On Colton White and transferable traits

Today’s guest post is written by one of my favorites in the hockey world, Jack Han. He recently concluded a multi-year stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. He brings a wealth of knowledge and refreshing perspective to the table. Be sure to give Han a follow on Twitter @JHanHky and check out his Substack, which has a lot of great content free for all to read.

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Editor’s note: One thing Han is especially good at is identifying tendencies or traits that could help, or hinder, a player as they try and maximize their potential. He noticed some positives in defenseman Colton White, who is not an overly touted prospect, and was kind enough to share them with us today.

One Binghamton Devil who I enjoyed watching when I was a member of the Toronto Marlies' coaching staff was #6 Colton White, a 23-year-old left defenseman. White's OHL and AHL point production never jumped off the page but the 6'1" 188lb defenseman has a knack for jumping into the play at 5v5 and helping his teammates get up-ice with speed.

White's puck skills whisper rather than shout, to borrow an expression from Curry College head coach TJ Manastersky. In the clip above BNG catches a D-to-D pass inside movement, then hits his forward in-stride with a strong-side pass.

When the puck is on his partner's half of the ice, White shows good awareness to widen out and present himself as an exit option on the weak side. Having just absorbed a rush against, the Devils are now in a good position to get a line change in.

While he does not have the past production or the pedigree of a Ty Smith (one of my favorite D prospects across the league), White has a bit of offense to his even-strength game. He can use his mobility to join the rush after a successful exit play and beats his check up-ice for a scoring chance.

In some ways White reminds me of Devon Toews, another mobile, late-blooming LHD who just signed for 4x$4.1M with the Colorado Avalanche after establishing himself as an analytics darling with the New York Islanders. Toews has a better history of point production at the AHL level than White, but the latter does a lot of the same things that allowed the former to become a top-four NHL D (you can read more about Devon Toews' game here).

White has played nine NHL games to date, split across the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. He posted underwhelming shot-based metrics in that small sample.

But with continued improvement, perhaps this modern-style D can crack the New Jersey Devils’ roster as a depth option in the near future.