Standing at 6'3", and weighing in at 250 pounds, Svatoslav Bodnar of the Seattle Riot is an intimidating presence on the ice. While he doesn’t have an affinity for scoring, Bodnar knows where to be on the ice and can lay a mean hit on anyone who happens to be in his path. As a young defenseman, this style of play is almost exactly what SMJHL rookie Jake Reid is looking to learn from, while mixing in his own talents of course. As another big defenseman, comparisons between Reid and Bodnar came quickly. When asked about Bodnar, Jake Reid had this to say.

“You know, I just look at the guy and I’m always impressed by his play. I mean, he skates hard, and he’s really hard to knock off the puck. Definitely a guy I look up to and try to learn from his game. He could drop the gloves a bit more though”

While both players are strong defenders who know how to play the body, Jake will have a long road ahead of him if he wants to reach Bodnar’s level. Particularly, Jake will need to make some significant improvements to his puck handling and skating skills, that some say are lacking. Only time will tell if Jake Reid pans out in the SHL, but after speaking to him, I think he’s happy with his progress so far.