[CCTigers]

Originally Posted by puck swami

I watched Sweatt all four years at Colorado College.

The Good:

No question, speed is his calling card. He's was the fastest player in the WCHA last year, and arguably was the fastest player in all of college hockey. He can pass, and he made defenses wary whenever he was on the ice. He was a smart player and had decent defensive sklls as well. Good energy, decent puckhandling.

The Bad:

Finishing around the net. With his speed, he created multiple opportunities to score, but did not really show the goal scoring skills that some had anticipated. Had he been able to show some scoring touch, he likely would not have stayed four years in the NCAA.

The Upside:

His speed makes him a energy prospect- an NHL third line or fourth line winger who can kill penalties and make good decisions while giving his first and second line teammates a rest. But don't expect a big scorer or a true top six forward.

The Downside:

Sweatt is not a big guy, and his lack of scoring ability make him a borderline prospect.

The Comps:

Comparing Sweatt to other Leaf draft picks in the WCHA, he did not have the sniping talent of a teammate like Chad Rau, who is a capable AHL player now. But Rau did not have Sweatt's speed, which is why Rau is in the AHL and why Toronto didn't sign him. Sweatt is much a better skater than Tyler Ruegsegger, but Ruegsegger had the better hands, vision and slightly better production. But Ruegsegger's skating deficiencies and injury history make him a longshot NHL player. Sweatt has NHL skating talent, but as a small guy without great finishing skills, he would need to find a 3rd line PK role to make an NHL living.

Hey Puck Swami - Rich here.
This is an excellent scouting report. I have seen almost all of CC's home games over the past 4 years, and I agree 100% with everything said here. Sweatt's speed is amazing and made him a 2nd round draft pick, but after that there's a dropoff in his other skills. The only additional thing that I'll mention is that while most college kids play at least 1 year of juniors and come in as 19-20 year old freshmen, Sweatt accelerated a year and came in as a 17 year old freshman. If you take into consideration his age and that he still has a few years to develop the other parts of his game then I think he still does have some potential as an NHL player. He is an exceptional penalty killer, and very responsible defensively.