Basement Hockey Times - Draft Spotlight - Calgary Dragons

In a follow up article to the Draft Spotlight on Esa Parmborg, the Basement Hockey Times has spoken to a few of the current Calgary Dragons about the upcoming draft and how it can help the Calgary Dragons in the long run.

We were able to catch up with Mike Izzy,  Team Captain of the Calgary Dragons had this to say about the upcoming draft:

Well, the Dragons are already the winner of this seasons draft as we reclaim the rights to Esa Parmborg who IMO is the prize of this draft. but we also have a top 10 pick and in that group and with that i have noticed 3 really interesting players during the S46 season. The first one is from Norway.. a 6 foot 187 pound forward named Espen Knutsen Jr who has impressed me when i went to a few Falcons games on my off days.. Kid has solid speed and an ability to move the puck around the ice. he's got a nice frame and knows how to use it to sway away defenders from the puck.. the kid scored 22 points in his rookie year..a small sample size but enough to showcase his ability on the ice... His offensive game needs some work but that comes with a great work ethic which we've seen with his 275 tpe player build... overall i see us looking for another center in this draft and this kids got talent and could be a player to draft and hone if he can commit to being active and engaged throughout the process. which as we know requires a lot of on and off the ice work.
I also like what i have seen from Austin Roenick, a 6'1 201 pound sniper forward with a strong two-way game and an offensive arsenal that has the potential to stand out..shown by an amazing rookie season where Austin put up 30 points on a 13% shooting percentage... quite impressive for such a young player. he lacks some physicality at this point, but the size is there and i expect hell develop that area of his game when he matures.  In the meantime the kids got speed and some good instincts around the net and a strong work ethic learned from mentor Leafer Rielly who took this player under his wing and taught him the art of watching game film and participating in off season work out tasks. I think Roenick has a chance to be an impact player from this draft.
The 3rd player to catch my eye is this kid from Colorado named Julio Tokolosh who makes the jump from the United States and brings with him a diminutive game. While he didn't go off in his rookie season, I did see a lot of impressive things on the ice including a very clean and deceptively fast skating ability with strong puck moving abilities.. Julio was a player that got better with each week .. i think he can be a play-maker and pure goal scorer at the next level with a little work on his body in the weight-room and strong off-season workout abilities. Players from the states do well in adapting to the SHL game which is a more physical brand of hockey, that should help the small framed forward who comes in at 5'6 and 180 pounds.. hell need to hold off defenders from the puck and have great positioning on the ice to stay away from the hits... But that's definitely something hell have to work on during his progression towards the SHL.

Very in depth observations from the Dragons Captain.  

We were also able to catch up with Prospect Barry Batsbak, who plays center and was drafted 22nd overall in the S46 SHL draft by the Dragons.  Batsbak is coming off an impressive sophomore season in Kelowna, contributing 36 points had this to say about the upcoming draft:
With the upcoming draft Calgary is already sure to get a play-making forward in the form of Esa Parmborg. With our other prospect Barry Batsbak still in the SMJHL it looks like play-making is set for the next few seasons to come. After last year Calgary drafted a couple of defense-man, two of which have already proven themselves in the SHL and with Vrzala in the prospect pool that is looking good too. What Calgary needs is a sniper, a shoot-first forward to slap those pucks home after the amazing feeds from Parmborg and Batsbak. If Calgary can get their hands on an active player, the next few season will make Calgary again a force to be reckoned with in the SHL so we can add to our already rich history.

Seems that Batsbak has a handle on the prospects that the Dragons have in their system, and what type of player will be needed to fill in any holes in the young core of the Dragons.

Next we caught up with Nicky Pedersen Jr., who is coming off a 26 point sophomore season with the Dragons.  
Pedersen had this to say:
The draft is always an exciting time for not just the players, but the organization as a whole.  This draft is a special one for the Dragons since we are getting to add Esa Parmborg back into the system.  Esa's 1st Gen was and is the backbone of the franchise, adding Esa version two, will without a doubt have a similar impact.  Parmborg, a pass first center is a position of need for the Dragons.  With such a great young core on defense, Uber talented Wings, there is a distinct hole in the middle after Mike Izzy.  I think that along with Barry Batsbak, adding Parmborg, you have two players that will be ready to step into major minutes in the faceoff circle, once regression has really hit Mike Izzy hard.  The center depth is the biggest issue, as the Dragons are having me convert over to a center man until the prospects in the system are ready to take over the role.  So I am excited that the Dragons are adding more depth in such a critical position.  

Lastly we caught up with the GM of the Calgary Dragons, Esa Anrikkanen, who since taking over the team has been a magical run with 5 SHL cups, and playoff appearances in 23 of 25 seasons.

Thank you for spending a few minutes with us Esa, please tell us your thoughts on the upcoming S47 Draft for the Calgary Dragons.

Heading into the S47 Draft we knew we'd be getting a great player in Esa Parmborg, but he is just one player in an excellent draft class with a lot of exciting players at the top and even into the late 1st round. There’s also good depth throughout the 2nd. When scouting this draft, there’s definitely prospects that can help the Dragons. Guys like Theo Morgan, Ekko Von Otter, Joseph Laraque to name a few, were players we thought may be available at our pick. The question for us is with recent moves, will there be anywhere for new players to play and get decent ice time when they are ready to come up? Calgary is coming off adding 5 stud players in our last draft, 4 Defenseman and a Center. So our depth and future is looking very strong. The Dragons have quickly turned things around and players are taking hold of opportunities and running with them. When looking at this draft we were impressed with numerous players, but we had to make a hard decision.. Do we draft a player at 9 and add another great member to the team, but then not be able to reward him with playing time? Or do we move the pick and spread out the talent, by picking up another 1st round pick in what should be a deep reddit draft in a couple seasons. Ultimately we decided to move the pick and spread out the talent. It was hard not to select a player that we liked and knew would be a great fit in our room this draft, but with already getting Parmborg and opportunities becoming limited, we felt we made the right move. We’re very confident in the young group we have right now and want to make sure they are rewarded with playing time in the next couple seasons. We look forward to having two 1st’s in S49 or 50 to keep the Dragons healthy and strong for the future.

There you have it readers, the man behind the curtain in Calgary, with some deep insight as to the thinking of the organization and where they see themselves heading in the future.

At the end of the day, the Calgary Dragons decided to move their First round pick to New England, for a Future 1st Round Pick during a Reddit draft, when the Dragons will be more able to bring in an active player and reward them with ice time that would be vary scarce in the time frame that this drafts prospects will be ready to produce.

In this reporters opinion that is a very gutsy call by GM Anrikkanen, but one that shows that he has a tremendous amount of faith that the current squad, which has numerous young players already making an impact on the team and the league. Time will tell if it was the right move, but one thing that cannot be overlooked is how the rebuilding Calgary Dragons, have already taken the first step up the ladder, from missing the playoffs one season, to making the playoffs on the last day of the regular season in S46, and winning a playoff series against Edmonton. It's without question that the future is bright in Calgary, decisions like Anrikkanen made on Draft night could have a lasting effect on just how long the brightness shines.

With that I look forward to rolling out more articles over the season about the Calgary Dragons, and how their young crop of players are progressing.

The Basement Hockey Times 4-11-2019

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