OHL Prospect Profile: Francesco Arcuri

Francesco Arcuri is one of the elite playmakers available for the 2019 OHL Draft, with dynamic puck skills and hockey sense, he dictates the pace of play. Arcuri is continuing to realize his potential, but currently projects as a top-10 selection.

– Francesco Arcuri –

Don Mills Flyers (GTHL) | Center | 2019 OHL Draft Eligible

Woodbridge, Ontario | 5-foot-11, 161-pounds | June 13th, 2003

Francesco Arcuri is a gifted playmaker who oozes offensive talent each shift. As a member of the Toronto Marlboros during his Bantam season, Arcuri often stood out as the prospect with the greatest upside, eventually earning a few games with the Minor Midget Marlboros. His transition into the Flyers lineup has not been seamless, but he continues to show great signs of progress.

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Arcuri currently centres the team’s second line and is the type of player who can dictate the pace of play. He possesses tremendous puck possession talent through his ability to corral the puck in the defensive zone and maneuver through traffic to gain the offensive zone. Arcuri is an exciting prospect to watch, with promising potential to grow his production as the season moves along.

Strengths:

  • Puck Skills
  • Hockey Sense
  • Skating

A wizard with the puck, Arcuri can stickhandle in a phone booth. He shows tremendous poise in tight and under pressure, and excels at carrying the puck into soft spots. He reads the game very well and often appears to be one step ahead of his opponents. A slick playmaker, Arcuri regularly dishes impressive passes across the width of the rink through available lanes that no one else saw.

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Further, Arcuri is a fantastic skater with very quick feet and excellent agility. He can be shifty with the puck or blow by defenders with above-average top speeds. Arcuri exhibits several gears to his game, and is able to slow down or pick up the pace of play with a few quick strides. He projects as a skilled playmaker with innate abilities to generate offence out of nothing.

Area of Improvement:

  • Shot

Arcuri is undoubtedly more of a natural playmaker than a sniper, utilizing his vision of the ice to create opportunities for his teammates. With that said, his shot could definitely use some work as he transitions into junior next year. While Arcuri possesses a sneaky accurate snap shot, it doesn’t have the power behind it to be considered potent.

Although he may not be a sniper by any means, that doesn’t take away from the outstanding talent that Arcuri showcases regularly. A tremendous playmaker with a smooth stride and silky mitts, Arcuri can make opponents look silly with a number of go-to moves. Adding some strength and snap to his release would only make Arcuri a more dynamic player with a greater arsenal of tools to generate offence.

Future Potential:

Francesco Arcuri should be considered amongst the top tier of playmakers in the 2003-born draft class. He combines his shifty skating with tremendous vision of the ice and an excellent sense of developing plays to be able to read and react on the fly and dish back-door passes to his line mates like clockwork.

Entering the ’18-19 campaign, Arcuri was originally considered to be a top-three prospect for the 2019 OHL Draft, but following an ongoing transition into a new organization, he now appears to project as a top-10 pick with room to move up as he continues to find his game each week.

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