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***Jexter*** · 11-17-2023, 12:13 PM

The SHL S74 Entry Draft is soon to be upon us and with a larger class size of about 66 active players, this promises to be a very meaningful one in the seasons to come. Of course, there are notable recreates, some of whom have over $100 million saved in their bank accounts and we also have the first timers who have grinded to already have over $10 million or even $20 million in savings already.

Some of the draft class helped shatter scoring records, and some had abysmal plus/minuses in their first season the SMJHL, but all of that will not matter Saturday. Instead, all that matters is what a general manager thinks they want from the draft this year. However, there are many players who come from some users who have done quite a bit in the past. Will the General Managers be more inclined to go with these known quantities or are they willing to roll with the new and exciting prospects.

We will take a quick dive into three of the top recreates and three of the top rookies and seeing how they match up. All of these players are possible first-rounders and have at least 350 TPE.

First up for the recreates, we have Cal Juice. Hailing from Czechia, Cal Juice played their first season with the Nevada Battleborn as the left wing on the second line where they racked up 54 points through the 66 regular season games. Of those points, 21 of them were goals, which is impressive for a rookie stint on a build that seems to focus more on physical/skating ability over a shoot heavy build. Outside of the rink, Cal Juice has around $77 million in the bank ready to spend and Cal Juice’s pilot has worked on two previous players with the most recent player having been at 1511 TPE. While not a max earner with that character, Cal Juice may be a different story or just what a GM is looking for as a known quantity player, being low risk and high reward.

Next for the recreates, we have Mikkel Enevoldsen who comes from Aalborg, Denmark. Enevoldsen played with the Regina Elk this last season in the SMJHL and will represent Team World in the WJC. Mikkel was in the top half of scorers for defenders on the Elk this regular season with 45 points. Mikkel Enevoldsen is an extremely well-rounded defender with plenty of TPE invested in the offensive ratings while still being up to the task with their defensive abilities. Enevoldsen comes from a line of successful players in the SHL, with the previous player reaching the 2k club. Enevoldsen also sits with $77 million in the bank. Not to mention, their mock draft has been copied by most of the entries so far. Mikkel Enevoldsen seems to be a solid lock for the first round as long they keep up their current form.

Dag-Otto Björntjänst of Sweden is a defensive minded, recreated center who favors a strong passing game with a solid skating ability. Dag-Otto Björntjänst scored only 31 points in the S73 SMJHL season, but the Carolina Kraken did not have a strong year and Dag-Otto Björntjänst did not have a lot of scoring built in. What is really exciting about Dag-Otto Björntjänst and why many speculate they might go first overall or at least certainly in the top 4 is that they sit on $162 million in the bank and their previous player reached a staggering 2315 TPE. With their previous player being a defender and the current build of Dag-Otto Björntjänst being set as a hard-nosed center with a great 2-way game, are rebuilding teams going to prioritize this style over a flashy scorer?

Moving onto the rookies, Frøya Solberg is a center from Norway and played with the Quebec City Citadelles this past season alongside her twin sister Sonja. While new to the league, Frøya Solberg is one of the most active members not only of the S74 draft class, but the entire league. Solberg hit 30 goals in her first season alongside 29 assists. While Frøya Solberg’s rookie numbers were outshone by teammate Celeste Desjardins, Solberg’s leadership and activity makes her an extremely attractive grab for teams looking to revitalize their locker rooms. Frøya Solberg only has $7 million in her bank, but boasts an offensive centric playstyle that has not skimped on being well-rounded for defense and skating. Based on the extremely high ceiling of Frøya Solberg, many have speculated that she could go as high as first overall and be a key building block for franchises who currently find themselves at the bottom. The one major caveat is that Frøya has expressed a firm stance that she will go where her sister Sonja goes, meaning teams will have to use two draft picks on rookies. Now, Sonja is no slouch either, boasting numbers very close to Frøya’s and a comparable build and of course chemistry, but it will be a gamble for teams with only one early pick to take Frøya and an investment should a team use two early picks on the sisters.

Squidwardo Tentaclés from Latvia is a left winger who has burst onto the scene with activity, particularly in making media and graphics. Squidwardo Tentaclés operates several columns in written media that cover everything from recaps, player or team deep dives and predictions and has worked on creating cards as well as assisting the Yukon Head Office. This site activity has amassed Squidwardo Tentaclés a bank account of $36 million in one season, by far the largest of the rookies in the S74 draft class. Squidwardo Tentaclés played for the Yukon Malamutes and performed very well on their second line, scoring 20 goals, and tallying 35 assists. The Squid also has used their 350 TPE to build a 2-way forward with a high playmaking ability on offense. While not as active as Frøya Solberg, Tentaclés is far from quiet and could be a serious boon to locker rooms. Of course, the major draw of Tentaclés is their massive bank account among true rookies that promises to grow greatly even in the off season. Squidwardo Tentaclés is expected to be a top ten pick this draft, but it could legitimately be anywhere from 1 to 10.

Rounding out our players for the day, we have Simo Jääskeläinen from Finland who is a stalwart defender on the Detroit Falcons. Simo Jääskeläinen had a very low scoring season on the Falcons, but may be the first to tell you that they are completely fine with that. Jääskeläinen is built to keep pucks out of their net, not put them in the other team’s, even though Simo boasts a very good passing rating as of now as well as a decent puckhandling ability. Simo Jääskeläinen thrives in the physical game particularly hitting and has put lots of points into fighting as well as Aggression and Bravery. What’s more impressive is that they have accumulated over $15 million in the bank in one season which is on the higher side for true rookies in this draft class. The consistency and hard playstyle could be very appealing to teams looking for a future big defender rather than a scoring star. For a team not in the top ten of the draft class, this could be the perfect player for a guaranteed top 4 defender that can be slotted onto the penalty kill.

Comparing these 6 players, we can clearly see a strategy of playing it safe versus rolling the dice. It will probably come down to what fits and what teams need over a player just being better than the other. Again, these are six players of 66 and there are maybe 30-40 of those that should be first rounders in any other season, but the S74 draft class is massive.

However, the major story or concern in this draft class is the emergence of the Lobster. The idea of the lobster transcends emotes or gifs even though that is where it mainly started. Now, the Lobster remains an idea that the S74 class could band together and create the 21st team in the SHL, the Lobsters. Several players of the S74 class have expressed a desire to play under the Lobster banner, especially recreates who seemed a little bored at the time and were looking for a meme. Where the Lobsters would play out of was also a major point of contention. There was the obvious answer of Maine or Lewiston, but quickly others felt that the Lobsters must go where lobsters are rarely found. Really this whole Lobster thing is just the sort of shenanigans that will butter up some General Managers or make them turn red. As half steamed as this idea is, the draft class is trying to break the hard shell to standout. Really many are trying to claw for better draft positioning, possibly for bragging rights in some cases. At the end of the day, or by midday Saturday, it will be up to the general managers to see what comes out of the lobster pot.

#DraftLangstonHardisonLaurent

WC: 1574