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2017 NHL Draft Profiles: Isaac Ratcliffe

Isaac Ratcliffe – 6’6, 200-pound left winger from the Guelph Storm (OHL)


Isaac Ratcliffe Rankings

  • Ranked #13 by Hockeyprospect.com
  • Ranked #22 by ISS Hockey
  • Ranked #23 by Future Considerations
  • Ranked #18 by McKeen’s Hockey
  • Ranked #15 by NHL Central Scouting (NA Skaters)
  • Ranked #47 by Craig Button

Isaac Ratcliffe Scouting Report provided by Brock Otten of OHL Prospects

Isaac Ratcliffe Strengths

  • Isaac Ratcliffe has some extremely alluring qualities for NHL scouts. The first thing you notice is his size at 6’6, and he skates well, with good speed and acceleration. But he’s only now approaching the 200-pound mark. As he fills out, I don’t think we truly know how good he could be.
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  • Ratcliffe’s other best quality is his shot. He has an absolute rocket of a wrist shot, and I think he’s got big-time scoring potential. Once he’s able to add that aforementioned strength, he’ll be able to generate more scoring chances for himself as he can protect the puck better and look to be aggressive in driving the middle of the ice.
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  • He has the potential to be an excellent defensive player as well with his size and skating ability.
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  • Ratcliffe is a boom or bust prospect, but if he pans out, he could be the perfect complement to highly-skilled linemates as a hulking winger who can skate with them, clear room for them, and finish off their passes.

Isaac Ratcliffe Weaknesses

  • As mentioned, his physical game is inconsistent and that’s an area of his game that will need to improve. Ditto for discipline. Anyone who watched the U18 tournament can tell you that he struggled with some lazy stick penalties. It was the same in Guelph, too.
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  • Playing for Guelph is a wildcard in itself. Because of how bad Guelph was at times this past season, Ratcliffe had a propensity to disappear at times. He went an entire month without scoring a goal later in the year.
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  • When Ratcliffe’s not scoring, that’s when the physical game and the cycle game really need to activate to make him more noticeable.

The Verdict

Ratcliffe is a very interesting prospect; I could see him being drafted anywhere from 15 to 50. Bottom line: The key word with Ratcliffe is potential, which I’ve already used several times to describe him. He’s a huge kid who could develop as a scoring power forward under the right tutelage and with improvements to his conditioning.


Experts Take on Isaac Ratcliffe

HockeyProspect.com’s Mark Edwards on The Pipeline Show from November:

You mentioned the injuries — he missed about 20 games last year, and Guelph was absolutely putrid, so that didn’t help his [rookie-year production] when you’re spending a lot of time in your own zone being dominated. This is a kid I really liked in his OHL draft year. We had him ranked sixth or seventh and I was shocked — I think he went 16th to Guelph. I was really surprised he slipped that far, but it is what it is. He kind of got off to a slow start last year, and he was just okay in my early viewing this year, but he’s really played well in my most recent viewings.

He’s a big kid — about 6’6. His skating is pretty good. I think he’s deceptively strong and is only going to get stronger. If you talk to some people, they call him Bambi because he’s just building up that core strength. He’s a really good playmaker. He’s got some skill with his hand-eye. He doesn’t try to force a lot of low-percentage shots. He makes some really smart plays with the puck, and his compete level is up there. When you start to project him filling into that huge frame, you start to think about how good this kid might be able to get.

HockeyProspect.com’s Ryan Yessie on The Pipeline Show from April of 2016:

He had kind of a freak injury in a warmup, which affected his development for a little bit there earlier on in the season. He really got rolling as the season winded down and the Storm started playing their young guys a lot under their new coach. He was playing second line and they were giving him a lot of opportunities. When we talk about projecting talent, this guy is a perfect example of it. He’s big, he’s a pretty decent skater for that size, he’s got great hands, he’s got great playmaking ability — which is tough to see in a lanky forward, but he’s skilled with the puck. He’s just one of those guys that needs that seasoning with that size. He was drafted 15th overall [in the OHL Priority Draft] and he was inside our top ten. He’s a perfect example of a guy who we aren’t ranking for this year or last year; we’re ranking him for next year and the year after as he fully grows into his body. He’s such a dangerous offensive player, and as he grows and develops, he’s going to become a real star for the Guelph Storm.


Isaac Ratcliffe Interview

Courtesy of The Pipeline Show in February:

On his playing style:
I’m a big forward up front. I like to mark my spot in front of the net there, and play that big role down low, and use my size to my advantage. I’m more of a guy who is offensive-minded. I’m not too crass, per se, but I like to play like a guy like Joe Thornton or Rick Nash. I like to stand in front of the net and make my presence known. I’m not someone will run a guy through the boards but I’ll definitely mark my territory down there. I’m not afraid to get under players’ skin. I’ll play a physical game, but I think you’ll see me more on the offensive end of it rather than putting guys through the boards.

On playing for a young, rebuilding Guelph team:
A lot of the younger guys are just looking to get experience in the league, coming into their first or second years here. Coming into my second year, I’ll have to be relied on more as a leader working with some of the younger guys. You look at guys like Nate Schnarr and Givani Smith, who I’ve been playing with for most of the year, and I think we’ve been challenged to play against other team’s top lines. We’re only 17 and 18 years old. We’re being asked to play against some 19 and 20 year olds, which is always tough. But we’re up for the challenge and that experience will make us better for the future.

On using his size as an asset:
I like to be a big guy on the ice and prove that out there. You use that all over the ice. Whether it’s in the offensive zone or in the defensive zone getting in front of pucks or playing along the boards, I like to play that hard game.

I’m hoping to get up one or two more inches, but I think I might be done now. I haven’t grown too much since last season. Now I’m more focused on gaining a little bit of weight and putting on some mass to go into that next level and compete for that last spot on maybe an NHL team, or whatever it may be.

On the challenge of throwing on more weight:
Over the season, it’s always tough to keep that diet on, especially with long road trips and being on the ice every day. In the offseason, it’s definitely something I’m focusing on with meal plans and my workout schedule. I have to put on that good mass to get to that next level. That’s a big focus for me — getting stronger to try to make that last spot or to prove myself on the ice and where I can go in the future.

On what position he played growing up:
When I was growing up, I was on the backend playing D. When I was about 12 or 13, I played forward for one game, and my coach tried to keep me there for the rest of the year. It eventually stuck for me. For the past five or six years, I’ve been up front. It’s been going well for me. It clicked pretty quickly. I was more of an offensive defenceman anyway when I was growing up, so I kind of knew the offensive zone in both positions. Working with the coaches, it was a quick switch for me.

On the big jump in production from his rookie year:
It’s just getting that first year under my belt and gaining a lot more confidence on the ice, and getting looked upon more and put in more positions. I worked with a lot of coaches in the summer and at the beginning of the year this season to keep a strong head on my shoulders. I came into this year with a new mindset, and put last year behind me. It was a tough year last year for us and it was tough to go through, but we put a new head on our shoulders and came in strong. I’ve gotten to work with a few guys who have been in my shoes now — guys like Givani Smith and James McEwan, who were in this spot last year — and they taught me my offensive instinct here and how to put the puck in the net.


Isaac Ratcliffe Statistics

SEASONTEAMLEAGUEGPGAPTSPIM+/-
2014-15London Jr. Knights Min Mdgt AAAAHMMPL3222274916
2015-16Guelph StormOHL46581324-25
Canada Red U17WHC-1760000
2016-17Guelph StormOHL6728265465-2
Canada U18WJC-18520264

Isaac Ratcliffe Video