As the S54 SHL Entry Draft has just passed, by the end of it I found my player Ryosuke Sato a prospect of the Toronto North Stars. However, this is not going to be only about Sato who has only spent a couple days calling himself a North Star. This is going to be about the players who came before him as well. I wanted to talk about the S44 to S54 SHL 1st draft picks by the Toronto North Stars. Let’s take a look at the North Star team and history that led to that draft pick, as well as how the player is doing right now. Then, I will tie it all together with the conclusion of this most recent draft. And so, we begin with the Toronto North Stars’ 1st selection chosen 10 seasons ago, absolutely no one.
S44 Toronto North Stars’ First Selection: PASS
In the S44 SHL Entry Draft, the Toronto North Stars actually selected no player in this draft. But first, let us take a look at the team that they had at the end of the S43 SHL season. In S43, the Toronto North Stars missed the playoffs by a margin of 2 points. It was the West Kendall Platoon who took the last playoff spot in the East with 49 points while the North Stars’ put in a good fight to get 47 points that season. Looking at the entire league, the North Stars’ 47 points put them 4th worse in the league.
This season the Toronto North Stars actually traded away their 1st round pick to the Edmonton Blizzard. Heading into the draft lottery the pick was the 4th overall pick and while Edmonton didn’t move up with the pick, they also didn’t fall either. With this pick the Edmonton Blizzard selected 4th overall, Bernard Freeman who was drafted 2nd overall in the SMJHL. How did the player the North Stars’ could have picked turn out? Bernard Freeman stayed in the SMJHL with the St. Louis Scarecrows for an additional 2 seasons before getting called up and playing for the Edmonton Blizzard. After 3 seasons with the Blizzard, Freeman would go on to play 2 seasons in Texas before going to Winnipeg playing 16 games there. This most recent season, he played for the rebuilding Tampa Bay Barracuda and it seems like he will play there this coming season as well. In the SHL so far, Freeman played 316 games and had 44 goals and 29 assists for 73 points. This added to his SMJHL totals for his career statistics of 86 goals and 76 assists in 466 games played. Following this pick, the Toronto North Stars’ also traded away their 2nd round pick to the Minnesota Chiefs who selected Dean Colt III. Colt played with the Platoon this past season and just recently signed with the Winnipeg Jets. Even though the North Stars’ had subsequent picks, they decided to pass on choosing anyone this draft.
S45 Toronto North Stars’ First Selection: Konstantin Voloshin (RETIRED)
In S44, the Toronto North Stars’ rose to playoff contention being the best team in their conference and the 2nd best team in the league. Their 33-15-2 record gave them 21 points over their last season and had them face the Minnesota Chiefs in the 1st round. Unfortunately for Toronto, this season did not end as they wanted after they battled the Chiefs in a competitive 7 game. The North Stars were up 3-1 in the series to lose 3 straight games 2-3 with the last game being 2-3 in overtime.
With their early exit from the playoffs, the Toronto North Stars saw themselves picking 10th in the draft. With this selection, the North Stars’ opted to choose Konstantin Voloshin who was drafted 4th overall in the SMJHL. Voloshin would have a career that would be rather disappointing for the Toronto North Stars. He played an additional season in the SMJHL for Colorado before being called up to Toronto. In Toronto he only played 2 full seasons before his career came to a quick end. In his time in the SHL, Voloshin had 10 goals and 9 assists for 19 points in 100 games played. This made his career totals 41 goals and 32 assists for 73 points in 206 games played. Ultimately, this was a rather disappointing first selection for the Toronto North Stars.
S46 Toronto North Stars’ First Selection: Troy Reynolds (RETIRED)
After their conference leading season, the Toronto North Stars fell to 4th in their conference edging out the Manhattan Rage by 4 points for the last playoff spot in the East. Heading into the playoffs as an underdog team, the North Stars’ faced the conference leading West Kendall Platoon. The North Stars’ would eventually lose the Platoon in 5 games beating them only in the 4th game 3-1 to prevent a sweep.
