Logan Sawyer Scouting Report
January 11, 2024
By Grant McCagg
Brooks Bandits winger Logan Sawyer was a stalwart for Canada West at the World Junior Challenge, and helped his draft stock considerably. NHL crossover scouts will be making some trips to Brooks, AB to see Sawyer down the stretch.
Sawyer has 25 points in his last 11 games, including two four-point games and a six-point night. He sits fifth in AJHL scoring with 52 points and has 18 more points than the next highest-scoring rookie.
Here are some highlights from his Dec. 10 match versus Sweden:
Sweden sent a U18 team with many of the nation’s top draft-eligible prospects, so Sawyer’s standout performance showed the scouting world that he isn’t just an AJHL hotshot – he could keep up with the speed and skill of a talented Swedish squad.
Sawyer was the most impactful player on the ice in this game. He anticipated the play well, skated hard and made smart plays from start to finish. He’s not especially quick r but he moves okay for a 17-year-old who needs to add strength – he has a smooth stride and protects the puck efficiently. Perhaps even more importantly, he had a good motor in this contest, so he got to a lot of pucks and created more chances than anyone else through his effort.
I like seeing a player at his best, and from all accounts, the Swedish and US games were Sawyer at his best. In the other matches, he was not as impactful, and that’s why crossover scouts are likely to be heading back to see him at some point this season as consistency will be a question mark.
Here are a few of his more notable goals in the AJHL this season:
The Orangeville, ON native outscored Jonathan Castagna, Jack Pridham and Dean Letourneau in Ontario prep school scoring last season, and the season before that, he was a top-20 scorer in the GTHL U-16 league that was rife with highly-touted 2024 NHL draft prospects. He is heading to Providence next fall.
Brooks is 37-4 this season, so if the Bandits win the AJHL as expected and advance to the RBC Cup, look for Sawyewr to get plenty of looks between now and the draft. At this point, he looks like a candidate to go anywhere from 45-75 in the draft. If he has solid playoff, and he may climb into the top 40.