The past few seasons for Alex Andani have been ones to forget. A once highly-touted prospect in the SMJHL and SHL, Andani has now entered his prime with nothing to really show for it. One could suggest that he was a victim of the system in New England - at no fault of the team, really - the team had two great centers in Bitties and Berezin already. It was suggested that Berezin could move into a top 6 role at wing had Andani gotten up to speed quickly, but alas, Andani couldn’t force management’s hand. Another, more widely accepted argument for Andani’s lack of success with the Wolfpack is his lack of interest in Boston, despite accepting a lucrative contract heading into Season 44 worth nearly 16M over 3 seasons. Did he sign for just the money? His performance over the first two seasons of that contract would certainly suggest that. New England certainly couldn’t have been thrilled with the lack of production and interest following that extension, and it likely contributed to Andani being exposed in the recent expansion draft. More on that later.

Andani was originally scouted as an “impact centerman with a gift for faceoffs and stout defensive play.” To say that description is accurate of Andani’s play would be mild at best. His Faceoffs stat entering the SHL was around 75 -  high in the SMJHL, but mediocre in the SHL. It’s only improved to 80 after three seasons in the league and there are doubts it will rise much higher as his career progresses. His Defense stat jumped to 87 pretty quickly after his call up from SMJHL Whalers, but it seems to have plateaued as well. Defense is key in SHL - if he can get it into the ’90s, he could probably reach his potential still. If not, he could be stuck in the bottom six for the rest of his career. His Puck Handling is another stat he would be wise to work on as well - 82 simply won’t cut it if he wants to push for a top 6 role over the next 2 seasons. A top tier defensive player will likely have this in the mid to high ‘90s and will be something to strive for as he continues to elevate his game overall. Andani will also need to make a decision on what his offensive focus will be moving forward, as it is highly unlikely he will be able to max out his stats after losing 2 seasons of progression and currently having a murky outlook of what his future will look like following his current 3 season deal with New Orleans. The current expectation is to get back to form with a fresh start but after that? Completely up in the air. Jokingly referring to himself as “The Big Bust” nowadays, it could be a stark reality if things don’t improve with the Specters. He is currently a skate-first player, but with a Passing strength (and Playmaker archetype) in his back pocket, it could be ideal to progress into the ‘90s before committing anymore to skating to avoid getting crossed up in the flow of play.

Back to New England and Andani’s subsequent drafting to the New Orleans Spectors. Andani’s time with New England was not terrible statistically, especially considering he was in a 3rd C role. He contributed in his three seasons there - but definitely not at the rate the Wolfpack brass expected when they selected him 2nd overall in the Season 41 draft. The Wolfpack had three first-rounders that season: Andani at 2, Piotr Czerkawski at 3, and Kristaps Ball at 7. Going by strictly TPE, Czerkawski (1199 TPE) and Ball (810 TPE) have eclipsed Andani (738 TPE) at this point in time, with Czerkawski well ahead of the two Latvian natives. Andani’s stats can be seen here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...sp=sharing

As you can see, not fantastic. 49 points over three seasons, a handful of fights (as well as an increase in PIMs each season), and a subpar FO% of 50.45%. Lots of room for improvement. It’s expected that Andani will see similar production with New Orleans in Season 46 - 30 points perhaps? There will probably be another increase in PIMs, but with a planned transition to a Grinder role in the works, Andani hopes to see a spike in points and hits as well. Touching on Andani’s exposure in the expansion draft now - it was apparent from early on in New England that the high activity, low TPE rookies were going to be worth protecting more than your mid-tier boom or bust type players that haven’t quite developed yet. Andani was certainly someone New England believed could be good still but was clearly expendable with the caliber of rookies coming up in the system. It’s believed that Andani knew this going into the draft, and was alright with his playing situation being up in the air heading into Season 46. His career has been stagnant for the past couple seasons but to his surprise was still ranked fairly high in some expansion mock drafts. A fresh start is probably best for Andani, and at the very least for New England - at least Andani’s albatross of a contract is off the books a season early.

Looking to the future now, Andani is excited to join the NOLA squad and has made it known that he wants to be apart of the first professional hockey team in New Orleans since 2002. The New Orleans Brass was an ECHL team that saw success in making the playoffs in all 5 years it was an operating franchise and the Specters certainly hope to replicate that success right off the bat. The first S46 preseason sim is out, and NOLA is sitting pretty in the 2nd spot in the Western Conference, 4th overall in the league. Can the Specters become the Vegas Golden Knights of the SHL? It certainly appears possible if you ignore the small sample size of games the team has played. A lot of their success will be dependant on how well the team’s stars perform together as well as how quickly some of their younger stars get up to speed and in a position to contribute now. Line combos will be huge for the Specters as well and how they divide the talent throughout the lines. The future certainly seems bright for the NOLA Specters and a rejuvenated Alex Andani. The next steps for the Evil Empire will be to get the results of the preseason and determine if a run is possible. They’ve certainly proven that they’re here to compete right away.

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Sig Credit: Suavemente, rum_ham, Turd Ferguson

I'm sorry things didn't work out for Andani in New England, glad to see you around though and good luck to NOLA!

Good luck Carbine!

RIP Dangel. See you on the other side, brother