Another off-season, another set of British prospects set to find their forever homes in the SHL. Although it might take time to see them hit the ice with the senior team, these young players will look to bring back the gold in the WJC instead. A quick rundown for the public:

D – Bane - @Winter is Coming  -
Height: 6ft 4in
Weight: 225 lbs
Straight from the capital city comes Bane, a massive 6ft4, 225lbs player who towers above most others on the ice. Quite possibly the most balanced player in the draft, Bane has no strengths but also no glaring weaknesses in his game. In spite of his physique, he is not an aggressive type of player, preferring a more measured approach. In the SMJHL Entry Draft, he was selected by the Nevada Battleborn, one of two new expansion teams, which is to say that the expectations for the team to perform were low. In spite of that, Bane posted 2 goals and 8 points, whilst laying down 99 hits and blocking 87 shots in just under 15 mins of ice time per game. The Battleborn finished last in the standings but with all their rookie players gaining significant experience, this team will move up the standings in their second season of existence and Bane will definitely be able to shoulder on an increased presence on ice.
Scouting (TPE) rankings have Bane 11th overall, good for a mid first round selection. Depending on teams’ desire or need to select a defenseman, he could even move up into the 5-7 range. Once he develops, he could be a solid player for the British IIHF team for years to come.

C – Dee Centerman IV - @grok -
Height: 6ft 3in
Weight: 240 lbs
Dee Centerman is a defensive minded two-way forward who has the size and speed to become a force in the SHL in the near future. Excelling in his defensive read of the game as well as his strength and checking being above the average players of his class, Dee has the stamina to go on the ice for long stretches at a time. Favouring to pass rather than taking the shot himself, he has on more than one occasion left his opponents and sometimes his teammates surprised at the accuracy of his passes. On a developing young Vancouver Whalers team that does not have many high-end veterans, Centerman was able to get 2 goals and 11 points in 17 mins of ice time a night. It is good to note that he has taken a significant amount of penalties (48 PIMs). His 52 hits and 28 shots blocked do show a willingness to dish out some punishment and to do everything he can to stop the pucks from going in.
According to scouting (TPE) rankings, Centerman is slated to be drafted in the latter half of the first round, being ranked 15th in his class. He is represented by the same agent that retired British hockey legend, Cedric Robinson had during his time in the SHL.

RW – Kynwyl Pearce - @Shmurph -
Height: 5ft 10in
Weight: 205 lbs
All the way from Swansea, comes Kynwyl Pearce, a 5ft10, 205lbs winger who to be the next Welsh sensation in the SHL. Drafted to the Kelowna Knights in the SMJHL Entry Draft, Pearce was able to put up 9 goals and 20 points whilst only playing 12 minutes per game on average. Extremely efficient at putting himself in front of the net and making himself a human screen, he’s been able to use his size to great effect, making goalies feel absolutely miserable by punishing them when they give up rebounds. This is also reflected in his puck handling skills being greater than average.
If there are any glaring weaknesses in his game, we would be looking at his defensive game, with him, being less eager to block shots in his defensive end, preferring to stay further out and hop on a breakaway pass. Physically, he’s well rounded and despite hailing from a country stereotypically known for fighting, he does not like to drop the gloves, preferring his opponents get punished by putting their hands on him rather than the opposite.
Drated 23rd overall in the SMJHL Entry Draft, Pearce has been ranked 49th according to central scouting (TPE Rankings). This would be good for late second round or early third, but we feel that the notoriety of his agent might allow him to move up a few spots in the second round.

G – Mat Smith - @Matteo -
Height: 6ft 1in
Weight: 180 lbs
Mat Smith is a young British goalie who will have a lot of time to develop his game in the juniors and the WJC with Del Vecchio & Ramsay there to protect the nets for the senior team. His playstyle relies heavily on his solid positioning and thanks to some good reflexes, is able to recover from bad situations better than the average goaltender. More of a stay in-the-crease kind of goaltender, his passing, skating and puck handling skills are acceptable but have much room to be improved upon in the coming years.
This past season, on a fresh expansion team in Quebec, Smith had 23 games players, sharing duties with David Danielson. Finishing with 6 wins and 13 losses, Smith was able to post a .905 save percentage with a 3.91 GAA, the same goals against average as his teammate, who played in 10 more games than him. It will be interesting to see the battle between the two goalies next season and who will be able to take the starting goalie role from the get-go. Scouting (TPE) wise, Smith comes up at 36th. The estimated draft position would see him taken either in the late 2nd round or early 3rd round.  Due to the nature of the goalie position, I would not be surprised to see him fall further than he’d want to.

C – Josh Dolphin - @d0lph1nb0y -
Height: 6ft 0in
Weight: 200 lbs
The southwest of England is not known for producing many ice hockey players, but Josh Dolphin and his brother Zach have managed to rise through the ranks to make the SMJHL and are now looking to get drafted in the SHL. Josh is a balanced player, good at all offensive aspects of his game, with faceoffs being arguably his best attribute. Defensively, he has much work to do should he want to get increased responsibilities, such as special teams time in the future.
In the regular season, Josh had only 7 assists, finished with a +/- of -4 and accumulated 12 pims. Used in a very limited role, he also only had 6mins of time on ice a night on average. Based on the scouting (TPE) rankings, he is slated to go in the early-mid 3rd round of the upcoming SHL Entry Draft.

RW – Zach Dolphin - @Dolph96 -
Height: 5ft 8in
Weight: 150 lbs
The smaller of the two Dolphin brothers, Zach got to experience what it was like to be on a new team… quite literally. Selected by the Quebec City Citadelles in the SMJHL Entry draft, Zach was given plenty of icetime in his rookie season, and he made the most of it. With 8 goals and 18 points he handily outscored his brother. Statistically, Zach was also more infolved defensively, with 26 hits and 71 shots blocked. His efforts on the ice were rewarded with an average of 12.30 minutes per night.
Playstyle wise, Zach is very offensive minded and defense is more of an afterthought. He excels in all facets of the offensive game without any attribute sticking out, making his game one of the better-rounded games among his class. However, for a small player, he plays a big physical game when he has to, and this past season on a very young team, there was plenty of room for that to happen. Ranked 67th in scouting (TPE), he might be able to get himself drafted in the 4th round or later, but it might be a heartbreak for the young Brit should he fail to get himself drafted.


RW – Adrian Ayers - @gordieboom
Height: 6ft 2in
Weight: 211 lbs
Ayers hails from Ayr in Scotland and plays on the wing for the Carolina Kraken. With an offensive minded playstyle, he’s a player who likes to take shots from the face-off circles and get the buck through traffic, very accurate, he also excels at getting himself open on the ice and catch defenders back footed on the change. His defensive game still needs a bit of work as does his physicality, as he tends to get overpowered off the puck by stronger players.
This past season, he had 3 goals and 15 points with a +/- of -1 whilst being used for 12:31 mins on average. It is good to note that this past season, Ayers had no time on special teams. Ranked 55th in scouting (TPE rankings), Ayers did announce he was retiring from hockey as a whole after the WJC to succeed in his father’s business at the paper company.