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fever95 · 03-17-2020, 05:59 PM

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1,045 words. 2x draft media, ready to be graded.

Hello and welcome to Fever's Season 53 Minnesota Chiefs draft review! Today I will be taking a look back at the Season 53 Simulation Hockey League Entry Draft and reviewing all of the selections that the Minnesota Chiefs made throughout it. I will gauge how good (or bad) each selection was for the Chiefs and talk a little bit each selection, including that player's potential future in Minnesota. The Season 53 SHL Entry Draft took place on Sunday afternoon, March 14th in Montreal, Quebec inside the former home of the Montreal Impact and Montreal Militia (now known as the Carolina Kraken), the Bell Center. The entry draft is always an exciting time for SHL draft prospects and management teams alike and Sunday was no different, with a very deep draft class ready to hear their names called to the draft podium.

Rocco Berni - Center - Kelowna Knights
[Image: SMJHL-Knights2.png]

The Minnesota Chiefs waited patiently for their first draft selectionas they watched the first round of prospects come and go, with 16 prospects find their new SHL homes. Their first selection came early in the second round with the 20th overall selection in the draft and Minnesota elected to select Kelowna Knights centerman, Rocco Berni. Although Berni had accumulated the most training hours prior to the entry draft, many of the SHL franchises decided to pass on him and go a different route. This worked out well for the Minnesota Chiefs, who had him fall into their lap at the number 20 overall selection and didn't hesitate to make him their first selection in this draft class. The Chiefs were ecstatic to be able to pick Berni up early in the second round and coming from a respected player agency, he has to be considered a steal at the number 20 overall selection. As of today, Rocco Berni has spent 383 hours of training in the practice facility and he had himself a pretty good SMJHL rookie campaign in Season 52. Rocco scored 6 goals and 16 assists for 22 points (7th in rookie scoring), with a 45.58% face-off success rate, a -3 plus/minus rating, 23 penalty minutes, 38 body checks and 6 shot blocks. During the 4 Star Cup Playoffs, the Kelowna Knights were eliminated in the second round by the Carolina Kraken in 7 games and Berni put up 1 goal and 5 assists for 6 points in 13 games played. He finished the playoffs with a 48.98% face-off percentage, a -7 plus/minus rating, 14 penalty minutes, 4 body checks and no shot blocks. Rocco Berni will likely spend some more time down in the SMJHL to develop his game but in due time, he should grow into a number one centerman for the Minnesota Chiefs and will be a great asset for them once they are ready to compete.

Separa Borro - Goaltender - Anaheim Outlaws
[Image: Outlaws2.png]

The Minnesota Chiefs did not have to wait as long for their next selection in the draft as they were back on the clock with the number 31 overall selection, near the end of the second round. Minnesota management decided that they needed a goaltender for the future and went with Anaheim Outlaws netminder, Separa Borro, a Canadian born prospect. Borro currently has accumulated 242 hours of training and was selected in the 7th round, 63rd overall during the Season 52 SMJHL Entry Draft. Separa took the back-up job in Anaheim, behind Strom Chamberlain. He started 14 games and made 19 total appearances for the season, posting a record of 9-5-1 with a 0.883% save percentage, 3.08 goals against average, no penalty minutes, 1 shutout and 2 assists during the regular season. During the playoffs, Chamberlain took the reigns on the Outlaws' way to a 4 Star Cup Championship with Separa Borro riding the bench the whole way. As Strom Chamberlain graduates to the SHL, Separa Borro will receive more playing time and become the starting goaltender in Anaheim. He will have some time to cook down in the SMJHL, developing his game, prior to being called up to the SHL for the Minnesota Chiefs once they are ready to compete.

Ben van Dijk - Defense - Carolina Kraken
[Image: SMJHL-Kraken.png]

The Minnesota Chiefs were quickly back on the draft board just 3 picks later, with the 34th overall selection, an early third round selection and they had already drafted a forward and a goaltender, thus they elected to go with a defenseman with this selection. The selection for the Chiefs ended up coming in the form of New Zealand born, Carolina Kraken defender, Ben van Dijk. van Dijk has spent a total of 260 hours in the training facility as of now and was not drafted into the SMJHL, but rather signed as a free agent with Carolina after the draft had been completed, but prior to the beginning of Season 52. Ben played all 50 regular season games with the Carolina Kraken and failed to score a goal, while notching 2 assists for 2 points and a -2 plus/minus rating. He added 44 penalty minutes, 46 body checks and 13 blocked shots in about 8 and a half minutes of ice time per game. The Carolina Kraken were able to advance to the 3rd round of the 4 Star Cup Playoffs, bowing out in 4 games to the eventual champions, the Anaheim Outlaws. Ben van Dijk was not able to put a goal on the scoresheet again and had 1 assist with a -1 plus/minus rating. He added 12 penalty minutes, 11 body checks and 7 shot blocks. This was a great pick-up for the Minnesota Chiefs with a third round selection and Ben van Dijk will spend some time cooking in the SMJHL, but it appears that he can become a great stay at home defenseman for the Chiefs.

The Minnesota Chiefs also took some gambles later on in the draft with the selections of Bryce Turner (52nd overall), Yompy Streaf (56th overall) and Rinako Yukikami (61st overall). All three of these prospects never showed up to Minnesota's training camp and have subsequently been cut. No harm, no foul though, you never know what you can get when you gamble late in the draft. That's all from here today and we hope you all tune in next season again!

*Training hours denotes TPE.

***SpartanGibbles*** · 03-17-2020, 06:59 PM

Great read and recap. I can say that I have actually made contact with Bryce Turner and he will be signing a contract with the other rookies. So 4/6

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