The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan profiles Red Wings prospect Jack Adams this afternoon. Adams stands at a lanky 6’5,” and he possesses superb goal-scoring skills, but he had a rough freshman season at Union College:
At 6 feet, 5 inches, Jack Adams, the Red Wings’ 2017 sixth-round draft pick, has it. But along with being a benefit in hockey, Adams has seen how having size can be a problem, too.
“It’s definitely an advantage, but it’s also harder than people think,” Adams said last month at the Wings’ development camp. “(People think) you’re big, you can go crush people. (When you’re playing opposing big players), you have to play more of an all-around game when you’re bigger, you have to finish your checks, be hard on the forecheck, be hard in front of the net. You can’t lose your one-on-one battles. There’s definitely more responsibility.”
Rick Bennett, the Union (N.Y.) College head coach, has been on Adams to utilize his size and strength in a positive way.
“Coach Bennett always stresses if you’re a big guy and you do something wrong, it looks worse because you’re all over the place and you’re so much bigger,” Adams said. “But if you’re a smaller guy, you just go down. There’s definitely more responsibility. But there’s also more upside if you really capitalize on your strength.”
