With the whole team having already reported to Troy for the new year, the RPI Engineers made one last call up north of the border for their final piece of the roster. Due to two unexpected decommits at the last minute, the staff found themselves in desperate need of a body with few places to turn. What they found in Serlin though, is a highly intelligent player with room to grow into his raw skill. Serlin is coming off his best year in the OHL and enters a situation at RPI where he can play right away.
Game Breakdown
Leo doesn’t play the game with a ton of flash, but what shines through on tape is his intelligence. He is more of a playmaker at heart and is the type of guy that always makes his teammates look better. He really found his scoring touch last year in Guelph, posting more than double his point total of each of the prior seasons.
The shot is real effective, and I think he has more runway to unlock it as his game develops further. The next leg of development for Leo’s offensive game will be getting to places on the ice where he can get his shot off, because the game IQ is clearly there.
Leo’s game is just really well-rounded. He’s quick, he plays with tenacity and works incredibly hard in all 3 zones. He was extremely effective as a penalty killer, and I think he is a very natural fit in RPI’s bottom 6 while the rest of his game develops further. He’s willing to make contact below the goal line and forechecks with a lot of effort. His game might not have the highest offensive flash and ceiling as a few others in the class, but Leo should force his way into the mix with the jam he brings to the lineup.
So Where Does the Roster Stand?
RPI (finally) dropped the official roster last week. Oh, by the way, I hope the Hurricanes-esque uniform graphic are the new home threads, because those are sweet. But that’s beside the point.
With the late departures of Shane Smith and Josh Evaschesen and the arrival of Leo Serlin, the Engineers are set with 28 guys. There should be a ton of competition for time throughout training camp, with only a handful of guys likely already locked into their roles. Candidly, we thought there was a bit of a glut of left wings that would be competing for time when the two aforementioned recruits were expected. Now, expect guys like Ian Scherzer, Caleb Hadland, Ben Yurchuk, and Luke Goukler to establish roles and stick in the lineup.
The forwards are harder to project, but my best guess at tiers is as follows:
Likely Top-6: Rainers Rullers, Filip Sitar, Jordan Gavin
Competing for Top-9: Matthew Buckley, Brendan Ross, Ian Scherzer, Luke Goukler, Ben Yurchuk, Caleb Hadland, Jagger Tapper
4th-Line Types: Alfred Lindberg, Ethan Bono, Harrison Lodewyk, Leo Serlin, Brad McNeil, Mat Bourgault.
And then the defense, which I’d be very surprised if it didn’t start out like this:
Burzynski-Sobieski
Klassek-Guo
Michael-Motew
Hilditch
Challenge me in the comments if you disagree, but that’s the way I see it to start. There should be plenty of competition for roles as camp gets underway and I can’t wait to see the team hit the ice next month. Congrats to Leo and his family, we’re excited to see him suit up in the Cherry and White!