NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Timo Meier

 

Get to Know Timo Meier

Date of Birth: October 8, 1996 (18)
Place of Birth: Henrisau Switzerland
Ht: 6’1” Wt: 209 lbs
Shoots: Left
Position: Right Wing
Team: Halifax Mooseheads

The top ranked QMJHL prospect from the 2015 NHL Draft had a breakout season for the Halifax Mooseheads in 2014-2015. Meier plays a power game on the wing and uses a wide arsenal of lethal shots to beat QMJHL goalies on a nightly basis. Meier is just the latest in a long line of high quality offensive Mooseheads prospects, including Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin, and Nickolaj Ehlers.

Statistics

 

What Scouts See

Curtis Joe, eliteprospects.com

“A physically dominant winger with the ability to play in a skill or character role. In the offensive end, Meier is very aware and gets himself into spaces where he can easily make seeing eye passes or snap hard, accurate shots. Can impact the game in a number of different ways, and is very consistent in his efforts. All-in-all, the kind of versatile player that you can put on a skill line, and trust to create dangerous chances, or on a shutdown line, and trust to help stop pucks from going into your net.

Dan Marr, NHL Central Scouting

He’s a solid and strong skater both with and without the puck, has high-end hockey sense and reads the play very well. He competes and works smart on plays and is very effective in 1-on-1 situations.

What BSN Avalanche sees

Meier is an outstanding shooter with a great sense for the offensive zone. Some scouts knock his numbers because he plays alongside the elite talent of Nickolaj Ehlers, but in many ways playing alongside high level talent has only served to illuminate Meier’s great instincts for the offensive zone. Meier uses his good senses and his big body in equal parts to put himself in dangerous scoring areas and he’s excellent at receiving passes and snapping shots quickly. With his elite shooting ability Meier is a threat to score from all angles and he’s never afraid to test the goalie.

Though Meier’s skating improved significantly in his draft year, it’s still one of the larger knocks on his game. While Meier does a great job of finding open space and making himself available for passes, he could do a better job of finding his teammates when he’s carrying the puck himself. Like most offensive minded major junior prospects, Meier’s defensive game needs work in order for him to thrive at an NHL level.

Highlights

NHL Potential

Meier projects as a top 6 scoring forward in the NHL, but his strong power game gives Meier the ability to play up and down a lineup in a variety of roles. His size and strength make him a safe bet for a checking role in the NHL if he doesn’t reach his offensive potential.

Expected Draft Position

Timo Meier is a consensus among scouts for the middle of the first round of the NHL Entry Draft. Earlier in the season he looked like a threat to take a spot in the early teens or even steal the 10th overall selection, but late season risers like Konecny and Barzal may have pushed Meier slightly down the draft board into the mid-late teens.

How Prospect Fits in Avalanche Organization

On paper Timo Meier fits the Avalanche’s needs at both the NHL and prospect levels. Organizationally the Avalanche are very thin on forwards, and with most of their young NHL talent on the left side, they are especially short on right wingers. Meier brings the kind of size, character, and compete that the Avalanche value highly and, like coaches Patrick Roy and Andre Tourigney, did his development in the QMJHL.