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***By-Tor*** · 05-14-2024, 10:43 AM

I'm sure it was a total coincidence that St. Louis and Winnipeg were put on the same spotlight card this week, but I can't help but think Carpy did that just for me. My player, Marcel Beck, was drafted by both St. Louis and Winnipeg, and has known no other teams throughout his career. Naturally, this got me thinking: how many other people were drafted by both the St. Louis Scarecrows franchise and the Winnipeg Aurora franchise? Surely there are others, but how many? And who are they?

There have been many other players in the history of the league to play for both franchises, but that analysis is way too hard to scrape lol. And only a handful of the below players have played exclusively for those two teams. Winnipeg has a storied history reaching all the way back to season 1, while the St. Louis franchise traces its roots back to season 5, going through team iterations in Chicago and Boston. In total, 23 players in the history of the SHL and SMJHL have been drafted first by the St. Louis franchise, then by Winnipeg. Some of the names you will surely recognize, while many of the others are low stock burnouts.

Rashad Thomas - F
Season 6 NWJHL Draft: 1st overall to the Boston Battalion
Season 7 SHL Draft: 2nd overall to the Winnipeg Jets

Thomas was a highly touted forward prospect that ended up playing 144 games for Winnipeg. Never reaching their full potential, Rashad moved on from Winnipeg after season 9. In those 144 games, Thomas was able to amass a pedestrian 82 points and 298 hits. Filling the role of a mid-six winger, Rashad Thomas had a serviceable career and is the first of the 23 to be in this prestigious franchise club.

The Beast - F
Season 12 NWJHL Draft: 27th overall to the Chicago Hitmen
Season 13 SHL Draft: 36th overall to the Winnipeg Jets

Despite being drafted by Winnipeg, The Beast never actually played for the Jets. The Beast ended up playing 250 games over 5 seasons for Texas and Toronto, amassing only 24 points. One of the quintessential grinders in the history of the league, not much can be said about The Beast other than their draft locations.

Rob King - D
Season 14 SMJHL Draft: 10th overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 13 SHL Draft: 33rd overall to the Winnipeg Jets

King had a decent career in St. Louis, 67 GP/ 27 Pts, but never actually played for the Jets. They ended up playing 250 games for Los Angeles from S16 to S20. In those 250 games, they amassed a staggering 2 whole points in an average ice time of 28 seconds! Wait - something's not right here.

Max McDonald - F
Season 16 SMJHL Draft: 7th overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 17 SHL Draft: 4th overall to the Winnipeg Jets

The first Winnipeg stalwart, McDonald played 396 games for the Jets after spending one season in St. Louis. With 578 hits and 163 points, McDonald was a smash mouth player that won a cup with the Jets in S19. He finished his career with two short stops in New England and Portland. The bottom six center had decent success after the high draft hype had him taken in the top 10 of both drafts.

Jed Hackert - F
Season 16 SMJHL Draft: 51st overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 17 SHL Draft: 29th overall to the Winnipeg Jets

Hackert had a successful single season in St. Louis, then went on to have a decent 323 game stint in Winnipeg. Known for his two way play, Jed won a cup with Winnipeg in S25. He then moved on to West Kendall and Buffalo, but his contributions to Winnipeg were well received by fans.

Patrick Satan - F
Season 20 SMJHL Draft: 8th overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 21 SHL Draft: 10th overall to the Winnipeg Jets

Spending two seasons in St. Louis (63 pts in 80 games), Satan had a prolific career in Winnipeg. Starting with a Jesster top rookie win, Patrick had 372 points in 607 games with the Jets. Satan was also a leading member of the S25 Cup run. In two separate seasons Satan hit 48 points in 50 games, one of those being S25 and leading the team to that Cup. Satan was instrumental in bringing that cup to Winnipeg. After a long 13 seasons in Winnipeg, Satan moved across the country to Hamilton, where he spent two twilight seasons.

Bryce Collins - F
Season 22 SMJHL Draft: 7th overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 23 SHL Draft: 8th overall to the Winnipeg Jets

The third member of our S25 Cup run, Collins spent one season in St. Louis then was called up to be the hard hitter for the Jets. With 698 hits in 352 Winnipeg games played, Collins was also an effective scorer. In his best season, he had 39 points in 50 games. About half his career was in Winnipeg while the latter half was in Manhattan.

Chris McGregor - F
Season 23 SMJHL Draft: 20th overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 24 SHL Draft: 40th overall to the Winnipeg Jets

I'm not actually sure what they did because the Analyzer is bonked for them. They probably did not have a career of note - a few seasons in Winnipeg maybe.

Johnny Cahill - D
Season 24 SMJHL Draft: 49th overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 25 SHL Draft: 42nd overall to the Winnipeg Jets

For such a low pick, Cahill had a surprisingly good career. Three seasons in St. Louis tallied 95 points, 250 hits and 161 shots blocked in 150 games. After graduating to the major league, Cahill had 64 points, 188 block, and 212 hits in 138 games with Winnipeg. After a tiny post-deadline stint in Portland, Cahill had an even better time in Los Angeles to close out his career.

McLaren Nasher - D
Season 24 SMJHL Draft: 25th overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 25 SHL Draft: 39nd overall to the Winnipeg Jets

Taken before Cahill in the same draft, Nasher never actually played for St. Louis, but actually for their rival Detroit. They also never played in the SHL. A disappointment.

