We’ve finally reached the top player from the HEO – and what a player it is. Nathan Villeneuve is another player that looks like he could play in the OHL already, looking dominant in the preseason with the CCHL’s Navan Grads. He has the ability to take over games, driving the offense and keeping defensive groups on their heels. He’s playing at the U18 level, and it wouldn’t surprise us if he’s one of the top players in the league come season’s end.

Everything that I’ve ever heard about Nathan Villenueve for the past little bit is turning out to be extremely true — this is a world class player that is about as high end as one can expect to find at this level. The line that separates high-skill, high-mobility based forwards and the calculated pests when away from the puck seems to have been blurred completely. Villeneuve possesses a terrifying pursuit game, picking entry angles on every challenge that force the puck carrier to make a quick adjustment and then pouncing on them mid-adjustment when they aren’t ready for it. His point, a goal, comes from this very thing — working with Mrsic to form an extremely effective forecheck that was causing Sweden problems before the specific sequence leading up to the goal even took place. The two pressured a carrier trying to exit the zone, forced the turnover and then worked a give and go up the ice to get Villeneuve wide open in the slot. A thing of beauty.

The lack of points in this high-scoring contest shouldn’t keep Villeneuve from getting the credit he deserved. He and Misa put on arguably the best performances from players without actually scoring that I’ve seen so far at the U17’s. Like many others who have earned a write-up, Villeneuve is the embodiment that symbolizes the next generation of hockey players: deception, skill, pressure management and precise small area games both on and off the puck. It’s what allows him to be a give-and-go monster that drives significant results in both the offensive zone and in transition.

The highlight goal of the day belonged to Nathan as he took a puck skate to stick and was able to elevate it off the rush. He’s been really pushing since the tournament began and you could feel his urgency to pot a goal at different times. I caught part of one of the earlier games and he seemed to be shooting as much as humanly possible. Regardless, he continues to battle and chase pucks heavily and attempt some creativity with his strength. He does possess a bit more power and core strength it seems so he can overpower his opponents in a few different ways stylistically.