Chase Pearson
Birthday: 1997-08-23 | Position: C |
Eligible for draft: 2015 | Shoots: Left |
Drafted: 2015 | Height: 6-2 |
Acquired: 5th round (140th overall), 2015 | Weight: 190 lbs. |
Probability of Success
- D
History
2012-13: Chase Pearson played for the Atlanta Fire U16 team. The son of former NHLer Scott Pearson, who is one of the hockey directors for the club, he scored 11 goals with 13 assists and 50 penalty minutes in 22 regular season games. In four playoff games he scored 4 goals with 6 assists and 10 penalty minutes. Skating for the Elite Hockey Group in the OHL Cup he had 2 assists and 4 penalty minutes in four games. Pearson was selected by Oshawa in the fourth round (79th overall) in the 2013 OHL Priority Draft and was taken by Youngstown in the fifth round (69th overall) in the 2013 USHL Futures Draft.
2013-14: Pearson made his USHL debut in March — joining the Youngstown Phantoms for two late season games against Cedar Rapids after playing junior A hockey with the Cornwall Colts in Ontario. He skated for Canada East in the 2014 World Junior A Challenge. Pearson had no points nor penalties playing for the Phantoms. He scored 8 goals with 15 assists and 18 penalty minutes in 39 regular season games for Cornwall. The Colts lost to the Ottawa Junior Senators in the Central Canada Hockey League playoff quarterfinals. Pearson had 1 assist and 2 penalty minutes in the five-game series. He had 1 assist in four games for Canada East at the WJAC. Canada East finished sixth, falling 7-5 to the Czech Republic in the fifth-place game.
2014-15: Pearson skated in 57 of 60 regular season games for the Youngstown Phantoms in his first USHL season. A key two-way center and one of the top face-off men for the Phantoms, he scored 12 goals with 14 assists and was +9 with 96 penalty minutes. Youngstown finished first in the East Conference before falling to fourth-place Muskegon in a playoff quarterfinal series. Pearson was -1 with 2 assists and no penalties in four playoff games. In January 2015 the Windsor Spitfires acquired Pearson’s OHL rights from Oshawa. He committed to playing college hockey at the University of Maine in 2015-16 in June. Pearson played for Team Olczyk in the 2014 USA Hockey All-American Top Prospects game and was ranked 123rd amongst North American skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings. He was selected by Detroit in the fifth round (140th overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft.
2015-16: Pearson returned to Youngstown for his second USHL season, serving as an assistant captain with the Phantoms. He scored 12 goals with 38 assists and was +33 with 61 penalty minutes in 55 games. The Phantoms finished fifth in the Eastern Conference, seven points behind Bloomington for the final playoff spot.
Talent Analysis
Pearson is a big player who comes from a non-traditional hockey background — growing up in Georgia where his father, former NHLer Scott Pearson, settled following his pro hockey career. Pearson has steadily added stick handling and skating skills and developed his tactical game in his two seasons in the USHL. He is still a long-range project at this time but should continue developing under the tutelage of University of Maine head coach Red Gendron.
Future
Pearson returned to Youngstown for a second season in the USHL in 2015-16 before embarking on his college career at the University of Maine next season. An athletic and physically imposing player with a responsible two-way game and playmaking ability, he should continue to refine his all-around game with the Black Bears.