon has a hard time putting his full toolkit together and dominating games the way he could with his natural talent. Put simply, Pilon plays the game slowly. At times it’s an asset because he’s patient with the puck and he rarely over-commits on bad pinches, but, when Pilon is rushed by forecheckers or forced to battle through chaos in front of the net or in the corners, he struggles. In a pinch, the otherwise steady Pilon is quick to punt the puck up ice or force a bad pass.

NHL Potential

Ryan Pilon has a very high level NHL toolkit, but he has some holes in his game that need work before he can find success in the professional game. If Pilon can reach his ceiling, he has the ability to play a Top 4 role in the NHL someday.

Expected Draft Position

Opinion varies somewhat on the Wheat Kings’ second draft eligible defenseman; the range of scout projections places Pilon anywhere from the last third of first round to the middle of the second round. That said, with Pilon and the Wheat Kings’ strong postseason performance, the talented defenseman could see his name shooting up late season draft boards into the first round.

How Prospect Fits in Avalanche Organization

Like Provorov, Pilon is a left-shooting defenseman, but he plays on the right side when the two are paired together. The Avalanche have a very thin defensive group at the NHL level, but, with Duncan Siemens, Stefan Elliott, Chris Bigras, and Mason Geertsen, they have a deep pool of defensive prospects playing professional hockey in the AHL.

Ryan Pilon would give the Avalanche more depth in their defensive prospect pool at the amateur level, joining Kyle Wood and Will Butcher as the Avalanche’s longer term project players. Pilon would be too big of a reach at 10th overall, but, if he drops unexpectedly out of the first round, he would be a very good value pick at 40th.