Simulation Hockey League

The playoffs are about to start, and that brings us to the second DFA bounty:
Deadline: Sunday, November 5th @ 11:59pm PST

Inge Baardsen hails from the Norwegian city of Tromsø, which is located above the Arctic Circle.
A standout youth player for Tromsø Ishockeyklubb, Baardsen could be considered undersized for the SHL, but uses his natural quickness and agility to dodge opposing defensemen. A right-handed winger, Baardsen has almost exclusively been employed as a right winger during his junior career.
In terms of playing style, Baardsen is a creative winger with an excellent hockey IQ and an innate ability to read the game. This comes from an obsession with ice hockey from an early age and a thirst for improving his own game. Very much outpacing the development expected of him, Baardsen was playing at 2 age groups above his own, while in the Tromsø junior system.

Technically skilled with the puck, a good puck handler in possession and with an eye for a precise pass, and hands to match, Baardsen is equally at home quarterbacking a power play unit, picking out teammates in space. He is quick and likes to have the puck on his stick during breakaway situations, allowing his teammates to concentrate on finding space around the net or on the point, ready for a tape to tape feed from Inge. Baardsen is no slouch when it comes to scoring, when the opportunity presents itself, but his real strength is his playmaking ability, combining his hockey IQ and his technical skills to see how the play is going to develop and make the most of the situation.

A consummate team player, Baardsen is willing to play whatever role is required of him to help the team improve.

An unlikely prospect, Song Ju-gong is a natural South Korean player who has little experience playing outside of Asia. Traditionally a weak region, most players from the small country lack the quality to turn any heads overseas. Ju-gong is an exception to that rule, who is dominating the youth ranks of South Korea at a never before seen level. Opposition of the young net minder are lucky to slap a single goal passed him over the entire game, as shut outs are the heavy expectation when he’s on the ice. This combined with a few over sea trials in Russia and Canada have proven that Ju-gong is a real prospect and worthy of attention from the SMJHL.

While not a towering prospect in net, the high potential goalie more than makes up for things with his remarkable reflexes. Many of his saves lack the technique of a life long student of the game, but are effective nonetheless. Given this gap in his game, it makes him an even more exciting talent as many coaches will feel it probable they can teach this missing part of his game. Regardless, Ju-gong is already a strong candidate that could surprise many with natural talent alone. Not only is the young Korean a fast learner, but a dedicated and humble one too, having proven this with his rapid rise to dominance in his domestic youth leagues.

As of recent, Song Ju-gong signed a temporary free agent contract with Quebec City Citadelles to back up talented goalie Net Man. In his 3 appearances with the Canadian team, Ju-gong has collected a perfect 3 wins, helping the team secure a home seed for the SMJHL playoffs. Set to keep his backup duties through the playoffs, Ju-gong has already proven he can make a difference in net for potentially interested teams this upcoming draft.

Olivija Agate, as many scouts would tell you, is a bit of a project pick. She’s got a great head on her shoulders, a decent frame and some wonderful skating skills. She sees the ice better than most of her age level, and is in position to make plays all of the time. She positions herself tactfully, as if she were watching the game from a birds-eye view. She knows how to use her body to win the puck, and positions herself in ways that don’t require her to be the bigger player to succeed. Physicality may never be her strong suit, but she will not look like a fish out of water out there. Her skating is fluid and powerful, she has a great first stride, and her edgework is finely crafted. It is obvious that she has spent lots of time focusing on this aspect of her game, and sources tell us she has participated in figure skating, speed skating and downhill skating at various points in her development.

The parts that aren’t so SMJHL, or, to project further, SHL, ready are the majority of her technical game skills. She is not yet at the point where her stick is an extension of her body. Her skates are her weapon of choice, not her stick. She will need to develop those skills tremendously before she can make a dent in this system. Luckily, those are the types of things that one can teach rather easily. Will she be an all-league shooter in her career? Probably not. Will she be a notorious deker or playmaker, also unlikely, but if she can master the cycle, the stretch pass, getting pucks on net, and thieving pucks from opponents, this could be a world-class possession player.

Coming from a hockey family, Charlie Slurpe is a flashy pass first center that has the ability to takeover a game at any point in time. While only being 6 foot and 185 pounds, he models his game after the young superstar Jack Hughes. I think Slurpee will do well in the upcoming draft because he sets himself apart from the competition by having an outstanding work ethic, specifically when it comes to driving and fighting for what he wants. Throughout his youth career, he constantly practiced and getting better, which everyone says they want to do but they don’t always do it. The mental aspect of hockey is almost as important as the physical one and Slurpee has worked greatly in both departments over the past few years to become the player he is today, and the player he will be in the future. I think from a physical skills perspective, he has some of the best hands and stick handling we have seen in a few drafts. This will make teams want him even more as he is able to make everyone around him so much better, on and off the ice with his leadership abilities. Another aspect of Slurpee’s game is that he has a natural ability in the defensive zone to read and react to plays, driving his team’s offensive transition rushes and generating even more offensive changes from his defensive savviness. I fully expect Slurpe to go in the first round in the upcoming SMJHL draft, and any team that drafts him is getting a top SHL prospect that is ready to contribute day one.

Elly is quite the fan favorite in her Japanese circles. For one, a big cat on the ice is a sight to behold. Its not everyday that you see a natural predator roaming a hockey rink. But perhaps that’s to elly’s advantage. A lot of opponents don’t know what to expect when they see her, and her natural predatory instincts allow Elly to read the game both offensively and defensively. She homes in on the the subtle movements of other players, how they breathe, how they tense and relax. The eyes of a natural born predator really help on the ice. It all contributes to her ability to know where the game could be headed. And bapping the puck around really helps her adorableness factor! Her passes are precises, and her paw/eye coordination is top notch. She has cat-like reflexes after all.

She knows when to pounce in at the right moment and shift the game in her teams favor. Another great point of a natural predator is her stamina! Elly is still very young and so she has room to grow, but starting out she has more than most other players start out with and is more than capable of running and skating on the ice longer than most. This makes her a natural pick when her teammates energy is running low.

Her luscious fur and beautiful patterns draw the eye making sure to rile any crowd, and her soft purrs boost team morale and deep fearsome growls rattle the enemy team. She is one any coach would want to have on their team. She’s the first to cuddle with an injured player and in those rare circumstances, she can quite literally pounce on a player wanting to get a little angry and de-escalate the encounter, even if it might earn her time in a penalty box. Overall, she’s the pick any professional team needs!

Literally Wizard from Dublin Ireland, you may be wondering what he is all about. Well let me tell you simply. That he is a wizard plain and simple, he is able to make miraculous plays out of nowhere as his passes are absolute magic and he has vision like no other. In his college career, wizard was a force to be reckoned with as he was never brought down in any fights as he could see it coming from a mile away. Wizard was never a star by the word of any means. Instead he was seen as the light that shined on a star, he had lead division II hockey in assists four years straight which is no small feat. Though the max amount of goals he scored in a season despite being a wing was only 5 goals. He could never find the goal himself but made sure to help his teammates find it. His teammates went on to get great offers from teams and meanwhile Wizard was left behind. If you look at wizard when he plays on defense, you won't see much great footage but what you will continue to see is the vision. He is able to predict passes, shots and a multitude of other things. He actually had an offer to a D1 college if he had decided to play defense but he was not willing to switch at the time. Now he is wondering what the best decision for his self is as he sits on waivers for the SMJHL.