It is no secret that in the past few seasons The Baltimore Platoon have not had the team they need to make the long run to win the SHL championship nor have they had the talent or depth throughout their lineup to be considered a serious contender by the other teams in the Simulation Hockey League. However, this team has clearly been on an uptrend throughout the past seasons and the Platoon general managers looks to continue building a championship caliber team by stocking up on young talent and promoting a positive locker room experience, which they have done a fantastic job doing so far. The Platoon went into the season 71 draft with three first round picks including the seventh, ninth, and fifteenth overall as well as a few holes that they were hoping to fill on the blue line and a plan to make it all work out.

With the seventh overall pick the Baltimore Platoon selected superstar defenseman Bellamy Blake. When looking at championship teams all of them have one thing in common, a franchise defenseman. This is abundantly clear when examining the teams that have recently won the Stanley Cup, players like Cale Makar, Victor Hedman, Alex Pietrangelo, John Carlson, Drew Doughty. A dominant defenseman can take control of a game and be a guiding force in playoff hockey, Bellamy Blake is no different. With a rookie stat line of 15 goals, 37 assists and 52 points through his rookie campaign it is no doubt that Blake is a talented offensive threat and a lethal asset to have on the powerplay with 15 of his points coming while his team was on the man advantage. Blakes talents do not stop in the offensive zone however, he led the Vancouver Whalers with a plus minus rating of plus 11 and had an outstanding 82 takeaways with only 10 giveaways. When you take into account his 87 blocked shots and 120 hits it is no surprise that Bellamy Blake was the clear winner of the SMJHL Rookie of the Year award and a top contender for the best defenseman in the entire SMJHL. For the Baltimore Platoon to acquire a player of this caliber especially as late as seventh overall in the draft, is a franchise altering move. Blake will surely make an immediate impact as soon as he steps on the ice for the platoon and will be a major component in the future success of the organization.

The Platoon then looked to continue to strengthen its defensive core with the addition of another defenseman Jay Bryzi. Bryzi will be the perfect complement to his new teammate Bellamy Blake, the six foot five inch defenseman is big and physical but has relatively balanced attributes with will allow him to not only help join the rush but lay the body and play a shutdown game in the defensive zone. Bryzi finished last year with five goals and twelve assists and was active on both the power play and penalty kill for his junior team the St. Louis Scarecrows. Bryzi will most definitely take steps forward in the seasons to come as the young scarecrow core continues to develop and the Platoon are very excited to have a new powerhouse defensive pairing that will make an instant impact as soon as they hit the ice together.

The Platoon continued acquiring talent by trading their fifteenth pick and a future first round pick to get the twelfth pick where they selected talented two way forward Thomas Liebold from the Vancouver Whalers. Liebold was another great pick in this draft, as one of the top earners in the draft class he finished last season with an impressive 18 goals and 45 assists which helped lead his team to 33 wins which was good enough for seventh in the SMJHL. Liebold spend some time on the penalty kill but contributed far more on the powerplay where he had four goals and a team leading 12 assists while on the man advantage. Liebold plans to continue developing in Vancouver before making his way to Baltimore so he can make the biggest impact he can when he starts his SHL career. Liebold was a nominee for the SMJHL Rookie of the year award and also a member of the SMJHL All Rookie team, and he will look to continue his success throughout his career.

With the 27th pick in the draft the Platoon selected defenseman Ryan Quintana-Green. Ryan is another fantastic defenseman and a steal this late in the draft. Finishing the season with 249 TPE may seem average but it is actually very impressive considering his late start in the league. He looks to build a physical and offensive player and can be a key role for the depth of whatever team he is playing on. Ryans offensive stats began to show last year for the Whalers where he tallied 6 goals and 18 assists in only 52 games played. He also had a plus minus rating of plus 4 which shows he can also contribute on the defensive side of the puck. Ryan is the last of the Vancouver rookies that were drafted to Baltimore so you can be sure this trio will plan on picking up right where they left off for the Whalers and use their chemistry to help lead the Platoon to a SHL Championship.

The last but certainty not least of the Platoon draft picks is big hard hitting forward Brock Samson with the 47th pick in the draft. Samson spend last season with the Nevada Battle Born and accumulated 10 goals and 26 assists in only 50 games played. Samson is a nightmare for opposing defensemen to play against, the 6 foot 6 inches forward is a powerful forward who will punish the opposition by finishing checks and with a hard forecheck. He is also very talented offensively will help the Platoon fill out their lineup with promising young players.

Many would say that the Baltimore Platoon had one of the most successful drafts this season and filled all of the holes in the lineup while still being able to strengthen positions and add depth throughout the lineup. After adding three max earners and other very strong prospects this season the Platoon will be a serious contender very soon and will hopefully create a dynasty that will last many seasons to come. On top of adding talented pieces to their team Baltimore also picked up a lot of players who have played together in the past which will surly add to their chemistry on the ice and help keep a positive locker room.
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Let’s all get some bread!!

Matt Lewis-Flood || G || West Kendall Platoon || 1018 TPE
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C.T. Carragher || F || Anaheim Outlaws || 511 TPE
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Bellamy Blake || LD || Vancouver Whalers || 814 TPE
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