Welcome to my pre draft / post season annual breakdown. I will be starting with the season breakdown, talk about playoffs, then end on who stood out and what we need to change going into next season. After all that I will talk a bit about the draft and what I think needs to be done.

Going into this season it was no secret that the Scarecrows were not where they want to be. After being great for so many seasons (practically all of the S40's) we get to a point where the term rebuilding comes into play. Ryan and myself discussed all our options at the start of the season and decided we should either fully commit to a rebuild or keep trying to turn the team around on the fly. For the last couple seasons we have been trying to rebuild on the fly but are coming up short in a couple places. If you look at our cup winning teams from S44-S46, you'll notice that we had four lines of players who were active and tearing up the league around them. If you look now, you will see two lines of really good players (with one saint playing on the third line) and inactives. When I say really good players, I am talking about league leaders in points and record breakers for the team. Where we are coming up short is on the blue line. We have a couple solid big bodied defenders to soak up shots and hit the living hell out of people. What we do not have on the blue line is offense support. We have no one to quarterback the power play or walk the line looking for a clapper. Before there was a Kiko Rytmeyr and Basil Magnicotta who were some of the best offensive defenseman in S40’s. Magnicotta is second in career points with 167, only behind the legendary Nicolas Fleming. Anyways, I think looking for the next Kiko or Basil is key to our success. 

The season saw us do pretty much what we expected it to do, lose. There was some exciting games played and a lot of close ones which gave us hope that we would perform better. We finished in 8th place. We were sitting at the bottom for a bit but started to find some really good chemistry towards the end of the season. I should also mention that this season every team was close to each other in points. You lose one game you could drop 3 spots. So we were competing but unfortunately had some bad bounces keep us down. The St Louis Scarecrows would end the season 23-23-4. Nice and even. While the season was not the best, we had bright spots all around the team. We had two rookies really make their mark. Ruslan Zaporzats and Elizabeth Doyle. Zapo is a high scoring winger who, well, did just that. He put up 27 points in his rookie campaign which was third best for all rookies. Doyle started off slow, but quickly found her game and took over the starter job. Doyle really shined during the end of the season and made a mark in the playoffs (more on that later). I cannot forget to mention our resident tough guy LPLL. Do not even have say his name, it just comes out  L-P-L-L every time now. The big boy was a hitting machine out there and while he loves to drop the gloves, he only found himself in 2 fights all season. I hope he can have a few more next season because he has to be the one to stick up for his teammates. A little less PIMs would be nice, but he is still young and is maturing his game. Our best defender Flash Gordon exceed a lot of expectations this season and stays our number one stay at home defender. Gordon was a plus 17 for the season and put up 29 points. Gordon will most likely remain with us for awhile so it is nice to see them put the work in to be the fan favorite. Let us take a look at the forward group. Blackwood came back for one more season with us, and boy did he show he was ready to win. The man put up 63 points from 27 goals. His elite play and his eagerness to win made it possible for him to beat old team mate and line mate Nicolaj Muller for the Scarecrow point record by two points. Blackwood made sure he put his stamp on Scarecrow history by doing so. Two other players tied Muller’s record this season. Captain Aron Hernadivic and Jakub Bruchewski. They both played right along with Blackwood up until the last 8 games of the season where they saw James Ronlain join the top line and Blackwood moved down to the second to help find secondary scoring. The move worked as Ronlain’s play became even better. Ronlain would end the season with 44 points with 25 goals. That top line clicked so well that we kept them together for the playoffs. Mitsuharu had a good season as well ending with 40 points after taking over the second center spot to help complete the lines. Sasha “Ass Captain” Dangelchek is a gem of a player. It is not often you find guys who can inspire a whole locker room to be better. Sasha may not be the high point getter, but he is the guy forechecking and doing all the board work and really grinding it out. Sasha type players do not come into the league often and he has been a hell of a competitor. The man had 91 hits as a forward, second on the team only behind LPLL who had like 157. Next season should see Sasha only get better, he is probably the one person I am most excited to see grow next season.