Being eliminated early in the playoffs, the Toronto North Stars’ 1st round pick was drafting 9th in the draft. However, the North Stars traded away their 1st round pick to the Hamilton Steelhawks who used the pick to select Kalvins Zvejnieks. Zvejnieks didn’t have the greatest career as he played 5 full seasons in the SMJHL with Detroit and spent 1 season with the Tampa Bay Barracuda. Now moving on to Toronto’s first selection in the draft that happened in the 2nd round, Troy Reynolds selected 25th overall. Reynolds was a 6th round pick in the SMJHL so it is quite the feat to become drafted in the 2nd round. However, Reynolds wouldn’t stay long with Toronto as after spending 3 seasons in the SMJHL with Halifax, he would go on to play only a single season in Toronto before playing in Texas. In his single season with Toronto, Reynolds had 11 goals and 6 assists for 17 points. When he retired, Reynolds had 67 goals and 85 assists for 153 points in 381 games played between the SMJHL and SHL. For Toronto, I’m sure they would’ve liked a little more out of Reynolds but regardless Reynolds did spend 5 seasons in the SHL, just not all for Toronto.
S47 Toronto North Stars’ First Selection: Harry Carpet (TOR)
The SHL expanded in the S46 season but that didn’t stop the Toronto North Stars from making the playoffs for the 3rd season in a row. At the end of the regular season, the North Stars were 2nd in their division and 3rd overall in the season. This had the North Stars going against the Manhattan Rage but similar to the previous 2 seasons, the North Stars were eliminated in the 1st round. After going down 1-3 in the series, the North Stars fought to win games 5 and 6 before losing 5-6 in overtime in Toronto.
This was yet another year that the Toronto North Stars did not have a 1st round draft pick. This season’s draft pick went to the Winnipeg Jets who used it to draft Noah Gallagher 12th overall. Gallagher would play in Winnipeg for 2 seasons before going to Minnesota where he still plays. Now for Toronto’s first selection in the draft, with their 2nd overall pick the Toronto North Stars selected Harry Carpet. What an amazing first draft selection this would be as Harry Carpet still plays for the Toronto North Stars today, backstopping the team. This past season with Toronto was Carpet’s 3rd season as the team’s starting goaltender after taking over the role in S49 from Michael McFadden. This season he posted a 4.84 goals against average and a 0.906 save percentage. Of course the Toronto North Stars are still rebuilding right now but I am sure that the entire team would appreciate Harry Carpet for his work in net when the entire team comes together. This marks the first selection on the list that is still with Toronto and he is certainly an important piece for when the North Stars become competitive again.
S48 Toronto North Stars’ First Selection: Mika Kandinsky (TOR)
The following season the Toronto North Stars once again came 2nd in their division but fell to 6th overall in the league. This season would mark yet another 1st round exit by the Toronto North Stars after splitting the series 2-2 with the Buffalo Stampede before proceeding to lose the next 2 games.
Although the Toronto North Stars had another 1st round exit, the team this season still had their 1st round pick. In the draft, the North Stars were drafting 10th overall where they selected Mika Kandinsky. Kandinsky was a 10th overall 1st round draft pick in the SMJHL where he was drafted by the St. Louis Scarecrows. He stayed with the Scarecrows for his 3 season long career in the SMJHL before he was called up to the SHL in the S50 season. Once in the SHL, Kandinsky was placed immediately into a top line role and he did not fail to respond. In his first season in the SHL, Kandinsky had 26 goals and 36 assists for 62 points making him over a point per game. This past season would mark his 4th season with the team where he had 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points playing on the 1st line in Toronto. This would make his career totals in the SHL 78 goals and 98 assists for 176 points in the 4 seasons played in the SHL. This is quite impressive as Kandinsky is scoring at a rate of 0.88 points per game and he has yet to have a season where he scored under 30 points. Similar to Carpet, Kandinsky will be much needed as Toronto’s 1st line center heading forward.
S49 Toronto North Stars’ First Selection: Jan Zacha (TOR)
With the S48 season, the Toronto North Stars had another season similar to their last few seasons where they were once again 2nd in their division but slipped further to 7th overall in the league. Heading into the playoffs, the Toronto North Stars had to battle the Buffalo Stampede in the wildcard round of the playoffs. Unfortunately for the North Stars, the team was swept in this portion of the playoffs.
In this draft the Toronto North Stars actually had the 1st round draft picks of the West Kendall Platoon and the New Orleans Specters in addition to their own. However, it was their own 1st round draft pick that came first. And so, with the 9th overall pick in the draft the Toronto North Stars selected Jan Zacha. Zacha was a 7th overall pick in the SMJHL draft and he played for the Vancouver Whalers for his 4 seasons there. He would be promoted to the SHL 2 seasons ago where he had 9 goals and 13 assists in his rookie season. In his sophomore season this past season, Zacha had a bit of a slump with 3 goals and 9 assists for 12 points playing 2nd line ice time for the team. However, Zacha was great defensively as he had 15 takeaways to 10 giveaways with an astounding 131 shots blocked. Going forward, Zacha would most likely play less ice time as rookies like Danny Marston continue to improve in the SMJHL.