Jason Visser - F
Season 30 SMJHL Draft: 21st overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 31 SHL Draft: 8th overall to the Winnipeg Jets

Yes, that Jason Visser. The best player in the history of the SHL. In addition to all their accolades, Visser is the first of two on this list to only ever play games for St. Louis (2 seasons) and Winnipeg (19 seasons). Loyalty and excellence.

Stefan Digrio - F
Season 33 SMJHL Draft: 26th overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 34 SHL Draft: 18th overall to the Winnipeg Jets

Playing 3 seasons in St. Louis and 3 games with Winnipeg, Digrio did not make much impact with either group. They played a handful of seasons elsewhere, but to not much success.

Seth Paige - D
Season 35 SMJHL Draft: 32nd overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 36 SHL Draft: 20th overall to the Winnipeg Jets

Spending a whopping 5 seasons in St. Louis, they had a good stint there with 112 points, 423 hits, and 251 shots blocked in 250 games. While not playing for Winnipeg, Paige did end up playing parts of four seasons with San Francisco.

Tony Snow - F
Season 38 SMJHL Draft: 44th overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 39 SHL Draft: 37th overall to the Winnipeg Jets

Another St. Louis stalwart, Snow spent 5 seasons in a Scarecrows uniform, their best season coming in S41 with 47 points in 50 games. Their game never translated to the major league unfortunately, as they only played one season in Minnesota before calling it quits.

Edgars Skalde - D
Season 40 SMJHL Draft: 16th overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 41 SHL Draft: 40th overall to the Winnipeg Jets

Skalde did not have a career of note other than three seasons in St. Louis. They may have played two seasons in the SHL, but not stats were registered.

Nicholas Williams - F
Season 42 SMJHL Draft: 41st overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 43 SHL Draft: 22nd overall to the Winnipeg Jets

Three great seasons in St. Louis, gets called up for the S44 Cup run, wins the Cup as a rookie, plays one season in Winnipeg to then move on the New Orleans to have a significant career. Over the course of their entire career, regular season and playoffs, Williams had 611 points in 807 games. They are a prestigious member of this STL > WPG club.

Lil' Manius - F
Season 42 SMJHL Draft: 25th overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 43 SHL Draft: 6th overall to the Winnipeg Jets

Mirroring the start of Williams' career, Manius won the cup as a rookie, played a few season in Winnipeg, then was traded to New Orleans. Manius has 197 points in 319 games for the Jets, with 847 hits. Their predecessor, Big Manius, was a HOF hitter for Winnipeg and a top player. Lil' Manius was a bit more junior but still a hard hitter nonetheless. Lil' Manius currently sits 17th on the all-time hits record list.

Jerry Larry - F
Season 43 SMJHL Draft: 10th overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 44 SHL Draft: 15th overall to the Winnipeg Jets

Five seasons in St. Louis, but barely anything to show in the SHL. Another unfortunate career junior that never panned out for Winnipeg.

Slip McScruff - D
Season 44 SMJHL Draft: 17th overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 45 SHL Draft: 13th overall to the Winnipeg Jets

Our first currently active player, Slip McScruff has played 32 seasons in the SHL. After starting with three seasons in St. Louis, McScruff then played 824 games for Winnipeg before leaving to other markets to play another 1002 games and counting. Truly one of the ironmen of history, McScruff has league records in Games Played and Blocks. He is also 4th all time in hits. He may not have the impressive stats season to season (only over 30 points once), but his longevity and defensive prowess is extremely impressive.

Richard Majors - G
Season 53 SMJHL Draft: 15th overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 54 SHL Draft: 53rd overall to the Winnipeg Jets

After a so-so 4 season, 55 game backup career in St. Louis, Majors played backup with limited success for Los Angeles and Montreal for parts of eight seasons. A career .909 is pretty good, but 3.9 goals against per game is glaring. He never played for Winnipeg.

Fufu Fufunci - F
Season 57 SMJHL Draft: 69th overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 58 SHL Draft: 69th overall to the Winnipeg Aurora

Never playing a game in either league, this player could have had it all but squandered their chance with inactivity.

Scooby Doo - F
Season 58 SMJHL Draft: 26th overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 59 SHL Draft: 44th overall to the Winnipeg Aurora

Scooby Doo played three seasons in St. Louis and one season in Nevada before signing a free agent deal four seasons later for a one season limelight call in Edmonton. In 66 games, Doo had 34 points and was a minus 90 in 17 minutes of average ice time. They never played again.

Marcel Beck - D
Season 59 SMJHL Draft: 8th overall to the St. Louis Scarecrows
Season 60 SHL Draft: 6th overall to the Winnipeg Aurora

Beck, currently active, is the only other player on this list (Visser) to play for only St. Louis (4 seasons) and Winnipeg (14 seasons). Beck won a Cup in S72, has a Jesster trophy, and currently sits 5th in franchise games played (924). Beck is 1st in franchise blocks, and top 10 in assists, plus-minus, shots, and PIM. Beck has stayed very consistent throughout his two-way career, dropping below 30 points in a season only twice.

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These 23 players make up an exclusive club. With only two actives (Beck and McScruff), the need to grow the group remains high. The pipeline simply does not exist and a majority of these early picks were due to the lack of teams. Since the league has expanded, the STL to WPG trail has been very cold. Beck was drafted 16 seasons ago, the longest gap in our list.

Maybe this draft seems the pipeline reemerge?