Moving on to the playoffs. This is where things start to sting a bit. WE HAD THE BEST TOP LINE OF THE PLAYOFFS, try to change my mind. Bruchewski was ranked third in points for the entire playoffs with 20 points, in 13 fucking games. James Ronlain was right behind him at fifth with 18 points. Captain Fish was behind him in 11th with 14 points… 13 games played and these guys were absolutely tearing it up. In my mind, they were unstoppable. I should also mention Blackwood was 15th with 11 points. The wild card round has us facing off against the rebuilding Kelowna Knights. We beat them in 6 games and moved on to face the number one seeded Colorado Raptors. WE TOOK THE RAPTORS TO GAME 7. In my mind if we beat the Raptors the cup was ours. The team was scoring goals like crazy. Not only that, but Doyle was playing lights out, brick wall type of game. The rookie tender was absolutely dynamite. Next season she should be lifting the cup. So while we were all disappointed, we were happy that we could compete at such a high level knowing that we probably should not be. The hardest part about being a GM who lost in the playoffs, the statement in the locker room afterwards. Even knowing the team is better than expected, you still have to deal with the disappointed faces of the younger hockey players looking for their chance to win the cup.

Looking towards the draft, there is some serious talent in this draft. While not as deep as some more recent ones, there are some elite names being tossed in. Throw in us picking at four overall, we should be getting a superstar no matter what. Only question is what are we looking for? Center? Defense? Wingers? Goalies? In this draft we will be picking the best player available regardless of position, except goalie we already have two actives. What does the team need? Any position that would fill third line holes. With us only losing Blackwood, our top 6 forwards are set. Defence is probably our weakness still. As I said before, we have some good shutdown defenseman but no offensively minded ones. Will we taking that into consideration? Probably yes.

Draft is all done now, let us talk about the picks. The first 3 picks was pretty much figured out before the draft. They were all known to be going where they landed.

First Overall Pick

Sabo Tage - Vancouver Whalers

Tage was the most sought after offensive defenseman in the whole class. It was known that the Whalers wanted him, seeing as he was an ex-gm there. Before the draft, Vancouver was shopping this pick around to see who would bite. I will not lie, I offered for it, but I was not targeting Tage. I had someone else in mind. Which brings us to pick 2.

Second Overall Pick

Velveteen Dream - Carolina Kraken

Dream was just that, a dream. The center was high on everyone’s boards. Why Vancouver did not pick him really baffles me. Not only is Dream the number 1 ranked prospect on this class, he also manages the New Orleans Specters. TDZ is a friend of mine and I really wanted him on the Scarecrows, but Fuzz being Fuzz, took him. Good for him though. By the way Halifax, why did you come out at the bottom of this trade? Like seriously? You had the high pick you should have gotten more than 7OA and a player. To each their own I guess.

Third Overal Pick

Morgan Forestier - Kelowna Knights

Forestier was another player on high on my board. We probably would have taken him at 4 if he was there but found out before the draft the Knights were high on him. Great pick the by the Knights. Forestier is top 3 material and will impress a lot this upcoming season. He could have easily been number one in a weaker class, but had to fight with Dream and Tage leading up the draft.

Fourth Overall Pick

Blake Faux  - St Louis Scarecrows

I was lucky enough to have Faux signed as a DFA last season. He joined the locker room and found his way around like he has been there is whole life. I heard rumblings he was going early so I made sure we picked him with our first rounder. Faux is another defensive defenseman to add to our blue line. He should see lots of minutes this season on the second pairing and some PK time. I expect big things out of our first round pick and he knows it. He fits the team well and we are proud to have him wear the Scarecrow sweater.

Fifth Overall Pick

]Slatt Potts - Lethbridge Lions

The Lions go for a recreate with pick number 5. Potts has shown great potential early on in his career and I am sure the Lions hope he can keep it up. Potts is a right winger from Georgia who plays a two way game with a focus on scoring. Was this the best pick available at 5? Maybe so, maybe not. I think it is too early to tell. 

Sixth Overall Pick

Noah Nystrom - Kelowna Knights

Now here is where things get interesting. The Knights target a first gen who has shown great potential. The Knights wasted no time in snagging him and should be rewarded for it. Nystrom is a two way defenseman with a focus on playing long shifts and making great passes. He should quickly find himself in a top 4 spot for Kelown.

Seventh Overall Pick

Olli Saarinen Jr. - Halifax Raiders

The Raiders traded down from second overall and ended up with Detroit’s first rounder and a player. With seventh overall they picked up goalie Saarinen Jr. Probably the best goalie in the class. I will just say now, St Louis was not looking for a new tender this season since we picked up all star Doyle in the last draft. Saarinen Jr looks to be ready to take on a starting role with the Raiders, but should be used as a back up for a few weeks until adjusted to the juniors.

