It’s that time of the year for The Win Column’s NHL Draft Rankings and Draft Profiles! The 2024 NHL Draft will take place on June 28 and 29 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
Up next, we have defenceman EJ Emery. Emery projects as a late first- to early second-rounder out of the USNTDP.
Who is EJ Emery?
| Player | Position | Handedness | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EJ Emery | D | Right | 6’3″ | 185 lbs |
Emery’s on-ice production
| Year | Draft Relative | League | Team | GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | D-4 | CSSHLV U15 | Burnaby Winter Club U15 Varsity | 30 | 11 | 26 | 37 |
| 2020–21 | D-3 | CSSHL U15 | Burnaby Winter Club U15 Prep | 6 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| 2021–22 | D-2 | CSSHL U17 | Yale Hockey Academy Prep U17 | 33 | 14 | 20 | 34 |
| CSSHL U18 | Yale Hockey Academy Prep U18 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 2022–23 | D-1 | NTDP | U.S. National Team U17 Team | 60 | 2 | 10 | 2 |
| USHL | USNTDP Juniors | 39 | 1 | 8 | 9 | ||
| WHC-17 | USA U17 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2023–24 | D+0 | NTDP | U.S. National Team U18 Team | 61 | 0 | 16 | 16 |
| USHL | USNTDP Juniors | 27 | 0 | 6 | 6 | ||
| WJC-18 | USA U18 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
Emery’s stats track back to 2019–20 when he played for the U15 Varsity team. He dominated with 11 goals and 37 points in 30 games. That was good enough to be in the top 20 in scoring and the second-highest-scoring defenceman.
In 2020–21, Emery’s season was cut extremely short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He played only six games, totaling one goal and seven points.
Emery made the jump to U17 Prep during the 2021–22 season. That year, he played a full season, participating in 33 games. He scored 14 goals and 34 points. Emery was the highest-scoring defenceman on his team. He received a four-game stint with the U18 Prep team, scoring three points.
Emery was drafted 65th overall by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2021 WHL draft, but he committed to the USNTDP instead with his dual citizenship. In his first season in 2022–23, he split time between the USHL and NTDP leagues. In the NTDP, he played 60 games, putting up 12 points. Then in the USHL, Emery suited up for 39 games and produced nine points. He also played at the U17 World Hockey Championship, picking up two points in seven games during the USA’s gold medal run.
The 2023–24 season was obviously his draft year. His production once again didn’t stick out, but that’s not necessarily his game. In 61 games in the NTDP, he picked up 16 points. He again played games in the USHL—27 to be exact—and put up six assists. Emery participated in the recent U18 World Juniors for the USA. The USA lost to Canada in the gold medal game, and Emery claimed six assists in seven games. What stuck out to me is that Emery went his whole draft season without a goal.
Emery’s strengths
Defensive game
The biggest part of Emery’s game is his defence. It’s very rounded, and it’s rare to see him ever make a mistake. What really helps is that he is aware of the play and his positioning. Emery anticipates oncoming plays and will guide the defensive zone. He excels at controlling his gaps, defending on the rush, and being physical in his own end.
Emery’s reach and stick-checking make him great at defending in-zone. He’ll push opponents to the outside, make poke checks to stop developing plays, and get his stick in the lane of passes. He’s got a high compete level and is relentless in the pursuit of the puck. He’ll enter puck battles and use his physical advantage to do so.
Skating
Most defensive defencemen don’t stick out with their skating, but Emery does. He is surprisingly fast and agile with and without the puck. Quick and fluid backward skating helps him defend on the rush and transition from not facing the puck to facing the puck. That smooth transition allows him to give opponents little time and space to generate anything.
His faster speed makes it so he can keep up with the quicker players and not get left in the dust. A mix of quickness and agility allows him to control his gaps and apply pressure on opponents at a swift pace. Emery’s skating also helps him a bit on the offensive side of things. It gives him the option to join the rush and walk the line when needed.
Passing
One thing I will cover shortly is that Emery struggles with puck-moving skills, but his passing is quite nice. It’s not flashy, but it’s simple and gets the job done. He can make stretch passes if needed, but you’ll typically see him make quick and effective short passes. His efficiency and accuracy are beneficial when it comes to making a breakout in-zone or controlling/cycling the puck in the offensive end. Emery can also read when to set up a teammate for a chance.
Emery’s areas of improvement
Offensive game
Emery has quite a few things he could improve on, but it can all be summed up to his offensive game. He has been improving on his puck control and possession skills but they still could use some work. Danger is just not something you feel when Emery has the puck; he’s not going to walk a defender or move smoothly around the offensive zone. He won’t be the guy to carry the puck into the zone and doesn’t often break far out of the defensive end.
His shot also isn’t anything too special. There’s nothing crazy about it, as it’s not necessarily hard or accurate. He takes shots into blocked lanes or at weird angles and they don’t really find the net. Emery’s lack of offensive ability is fine if he continues down his defensive path. If he can unlock the offensive potential some scouts have labeled him to have, it could be huge for his overall game.
Emery’s comparables
A player I can easily see in Emery is former Flame and current Dallas Star Chris Tanev. Tanev is a highly intelligent defensive player with a physical edge that’s more about dominance than hits. He also has an underrated passing game in common with Emery.
Tanev doesn’t produce much, having an inaccurate shot and not a whole lot of puck possession skills like Emery. What Emery does have on Tanev is his skating. I can see Emery being a complementary guy on a first or second pair with a more offensive guy, fitting into a very similar mould as Tanev.
Fit with the Flames
The Flames should aim to continue to improve their defensive pool, and adding Emery would be solid. Poirier, Morin, Brzustewicz, and Grushnikov are the highlights of the Flames pool. Brzustewicz is the only right-handed guy, and Grushnikov is the only defensive defenceman, while the others are offensive. With that in mind, Emery would help round out two needs, right-handed and defensive defenceman.
Summary
EJ Emery is a defenceman whose defensive IQ and skating make him a danger in the defensive zone. He doesn’t let much through and rarely makes mistakes. He’s said to have potential in the offensive end, but besides an underrated passing game and improvement in puck control, there hasn’t been much. Emery, at worst, will be a sixth/seventh defenceman with a ceiling to be a second-pair guy.
Risk: 1.5/5
Reward: 3/5
NHL Comparable: Chris Tanev
Projection: Number 4/5 defenceman
Check out all of The Win Column’s individual player profiles of selected 2024 NHL Draft prospects:
Macklin Celebrini | Ivan Demidov | Artyom Levshunov | Sam Dickinson | Cayden Lindstrom | Berkly Catton | Cole Eiserman | Zeev Buium | Konsta Helenius | Zayne Parekh | Carter Yakemchuk | Anton Silayev | Tij Iginla | Adam Jiricek | Michael Brandsegg-Nygard | Liam Greentree | Igor Chernyshov | Trevor Connelly | Aron Kiviharju | Michael Hage | Ryder Ritchie | Sacha Boisvert | Nikita Artamonov | Maxim Masse | Cole Hutson | Beckett Sennecke | Dominik Badinka | Emil Hemming | Henry Mews | Terik Parascak | Alfons Freij | Charlie Elick | EJ Emery | John Mustard | Luka Misa | Tanner Howe | Lucas Pettersson | Matvei Gridin | Dean Letourneau | Leo Sahlin Wallenius
