Jared McIsaac is a 6’1″ 194 pound two-way defenseman with great skating ability. McIsaac, who is from Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada, currently plays for the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL. He won defensive rookie of the year in the QMJHL in his rookie season last year, and he plays a big role for the Moosheads.

Today we’ll be breaking down his play, and seeing if he’s a fit for the Detroit Red Wings.

Ranked #22 by HOCKEYPROSPECT.COM

Ranked #21 by ISS HOCKEY

Ranked #19 by MCKEEN’S HOCKEY

Ranked #13 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (NA Skaters)

McIsaac has pretty solid point totals for a two-way defenseman. Nothing here is absolutely incredible, but they’re very solid.

For the eye test, I’m going to do the same thing that I did for Benoit-Olivier Groulx’s first round targets, which is using the eye test of Halifax Mooseheads reporter Scott MacIntosh (@scottmacintosh4 on twitter). I reached out to Scott, seeing if I could ask him a few questions on both BO Groulx, and Jared McIsaac, he was great and gave really good in-depth answers to both McIsaac and Groulx.

My first question for Scott was ” “how does each player (McIsaac) play, do they have any NHL comparables so we can really get a sense of how they play?” Scott responded on McIsaac with “Jared likes to do a little bit of everything. He is becoming an elite threat on offense and is capable of quarterbacking the power play. He has quick feet and can move the puck extremely well. He looks to dish out the big hit and has made many opponents pay the price in his two seasons with the Mooseheads. He reminds me a bit of a young Dion Phaneuf, although maybe a little less physical.”

For my second question I wanted to know what the ceiling of Jared McIsaac is, so I asked “Where would you see the ceiling being for each player (McIsaac) assuming they hit the peak of their potential, what is their most likely potential they reach?” Scott believes “The sky is the limit for Jared. He was excellent on the world stage this spring with Canada’s U18 team (in) Russia and always seems to excel in the big moments. He will easily be a top-four defenceman in the NHL at some point and is going to be a great addition for whoever drafts him”

For my next question, I wanted to know what Jared is like off ice, I asked ” What is their (McIsaac) attitude, and work ethic like behind the scenes?” Scott responded with “Much like Groulx, Jared is easy-going and gets along well with everyone. He keeps the mood light around the room. He is very vocal on the ice and is growing into a leadership position with the team.”

For my last, and final question, I wanted to know what Jared McIsaac needed to improve on, I asked “what are some things that they (McIsaac) need to work on to eventually make it to the NHL? Scott said, “Jared skates well but will need to keep getting stronger on his feet as well as his upper body.”

I agree with everything Scott said, Jared McIsaac looks like he’ll be a top-4 defenseman in the NHL. He’s solid defensively, he’s a great skater, he throws hits, he’s a pretty well-rounded player. Much like fellow Moosehead Benoit-Olivier Groulx, I believe McIsaac will be an NHL player. It’s good to see that he’s growing a leadership role as well.