Of course with the 2 other 1st round draft picks, we can’t continue with mentioning them. With their 13th overall pick from the West Kendall Platoon, the Toronto North Stars selected Derek Bohne Jr. This pick didn’t work out as Bohne Jr. would find himself with Manhattan by the time he made the SHL. Bohne Jr. would be a Challenge Cup champion as a rookie as the North Stars used the 2nd round pick that they got for him in this season's draft to select Alexei Petrikov. As for their last pick in the 1st round, the North Stars went with Knox Booth. However, Carpet was shown to be the clear starter so Toronto traded him to the Los Angeles Panthers for an S50 2nd round pick used to draft Ursin Zimmermann. Although these prospects didn’t stay long with Toronto, the ones that came from their trades would hopefully stick around for a while.
S50 Toronto North Stars’ First Selection: Bobby Lane (TOR)
After seasons of making the playoffs, the Toronto North Stars would finally fall out of the race. This season the North Stars ended up 3rd in their division placing them 4th last in the league. Even the 2nd place team in the division would not make the playoffs as the 2nd place Syndicate and the North Stars had 47 and 44 points respectively. The North Stars were out of the playoffs by 9 points.
Probably marking the start of a rebuild, the Toronto North Stars were entered into the draft lottery where they had the 4th most balls with 10. After the draft lottery the Toronto North Stars found themselves right where they were before the lottery at 4th place. With this pick, the Toronto North Stars winger Bobby Lane. Lane was also selected 4th overall in the SMJHL by the Montreal Militia. He played 4 full seasons in the SMJHL before getting called up 2 seasons ago. In his rookie season, Bobby Lane had 20 goals and 26 assists for 46 points. In this past season, Bobby Lane would take a bit of a step back with 12 goals and 23 assists for 35 points playing on the 1st line for the team. Regardless, Lane would be the leading goalscorer on the team ahead of Toronto’s other 1st round pick, Mika Kandinsky, by 3 points. Bobby Lane would most likely continue to be the North Stars’ 1st line winger for seasons to come as upcoming rookie forwards come up to help fill out the offense.
S51 Toronto North Stars’ First Selection: Ruslan Zaporozhets (TOR)
Following their season in which they missed the playoffs by 9 points, the Toronto North Stars managed to clinch the final playoff spot in the East. The North Stars got the spot with only 2 points over the next two teams of the New England Wolfpack and the West Kendall Platoon. In the playoffs, the Toronto North Stars would beat the Manhattan Rage in a 6 game series during the wildcard round. In the 1st round, the North Stars split the first 4 games 2-2 before proceeding to lose the following 2 games.
Making the 1st round of the playoffs, the Toronto North Stars were selecting 9th overall and they also had an additional 1st round pick from the Edmonton Blizzard. With the 9th overall pick, the Toronto North Stars chose Ruslan Zaporozhets who was drafted 13th overall in the 2nd round by the St. Louis Scarecrows. Zaporozhets has been playing in the SMJHL with the Scarecrow for the past 4 seasons and will be called up to the SHL for the S54 season. In this past season with the Scarecrows had 17 goals and 25 assists for 42 points. This was enough for him to only be 3 points behind the leading point scorer of St. Louis, Mega Tron. The Scarecrows would go on to the playoffs this season where they made it to the 2nd round. During this playoff series, Zaporozhets would have 5 goals and 3 assists in 14 games played. This would lead the St. Louis Scarecrows in goals during the playoffs. Over his career in the SMJHL, Zaporozhets had 67 goals and 88 assists for 155 points. Heading up this season to play for the Toronto North Stars, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Zaporozhets being placed immediately in an important row playing 1st line alongside Mika Kandinsky and Bobby Lane.
As for their other 1st round pick, with the 10th overall selection the Toronto North Stars opted for Stracimir Petrovic. Petrovic was a 17th overall draft pick in the SMJHL by the Vancouver Whalers. This coming season Petrovic will be playing his 5th and final season with the Whalers, most likely on the 1st line. It is tough to say whether Petrovic will be on the North Stars roster following the end of this coming season.
S52 Toronto North Stars’ First Selection: Rhys Pritchard (TOR/ANA)
After the surprising playoff berth last season, the Toronto North Stars came back down to Earth in their rebuild coming dead last in their conference with 45 points. These 45 points would be good enough for 4th last in the league, what seems to be a consistent trend when the Toronto North Stars miss the playoffs.
