I've been trying to lay low on Hanifin discussion and not get roped in but I've seen him 20+ times between this year and last year. Feel like I need to weigh in.

You nailed his transitional skills. They're actually uncanny. Because he is so fluid and he is so assertive in his decision making, to someone who is just catching glimpses of him, it doesn't look so impressive. It's wildly incredible how fast and decisive he is at moving the puck up.

His offensive zone presence is a similar style. He isn't flashy like Deangelo or ryan Murray can be but they also make 100X more mistakes than Hanifin. He has a very good shot but what is his best trait and what is most defensemen's biggest flaws is getting pucks to the net. He doesn't take shots into wingers knee pads and gets them off incredibly quick. If he doesn't see an opportunity, he moves it to someone else. He moves the puck with an incredible assertiveness and purpose, but doesn't take wild risks. Another aspect he has great maturity on in these situations is body position. When he does make a decision which is by chance flawed, he's very rarely flawed in trying to correct it because he's out of position defensively so rarely.

What Hanifin will never be is Scott Stevens. He's a defenseman all about control and acknowledgement of position. He has an incredible sense of place on the ice and won't be caught off guard. He'll play the body and get nasty but he won't be Dion Phaneuf which means he won't get caught out of position trying to lay someone out. He's one of the most intelligent defenders I've ever seen in college hockey. The biggest knock I have against defensemen is they can only play defense against offense and don't understand the transitional game or their position in the offensive zone. He'll pin people and move the puck to the weak side, he'll cover weakside streakers, and he won't let a forward get position in front. Also, he'll go end to end when he sees the opening or will streak in on the backside to give his attacking teams numbers and finish on scoring chances.

In conclusion, his game isn't flashy rather in a word incredibly direct. if his game continues to translate and he matures physically as he has, I'd be shocked if he isn't a #1 defenseman and Norris candidate.

With his incredibly mature play in the NCAA as a 17-18 year old in the NCAA, his poise and decision making compare most to me as Nicklas Lindstrom in style of play. I'm surprised I haven't seen more comparisons likewise in style of play but I will say, I have no idea what will be his end all projection. Projections suck especially with defenseman and his poise may only translate to a great transitional defenseman but I would be shocked if he doesn't end up a top 5 dman in the NHL.