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So the season 48 SHL entry draft was concluded a day ago and we’ve seen some interesting players being picked in interesting positions. Looking at people’s mock drafts it was pretty obvious that a lot of picks were known beforehand, but still because of some trades it turned out quite interesting. This draft this year was held in Calgary at The Big Parm, the new home of the Calgary Dragons. This new hockey stadium is quite impressive, I quite enjoyed it here. I also did enjoy myself a very good chicken parm sandwich earlier.

The Tampa Bay won the draft lottery that was held a week ago and were able to pick first. They also had second overall pick last season. The San Francisco Pride have two picks this first round and because of a punishment following a tampering case the Minnesota Chiefs were forced to forfeit their first round (and third overall) pick. The draft order and picks for the S48 SHL entry draft was as follows:

1. Tampa Bay Barracuda - Kaspars Claude
2. Hamilton Steelhawks - Gabriel Johnson
3. Minnesota Chiefs - FORFEIT
4. Los Angeles Panthers - Oliver Cleary
5. Winnipeg Jets: - Calogero Crudelli
6. New England Wolfpack - Piotr Horvat
7. San Francisco Pride (via Manhattan Rage) - Timmo Kyllonen
8. New Orleans Specters (via San Francisco Pride) - Lyle Odelein III
9. Chicago Syndicate - Nick Connolly
10. Toronto North Stars - Mika Kandinsky
11. Buffalo Stampede (via Edmonton Blizzard) - Satoshi Zigzagooney
12. San Francisco Pride (via New Orleans Specters) - Bobby Bobcalf
13. Texas Renegades - Padraig Sarantez
14. Edmonton Blizzard (via Buffalo Stampede) - Barrett Blackwood
15. Calgary Dragons - Atlas Rush
16. West Kendall Platoon - Kasperi Braulin

Let’s take a closer look at the players who were drafted.

1. Tampa Bay Barracuda - Kaspars Claude
As the first overall pick the Tampa Bay Barracuda selected Kaspars Claude. Kaspars Claude is a two-way defenseman from Latvia currently playing for the Vancouver Whalers. He is currently sitting at 293 TPE. Last season he played 50 games for the Whalers and had 19 assists. He wasn’t able to find the net, but he has been a very important piece on the blue line for them and his development has been really good. He’s looking to be capped early on in the season. He has a plus 9 throughout the season and he blocked 43 shots. He averaged almost 16 minutes per game.

2. Hamilton Steelhawks - Gabriel Johnson
For the second overall pick the Hamilton Steelhawks have picked Canadian native Gabriel Johnson. Johnson is an offensive defenseman currently playing for the Anchorage Armada. Right now he has 263 TPE. During his rookie year in the SMJHL he played 50 games for the Armada. Scoring 2 goals and he added 11 assists for 13 points in total. His plus/minus rating was the highest in the team with a plus 14. He blocked 43 shots an average 17,5 minutes of ice time per game.

3. Minnesota Chiefs - FORFEIT
Because of a tampering punishment the Minnesota Chiefs were forced to forfeit their first round pick in this draft. There was some booing coming from the stands. I guess there were some Minnesota fans present at this years draft.

4. Los Angeles Panthers - Oliver Cleary
After skipping the third pick, the fourth pick for the Los Angeles Panthers was used to pick Oliver Cleary. Another offensive defenseman, making it that all picks so far have been defenseman. Cleary is sitting at 301 TPE and was the top TPE earner for his draft class. Last season he played for the Detroit Falcons. In 50 games he only had 6 points, 1 goal and 5 assists in a stacked Falcons team. He did however played more than 19 minutes per game, which for a rookie are quite big minutes. He blocked 51 shots and his plus/minus was kept at 0. It also looks like the Panthers have big plans for him as it seems he is already called up to the SHL.

