VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - JUNE 22: A view of the Round Seven draft board during the 2019 NHL Draft at Rogers Arena on June 22, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
The start of assessing potential future Ottawa Senators is now with German Forward Tim Stützle
Tim Stützle (C/LW), Adler Mannheim (DEL)
The dynamic center/winger has the opportunity to be the highest drafted player from Germany at second overall, and surpass superstar Leon Draisaitl for the honour.
There’s no denying why scouts fell in love with Stützle whenever he graced the ice, whether, against men in Germany’s top league (DEL) or in the World Juniors, he constantly made his mark. Being a huge riser in this year’s draft means that he could unveil even more potential that he could tap into on his way to being a star in the NHL.
Stützle and Sudbury forward Quinton Byfield have been in the middle of consistent debate for the potential second overall selection which the Los Angeles Kings hold.
While either player would be no consolation prize, Stützle brings a different gear while he’s on the ice, and would put fans in the seat to watch the immensely talented forward.
2019-2020 Season Recap
2019-2020 Stats
GP: 41 G: 7 A: 27 P: 34 +/-: 4
Ranked 14 by TSN at the beginning of the season, Stützle shot up draft rankings throughout the whole year.
The World Juniors was where Stützle became noticed on an international scale. While people in the scouting community held the German forward in high regard, he was a relative unknown to the normal hockey fan. After the tournament, many fans of opposing teams were captivated by the noticeable talent on display by Stützle.
While not producing at a crazy level during the tournament, finishing with 5 assists in 5 contests for the underdog German squad, they held in tough in the “group of death” and Stützle played a big role in that. Even though they didn’t make the playoffs, they upset the Czech Republic and gave Canada and the Americans tough games.
He was garnering a lot of attention during the tournament, and gained a lot of fans from his play:
Team Canada assistant coach Andre Tourigny was impressed by Stützle’s performance:
“Really good young player,” said Canadian assistant Andre Tourigny, also coach of the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67’s. “He’s fast, he’s tough, he has some creativity. I really like his game.”
The quote from the Sportsnet article “Tim Stutzle leading next generation of Germany’s elite hockey talent” which can be found at the link here.
While the World Juniors shouldn’t be a huge measuring stick in assessing a player’s future, the difference between Stützle and Byfield at the tournament was staggering.
He also added 5 points in 8 champions league games for Mannheim as well, he was one of their better players while being just 17-years old for the majority of the season.
Strengths
Skating
Stützle is the best skater in the draft, bar none. His blend of straight-line speed and agility makes him a dynamic presence whenever he steps on the ice.
While he may not be the quote on quote “fastest skater” in the draft, his great acceleration and agility contribute to his great skating profile.
He enters the zone so smoothly on the power play, he uses his great agility with the puck while using his elite speed to turn the defending American forward inside out while entering the zone.
One aspect of Stützle’s game that is so impressive is his ability to maintain his speed with the puck. He looks just as fast skating with it as without it, as evident above.
The top German prospect is relied on heavily, whether against men or in junior, to carry the puck in on the power play and use his speed and agility to create space for him and his teammates.
On the powerplay Stutzle continues to play with speed and generate scoring chances for his teammates.
While manning the left point Tim is always moving his feet looking for ways to get open and to receive the pass with speed to force the defenders back and open up a lane. pic.twitter.com/UjMVubU2kT
— OHL Prospects Tracker (@OhlTracker) July 3, 2020
Even against the gold medal-winning, Canadian team Stützle is able to separate with his speed, he takes a pass in his own end and then runs a quick give and go, where he gets behind the defence for a chance on goal. Impressive ability to skate the whole length of the ice to create a scoring chance.
A common theme: Stützle carries the puck from end to end again. It’s just too fun to watch, he gathers the puck from his own goal line and is immediately defended by a forward, but makes it look so effortless when he zooms by him. Then goes on to beat another defender with his straight-line speed, before using his quick agility to take the center of the ice and set up a great chance for his teammate.
Stützle makes it look so effortless when he’s skating at top speed, he’s so natural in is movements and his speed will translate seamlessly to the NHL.
Playmaking
The best aspect of Stützle’s offensive toolkit has to be his phenomenal playmaking which is why he had 27 assists in 41 games with Adler Mannheim this season.
The ability to use his exceptional vision, usually when he finds the cross-seam pass is exceptional, he consistently finds the open man on the power play.
Stützle uses the button hook technique on the power play, where he circles just outside the blue line then gains speed, receives a pass then either fires a puck on the net or looks for a cross-seam pass.
