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Serpe x 13 · 06-13-2020, 12:43 AM

Adam Everett – New Orleans Times
June 8th, 2020

A Forgotten Asset?

It was the early morning of June 8th and a seasoned veteran wakes up. This veteran is no other than Charlie Serpe, the former New Orleans Specter first round pick in the season 47 SHL draft. He has admitted to many that he went through ups and downs in his first few seasons which is expected for many young players in the SHL. But it was expected from him to take a huge jump in season 54. This was not the case as the Specters moved Demarcus Smyth to defense and traded for DuBolk to round out the top four on defense in his last season in the SHL. Serpe is playing a similar amount of ice time that he had played in his rookie and sophomore seasons in the SHL, roughly around 16 minutes a game. In the previous two seasons he averaged over 20 minutes a game and saw steady increases in his point totals; ranging from 23 in S50 to 33 in S52 and with a decrease in points in S53 to only 12 points.

Serpe is at a point in his career where there is still time to make a very lasting impact on the league, but his time is running out to be able to still keep earning TPE until he begins regression. The Specters did sign Serpe to a 15-year contract with an AAV of $4 million per year. This is a very team friendly deal and I think the Specters should and will increase his ice time after the retirement of DuBolk and the increasing regression of their former star forward and now defenseman DeMarcus Smyth. What has been a positive of Serpe’s season has been his increase in defensive play. Coming into the SHL and in his playing career in the SMJHL he was known very well for his offensive abilities and was always questioned in the defensive zone. This reason was one of the few that made Serpe fall on the night of the SHL draft. Serpe has been a shot blocking and takeaway machine in his limited ice time during the S53 and S54 regular seasons.

With the long term contract having a no trade clause in it, the relationship between the Specters and Serpe will be a long lasting one and it will be interesting to see how long the relationship will stay friendly; we have seen in the SHL when these players sign long term deals that will take them well into the latter parts of their career it can end really messy for both the player and the GM who signed the contract.

What’s the future have in store? We think that as long as Serpe keeps training well and the Specters keep reloading every off season with new talent but giving the Serpe another chance in the top 4 will be very beneficial for both parties. He is a top 4 defenseman on 85 percent of SHL teams and that is a luxury that the Specters can have by playing him on the 3rd pairing, but it could have stunted his progression.

527 words

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