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Lynxfire · 12-23-2018, 07:37 PM

(869 words, media 2x draft bonus?)

Good morning everyone, thanks for joining us for another edition of Lynx's Learnings. Today, we're going to talk about the Anchorage Armada draft class and what we can expect from them based on their performance in the SMJHL Prospect Tourney. Now, let me say right off the bat that I am VERY excited by this new batch of rookies. Most of them racked up points and definitely showcased themselves during the tourney, which probably helped them improve their draft positions. But anyway, lets talk about the rookies one by one in no particular order.

First up is Olivier Cloutier. You might mistakenly think he's French Canadian, but Olivier is pure French. I'd say he's the best pure scorer of the draft class, and he steamed up the tourney with 22 goals and 19 assists during the round robin and continued through the medal rounds with a nice .67 pts per game pace. But this isn't a one dimensional winger, Cloutier brings great hockey IQ with his position and his nice dangles get him to the goal.

Johnny Sins hails from Ireland and also had a stellar prospect tourney. The right handed offensive defenseman came up with 41 points during the round robin and had a stellar 1.3 pts per game during the medal round. I don't know what kind of Sins he's committed in the past to get those kind of skills, but I hope he keeps doing them for the sake of the Armada. He's generally a well balanced player with no real weakness.

Andris Dzerins is the draft's only center for the Armada. He's defensively sound and has great positioning, and while his team didn't make the medal rounds he still managed to score 16 goals and 20 assists during the tourney. The kid from Latvia is a welcome addition to the team and should make a great addition to the center depth there.

Next up is Kalevi Karhunen. This Finnish / Californian hybrid prides himself on his speed and passing and it showed as he earned 34 assists and 43 points during the tourney. He isn't much for shooting but can hopefully be great on the breakout. His team made the gold medal game only to fall to the Lions in three tight one goal games. While Kalevi didn't quite match the pace of his round robin point total during the medal round, he still came up with a respectable 4 points in 7 games while playing the most minutes out of anyone on his team. During the tourney, Kalevi also played as the first line defensive pairing with Bill Umberger, another Anchorage draftee this year.

Ashburn McAllister is the only goal of the draft for the Armada. McAllister is from Denmark by nationality and is a fairly well balanced goaltender. He had a rough start to the tourney posting a .883 save percentage and 3.48 GAA, but vastly improved when the fire was turned up in the medal rounds for a .905 save percentage and 2.9 GAA. Scouts say he could work a bit on his puck handling, but should still be an exciting rookie to back up the team this year.

Ashburn McAllister hails from Vatican City, a well-known haven for elite right wings. Well, no, its not, but somehow Ashburn has overcome all odds to be drafted this year by the Armada. His best strength is his positioning, but he is also a great skater and passer and tends to be more of a set-up man than a pure scorer. McAllister didn't have the strongest round robin, but he did score at a point per game pace during the medal round.

Next is Ricardo Cotalay, another offensive defenseman. Ricardo is from the Untied States and plays left-handed. He is one of the most balanced prospects in the Armada draft and has no real discernible weaknesses or strengths, but that definitely doesn't mean he won't shine on the ice. Ricardo earned 32 points during the tourney and continued at a .5 pts per game pace during the medal rounds.

Brock Emmerton is the draft's only left wing for Anchorage. He's got a sweet touch on the pass and has a solid game overall. Scouts only knock on him is his shot, but I'm sure some time in training camp will improve on all aspects of his game. Brock had 16 assists in the tourney.

Lastly, Bill Umberger, an old school hard hitting defenseman who won't let you pansy about in front of the goalie without earning it. Bill is one of the best physical players in the draft, able to check and play defense without getting himself into penalty trouble. He also earned 34 points during the tourney while holding up the defensive end of the ice very competently.

Overall, it looks like the Armada invested quite a few picks in playmakers and guys who can move the puck around well. The defenseman are all a little different in their approach to the game and it will be interesting to see who will rise to the top in the next few seasons. It looks like a another great draft for the Armada, here's me wishing the best of luck to them all and happy holidays.