5. Winnipeg Jets: - Calogero Crudelli
With the fifth overall pick the Winnipeg Jets picked Latvian player Calogero Crudelli. Crudelli plays right wing for the Colorado Raptors and sits currently at 288 TPE. Crudelli is the first forward to be drafted in this draft. For the Raptors he played 50 games last year in the regular season and notched 7 goals and 7 assists. His plus / minus was one of the worst in the league with a minus 27. He played an average of about 17 minutes per game.

6. New England Wolfpack - Piotr Horvat
At pick number 6 another defenseman was picked. The New England Wolfpack selected Poitr Horvat from the Kelowna Knights. Horvat currently has 263 TPE and was one of the top prospects coming into this draft. Horvat played 50 games for the Kelowna Knights and he scored 3 goals and had 17 assists totalling for 20 points. With is almost 22 minutes per game he had quite a lot of ice time, though he spend quite some of that time in the penalty box. He was a plus 8 and he also had 56 shot blocks. Horvat will be joining previous Kelowna alumni Guy Zheng and Dick Clapper in New England.

7. San Francisco Pride (via Manhattan Rage) - Timmo Kyllonen
At number 7 the San Francisco Pride selected Finnish center Timmo Kyllonen from the Halifax Raiders. Kyllonen’s playstyle is mostly a two-way forward. His defensive capabilities is what put him the spotlights for an early draft. Timmo Kyllonen currently sits at 254 TPE. His development is going nicely, but he is a bit behind on the top tier prospects, but that didn’t seem to matter to the San Francisco Pride. Timmo Kyllonen played 36 games for the Raiders and he had 2 goals and 4 assists. It’s not much, but seeing as he played fourth line minutes it’s actually not bad at all. He managed to play close to 8 minutes a game. He was also closing in on 49% on the draw, which is quite good for a rookie in his first year of the SMJHL.

8. New Orleans Specters (via San Francisco Pride) - Lyle Odelein III
About a few hours before the draft the New Orleans Specters traded with the San Francisco Pride for this pick. With the 8th overall pick, the new Orleans Specters selected Lyle Odelein III from the St. Louis Scarecrows. Lyle Odelein III is a two-way defenseman from Canada. Lyle Odelein III currently has 276 TPE, so it’s no surprise he was picked this early and that a team traded up to make this pick. During the last season Odelein III played 50 games for the St. Louis Scarecrows and had 2 goals and 5 assists. With an average of only 6 minutes a game that’s quite decent on a very stacked St. Louis Scarecrows team. It was quite a shock last season that they were eliminated in the 2nd round of the playoffs to the eventual winners the Anaheim Outlaws. Lyle Odelein III was a plus 13 and blocked 22 shots.

9. Chicago Syndicate - Nick Connolly
With the 9th overall selection the Chicago Syndicate selected Nick Connolly from the Anaheim Outlaws. Nico Connolly a United States native plays left wing for the Four Star Cup Champion the Anaheim Outlaws. Currently he has 268 TPE. The pass-first Connolly played 50 games for the Outlaws last season and he scored 2 goals and had 6 assists totalling for 8 points. He averaged just over 10 minutes a game. Which isn’t much, but the Outlaws team was quite stacked. Nick Connolly was a minus 6 in these 50 games. Looking at his TPE, his development has been quite good last year and with the off season training camp he should be well over 300 TPE at the start of the following season.

10. Toronto North Stars - Mika Kandinsky
On post number 10 Mika Kandinsky was selected by the Toronto North Stars. The Russian born center plays a two-way game and is the second prospect from the St. Louis Scarecrows to be drafted in the top 10 in this SHL years SHL entry draft. In 50 games played for the Crows last year he scored 3 goals and had 8 assists totalling for 11 points. His average ice time per game was quite low with only 7,5 minutes per game. But the Crows team was loaded with talent on the offensive lines, so Mika Kandinsky will have to wait for his turn to shine and I’m sure it will happen in either next season or the season after that in the SMJHL. Kandinsky was also a plus 3 during these 50 games.

