Drake Murray is a solid two-way defenseman who has good size, skating ability, and is effective in all three zones. In his own zone, Murray is very composed and aware of his surroundings, he knows where the attackers are and he is positioned well around the net to prevent any dangerous scoring chances from occurring. He skates well and while maintaining good gap control and using well timed poke checks he directs players to the corner where his strong board play allows him to overpower them and he can come away assuredly with the puck. He watches the puck and not the player, displays patience on defense and does very well to keep his body in the passing and shooting lanes to take away all options. He is a smooth skater and uses long strides to propel himself up ice. He is a cool puck carrier and has good vision and is capable of creating scoring opportunities from the blue line. He is defense first but there are offensive capabilities in his repertoire. He makes quick decisions with the puck and can start the offensive breakout with a crisp and accurate breakout pass from his own end. Murray is a very capable defenseman and looks about as confident in his ability to break up offensive plays as anyone in his class.
Scouting Report
EVALUATED 03/02/2022
Keith Fries
Regional Scout - Western-Midwest USA
Event
A prototypical Two-Way, defense-first, Defenseman, Murray already has all the physical tools desirable at the junior and collegiate levels.
Murray uses his big frame effectively with good physicality along the boards and the dirty areas.
Offensively, Murray has a strong shot from the blue line and an excellent breakout pass from his own zone.
Murray has shown he can jump up into the play but demonstrates his best skating while circling his own zone (like a shark).
A fixture of SSM’s defense, Murray is already projecting to become a top-pairing Defenseman at the junior level and – if he takes the collegiate route – is a shoo-in for the USNTDP.
Scouting Report
EVALUATED 18/09/2020
Puck Preps
Event
First Round
A prototypical two-way, defense-first, defenseman, Drake Murray already has all the physical tools desirable at the next level. Tasked with playing big minutes and producing at the same time, Murray surpassed all expectations last season, proving he’s capable of being a number one defenseman. He uses his frame effectively with good physicality along the boards and in the dirty areas. Offensively, Murray has a strong shot from the blue line and an excellent breakout pass from his own zone. He is a good skater who can jump up into the play but demonstrates his best skating techniques when circling his own zone like a shark. Whatever holes currently exist in his game will certainly be closed by the end of this season under the guidance of the staff at Shattuck St. Mary’s where Murray will be counted on to lead a loaded blue line.