Brendan Perlini was born in England and spent about the first 10 years of his life there. England isn’t known for their hockey dominance, but that did not stop Perlini from becoming a top notch talent in the sport. He was drafted 12th overall by the Coyotes in 2014 and had a pretty productive season with the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs in 2014-2015. Perlini is also on the roster for the 2015-2016 Canadian World Junior team.
In 2014-2015, Perlini played 43 games and ended with 60 points, 26 goals and 34 assists.
At 19, Perlini stands at 6’3″ and 205 pounds; he will most likely become stronger in the coming years, which could make him one scary guy to play against. Perlini is incredibly fast for his size. He also has great puck handling skills and hockey sense. Perlini has the potential to be an incredible power forward.
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He has the size and toughness to win battles and add grit. Perlini’s skills and foresight give him the ability to redirect shots and score on rebounds. He can create plays and score goals.
“You’re always hesitant to put labels on kids, but Brendan is definitely a pure goal scorer. Whether it’s finding space to get his shots off or shot placement, he just has that rare ability to score.” – Coyotes development coach Steve Sullivan
Perlini’s downside is his tendency to go wide while flying up the ice, instead of using his size to plow through traffic at center ice. He needs to learn to use his size on the forecheck. Perlini’s defensive game could also use a bit of work, especially on a Tippett coached team. He will be expected to hold his own in the defensive end.
Most likely Perlini will not make the Coyotes this year. There is probably only two open spots, which will most likely go to Max Domi and Anthony Duclair. Perlini will probably play in the OHL one more year before making the jump to the NHL. Of course, this will all depend on how training camp goes for everyone. Either way, the next few years are shaping up to be exciting ones for Coyotes fans.
And for those that are curious… he is on Twitter and Instagram.
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