Chad Krys is a new-school defenceman. He’s not a big bruiser; he’s a smooth-skating, puck-moving stalwart with a solid 200-foot game.
Here’s an in-depth look at this 2016 NHL prospect.
Age on June 24: 18
Current Team: U.S. National Development Team
Position: Left Defence
Shoots: Left
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 183 pounds
From: Philadelphia, Pa.
Twitter: @chadkrys
NHL Central Scouting Rank (North America): 53rd
Jeff Marek’s Take: Had an inconsistent season. A good transition game and has secondary offensive ability. Scouts have serious questions about his speed.
Point producer…
Whether it was growing up in Connecticut or playing on the U.S. National Development Team, Krys has always had a knack for putting up points.
The reports say he’s an excellent skater who has poise with the puck.
“Krys is a strong enough north-south skater that he has the ability to join a rush offensively as a fourth forward while still being able to recover and get back defensively,” reports Chris Dilks of sbncollegehockey.com. “He has the potential to turn his skating into a real offensive weapon.”
Andrew Forbes of the hockeywriters.com compares Krys to Nashville Predators defenceman Ryan Ellis and suggests “he has the ability to quarterback a power play.”
Looking at Krys’ assist totals throughout his young career, it’s obvious he has major offensive upside.
An athletic family…
Hockey was a natural path for Krys to take. He followed in his father, Mark’s, footsteps.
Mark played four seasons with Boston University before embarking on a 13-year professional career that took him the ECHL, AHL and IHL.
Chad is also on his way to BU, joining a few other members of this year’s draft class there, including Development Team mates Kieffer Bellows and Clayton Keller.
Krys’ mother was also a collegiate lacrosse player. She’s now a personal trainer and nutritionist.
“I have a younger brother and sister and they’re always up to something,” Krys told Ryan Kennedy of the Hockey News. He added that the action never stops around his house.
USA, all the way…
In addition to his impressive showing with the Development Team, Krys has been a fixture on the international scene with Team USA.
He won a silver medal at the World Hockey Challenge Under 17 tournament (he had the most assists and most points in the tournament) and a gold medal at the World Junior Championship Under 18s in 2015, and he helped USA capture two bronze medals in 2016—one at the World Junior Under 18 tournament and one at the World Junior Under 20 tournament.
Room to improve…
Krys was ranked 30th among North American prospects in the mid-term evaluations done by NHL Central Scouting, but some unsteady play throughout the season saw him drop down to 53rd in the final rankings.
The hype was considerable after such an impressive 2014-15 and after Krys was promoted to USA’s Under 18 Team for the second half of the season. It only grew when he made the USA’s World Junior Team as an underager. But it was hard to live up to in 2015-16.
There’s a strong chance Krys won’t be selected until the third round of this year’s draft, but a little bit of development in the NCAA could make him a steal for whichever team gets him.
