The Columbus Blue Jackets dipped back into the Canadian Hockey League overage prospect pool on Friday, signing Justin Scott of the OHL’s Barrie Colts to an entry-level contract. The terms were not released.
Scott, a 6’1″, 200 pounder, primarily plays center for the Colts, and is often slotted on the top line between the OHL’s leading scorer Kevin Labanc (2014 SJS 6th rounder), and 50-goal scorer Andrew Mangiapane (2015 CGY 6th rounder). In his annual OHL Overagers Worth Signing post, Brock Otten of OHL Prospects listed Scott as an honourable mention of his top ten list, noting that “he’s been one of the most improved players in the league the last few years.”
Though Scott isn’t in the same tier of points-scoring as his linemates, he still has put up back-to-back solid seasons, with 30 goals and 52 points in 2014/15, followed up by an even better 28 goals and 37 assists in 67 games this season. His 65 points were good for fourth in scoring for the Colts, and sixth among the OHL’s 39 overage players. Scott was also a big even strength producer, finishing second among OHL overagers in even strength points (20g, 28a), which also placed him seventh out of the 132 overagers in the entire CHL.
Scott is more of a complementary player for his highly-skilled wingers, but plays the role well. He does strong work along the boards, and is also excellent at getting himself into a position to unleash his above average wristshot. His shot is accurate, and he doesn’t need much time to pop it off. Scott put up 200 shots on the season (2.98 per game), finishing fourth on the Colts in that regard.
The Burlington, Ontario native is showing his scoring touch during the Colts’ ongoing OHL play-off run, as he’s already potted 14 goals in 11 games, leading the league. Scott has illustrated his penchant for getting into prime scoring positions, putting up 12 scoring chances in the three games I’ve tracked during the play-offs, including a four-goal game. That total was good for second among the 36 players tracked, trailing linemate Kevin Labanc by one.
Scott is strong on face-offs, owning a 54.4% mark this season in over 1200 face-offs taken. He plays on the top powerplay unit for the Colts, one of the most lethal powerplay set-ups in the league.
The Barrie Colts have just advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in the OHL, and are poised to make a run to the Memorial Cup, meaning it’s unlikely we’ll see Scott suit up for his first pro game this season. He should see an invite to Traverse City over the summer, and will likely join Jackets training camp next fall, before seeing time with Lake Erie in 2016/17.
– Jeremy
Follow me on twitter, @307x.
Featured image courtesy of Terry Wilson/CHL Images.
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