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BrewskyBoy · 08-04-2019, 08:32 PM

Code:
DRAFT MEDIA x2

1400+ words

And the Halifax Raiders are moving on! They have stunned the top seeded Scarecrows, defeating them 4 games to 1.

That was how the off-season began for rookie Noah Brusky. A heartbreaking series defeat, a major upset of the 8th seeded Raiders taking down the 1st seeded Scarecrows early in the playoffs. Brusky had higher expectation of both himself and his team going into that playoff run after claiming the Laurifer trophy for the best regular season record. But instead of hoisting the Four Star Cup at center ice, he instead found himself hoisting a beer to his mouth in the clubhouse after yet another horrendous round of golf. The S49 SHL Draft was coming up later in the summer, and Brusky didn't quite know what to expect. Brusky knew he wanted to stay in the States and play for a team in his home country. He had seen the draft articles come out throughout the season, and watched himself slowly establish himself as one of the top defensive prospects in his draft class, but he knew that those rankings were simply one agency's projections. Still, he had to admit that he enjoyed seeing his name rise higher and higher on the draft board as his hard work on and off the ice was beginning to pay off. Brusky finished up the season as the 6th ranked prospect overall in terms of TPE, and was the highest rated defender.

The first team that got a hold of Brusky during the off-season was the Texas Renegades. Texas held the 3rd and 5th picks in the upcoming draft at the time and had expressed to him that that he had caught there attention, and that he was being considered for one of these two first round picks. Texas had lost in the semi-finals the season prior and had been to the conference finals twice in the past 4 seasons. While they had been competitive, they couldn't quite break through in recent years and they were now beginning to retool and stock up for the future. Brusky had no issues with the idea of playing in Texas. After all, he did love steak and BBQ and could definitely see himself getting used to the good stuff down south.

The next team that began to inquire about Brusky was the Chicago Syndicate, another team with a pick early on with the 4th overall selection in the draft. Again, this team met Brusky's one criteria of being an American based team. The Syndicate boasted of a strong group of young players, and they could see themselves being a contender in a few seasons down the road. They also had roster positions opening up on the defensive end soon with a number of current players nearing regression or retirement. The one turnoff about Chicago for Brusky though was his deep hatred for all Chicago based teams that spawned early in his childhood. Growing up in the city of Green Bay as a diehard Packers fan, Brusky had always hated the Chicago Bears. As he ventured into baseball, he of course was a fan of the Milwaukee Brewers and learned to hate the Chicago Cubs. He then followed suit when he began to watch the Red Wings and naturally disliked the Chicago Blackhawks. Could Brusky really see himself going against everything he believed in and now play in the city of Chicago?

Not long after being contacted by Chicago, Brusky received a phone call from the Edmonton Blizzard. The Blizzard held pick number 6 in the draft, a pick that they acquired from the New England Wolfpack (who at one point had contacted Brusky early in the regular season expressing their interest in him as well). Edmonton was the first team outside of the United States that had contacted him, but it was actually the one exception that Brusky had about playing for a team outside of America. He liked the competitive make-up of the Blizzard, and he absolutely loved the branding of the team. The Blizzard also had a strong need to draft a defender, as their prospect pool was empty in that regard. This was certainly a team that he could see himself going to in the draft. Based on TPE rankings, his 6th overall placement lined up perfectly with the Blizzard's draft position.

Brusky received a surprise call from the LA Panthers, who had the first overall pick in the draft. LA made it known that they had a bit of a logjam on the defensive end and that they really weren't sure about drafting a defender in the draft, but they liked what Brusky brought to the table. This was quickly followed up with LA mentioning that they already knew who they were going to be taking with their 1st overall pick, but that they had some plans potentially in the works to gain another pick early in the first round. A follow-up call was received the next day to notify Brusky that this plan to move up in the draft had fallen through, so LA was off the board.

Interest came still from the West Kendall Platoon, the Toronto North Stars, the Calgary Dragons and the Hamilton Steelhawks. While Brusky would have been happy to be drafted by any of the aforementioned teams, he knew the likelihood of landing with any of the teams was not very likely. All of the teams had picks in the middle of the first round, and it was beginning to look like Brusky would be drafted by that point already. West Kendall didn't even have a pick in the first round at all at the time, but was hoping to move up in the draft. Most of the teams here were also Canadian, which again was not an ideal location for the young defender.

Things started to get very interesting as draft day neared, starting with a trade of the 4th overall pick from Chicago to Buffalo. Brusky wasn't even aware of this trade until he was being hit up by Buffalo, as they were strongly interested in drafting him. Brusky had started out by saying he'd be happy to play for Buffalo but that he'd be disappointed to have fallen into the second round. That's when it was revealed to him that Buffalo had traded for the 4th overall pick. He knew that at this point, he was not going to fall any further than 4th in the draft as Buffalo.

Another day passed, and another trade was processed. Texas had traded up from from #3 to #2, a pick previously held by the San Francisco Pride. The Pride did not seem to show much interest in the defender during the off-season, but they had still contacted him and expressed that they could use another high end defender in the draft. But when word got out that Texas had moved up, the rumors began to swirl that this was exactly where Brusky was going to end up. With LA having their pick already decided, it became evident that Texas was going to draft Brusky with the second pick in the draft. Knowing this, Buffalo moved the 4th overall pick out to West Kendall, who reportedly wanted the pick for a chance at grabbing Brusky at #4. When they too discovered that he would be off the board, they passed the pick along to Edmonton. Whether or not Edmonton had made this move in an effort to acquire the defender at #4 is unknown.

And so draft day came. As expected, Elijah Jones was the first man off the board and was selected by the LA Panthers. Brusky heard his name called next, by the Texas Renegades. Rounding out the top three was Bo Kane, as everyone had predicted by this point. While draft day did not come as much of a surprise to Brusky, it was still an experience that he will remember for a lifetime. To finally have a place to call home in the SHL was an amazing feeling for the youngster. He immediately found his place in the locker room and was given nothing but warm welcomes by all. To add to that, it wasn't long after then that he heard a familiar name get called with the Renegades 5th overall selection - Ricky Spanish. The two had played together in the Prospects tournament before the SMJHL draft a season ago.

While he'll still be playing with the Scarecrows in the SMJHL for the foreseeable future, Brusky will be awaiting his call up to the big leagues and he will no doubt be ready to make the jump when that time comes.

**JaytheGreat** · 08-04-2019, 08:57 PM

Texas got a hell of a player. Scarecrows

Rest In Peace Dangel

1st SHL Goal - S52 Game 1 vs Tampa 3. New England Wolfpack , Jakub Bruchevski 1 (Eko Van Otter 1, Delver Fudgeson 2) at 8:10

Scarecrows

Grapehead · 08-05-2019, 07:13 PM

Congrats on 2nd overall Brusky

FinnRhys · 08-05-2019, 07:27 PM

Great pick and representative for our defenseman draft class. Definitely the best of the bunch!

FINN RHYS

[Image: hockey__27674.1518661372.1000.1200.jpg?c=2]

Nictox · 08-05-2019, 08:04 PM

Texas landed a stud. Scarecrows

RIP Dangel #AD26 | RIP TDZ

dankoa · 08-06-2019, 07:04 AM

Love this, super happy we were able to draft you. Don't really think I've seen so many moves made to get a single player in the draft before ever! Renegades

Huck24 · 08-06-2019, 09:55 AM

Congrats to both Noah and Texas!!

ontanis · 08-06-2019, 09:56 AM

congrats on 2nd overall. make 'em proud, man! best of luck

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