NHL Draft: Jon Merrill Profile

"He plays the game a lot like Jordan Leopold. He plays weaving and diving, sneaking and thinking, gaining the zone and moving the puck ahead right on the tape to a guy. He's skilled and he's really come a long way in his development."
Jack Barzee, NHL Central Scouting

"Merrill is as dynamic and versatile as they come, a very patient and calculating defender who never hesitates to explode after the puck when he notices an opportunity. Merrill does not have the best footwork but still propels himself to great speeds and is nearly impossible to gain a step against. Merrill has tremendous poise and confidence with the puck and makes a great first pass, rushes it into open ice well and creates lanes exceptionally well on the power play."
   - International Scouting Services 2010 NHL Draft Guide

"Merrill is equipped with a good skill set as he is a silky smooth skater and has good size. He brings a good offensive game to the table, as he handles the puck swiftly and has a calculated wrist shot from the point. He is capable of making smooth, crisp passes and receives passes in one fluid motion to launch an offensive rush. The knock on Merrill is his consistency and the manner in which he processes the game. Merrill tends to over think in situations rather than making the simple play, he gets overwhelmed with variety of options. He routinely makes mistakes, and it is not uncommon for him to surrender the puck up the middle or lose his man down low. His lack of intensity is also a concern and he appears content to be ordinary and not elevate his game when he needs to."
   - McKeen's 2010 NHL Draft Guide

"Top-shelf tape with poise and a big frame, but often lacks the nastiness to take advantage of size. Deceptive stride eats up ground in a straight line, but lacks lateral agility. Opens the hips well and gets lots of torque on heavy point shot. Has a low, hard blast that's difficult to control and often leads to rebound goals on PP. Shows terrific hand/eye coordination and timing on hard 1-timers. Strong, confident puckhandler shows good composure and skill distributing from the point. ... Game lacks bite and physical push. ... Tends to go to sleep and lose focus defensively."
   - Red Line Report 2010 Draft Guide