Alex Turcotte
2020-21 Team: Ontario Reign
Date of Birth: Feb. 26, 2001
Place of Birth: Elk Grove, IL, USA
Ht: 5-foot-11
Wt: 185 pounds
Shoots: Left
Position: C
Acquired: 2019 NHL Draft No. 5 overall
Alex Turcotte Bio
Alex Turcotte played midget hockey in his home state of Illinois with the Chicago Mission. Playing for the U16 team in the 2016-17 season, he put up 11 goals and 24 assists in 20 games. From there, he moved on to play with the U.S. National Team Development Program (USNTDP) junior team in the United States Hockey League (USHL). In addition to playing for the USNTDP junior team in the 2017-18 season, he also played games on the U.S. National U17 team and U18 team. Overall, he recorded 26 goals and 69 assists in 89 games.
In his pre-draft season, Turcotte continued with the USNTDP junior team and U.S. National U18 team. He filled the scoresheet with 39 goals and 57 assists in just 53 games. This caught the attention of the Los Angeles Kings who drafted him fifth overall at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
After he was drafted, Turcotte went the college hockey route, playing for the University of Wisconsin. In his first NCAA season, he scored nine goals and added 17 assists in 29 games. He also made his first World Junior Championship (WJC) appearance for Team USA, putting up two assists in five games.
Last season, Turcotte played with the Kings’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Ontario Reign. Despite struggling at times, he still managed to record six goals and 15 assists in 32 games with the team. He also headed back to the WJC in 2021 as Team USA’s alternate captain. The team won the tournament, and he contributed three goals — including the game-winning goal of the gold medal game — and five assists in seven games.
Scouting Report
Turcotte is the definition of a complete player. Offensively, he is a fast skater and a great passer. His passing skills pair very nicely with his elite hockey IQ. He is also great positionally and plays the physical game to the best of his ability. Leadership skills and maturity are also aspects of his that can slide under the radar.
As far as weaknesses go, there aren’t many; the 200-foot game that Turcotte plays makes him a jack of all trades player. That said, he could gain a bit of weight, as he comes in at 185 pounds. That’s not terribly light, but adding some strength would only make his physical game stronger.
NHL Projection
Turcotte’s style of play makes him a perfect second-line center for the Kings in the future to play behind Quinton Byfield. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Turcotte ends up being the next captain of the team due to his leadership skills both on and off the ice.
Turcotte has drawn comparisons to many two-way centers across the league such as the current captain of the Kings, Anze Kopitar. Turcotte has also been compared to Ryan O’Reilly and Patrice Bergeron. Turcotte plays a similar style of game to those three, making an impact in all three zones as well as off the ice.
The three players Turcotte has been compared to most have combined for one Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award, one NHL Foundation Player Award, seven Frank J. Selke Trophies (awarded to the forward who demonstrates the most defensive prowess), one Conn Smythe Trophy (awarded to the MVP of the playoffs), one King Clancy Memorial Trophy (awarded to the player that shows exemplary leadership qualities and has made an important contribution to his community), two Lady Byng Memorial Trophies (awarded to the player showing exceptional sportsmanship), four Stanley Cups, and 2,531 points over 3,132 games. It’s safe to say that if Turcotte lived up to any of his comparisons, it would be great news for the Kings.
Quotables
He’s a highly competitive, two-way centre with elite vision and playmaking ability.
EPrinkside.com
Alex has a combination of important assets in today’s game, like skating ability, being able to play above the pace of what the game is, reading the play, hockey sense and compete. That’s not even mentioning puck skills, but his skating, hockey sense and compete are at a very high level and very important when translating to what the pro game is today.
Dave Gregory, Central Scouting
I think it’s no secret – the character and the compete level. We found that to be a very important ingredient for our first round picks, both of them… He has a lot of leadership, natural leadership built into him.
Rob Blake, the general manager of the Kings, on Turcotte.