2024-25 Tampa vs NYR Perbix scout

 Part 1 Defensive Zone

Perbix is a solid player without possession in the defensive zone. He is not overly aggressive or overly conservative. He has good positioning and is rarely caught in bad spots in his own zone. His rush defense is very good in the d-zone he understands where to be relative to the puck carrier. He also excels at using his body to close off entries into the zone or disrupt puck carriers. One example of this from our scouting was when he used his size and aggressiveness to shut down a zone entry from Artemi Panarin. Panarin entered the zone then stopped and looked for a pass. Perbix quickly adjusted and was able to hit Panarin before he could make a pass which resulted in a turnover. Perbix has a solid blend of tenacity, aggressiveness, and physicality which allows him to make such plays. 

A key part of being a good defender is being able to play well with possession in your own defensive zone. Perbix is able to make smart plays with the puck in his own end. One of those plays is to get the puck off of dump ins and generate a successful breakout. During our film evaluation there were multiple times when Perbix was able to do this. A couple of his breakout passes were deep into the neutral zone and led to odd man rushes. Although he did fail at making a few breakouts we feel the majority of them were pretty good. His positioning was a little shaky but he was quick to recognize when he was out of position, and used his aggressiveness to make up for his mistakes.

One thing we noticed and really liked from Perbix was how he handled the defensive zone faceoffs. Every draw in his own zone he would line up on the inside of the left hash marks and scrape across the ice to the right point. As a good defender in his own zone this allowed for him to basically play zone coverage against the opponents pointmen. He generated a few turnovers by doing this as well. Later in the game Tampa decided to not have him do this and it resulted in an easy pass to a wide open Zibanjed for a goal that iced the game for the Rangers.

Part 2 Neutral Zone

Based on our evaluations Perbix seems to be a highly skilled player in the neutral zone. Tampa during this game did not do many neutral zone resets; they were mostly in attack mode due to being down a goal early. However, Perbix's skills were highlighted by his ability to shut down the other team and make good passes back into the offensive zone. For example he shut down 3 plays in the neutral zone that led to offensive zone entries in one shift. This was mainly due to his ability to maintain a solid gap between the attackers, and know when to be aggressive and when to be conservative. Not only was he able to shut down these plays defensively but he was also able to make good quick passes to forwards in stride to the offensive zone.

Another trait Perbix possesses is his ability to win one on one battles in the neutral zone. His physicality and tenacity combined with his size make him a tough guy to get beat in a board battle. When he wins these battles he also has the skill to once again make a great pass and get the play going into the o-zone. He may not be the most highly skilled player but his sheer ability to bully guys off pucks makes him valuable in this area of the ice.

Part 3 Offensive Zone

In the offensive zone Perbix showed solid ability with the puck on his stick. He has good passing ability, a decent shot, and solid movement into good areas to either pass or shoot. Although there was limited opportunity in this zone during the game we watched he showed some skill. He was very good with his positioning in the zone when his team had possession and when they did not. Perbix maintained his point very well and did not seem to worry about making mistakes. I say this because during the game we saw him enter the zone and drive to the net multiple times. He did a great job at understanding when he is one of the only guys on an attack and has to fill the role a forward would usually have. We also saw him make a nice move on a defender and get into the slot from the point for a good shot opportunity.

Conclusive Analysis

We believe Perbix to be a very solid 2nd/3rd pair defenseman. His defensive abilities are very good for the NHL level and he shows decent offensive skills mainly passing. However with limited ice time, lack of special teams play, and being on a good and well coached team it is tough to truly know his skill level. It will be interesting to see how he handles potential new opportunities and more ice time in Nashville. He also has 13 games of playoff experience which should help him be confident on his new team.