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***Jexter*** · 11-20-2023, 04:35 PM

The Winnipeg Aurora Aurora

, who finished fifth in the SHL regular season standings last year and lost to the eventual champions, the Edmonton Blizzard, in the semi-finals, have acquired 2 new players in the S74 SHL Entry Draft. They are Juan Tymer, Right Defender, and Langston Hardison-Laurent, Left Winger. Interestingly, Winnipeg selected both of these players in the first round and their amazing track record and current roster mean that both of these players will have time to develop fully in the SMJHL. Let’s go into a shallow dive of Juan Tymer

and Langston Hardison-Laurent Malamutes

.

Juan Tymer was taken eighth overall by Winnipeg with a pick they acquired from New Orleans Specters before the draft. Juan Tymer spent their first season with the Quebec City Citadelles and will stay with that incredibly young team as it looks to improve their fantastic season last year. Juan Tymer played alongside first overall pick Frøya Solberg and second overall pick Celesté Desjardins along with Sonja Solberg who was drafted at 12th (that’s right, 4 of the first 20 picks in this draft were from the Quebec City Citadelles). As a defensive minded player, Tymer put up solid numbers in the SMJHL, particularly in ATOI, where they were 3rd on the Citadelles with 21:49, and had the second most blocks on their team with 114. Even on a young team like Quebec City, playing on the first defensive pairing is impressive for any rookie.

Juan Tymer looks to be a promising prospect for the Winnipeg Aurora, a budding stalwart defender that every team wants, but are in short supply. As Juan plays in the SMJHL, they will be capped with a build that continues with the strengths that led them to be drafted in the top 10. Last season, Tymer only tallied 22 points in the regular season, but had a PDO of 98.9, meaning they weren’t getting any favorable bounces. Juan Tymer may not be overly concerned with the offensive output as long as the defense remains strong. This will be something Tymer will work on individually this next season with both the plus/minus and raising their defensive rating up from 69 (nice). Tymer's play should solidify over the coming seasons, particularly with the maturing of the Citadelles.

Even though he was slotted to be a late first round pick, Langston Hardison-Laurent getting picked by Winnipeg was a surprise in that the Aurora traded for the pick during the draft. The Winnipeg Aurora received their first-round pick back from the Seattle Argonauts in exchange for a S77 1st, a S75 2nd, and a S77 2nd all from the Baltimore Platoon. And so, with the 17th overall pick, Winnipeg selected Hardison-Laurent who apparently interviewed well during the scouting process for many teams, but Winnipeg took a particular shine to him. Langston's season stats were of no concern to the Aurora, who were seeking an active, long term prospect rather than a quick call up.

While the Yukon Malamutes had a relatively off season after bringing in several fresh faces, they still made it to the semifinals. Langston Hardison-Laurent’s teammate Squidwardo Tentaclés was also a first rounder, taken at 7th overall by the Seattle Argonauts. Interestingly enough, had this pick not been traded, there was a decent chance that the two Yukon players could have remained teammates in the SHL. Other members of the Malamutes all found their new homes in the second round or beyond.

Langston Hardison-Laurent will be the first to admit he had his struggles last year. He went on a long dry spell in the start of the season where points were scarce and his personal PDO was plummeting to horrifying levels. However, the back half of the season proved far more fruitful after finding rhythm with line-mate Fred Bread. LHL managed to get to 40 points on the season, but Fred Bread has fallen off the map. Langston Hardison-Laurent also had a quiet playoffs performance with the exception of a game-winning goal in Game 7 of the first round. Going into his second year in juniors, Langston will likely see a promotion to a higher line with Yukon losing a few wingers to call-ups and retirement. This will be a real learning season for Langston to see how he handles the added pressure and what can he make of the added ice time. Langston himself seems to feel no burden on that front as he continues his carefree ways on the ice, in the locker room and outside of the rink. When we approached him for comment on the departure of Theodore Svatos, his team captain, and he said, “He left?” This comes after many false rumors were started by Svatos that Langston Hardison-Laurent was Finnish.
For now, it seems (or we hope) that Langston Hardison-Laurent’s focus is on the WJC tournament where he was selected to play for Team North America. However, this will remain to be seen how this goes. Thankfully, the two newest members of the Winnipeg organization will not be facing off in the round robin as UCORCAL selected Juan Tymer, but is in Group A, while NA is in Group B. Speaking of that, remember to tune in and cheer for Team World.

In celebration of getting drafted, Langston teased that he is considering a name change, but has yet to fully decide on what that will be yet. Ideas include Vander Alex Moose (VAMoose), Rep Mat, Colin I. Show, and Yafada Wusahamsta. Sound off in the comments which one you think is best. Bear in mind that this is not a full on contest, more gauging the room.

We will continue to keep you abreast of all (or reasonably some) of the developments of Yukon and Langston Hardison-Laurent this season.

Reporting irregularly in Yukon by Tapper Ib-Arelinoher, The Yukon Duwitt News and remember to always W.O.O.F.

WC: 1005

ThePyroAlpaca · 11-20-2023, 05:08 PM

Can't wait to dominate the SHL with you in a few years!

Whikadoodle · 11-21-2023, 02:46 PM

Go bears

***Ace*** · 11-21-2023, 06:11 PM

Welcome to Winnipeg!

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