Spencer Watson

History

2011-12: Spencer Watson played for the junior A London Nationals as a 15-year-old and had a huge offensive season with the London Junior Knights Gold minor midget team. He had no points in two regular season games with the Nationals and 3 goals with 1 assist and 2 penalty minutes in seven playoff games. Watson scored 5 goals in five Sutherland Cup games. He scored two goals in his only midget major game with the London Knights. Playing alongside his twin brother Matthew Watson with the Knights Gold team, Spencer Watson scored 55 goals with 30 assists and had 36 penalty minutes in 41 regular season games. In five OHL Cup games he scored 4 goals with 4 assists. He was selected by Kingston in the second round (24th overall) of the 2012 OHL Priority Draft.

2012-13: Watson was named to the OHL’s All-Rookie first team following his first season with Kingston and played for Canada Ontario in the 2013 U17 World Hockey Challenge. He scored 23 goals with 20 assists and was an even plus/minus with 18 penalty minutes in 63 regular season games. The Frontenacs finished third in the East Division and were swept by Barrie in a first round playoff series. Watson played in two of four playoff games; finishing -1 and scoring 1 goal with 1 assist. In five games for Canada Ontario at the WHC he scored 5 goals with 2 assists and had 2 penalty minutes.

2013-14: Watson skated for Canada’s gold medal U18 team at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Tournament in August and was the tournament’s leading scorer before returning to Kingston for his second OHL season. He scored 33 goals with 35 assists and was +31 with 16 penalty minutes in 65 regular season games for the Frontenacs. Kingston finished second in the East Division; falling to Peterborough 2-1 in overtime in the decisive seventh game of their first round series. Martin scored 1 goal with 4 assists and was +4 in the series. In five games for Canada at the Ivan Hlinka tournament he scored 4 goals with 6 assists and had 27 penalty minutes. Watson was selected to play for Team Orr in the 2014 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. He was ranked 59th amongst North American skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings and was selected by the Kings in the seventh round (209th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft.

2014-15: Watson skated in 41 regular season games for the Kingston Frontenacs in his second OHL season — missing over two months after suffering an injury at the end of November. He was the second-leading scorer for the injury-riddled Frontenacs despite missing 27 games, scoring 20 goals with 28 assists and finishing +10 with 10 penalty minutes. Kingston finished third in the East Division, falling to North Bay in a first-round playoff series. Watson has 1 assist and was -2 with no penalties in four playoff games. 

2015-16: Watson led Kingston in scoring during the regular season and skated for the OHL all-stars against Russia in the 2015 Subway Series in his third season with the Frontenacs. 

Talent Analysis

Watson has been among the most gifted scorers in the OHL since joining the Kingston Frontenacs as a 16-year-old in 2012-13 but his lack of size and physical strength are clearly a concern to scouts and player personnel people in the NHL. Watson has dominated at times at the junior level and has a full tool box of offensive tricks but his stature leaves him susceptible to the bigger, stronger and faster players at the pro level. He would have to still be considered a work in progress at this point and his game could be better suited to Europe.

Future

Watson has had a breakout season for Kingston in 2015-16 in his third OHL season. Slightly-undersized but shifty and offensively-polished, he has yet to sign a contract with Los Angeles and would re-enter the 2016 NHL Draft if not signed before then. Watson's scoring ability suggests he can be an effective offensive forward but his size and injury history are concerns.