(1515 Words - x2 payout for SHL draft-related media)

Whispers on the wind: Raphael d’Alcott’s experiences in Anchorage and the road to the SHL draft


An alarm goes off, its 5:30 in the morning. Raphael d’Alcott wakes up in his apartment in Anchorage. Raphael is heading back to Toronto today to spend some quality time with his adopted family and his friends with the long SMJHL season completed. Even before he joined the Armada, Raphael had gotten into early morning rises in order to maximize his training time. With the playoffs over and no training until after the SHL draft was completed, Raphael uses this time to go on his morning run through Anchorage. As he goes running, he thinks back to the season and how he has changed over the course of the year. The Armada’s management and coaching staff had been friendly and helped him unlearn some of the bad habits that Raphael had kept from his junior days and helped him become more of a complete player.

This came to ahead when GM Max Brannagan had Raphael play top 6 minutes during the playoffs and also asked Raphael to be in the first power play unit. Despite the Armada losing to the Whalers in a sweep, the team came out of that series feeling confident in the future that was to come. Raphael scored 2 power play goals and was rarely on the ice when the Whalers scored, ending the series with a +1 plus/minus rating. After taking a couple of days off after the playoffs to recuperate, Raphael was back in the gym, working hard to the plan set by the coaching staff. Despite exceeding all expectations for this season, the playoffs left a bad taste in Raphael’s mouth. After game 1, he was quoted as saying:

"It stinks on ice that we lost that game. We did very well and were the victims of cruddy officiating. Anybody with eyes can see that we should have won that game. The team played their hearts out and we want to win so badly. Not just for all us rookies, but also for the vets in the room who maybe wearing the Armada Jersey for the last time. Guys like Peter (Larson) and Olivier (Cloutier) I may never play with again but I want to help them win the Four Star cup by any means necessary. We'll see you for Game 2"

Game 1 and Game 2 were both games that the Armada looked like they could win. In game 1, Raphael scored the game tying goal that sent the game into Overtime. It looked like Raphael would score another and win the game if it weren’t for a highlight reel save by Casimir Stevens which led to the Whalers scoring and taking the game. In Game 2, the Armada were leading 3-2 late in the third period and it looked like the game was theirs until the Whalers scored with 14 seconds left to go. The Whalers would win in OT and that would set the tone for the rest of the series. The Whalers swept The Armada away and would go on to lose to the Montreal Militia in 6 games.

As Raphael continued his morning run, he runs past the Armada’s arena, The Sullivan Center. Stopping to take in the sight of the arena, he remembers the roar of the crowd from the Anchorage faithful, the anticipation before the game started and the chants that rung out during the game. Even though Raphael was a professional player now, he still got Goosebumps whenever he stepped out onto the ice for a game. It reminded him of his first juniors game in Canada, when he heard the roar of the fans. The city of Anchorage has been so welcoming to him, not just the team but the people as well. Local bars, restaurants and places of gathering all know his name and treat Raphael not like a hockey player, but part of their family.

One particular memory stood out to Raphael as he ran through the town of Anchorage. The day after Raphael had scored his first SMJHL goal, he had stopped off at a local café after training to eat lunch. That day, a family came to him while he was eating, a couple with a young, sickly looking boy. The boy was no older than eight, he was very thin and very pale. The parents explained that their son had recently come out of cancer treatment. Thankfully the treatment went well and their son was expected to make a full recovery. The Armada had learned about this kid beforehand and wanted to do something nice for him so they had invited him and his family to the home game against the Detroit Falcons. Raphael recalls how the boy stepped up to him and showed him the jersey he was wearing under his coat, with Raphael’s #97 on it. He took over his jersey and asked Raphael to sign it saying:

“You are my new favourite player!”

It took all of Raphael’s inner strength to prevent him from crying. He gladly signed the kid’s jersey and posed for pictures with him. This small experience and many others like it are what made Raphael so glad that he joined the Anchorage. While he had received offers from other teams, after his year in Anchorage, Raphael was absolutely sure he had made the right choice in coming to the Armada.

As Raphael completed his run, he turned on the TV and, naturally, the hockey related channels were all focused on the draft. Raphael had tried his hardest not to watch any content concerning the draft or read anything online. To him, it simply got in the way of more important matters like training. But while Raphael wasn’t watching with interest, others most certainly were. GM’s were taking notice of Raphael’s craft and how he had improved over the year. Some scouts had specifically mentioned how impressed they were that a player that entered the SMJHL as a free agent and not via the draft had shown such great potential for an SHL career. On draft boards, they had Raphael pegged as a late 1st/Early 2nd round pick which was a huge accomplishment for a mid-season entrant. 

Raphael had expressed previously that one of his goals was to get into the first round so the fact that scouts actually believe he could do it is remarkable. One interview, above all others, sparked Raphael’s curiosity. Dean Colt III, a Center for the Minnesota Chiefs who had already planned to leave as a free agent (He had reached out to this reporter to specifically state that he had made this decision before Minnesota had been found guilty of Tampering) said that he wanted to join the team that drafted Raphael.

Dean was quoted as saying:

 "Raphael is one of those foreign players you hear about with sublime skills, you only really see them in international games. Growing up in Latvia, I had moved to Canada by the time he was making a name for himself. I have seen the highlights and the interviews and I think we’d have a good chemistry should we play together, he’s far better at his age than I was and he will easily surpass me in a few seasons. He learns and adapts quick. Mark my words, this guy is going to rewrite the record book before retirement"

This interview stuck in Raphael’s mind. Here was a player that had won the Challenge cup already and he wanted to a play with a rookie that had not once stepped out onto the ice with an SHL team. This was a uniquely humbling experience for Raphael, who almost couldn’t believe that a champion wanted to play with him as his Center. At first Raphael thought this was an April fool’s joke but watching the interview a couple times made it clear that Dean’s intentions were genuine.

No matter what happened at the draft, Raphael’s first and foremost duty was to keep developing as a player. He was more than ready to spend as much as possible in Anchorage to keep on working on his deficiencies and become the type of player that his SHL team would be thrilled to draft. He would keep on working and keep looking for opportunities to make himself better every day. As the time for him to fly home to Toronto finally arrived, he took his suitcase and headed for the airport. No matter what though, after a few days of rest, relaxation with his family and getting back in touch with his friends, he would be back on the ice and working towards becoming the player people believed his could be. With a clear plan, a stable and friendly locker room and (with any luck) and SHL GM that could continue to direct his development in the right direction, there is no reason to believe that Raphael couldn’t become what Dean Colt had said about him. Could he become the record setting talent that changed the face of the SHL?
Only time will tell.

(1515 Words - x2 payout for SHL draft-related media)