Eighth Overall Pick

Ulrick Bergstrom - Anchorage Armada

Bergstrom is one of the few two way defenseman in the class. He plays a fast, smart game and sets up a lot of passes in the offensive zone. He has the best hockey sense in his class. Armada snagged a real good player here.

Ninth Overall Pick

Simothy Drunkebird - Colorado Raptors

This was a no surprise pick, mainly because he was helping them out with the draft. Drunkebird is a face off ace and great young player. While some scouts question his commitment level, I believe he will prove them wrong. He has the potential to be one of the better picks in the draft, only time will find out.

10th Overall Pick

Riley Kuse - Lethbridge Lions

Kuse is another first gen taken in the first round. Kuse is showing great commitment and swagger right off the gate, but he is still a risky pick. First gens can go different ways and it is always a risk when you pick one. Hopefully the Lions are able retain him and keep him active enough to fully commit to the site and league. 

End of the First Round

A lot of things happened. Trades, upsets, and surprise picks. This round had it all. I will not be going round for round with all picks, from now on I will only be talking about St Louis picks.

13th Overall

Danny Marston

Boy oh boy were we surprised by this pick. We knew we wanted a first gen here, and we got a hell of one. Marston joined the locker room immediately and fit right in. While not super well known in the SHL, he has players in another sim league as well. Of course, even I did not know that at the time. I just saw someone who looked to have the right stuff to make it in the league. Stoked he was there at 13 and stoked to have him on the team. He fills one of center spots and should be seeing lots of time.

23rd Overall

Mega Tron

This one shocked me a bit. We were scratching our heads wondering why Tron was just sitting there at 23. A highly skilled winger with lots of upside. I guess it is a risky pick due to past players? Oh well, other teams lose out on this. We are thrilled to have Tron on the team and know they will be showing off from the get go. 

26th Overall

Trey Nets

Another shocker here. At this point we are looking for anyone who is on the site or has logged more than 20 minutes. Nets surprised us all when he joined the locker room. He has players in multiple sim leagues and should be considered a steal at this point. The scoring center should fit in nicely with some of passing wingers and should bring more offense to the team.

33rd Overall

Ryszard Franciszek

The first Franciszek of five to be taken in the draft. We were lucky enough to snag him at 33rd. He is a defenseman with a lot of offensive upside. This is exactly what we needed on our blue line. He should be seeing power play time right off the bat. We knew drafting him means we would have to draft all of the brothers, or at least try too. We had another brother higher on a board but knew we could snag him at 43...
43rd Overall

Borys Franciszek

Eddie played with us before and was a very successful defender. We knew his recreate had to come back to St Louis. When we drafted his brother he was next on our board to come in. Borys is a power forward by all means. He is not afraid to throw his body around to make play. The only aspect of his game considered “weak” is his hockey sense. He tries to force plays when he should practice more patience. Lucky for us, he is a great dude and will learn this in no time.

53rd Overall

Jebany Franciszek

The last pick for us in the draft. We bring in the 3rd brother of five, Jebany Franciszek. While he may not be the brightest of the brothers, bringing him here can only help. He joined the locker room this morning and is ready to tear the league up. He is the opposite of his brother Ryszard, as he is a defensive defenseman. He focuses on playing a shut down style that St Louis is known for having. I expect great things out of him. Him and his brother will be on the same pair together as they compliment each other very well. I would not be surprised if they have +15 or higher.

That is it folks. Draft over. This was surprisingly one of the better drafts St Louis has had in awhile. We picked seven players and ALL seven are active. It does not get any better than that. This draft was looking to be top heavy at first but quickly gained “deep” status as more prospects declared just days before. As of right now, St Louis is in a really good spot to be a top team once again. After what we are calling a rebuild, I am pretty happy with the results from the last two drafts. We really have a solid core of players who will be at the top of a lot of different leaderboards this season. It is way too early to pick who is going to be our break out rookie, but I have a feeling who ever it is will absolutely kill it this season. Stay tuned to more articles coming soon from the St Louis team. We have an alternate captain to announce and contracts for all these new rooks. Thanks for reading my word vomit for that sweet, sweet double pay.

[3009 Words - Double SMJHL Draft Media]