Peyton Krebs: The Playmaking Force

Stats Deprived by a Weak Team?

Peyton Krebs has spent his past 3 seasons in the WHL with the Kootenay Ice. Before his WHL career commenced, Krebs played for the AMBHL Bantam AAA Rocky Mountain Raiders where he amassed 102 points in 27 games. His 3.8 P/G performance got him drafted 1st overall to the Kootenay Ice in 2016. He only played 6 games in his rookie season, but Krebs managed a goal and 5 assists with a -5 rating. He played in 67 WHL contests the following season, netting 17 goals and 37 assists for 54 points and a rating of -22 with 5 game winners. This was the highest point total for all WHL rookies. Krebs gained captaincy in his NHL draft year for Kootenay, as he finished off the season with 19 goals and 49 assists for 68 points in 64 games. He tallied a -50 rating by season’s end, and lead the team in power play goals with 8. Peyton earned team captain for Team Canada’s World Junior team, assisted by Nathan Legare and Dylan Cozens. He scored 10 points in 7 games including 6 goals and 4 assists. In the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup Peyton captured gold as he notched 5 points in his 5 games played including Josh Williams’ OT game-winning semi-finals goal against Team USA. Krebs was drafted 17th overall to the Vegas Golden Knights after being ranked 10th for North American skaters by Central Scouting. Throughout the course of Krebs’ WHL career, Peyton has scored 37 goals and 91 assists in 137 games. He also owns a -77 rating, 103 penalty minutes, 7 game winners, 11 power play goals, 314 shots and a 48.22 FO%. He has yet to make a playoff appearance. 

For the great majority of the 2018-19 WHL season, Krebs was Kootenay’s “go-to guy” for various situations. The organization relied on the centerman to upsurge the Ice’s offence. Krebs isn’t the fastest player on the ice when skating in a straight line, but he learns and understands how to make up for that, or fill in the gap. His agility and dynamic game is sensational, so he uses his acceleration and crossovers to boast away from the opposition, to separate from them for extra space and time. He is labeled as a top-tier skater because his ability to adjust his velocity to deceive the defender. He also thinks very strategically about his momentum too, and how to deceive the defender. Many times, you see Krebs pass the puck to a teammate, and accelerate away. The defender sticks with Krebs as he tries to boast away, so he uses several very quick crossovers that seem to throw off the opponents as he flees himself from the defender. The teammate he passed to passes back to him and Krebs sets himself up for a dangerous opportunity. Some analysts refer to this technique as linear crossovers. All in all, Krebs effectively uses his agility and gear changing to escape from the defender without the puck. Several other times, Krebs tends to skate around the outside of the offensive end, opening up heel-to-heel facing the net front. Seeming like a harmless play, Krebs quickly passes it out front for an easy tap-in. A perfect example of this is Krebs’ setup to Arthur Kaliyev in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. This well displays Peyton’s lower body strength as he generates the power to push around the offensive zone. It also arrays his edgework and quick feet to protect the puck and evade the opponent. Peyton tends to attack the defensive box when on the power play. He uses his shifty hands to avoid the other team and cause a defensive break down. Despite much pressure from the opponents, Krebs still comes through. He presents great game sense as you constantly see him shoulder checking before going in for the loose puck or even with possession. When obtaining possession, Peyton is a very fast thinker. When observing a forechecker coming at him with little time, he can quickly move the puck to his backhand and shovel it away just in time for his time to retain possession. Krebs has an accurate shot but could use some improvement in the strength and hardness. Peyton also shows a solid two-way force with his top-notch work ethic and rapid backchecking abilities. Krebs saw ice time down the middle at center and on the wing with the Ice this season, proving his versatility. Playing for the Ice didn’t help his draft stock much, as it hurt him especially for being such a pass first originated player. Peyton Krebs plays a similar game to Los Angeles Kings’ forward Anze Kopitar.

With a different club and teammates, Krebs has the potential to become a goal scorer instead of a playmaker. Perhaps the relocation to Winnipeg will start a new chapter for Krebs’ numbers in the WHL. Peyton Krebs is yet to be signed by the Vegas Golden Knights, and will start next season in Winnipeg. 

Written August 8, 2019.