11. Buffalo Stampede (via Edmonton Blizzard) - Satoshi Zigzagooney
The Buffalo Stampede also traded up to make this pick. With this 11th overall pick they selected Satoshi Zigzagooney from the Detroit Falcons. Satoshi Zigzagooney is an offensive defenseman from Japan. We don’t often see new players drafted from Japan, but when we do they are top notch players. Satoshi Zigzagooney currently has 238 TPE, which is for defenseman in this draft class a bit on the lower side of the prospect pool. Last season he played 50 games for the Detroit Falcons and he scored a great 8 goals and added 15 assists for a total of 23 points. For rookies in his year, this is quite a good score. He totalled a little over 17 minutes per game ice time and he blocked 48 shots.

12. San Francisco Pride (via New Orleans Specters) - Bobby Bobcalf
Traded with the New Orleans Specters, the San Francisco Pride select Irish right wing sniper Bobby Bobcalf. Ireland has won a few IIHF Championships in a row and their development program overseas is paying off. Bobby Bobcalf now enters the league with a TPE of 230 and currently playing for the Vancouver Whalers. Last season he played 50 games for the Whalers having scored 4 goals and added 2 assists. He was a minus 13, which is the lowest plus / minus rating on the team. He averaged about 10 minutes a game. With his 230 TPE he’s a bit behind on development, but the San Francisco Pride see enough potential in him to be drafting him at number 11. Let’s hope it all works out for them.

13. Texas Renegades - Padraig Sarantez
For the 13th overall pick the Texas Renegades selected Padraig Sarantez. Padraig Sarantez is a two-way defenseman also coming from the land of leprechauns, Ireland. Padraig Sarantez currently has 255 TPE. In his last season, with the losing Four Star Cup Finalist Montreal Militia, he played 50 games and scored 2 goals and had 11 assists. He averaged just over 19 minutes of ice time and was a plus 6. He also blocked 40 shots.

14. Edmonton Blizzard (via Buffalo Stampede) - Barrett Blackwood
The St. Louis Scarecrow players are highly favoured in this draft as the Edmonton Blizzard pick Barret Blackwood 14th overall on a pick they traded for with Buffalo Stampede. Barrett Blackwood is a right wing sniper from the United States. On the loaded Crows team he played 50 games last season and score 6 goals and had 3 assists. His ice time averaged close to 8 minutes per game. His TPE right now is at a 256, which leaves some room for improvement, but from what we’ve seen in this draft it’s pretty solid.

15. Calgary Dragons - Atlas Rush
This pick was known to many before the draft and it was therefore no surprise that the losing Challenge Cup Finals Calgary Dragons selected Atlas Rush from the Halifax Raiders. Atlas Rush has a history full with hardware in a previous life with the Dragons. So this pick was a no-brainer. Atlas Rush currently has 275 TPE which is one of the top TPE earners in his draft class. He is a right wing power forward who looks a lot like Tom Wilson of the Washington Capitals and Calgary Dragons captain Mike Izzy. Atlas Rush played 50 games for the Raiders in which he scored 1 goal and had 3 assists. 4 points is not a great score for this young talent, but he was overshadowed by his linesmate and also Dragons prospect Esa Parmborg. Atlas Rush averaged almost 14 minutes of ice time per game.

16. West Kendall Platoon - Kasperi Braulin
The most surprising pick of the draft must have been the last pick of the first round. Challenge Cup Champions West Kendall Platoon selected goaltender Kasperi Braulin who currently plays for the Vancouver Whalers. This German goaltender who is specialized in being a butterfly goalie had 13 starts last season. He had to share his net with Casimir Stevens. In those 13 starts he posted 6 wins, 6 losses and 1 OTL. He averaged a 0.890% save percentage and had no shutouts.

So this is a review of all 16 (or 15) first round picks of the S48 SHL entry draft. Looking at the mock drafts throughout the league there haven’t really been any major surprises I think. Perhaps a goalie pick in the first round can be defined as a surprise, but then again a lot of people had put this in their mock draft.

I want to wish all prospects a great off season and much luck if they are playing in the upcoming World Junior Championship.