Heading into the draft lottery, the Toronto North Stars had 10 balls. Their position on the draft board remained unchanged after the lottery so with their 4th overall pick the Toronto North Stars selected winger Rhys Pritchard. Pritchard was drafted 17th overall in the 2nd round of the SMJHL draft by the Anaheim Outlaws. After spending 3 seasons in the SMJHL with the Outlaws, I’d expect Pritchard to return for 1 more season before getting called up to the Toronto North Stars. In this past season, Pritchard had 13 goals and 14 assists for 17 points playing on the 2nd line in Anaheim. Pritchard is actually a pretty consistent player as he had 32 points in his rookie season and 27 points last season. His career totals so far in the SMJHL are 32 goals and 54 assists for 86 points in the 3 seasons played there. When Pritchard comes up to the SHL, I’d expect for him to be playing 2nd line time behind the top line of Kandinsky, Lane, and Zaporozhets, potentially on a line with either Danny Marston or First-Name Last-Name. Going forward, I’m sure Pritchard will be a solid fit on the 2nd line.
S53 Toronto North Stars’ First Selection: Jack Kanoff (TOR/DET)
After missing the playoffs last season, the Toronto North Stars found themselves back in it the following season. This North Star team barely made the playoffs as they were tied with the New England Wolfpack in points with 55. The 2 teams had the exact same records of 24-19-7 but the Toronto North Stars had a single more regulation plus overtime win. And so, the North Stars found themselves in the wildcard round once again where this time they were swept by the Buffalo Stampede.
As a result of their wildcard round exit, the Toronto North Stars found themselves picking 8th in this draft. And so, with their 8th overall selection the North Stars went with defenseman Jack Kanoff. Kanoff was a 2nd round, 18th overall draft pick by the Halifax Raiders. He was quickly traded to the Detroit Falcons, where he still plays today, alongside a 3rd round pick for two 2nd round picks and the rights to Joakim Ohlund. In his first season in the SMJHL, Kanoff had 1 assist in the 4 games he spent with the Raiders before the trade, and 7 goals and 12 assists for 19 points in the remainder of the season with Detroit. In this past season, Kanoff had an amazing 11 goals and 23 assists for a defensemen placing him 3rd in defensive scoring in the season. In the playoffs this season, he had 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points helping the Detroit Falcons win the Four Star Cup. I’d say it’ll be another 1 season in the SMJHL for Kanoff before he gets called up to the Toronto North Star where he’d get some important minutes there as well.
S54 Toronto North Stars’ First Selection: Ryosuke Sato (TOR/VAN)
With this past season, the Toronto North Stars were last in the league with 15 points in the season. The next closest team was the Texas Renegades with 18.
This meant that the Toronto North Stars were once again put into the SHL Draft Lottery where this time they had 35 balls, 10 more than the next team with 25. Unfortunately for the North Stars, the draft lottery did not go their way as the Texas Renegades, who only had 10 balls to their 35, beat the odds and won the 1st overall pick. After the Texas Renegades picked Mikkel Asmus Sondergard 1st overall, the Toronto North Stars went with another defenseman in Ryosuke Sato. Sato was drafted in the 2nd round, 16th overall by the Vancouver Whalers. In his first season as a Whaler, he didn’t have the greatest season as he only came up with 2 goals and 7 assists for 9 points playing top line minutes alongside SMJHL veteran Sven Yxskaft. The Whalers failed to miss the playoffs however this meant that they were able to pick up solid prospects for their future in the SMJHL draft. For Sato, he is definitely a couple seasons out from playing for the Toronto North Stars but I’m certain he will fit nicely playing important minutes for the team when the time comes. As for now, Sato will look to improve his game in the SMJHL as well as both the WJC and the IIHF as he currently plays for Team World and Japan respectively. In the IIHF for Team Japan, Sato has 2 assists in 12 games while in the WJC he has 5 assists in 9 games. Hopefully this is a good sign for more points to come this season with Sato.
And so, with the conclusion of this most recent S54 SHL Entry Draft I think we can say that the Toronto North Stars have rounded out their defensive core moving forward. This is especially true as in the 2nd round they were able to pick up another defenseman in Alexei Petrikov. Also in the 2nd round, the North Stars drafted goaltender Scoochie Stratton who will hopefully one day be the backup to Harry Carpet in the net. Overall things are looking bright going forward for the Toronto North Stars and with a couple more forward prospects you can soon find them back in playoff contention.
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