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sarmo · 03-12-2017, 08:51 PM

The stakes were high before the season even started, there is still time for some rookies to break-out during the playoffs and despite the less than average performances, there is plenty of skill to be found in this rookie class. What squad you are on can help even with individual performance and make a rookie look more successful than others. So lets break down some of the league's freshmen by how well their top abilities have translated after a whole regular season.

The rookie class of SHL season 33 has been as good as we projected the majority of the young guys. There were some hold overs from dating back to season 31, highly touted players from the past that were outplayed due to a slow start. Then there were young raw freshmen players that took advantage of the spot line to insure a role in the SHL.

So while it’s been a sad season so for some rookies, there are a few that have stuck out with a smooth transition into the SHL due to certain signature abilities. These are the rookies that had the strongest first SHL season under there belt.

Steelhawks

Luke Atmey, Sharpshooter

Luke Atmey has become what we all expected him to be; the goal scoring leader in the rookie race, with 16 goals — you think that is impressive? He played 18 minutes per game and put up a 0.78 points per 20 minutes, best among his team and all the rookies. He racked up 35 points, good enough for 2nd in the rookie points outcome.

Atmey has proved himself to be a killer on offense, shooting an impressive 11.94%, the 2nd highest between his teammates who have shot over 100 shots. The coach will be tasking him with more complex plays to get open for shots in the future, because he only had 134 this season. Atmey has a high IQ tendency to slide around opposing defenders and create scoring chances with his power cannon of a shot. He finishes one timers with ease and is tied for 1st in the SHL in hat trick with 2, more than any rookie.

Ending up 10th on his team in minutes played with only 903, he had 20 minutes less than his junior team linemate, Kyle Kylrad. He was 2nd on his team in goals scored behind Ben Dover. The young forward has had a smooth translation into the SHL from the Detroit Falcons, where he was an elite level junior star with smart decision-making against opposing defense; the ability to avoid hits and get into dangerous areas with his skating and puck moving ability, evasive skill of stay on his feet and get accurate shots off.

It’s the process, not the results, that’s so impressive about the winger. The ability to get open for the puck and getting shots off cleanly.. it’s obvious that the points will start coming in bunches once the game slows down for him. Atmey makes a strong argument for the Jesster and is one of the best scoring forwards to come out past few drafts.

Toivo Kosonen, Net Protector

The Wolfpack are using Toivo Kosonen like an investment rather than the superstar he is- according to his efficiency. With a little under 19 minutes per game, 3rd line and also minimum powerplay time, he’s put up 6 goals and 20 assists, 62 hits, and 58 blocked shots this season. Throw in the fact that he also leads the defensemen on his team in +/-; tied for 1st place with Mattias Holmberg with a solid +18. Despite being on a stacked team like New England, his effectiveness is one of the highest out of all the rookies in the SHL, giving him solid contention for Rookie of the Season. We have to remember that his production comes in restricted minutes playing on the 3rd defensive pairing, making his points per 20 and efficiency projection completely awing as a blue liner.

Kosonen is averaging 0.55 points per 20 min, getting hits and blocking shots and has one of the more efficient numbers for defensemen playing on the bottom line. Going back to the old days we can compare his production to a young Scott Stevens of the Hamilton Steelhawks. Stevens turned into a dominant defensive presence, a natural for hitting opponents and shot blocking at an elite level. Throw in the finesse passing ability and strong offensive awareness and this player should be projected to be a game breaking defenseman.

Kosonen has a lot of work ahead of him to get to that level, but his presence has kept the Wolfpack deep. The team is really not much different without him as they continue maintain their reputation of being a powerhouse, but he is one of the most exciting young talent to watch and considering how much young talent surrounds him- says a lot. With the start of a new so called "Era" in the SHL, the Wolfpack look mighty scary going into it with Toivo Kosonen.

:admirals: Reed Laing, Hustler

Admirals rookie that just outworks everyone else to make opposing coaches frustrated. Laing's speed is a threat to any defense in the league. Watching Laing skate on the ice with grit and strength could be compared to Ron Mexico when he was young. Laing just looks like a natural on the ice and has intangibles that cannot just be learned, and a dynamic skill set on both side of the ice. The scoring leader in Halifax spent a few seasons in the juniors and was already one of the favorites for the Rookie Of The Season before the SHL season even started. Laing's ability to hustle for loose pucks and battle for plays makes her the best all around rookie forward, her dominant style of play with energy and grind making her close to elite right now.

