Dallas Stars Draft Profile: Windsor Spitfires Forward Gabriel Vilardi

Up until the NHL Draft on June 23rd, the team at Blackout Dallas will be rolling out previews of the potential Dallas Stars selections. Today, we look at Gabriel Vilardi.

Name: Gabriel Vilardi

Position: Center

Shoots: Right-handed

Hometown: Kingston, Ontario

Birthdate: August 16th, 1999

Size: 6-foot-2, 203 lbs

Team: Windsor Spitfires (Ontario Hockey League)

Stats: 29 goals, 32 assists, 62 points in 49 regular season games – seven assists and seven points in Memorial Cup.

NHL Ceiling: First-line power forward with various special team roles

Each and every hockey season, four teams from across the Canadian Major Junior leagues come together and compete in, essentially, a Champion’s League of junior hockey. The Memorial Cup pits the champions of the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League against one another in an all-out, best-of-the-best brawl for Canadian hockey supremacy.

The three league champs face off with whichever team is selected by the Canadian Hockey League (the parent sanctioning body of the three aforementioned leagues) to host the tournament. That city, which hosted the Erie Otters (OHL), Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL), and Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL), is Windsor, the home of the electric Spitfires of the OHL.

Over the course of the tournament, which was held from May 19th to the 28th, Windsor exceeded expectations and advanced to the final where they played and upset Erie by a score of 4-3. The Spitfires lifted the Memorial Cup in front of their hometown fans despite not even making the second round of the OHL Playoffs… led by none other than playmaking forward Gabriel Vilardi.

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Vilardi in the tournament led Windsor in assists with seven, including two in the Final versus Erie, elevating his already stout Draft stock. Vilardi is considered by many to be the most valuable piece at #3 overall to the Dallas Stars after Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier stand on the United Center stage at #1 and #2.

Experts like Bob McKenzie, Jeff Marek, and Craig Button have the Kingston, Ontario native in the top five Draft eligible players available; the Dallas Stars should take notice. Vilardi is a physical power forward with NHL speed and playmaking abilities.

Vilardi -whose points per game average of 0.89 in 111 regular season games with the Spitfires should have NHL general managers buzzing- is just 17 years old and will certainly beef up over time, giving him more size and cycle capabilities as a physical center or winger. Given his already lean, strong body, Vilardi’s increase in size will be intriguing if you’re the Dallas Stars.

His biggest and best qualities are of course his size and physicality for playmaking, but his ice vision and instincts have scouts jumping aboard the Gabriel Vilardi train. “He’s very composed with the puck, and uses his vision and playmaking ability to influence the game in all three zones,” Matt Ryan of NHL Central Scouting said.

Vilardi hasn’t reached his ceiling yet and he’s already perhaps the best forechecking forward in the 2017 Entry Draft. His reach and size dictates play in the offensive zone unlike any forward of his competition level, which has drawn the comparisons to Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone and Chicago Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa.

What Vilardi will need to improve will surely come with more experience in junior as well as pro hockey. The two-year veteran of the OHL will fill out more physically and propel himself into an improved power forward role if he gets to the 6’4″, 220 lb body frame many experts believe is possible.

Vilardi will also need to develop a better, quicker stride to get up to speed – the top speed Vilardi possesses goes toe-to-toe with that of his OHL rivals, but his acceleration needs a lot of work. Manufacturing a rapid, three-step method to get up to his blazing speed will be beneficial for the NHL success of the Spitfires superstar.

In addition, Vilardi should experiment with more time at the wing position that gave him such great versatility in Windsor. Vilardi’s defensive positioning is not particularly elite, and his face-off stats are subpar, so committing to playing center might be a tough assignment in the NHL.

Nonethless, Gabriel Vilardi will blossom into a top-six power forward with 35-goal, 50-assist potential in the National Hockey League. His game will transition from the OHL to the NHL with ease if he’s put into the right role as an NHL player.

Next: Stars Might Look For Offensive Defenseman Cale Makar At #3 Overall

Watching his highlights make me drool with the potential of him playing alongside Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn for the Dallas Stars. Vilardi’s game will feature tons of upside with little risk and could be a perfect pick at #3 overall.

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