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SMJHL Prospect Profile: Michael Fox
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FuzzSHLSHL GM The Two-Time Two-Time
Ready to grade - 1436 words - 2x media bonus for draft week
Player Name: Michael Fox Position: RW Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina D. O. B.: September 13, 2002 Ht: 5' 11'' Wt: 185 Shoots: Right NHL Comparison: Nikita Kucherov, Gordie Howe SHL Comparison: V-L-A-D McZehrl The 45th SMJHL Entry Draft is almost here, and it is loaded with talent. Among this season's draft class are a large number of second and third-generation players who have been compared to the elites that came before them. Along with these generational players is an equally impressive number of first-generation players, most of which have played the sport of hockey since they could hold a stick. There aren't many that are somewhat new to the game like Michael Fox is, but that hasn't stopped him from setting the bar for other prospects in his class. "I haven't seen a talent like this since Ron Francis was around," said one Lower Atlantic Winter League scout. "Even then that type of compliment doesn't do Fox justice." When we inquired Fox regarding comments from scouts, he didn't have much to say. "I try not to pay attention to what the media is saying about me, regardless of whether its good or bad. I'm just here to play hockey." It took some prodding to get that out of the soft spoken winger out of North Carolina. In this day and age, it seems like personalities such as his are hard to come by, with the new generation's high attraction to social media and attention. His play on the ice and his demeanor off the ice aren't the only reasons scouts are taking such notice in Fox, it's how long he has played the game that has everyone's eye. "He was a soccer boy when he was little, we couldn't get him to get off the field," says his mother Rose. "We tried getting him into any other sport we could, but he just kept going back to soccer. Then one day in high school, a group of his friends wanted to go watch the local LAWL team, and Michael didn't want to be left out. He came back with a stick and never looked at a soccer ball again." In the three years since he started skating, his numbers have been incredible. Within six months of being on the ice, Michael Fox had cracked the Cross Checker's first line, posting 264 goals and 735 assists in only 112 league games, shattering the league's previous goals, assists, and points records. He rarely used his body, opting to instead use his feet to dance around opponents to create space for his linemates. He only ever recorded one penalty, a fighting major he earned from coming to his teammate's defense when a visiting team's defenseman repeatedly hit the Checker's player in the back as he was on the ice. Some scouts from various other amateur leagues have been quick to judge both Fox's size and lack of playing time against "quality" opponents. "Sure, he has shattered LAWL records, but do you see the quality of players he is going up against? The tallest player he's played against was his own height, 5'11'', and that was a goalie. The heaviest? 175 lbs., also a goalie. He won't make it in a more competitive league, let alone the SMJHL." said one SJUKHL scout. "Take a look at Perry Morgan. He is currently competing in one of the most competitive pre-junior leagues in the world and he's posting ridiculous numbers and ice time in that league. He's the player to look out for." One SMJHL scouts has been quick to come to Fox's defense, however. "Ridiculous numbers? Morgan isn't posting great, or even good offensive numbers. His ice time isn't anything to gawk at either, if we're being honest here. Morgan's offensive numbers are nowhere near that of Fox though, and that's not a shot at either of them. Fox is an incredibly gifted offensive talent who might need to shore up his defensive game a little if he is going to go pro one day. Morgan is an already steady defenseman who is lacking in his offensive game and might need to take a long, hard look at his endurance if he's one day going to log major ice time." With the recent SMJHL Prospect Showcase, Fox was finally given a chance to prove his worth in a highly competitive environment. Playing for the Lions (6-2) in the showcase, Fox has been a point-per-game player as of the writing of this post, posting 2 goals and 6 assists in the Lions' 8 games so far. Scouts seem to be correct regarding his defense so far as Fox has posted a +/- of -4. However, with zero powerplay time, Fox is 7th on the team in points while also having the 8th lowest ice time. If Fox decides to shore up his defensive game, he is a player to look out for in the upcoming SMJHL season, and could be a gem in hiding in this year's stacked draft class. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ We were fortunate to be able to catch up with Fox following the Lion's recent victory 4-3 against the Mustangs. Tripp Forslund: Michael, congratulations on the win today. How do you feel about your performance so far in the showcase? Michael Fox: Thanks OP. Well so far we have done pretty well in the showcase, I think this last game was our 6th win so far so I think as a team we're playing pretty well. Personally, I need to do a better job in our defensive zone, I'm letting too many passes get by and letting the other team generate too many chances. TF: Well you're only a -4 through 8 games, some would say that's not necessarily bad for the sample size. MF: Regardless of what the stat sheet says, I need to do better in our own zone. I could be a +12 so far and still need to do a better job in our own end. TF: Well do you have anything to say to the scouts who said you couldn't compete at this level? MF: Honestly Tripp, I don't really have much to say to that. I came here to become a better hockey player by the end of it, so I'm focusing on the feedback from the coaching staff more than anything at the moment. I'm just trying to have fun and play hockey. If a GM likes what they see, I'll go into the SMJHL and regardless of what media says, I'm gonna do what I can to become a better player there too. TF: Let's go back to high school. Your friends want to go to a hockey game and you've never seen a game before, what made you decide to go? And what brought you into hockey and away from soccer? MF: That's a long way back, no one's actually thought to ask that before. The local LAWL team was apparently in the playoffs and a friend had an extra ticket. He told me it was pretty much soccer on ice, so I thought I'd at least go to see what it was like, I never expected anything to come from it thought. The game was so fast, the way everyone was able to glide along the ice with ease really intrigued me. There was one Checkers player that danced through the other team and fooled everyone. I thought that hockey looked like something that would challenge my athletic ability more than soccer could, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Luckily I had a good instructor from the beginning and I was able to pick up on it pretty quickly. TF: Well I should probably let you get back so you can prepare for the rest of the showcase. Good luck out there Michael. MF: Thanks Tripp. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ You can catch Michael Fox and the rest of the incoming draft class at the SMJHL Prospect Showcase at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska. You can also tune in to the 45th SMJHL Draft this Thursday. ![[Image: lap-teamsig.png]](https://i.ibb.co/qk2zy1Z/lap-teamsig.png) Aleksi Kettu ![[Image: 7MO9RpC.png]](http://i.imgur.com/7MO9RpC.png)
MayuuRegistered Hippoman
Hell yeah brother, glad you're liking the prospect games!
Quote:posting 264 goals and 735 assists in only 112 league games That's an insane pace, how will your player handle the stiffer competition on SMJHL? RETIRED
FuzzSHLSHL GM The Two-Time Two-Time 12-19-2018, 07:42 AMMayuu Wrote: Hell yeah brother, glad you're liking the prospect games! Thanks! It's nice to see how everyone's doing before the draft, where some players are stronger or weaker than others. Right now Fox has 17 points (5 G, 12 A) in 15 games for the Lions (11-4-0), good for 27th out of 207 (if I counted correctly) prospects overall in the showcase and 6th on the Lion's roster (3rd scoring forward). He has done this on his off position on the 3rd line with next to zero powerplay time so far. So aside from the obvious drop off in production coming into a more competitive league, he's handling it really well so far. He does need to focus on shoring up his defensive game though, but that will come soon. EDIT: More games have been played as of this comment being made, but Michael Fox is still producing at over a point-per-game, and has gotten his +/- to be positive. Aleksi Kettu
StamkosFanRegistered PGS and Recruitment Head
Nice article!
 Welcome to the SHL!
[img=0x0]https://i.imgur.com/ByNN8Jn.gif[/img]
FuzzSHLSHL GM The Two-Time Two-Time |
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