Birmingham native and Michigan center William Horcoff, son of former NHLer Shawn Horcoff, is gaining late first-round buzz ahead of this week’s NHL Draft.
The NHL draft is just a few days away and with all the mock drafts from every media outlet, it's difficult to find much on an individual player's talents besides the first couple of picks. One that Michigan natives should look out for is Birmingham native William Horcoff.
Known most notably as the son of former NHLer, Shawn Horcoff, William is a towering centreman that knows how to position his body and disrupt plays before they happen with his massive 6-foot-4 frame. Much like his father, who notched 73 points in 79 games for the Edmonton Oilers during the 2005–06 season, William is also an elite playmaker that can create space and dish the puck.
The upside and family genes are there for a game-breaking player, who showed his scoring upside when developing his game with the U.S. National Team Development Program. He played with some of the best junior players from around the United States for 82 games, where he recorded 19 goals and 14 assists for 33 points.
Once old enough, he was recruited to play close by at the University of Michigan, where he could further develop his game with one of the best colligate hockey programs in the country. Some Red Wings like J.T. Compher and captain Dylan Larkin attended Michigan and saw their game grow against tough competition. When Horcoff joined the Michigan lineup, he saw success on the scoresheet with four goals and six assists for ten points through 18 games.
His play earned himself a spot with Team USA for the IIHF U-18 World Junior Championships this past year. Horcoff excelled when playing against some of the best junior players in the world, scoring a pair of goals and dishing two assists for four points in seven games.
Horcoff finds himself 39th overall in EliteProspects's consolidated rankings of 15 different draft boards from all of the biggest junior hockey insiders in the world. Some like TSN's Bob McKenzie believe in the talent as he has Horcoff likely going inside the first round with a ranking at 27th overall in the draft class. A majority of the insiders have Horcoff ranked around the 30-40 pick range, which means we likely see Horcoff have is name called at the very end of round one or the beginning of round two.
The Detroit Red Wings are selecting 44th overall in the second round and may have the opportunity to bring home a local kid that will surely be excited to play for the NHL team he grew up near.
