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dankoa · 11-22-2023, 07:33 AM

MONTREAL PATRIOTES - DRAFT ROUND UP (2x MEDIA)

As one of the two newest franchises in a league that's been around for as long as the SHL has, there is an inevitable pressure on the Montreal Patriotes every time another draft rolls around. The team is one of the few in the league that does not have their name engraved on the Challenge Cup, and after the most recent iteration of the team put up a valiant fight in recent playoffs, they were ultimately unable to get to the stage that they wanted to. As such, the S74 Draft saw Montreal enter the day loaded up on draft capital after having traded away some veteran players to bolster their future prospect pool, and it meant that there was the potential to not only add good young players, but to add the kind of talents who could ultimately lead a future version of the franchise to success on the biggest stage.

Having 3 picks in the first round alone, 2 of which were in the top 6, gave Patriotes' fans all over the world a feeling of excitement at seeing the newest generation of players who would lead their franchise forward and finally deliver the long awaited Challenge Cup that they've craved for the last 14 seasons. And it's a tried and tested way of doing things; one need only look at the Texas team that won two cups during the S50s and 60s, or the recent success of Winnipeg to know that stockpiling premium talent across a few proximal draft classes may hurt in the short term, but longer term will undoubtedly lead to a level of success if you're able to stay the course. So with that in mind, I'm going to talk a bit about each of the players that they acquired through the first two rounds of the draft, what I think they can live up to and a little bit about what I thought the team's front office saw in each of them and how they might change the way the team looks going forward. With that in mind, let's get into some prospect talk and focus in on why the S74 Draft might just be the one that sees the Patriotes hoist the Challenge Cup in the not too distant future.

4TH OVERALL - PEANUT Patriotes

Defenseman - Great Falls Grizzlies

The player who went first overall in the previous season's junior draft somehow finds his way down to 4th overall in the big league draft, and the Patriotes are able to acquire a player who has the potential to be a true franchise defenseman. Peanut comes from an agency that's enjoyed great success with past players and will bring a big voice and personality to the locker room, in addition to adding a lot to the team's on ice product. A defenseman who projects to be a 1st pairing, big minute playing type of player, Peanut will likely lead the blueline in Montreal (alongside one of the later picks in this draft) for a long time to come, and should be seen as a great addition to this team. I'm excited to see the kind of career that he enjoys with the team, and while it's hard to class someone taken with the 4th overall pick as a steal, I think Peanut is a talent worthy of being taken with the first pick of the draft and so can definitely be viewed as such.

6TH OVERALL - EMIL KARLSSON Patriotes

Centre - Detroit Falcons Falcons

After having the luxury of using their first pick in the early stages of the draft on a franchise defenseman, the team were then able to follow it up by using the 6th overall pick on a player that they believe could be a franchise centre at some point in the future. The 16th overall pick in last season's SMJHL Draft, Emil Karlsson comes from a family with a moderate level of success in the SHL and is represented by an agent who has plenty to prove after a recent failure. Karlsson plays a 200 foot game, priding himself on being a tough player to go up against when playing defense, while still trying to show flashes of brilliance on offense. He's a very raw prospect at this stage in his development, but the hope will be there that he'll be a big presence in the face-off circle for the Patriotes for a very long time to come, and it'll be interesting to see how much more seasoning he's given in the SMJHL before he gets the change to make the jump to the big leagues. A pick that has boom or bust potential in some eyes, the Patriotes feel they're getting a quality product in Karlsson, and someone who can potentially lock down that 1C role for the next 15 seasons.

15TH OVERALL - MIKKEL ENEVOLDSEN Patriotes

Defenseman - Regina Elk Elk

To draft one franchise defenseman in a draft is an opportunity that most front offices would bite your hand off for, but to get two? It's almost unheard of, but it is exactly what the Patriotes were able to do when they used the 15th overall pick to acquire Enevoldsen. He could easily be seen as the steal of the first round given his status in the previous season's draft, where he was taken with the 6th overall pick, the work he's put in since then and the success that his agency has enjoyed with the players its represented in the past, and the Patriotes will undoubtedly be very happy that they now have him among their ranks. Enevoldsen has the opportunity in Montreal to really change the trajectory of a franchise, and if their development continues as planned, there's not many people out there who can argue that by the early S80s, him and Peanut will make up one of the very best first pairings in the league. There's a lot to like about this pick, and I really think it's incredible value to get this kind of talent with such a late pick in the first round.

38TH OVERALL - RODRIGO BANES Patriotes

Centre - Kelowna Knights Knights

It feels as if things have come almost first circle with this pick, as the son of one of the players taken by the Patriotes in their very first draft as a franchise is taken by the team in the draft that they look to use to kickstart the next generation of the team. Rodrigo Banes was the fourth overall pick in the previous season's SMJHL Draft, and has been a big voice within the Kelowna Knights franchise for the last season, establishing himself as a valuable rookie presence. Given his ties to the Patriotes franchise however, the team was able to acquire him, with a late second round pick, which given circumstances can't really be classed as a steal as he couldn't really go anywhere else, but represents unbelievable value in terms of what they were able to get out of the pick they had in that spot. Banes is another centre with premium talent, and someone that I believe will be a very big part of the team's top 6 forward in years to come, and speaks to how coordinated the team's efforts to build through this draft are. Having another premium forward taken in this class really bolsters the group that will be able to grow together and gives another highly impressive prospect for the team to work with in years to come.

NOT DRAFTEDTH OVERALL - GM'S SON Patriotes

Centre - Vancouver Whalers Whalers

So after all the success that they'd enjoyed with the previous picks, having worked unbelievably hard to maximise the value they could add to their team with each of their selections, the Patriotes go out and ruin it all by adding such a toxic locker room presence to the group as an undrafted player. I mean, every team passed before they thought of adding this guy to their franchise, but just based solely on the fact that his dad runs the team, we have to put up with this guy around the building? Give me a break! We talk about "building cultures", and what adding certain players to a team can do on a long term basis, but this feels like setting all progress back to stage 1 for me. Given the damage I think he'll do to the team and the issues that other players will inevitably have with him, I see this as potentially the worst addition the team could have possibly made and one that they will rue for some time to come - we just have to hope that the impact won't be too devstating on team morale and that his future teammates are able to block out the issues that he will bring to the squad.

So there you have it - I personally think this was a great day at the draft for Montreal, with the team really being able to cement their status as an up and coming franchise in seasons to come. It's one thing to stockpile picks, but it's important to ensure that when the time comes you're able to get the best value possible out of them, and I really believe that the Patriotes were able to do that this time around. It's likely to be looked back on as a pivotal class in the team's history, and if they're ultimately able to achieve their end goal of winning multiple championships down the line, this might just be the class where they were able to really kick things into gear and set off down the right path. It'll require a lot of hard work and dedication from all involved, but given what they've added here and the picks the team owns in drafts to come, this could be the start of something really special.

Code:
1,627 words and pay me double please!

***Chevy*** · 11-22-2023, 08:23 AM

Uh….uh….

*fakes an accent for his new team*

Oui? Hon, hon, hon. Yarp?

***Benpachi*** · 11-22-2023, 10:23 AM

OMG the CK slander is real XD
Who drafted that bum?

***CampinKiller*** · 11-22-2023, 12:27 PM

Nepotism at its finest

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