Vince Dunn
Position: D
Current Team: Niagra IceDogs, OHL
Date of Birth: October 29, 1996
Place of Birth: Peterborough, ON (Canada)
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 187
Shoots: Left
If Vince Dunn had been born a day earlier, he’d have been a member of the 2014 draft class. That extra year to develop has given him a chance to find his game for Niagra, but unfortunately it cannot change the fact that he’s considered a little bit undersized for the defensive role. His skills with the puck have turned heads, but he could drop into the mid / late second round – perhaps making him an attractive target for Columbus.
Scouting Reports
Vince Dunn is willing to use his body to defensively, throwing hits and blocking shots. He could stand to work on his gap control, as he sometimes gives forwards too much room on the rush, when he has the skating ability to really close down and take away their time and space a lot better. Overall though, his biggest issues defensively come from taking too many risks in the offensive zone. He speed allows him to get back defensively in junior hockey, but he won’t have the same luxury in the AHL or NHL. He’s also willing to throw too many passes in dangerous areas in his own end. If Dunn can fix these issues as he matures, he can be a major steal.
Dunn has the potential to be a powerplay quarterback and a top two NHL defenceman for his team. Its a boom or bust type of pick though, as there are some questions about his defensive game in getting pushed around a bit too much, and being too risky in looking to create offense. —Last Word On Sports
An offensive minded defender… a solid skater who uses his speed and mobility to jump into the attack…uses his speed to drive the puck wide and open up lanes for team mates…confident with the puck…moves the puck well, and is very rarely caught out of position…a strong power play quarterback who can see the ice…make a good passes and has a solid shot…smart decisions regarding open teammates and passing lanes…uses his stick well and is positional sound in his own zone…a good offensive blue liner who just needs to round out his game. (December 2014) –Future Considerations
A Good Fit In Columbus?
If the Jackets choose not to make a trade using some or all of their second round picks, Dunn’s an interesting possibility for their own pick at #38, or perhaps Anaheim’s second rounder at #58, should he drop that far. He has some areas he needs to improve, but there’s a lot of potential for him to develop into the kind of puck moving d-man that every team wants in their system. His size doesn’t seem that bad, but when you consider he’s had an extra year of growth on a lot of his peers in this draft, you can see why there are some concerns – but Columbus has been pretty good at finding “undersized” guys and getting the most of them.