In the above clip, he leaves the zone and comes in with a ton of speed drawing the defender’s eyes to him so he can fire a cross-seam pass to his teammate for a chance on net.
The German forward also does great work from below the goal line, he uses a great reverse hit to create space for himself despite having a slimmer frame.
In this play, Stützle pulls of the no-look behind the net pass that only elite NHL players regularly pull off, with the immense talent he possesses he can make passes like these look effortless.
Stützle plays a very “slippery” kind of game, he’s hard to check with his quick change of direction to go along with his elusive stick handling which opens up space for him to be an exceptional playmaker.
Below, the future top 5 selection makes a quick pivot move behind the net and quickly fires a cross-seam pass which should have resulted in a great chance on net.
He is exceptionally dynamic and will always give opponents headaches when they try to keep up with his elusiveness and his ability to fire crisp passes for high scoring chances.
Hockey Sense
Stützle can read the whole ice exceptionally well, and consistently relies on his great vision to be the playmaker he is.
On many plays, the German forward can be seen delivering great passes that almost fit into the mold of a “no look” pass, he reacts so quickly to his open teammates that the puck is gone almost before he gets his head around.
This little slip pass that Stützle uses a lot to get the puck to his teammates in tight areas is used very effectively, on this play he doesn’t even look at his teammate coming into the slot and sets him up for a great chance on net.
While his hockey sense and playmaking go hand in hand, his ability to see passing lanes has to be appreciated.
Weaknesses
Shot Utilization
While Stützle does possess a good shot, the way he uses it could improve for the better.
Finishing with just 7 goals during the season with Adler Mannheim and going through the world juniors without a goal, Stützle could help his play by shooting more.
While averaging 2.15 shot per game, he only had a shooting percentage of 7.95%, which is lower than desired.
There are occurrences where Stützle doesn’t show any desire to shoot the puck, below he is on a 2 on 1 and never looks like he thought about shooting, while the defenceman was taking away his pass. Even though the pass got through these lanes won’t be there in the NHL and he will have to fire it on net more often.
Stützle has showcased a heavy shot in a few of his goals from play this year, this one comes to mind:
The frustrating aspect is that Stützle should look to shoot that more, he usually looks for the pass which in the DEL usually works, but in the pros, the opposing teams will have their eye on him if he tends to pass out of one spot too much.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN – JANUARY 10: Drake Batherson #19 of the Ottawa Senators skates against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on January 10, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
Where does Stützle fit in Ottawa?
Stützle would immediately step in as the Ottawa Senators’ undisputed top prospect and would help bolster an already loaded pool with the likes of Drake Batherson, Erik Brannstrom and Josh Norris.
The talented German forward will have every chance to make the opening day roster and has been training his body to get ready for NHL play.
TSN 1200 radio personality Shawn Simpson and John Rodenburg were a must listen (you can listen to it here), and Stützle said he is up to 88 kilograms converts to 194 pounds. If there were any concerns about his frame its safe to say they have been silenced as that is NHL ready size.
When the talented forward enters the league it will most likely be on the wing, but as he becomes more familiar with the North American game I can see him becoming a center. Stützle played center his whole career up until he joined the men in Mannheim.
If Stützle plays with the Ottawa Senators as early as next season he would most likely slide in on the second line, as Brady Tkachuk would be the top-line left-winger. Ottawa doesn’t have any defined centers in their top 6, but a mixture of Colin White, Chris Tierney or Logan Brown could be a good fit for Stützle. That leaves Josh Norris who is on the right track to becoming a full-time Senator and could actually be an exciting pairing with Stützle to start off both of their NHL careers. In the off chance, Ottawa’s fifth overall selection ends up being an NHL ready center such as Marco Rossi, that could be a great way for both players to break in the league.
On the right-wing side there is one player that all Senators fans should be excited about to build chemistry with the potential third overall pick, that would be Drake Batherson. One of the areas where Batherson could improve is his pace on the ice, and if he could get a winger like Stützle on his line that could open up so many opportunities for Batherson to be the offensive stud he was in the AHL.
Arguably the best area of Stützle’s game is how he drives the power play, his creative passing and speed he uses to create space is second to none. Ottawa was dead last in the league on the power play at 14.2%, adding a dynamic talent the mold of Stützle would help drive that number up. A potential power play consisting of Chabot, Duclair, Tkachuk, Batherson and Stützle should produce at a high pace with all the skill they have.
Whether if he’s ready this year or the year after, Stützle will bring a dynamic forward talent that the Senators have been missing for a while.