Laing has played only 804 minutes, 11th on the team this season on a very balanced Portland offense. An offense that is last place in the West but could be 3rd place in the East (wtf). Reed Laing seems to be in the the Admirals' Dog House and even after the ice time limitations, she actually contributes quite a bit to Admiral's transition offense with her defensive energy, puckhandling, and last but not least, her suicidal speed skating into the slot to surprise the goalie.

Laing has moved on quite well from the juniors, making a significant impact playing the support role with 9 goals, 20 assists, 10 blocked shots and 75 hits in her rookie season. Portland might be looking to reach out to her one last time before the bridge is burnt, the skill set this player brings is worth it but that is going to be a far cry for her, who has already expressed interest in moving on to another team in the future. The franchise talent is there, it is a matter of where she wants to build her legacy.

:admirals: Max Weber, Scoring Defenseman

Weber was the first overall player drafted by the Admirals in the season 32 draft and already plays like a seasoned veteran who has experienced the SHL translation slow down for him already. It has been a good season for the rookies as a lot of them have came into this season looking prepared, but the top prospect that spent two seasons on the Scarecrows entered the SHL with a hungry mindset and has been given the elite level duty of being Portland's top 2 defender because of his maturity.

Weber was the leader of St. Louis Scarecrow's defense and he’s already made a significant impact for the Admirals. When you scout his play and stats, it will make sense why he is a rookie of the season candidate. The two way defenseman is shooting an immense 15.79% with 9 out of his 12 goals this season coming on the powerplay and even one shorthanded. He is consistently in the right position, fighting through puck battles, communicating with his teammates and closing off passing lanes. His performance is shown on the statsheet: Weber has been the best defenseman on the Admirals, leading them and all the rookie defensemen in the league in points and goals.The Admirals are going to have a tough task for this franchise player in the future, regularly having him to lock down All-Star forwards more often.

Pretty impressive for even a #1 prospect to already be so reliable as a defenseman in the SHL, Max Weber is so much more than just a two way defenseman. SHL teams are thirsty for a true point player that can hold his own in the back end, and the Admirals had gotten what they wanted in the draft. Weber had 12 goals, 28 points and 66 blocked shots in 24 minutes per game this season, which is exceptional for now, also a positive sign going forward into Portland's future. You could say that Max Weber is one of the most skilled young players in this league at the moment because of his dedication and work ethic at such a young age. He might not have been Alonzo Garbanzo this season but he's had a significant season sooner than expected.

Chiefs

Terrance Nova, Facilitator

He played 1010 minutes this season, which is 10th on the Minnesota Chiefs and had more points than every rookie in the SHL. Nova is the Chiefs energy player, the heart of the team who uses his positioning and puckhandling ability to create space and put up points in a hurry. He has already made an impact for his team, matching Flacko's points per 20 on the first line with his energetic plays and finesse ability to create scoring chances. He is a two way forward that surprisingly didnt see any penalty kill minutes but was 2nd only behind Garbanzo in powerplay points, with 9 assists and 3 goals on the man advantage

The Chiefs got the change they needed. They actually did worse than the past 4 seasons because they missed playoffs but atleast now they have active, growing players who are very young and hungry and very... very young. They were the worst offensive team in the SHL and the team gave Lord Pretty Flacko all the space he needs to do what he wanted. Without Flacko, the team would not have even cracked 100 goals in this season. Nova's play this season helped in that playmaking, space creating department. After playing on the top defensive line on the Falcons last season, he launched 154 shots on net as a first line forward on the Chiefs.and is natural at creating scoring chances, tied for 1st among rookies with 21 assists on the season 2nd in rookie goals and winning the rookie point race with 36 points- leading all rookies in the better half of the season in points output. He has had some impressive feat in his rookie tenure including a 7 game point streak, a natural hat trick against the Wolfpack. and a streak where he put up 13 points in 8 games.

As a matter of fact he is playing his best hockey in his young career against the hottest team in the SHL, putting up 5 goals and 9 points and a +4 in 6 games against New England. Want me to go a little deeper? All 3 of the Chiefs' wins against the Wolfpack have come off Terrance Nova's stick; 2 of his 4 game winning goals and 1 of his 2 shootout daggars against the Challange Cup contenders this regular season. Things might be different if Nova was to go head to head against this team in the playoffs but based on the role he has been asked to play, the Chiefs couldn’t be any happier with a rookie.