Faceoff Factor

Penguins Make A Steal With Moon

Jesse Marshall | NHL Entry Draft

Jun 21, 01:28 PM | Hype this story!

Nathan Moon – C – 5’11 – 170lbs – Shoots R – Belleville, ONT – Jan. 4, 1990

Kingston was projected to have a rough year, but Nathan Moon entered the season with a lot of promise. Coming off a strong OHL rookie year, Moon was poised to make things happen on the top lines for the struggling Frontenacs.

Things changed just weeks into the season, however. Head coach Bruce Cassidy, one of Moon’s biggest supporters, was fired after a six game losing streak.

Moon continued to produce at a high level, however, things changed as the season wore on. Call it frustration, the loss of a mentor, whatever – Moon and the Frontenacs were stuck in the basement of the OHL and Nathan Moon’s game began to become slightly inconsistent from night to night.

Larry Mavety, the GM and interim head coach of the Frontenacs, ran the boat a bit looser than Cassidy did. Moon began to struggle as the year wore on, and where Cassidy would make adjustments, Mavety did not.

Nathan Moon, overall, is a kid that relies on some good hockey sense to get to where the puck will be. He’s great in the faceoff circle and understands his responsibilities as center.

His puck handling ability is probably the best part of his game. He can stickhandle in a phone booth and protect the puck well despite not having the reach that a lot of great puck handlers have. His versatility in the offensive zone extends to all three forward positions, he is not limited to center only.

His passing game is next in line as his best asset. That’s a testament to his vision as well. He can thread passes through traffic and find open men with his quick decision making. His shot is underrated. He has a powerful wrister that he throws around from anywhere on the ice. However, most of his goals are perimeter goals. He finds the open spot in the ice and buries it from there.

He’s also a kid that has a great work ethic on and off the ice. He’s a kid that hates to lose, but again, that hate of losing also leads to frustration and some “head down” tactics.

Moon is a fast player, but didn’t skate well as well as he could have this year. Again, that could be a testament to his frustration with his situation. Overall, this year, he could have been ranked much higher among NA players had he been in a better situation mentally.

I think overall, for Moon, it’s time to leave last year behind and begin to start working on things to make him a better overall player. Not that Moon is a one-dimensional character at this point, but his defensive game needs work. Overall, this was certainly the best player available for the Penguins the 4th round. Moon should have been taken mid to late third, so Pittsburgh comes away with a fantastic prospect way behind where he should have been taken.

Moon is a bit of a project, but he is certainly a kid that can turn into be a solid third line center. He really needs to work on his defensive game, though.

And, as a final note, I will say this: when it comes to Nathan Moon, there is a lot of untapped offensive potential on the table. This kid has yet to reach the height of what he’s capable of with the puck. Its that untapped offensive potential that can skyrocket him in the Penguins system. We’ve yet to see what Moon can do while playing consistently with other good players.

2007/08 Statistics: 68GP – 35G – 42A – 77Pts – 79PIM