03-26-2022, 02:34 PM(This post was last modified: 03-26-2022, 07:22 PM by CptSquall. Edited 1 time in total.)
The Quebec City Citadelles: Early Season Draft Review
The Quebec City Citadelles had an unfortunate season regular season run last year, winning just 27 games on 35 regulation losses and 4 overtime losses. While they were relatively solid on the home compared to away (granted, still below .500), they were completely inept on the road, and this largely sabotaged their season. Fortunately for Quebec, they had a wealth of draft picks to bring to the table, and were able to leverage these picks to (at least, they likely hope) kick off a fresh run to the top of the league.
This article will run through the Citadelles’ many selections this season, providing some brief analysis on each pick and the overall direction of the team’s youth movement.
First Round
8th Overall: Sophie Bordelau - 5’8” / Center Scouting Report: A sensational, all-around offensive player: strong on the puck despite her lack of size, extremely solid athleticism and skating ability. Has the ability to read plays well and knows how to get into position to take high-percentage shots. Her vision on the ice makes her an excellent passer, forcing the defense to account for her on and off the puck. Solid defensively; she won’t be a liability on either end of the ice. Due to her small stature she largely lacks the ability to play in front of the opposing goal. Potential: Dynamic first-line two-way center.
13th Overall: Faust Faker - 6’2” / Left Wing Scouting Report: An elite, powerful playmaking winger. Exceptionally strong with the ability to hold onto the puck even under physical pressure, with the vision required to make tape-to-tape passes reliably even through traffic. Not much of a scoring threat comparatively, but has room to grow. His strength will make him a difficult match-up for opposing teams, and he is undaunted even when matched up against quality checking lines. He will need to improve his speed to be a threat on the counterattack. Potential: Elite power-forward and playmaker.
Second Round:
17th Overall: Portgas D. Ace - 6’1” / Left Wing Scouting Report: A very solid offensive winger overall. He has an exceptional handle on the puck for a player at the SMJHL level, along with an extremely solid shot and above-average playmaking ability. He is good at finding his way to the open areas of the ice and always has an eye on the open man when he has the puck. His defensive ability is solid enough that he won’t be a liability, but he will need to improve on his skating to make use of his incredible offensive toolkit. Potential: First-line offensive threat.
19th Overalll: Isabella Bouchard - 5’7” / Goaltender Scouting Report: Undersized for a goaltender, but with considerable upside to make up for it. She has lightning-quick reflexes and is able to recover from sprawling saves in an instant, with the positioning to back it up. She is equally adequate on both blocker and glove-side, but her lateral quickness is lacking compared to her overall agility. She’s goot at holding on to rebounds, but is still a fairly conservative netminder: she’s poor at both attempting the poke-check, and playing the puck herself. Potential: Flashy goaltender with starting potential.
Fourth Round:
47th Overall: Kalevi Pukkala - 6’2” / Defenseman Scouting Report: Speedy two-way defender. He is good all-around in the defensive end, willing to either make a big hit or play the puck depending on the situation. He is rarely caught out of position and tends to play a responsible game. He has an aggressive edge to his game at times, and can even sometimes drop the gloves. He’s decent in the offensive end: a decent passer with strong all-around shooting and offensive IQ. His most useful offensive tool has to be his shot, and he’s able to use his speed to get in close as soon as the lane opens. Potential: Versatile defenseman with a physical edge.
Draft Analysis
With the benefit of the season already rolling along, we have some initial insight into how these picks played out. Sophie Bordelau has become an immediate star for the Citadelles, her 17 points in 14 games placing her sixth in the league in overall production, and first on the Citadelles. Faust Faker has also had very solid rookie production with 8 points, while Ace has tallied 5 points. Pukkala has been able to make the most of his skillset to tally 3 goals and 2 assists for 5 points, an excellent number for a rookie defenceman. Bouchard has started in four games and has had a bit of a struggle so far adjusting to the pace of SMJHL play, but has recently earned her first win and is continuing to develop at a very reasonable pace.
Overall, the Citadelles look to have had a very good draft overall: each player has contributed in some way, with one or two already on the path to becoming stars at the junior level.
Allegiant
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