With the 48th pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers have selected Nicolas Aube-Kubel, a right winger from Val-d’Or of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Here’s the ISS Hockey scouting report on Aube-Kubel:
Aube-Kubel had a solid development year; he played well all year in a second line role with a deep Val d’Or team. He played in all situation including first Penalty Kill and second Power Play. He showed improvement in both his overall game and strength and conditioning with every viewing.
He finished with respectable offensive numbers in the regular season, but where he shines is in his defensive awareness and play along the boards. In the Play-off Series against Halifax he did a good job against the top line including Jonathan Drouin and top ranked QMJHL Prospect Nikolaj Ehlers limiting their offensive chances. He is a very good skater with good speed and strength on his skates.
Here’s the profile on Aube-Kubel from SB Nation’s In Low We Trust. A solid read.
ISS calls him a bottom-six forward in the NHL. They call him an “energy guy” and a strong defensive forward. He does apparently have some offensive upside, but he only had 53 points in 65 games this past year with Val-d’Or — low for a top-level QMJHL prospect. It’s a high-scoring league. On the other hand, he was second among all draft-eligible Q prospects in even strength points per 60 minutes of ice time, so that’s really promising.
Aube-Kubel seems like he has some strong upside, but he does seem like he’ll take a bit of time to realize it.
