**First Article Double
Bust Preparing for SMJHL Draft

Seventeen year old hockey player "Bust" from the U.S.A. has started to prepare for the SMJHL draft since he was twelve. When he suddenly noticed that he was a top talent at a young age he set his sights on the Simulation Hockey League (SHL). Bust was recognized at the ripe age of ten and joined an elite team in order to accelerate his development. Bust started as a third liner for the team and focused on his ability to play well defensively. As the season progressed Bust was able to unlock his scoring ability and thus become useful on two ends of the ice. As he continued to improve he progressed through the lines on the roster eventually making the first line for the last four games of his season. This leads us to the season before he finally set his eyes on the SHL. Bust became a top player on his team the next season and eventually became the star. He understood that he was not normal -- Bust suddenly put his name on the map -- and his goals followed. His main goal is to become a top SHL players however he is keeping his expectations realistic. He first needs to tackle the challenge presented in front of him which will be the SMJHL.

Bust will enter the S43 SMJHL draft -- which happens to be one of the most loaded drafts in recent history and one which will be challenging to stand out in. While he believes he can be a star in the SHL he could already be written off as a potential SMJHL star. Bust reportedly told reporters "I am not going into the SMJHL to be a superstar -- after all it is a developmental league. I am here to become the best player I can be in the long term. I wish that I can hit the ground running there but we will have to wait and see if I can be that type of guy. You do not join the league to be a star there and just stop." Bust clearly is keeping his expectations low -- however he has done his job in terms of figuring out which SMJHL teams have great culture and understanding their identity.

With the draft coming up Bust has no preferences for where he would want to go. "The SMJHL is a league where things change quick and often. My agent had ties to the Kelowna Knights, Detroit Falcons, and Montreal Impact (RIP) and thus I already have some sort of connection to those organizations. As a whole I do not care for which organization I would go to in the SMJHL as long as the management is active and organized. I do not care if we are an elite team as I would rather have elite management which focuses me on my training and my future abilities.

To prepare for the SMJHL draft Bust has been lifting weights and running on a regular basis in his hometown in Texas. In terms of on ice preparation he has been working on parts of his game that will help his strengths. He improved his passing ability that way the opponent would not assume that he is simply going to shoot the puck. He improved his skating ability as well in order to beat opponents wide -- as well as being able to get back defensively and stop any sort of odd-man rush. Overall Bust has been improving his game in order to be an appealing project player for most teams. The two-way scoring forward is rare as most scorers are vilified for their inability to defend however he is different.

Bust has a proven defensive IQ as shown in his time in youth hockey where most games were high scoring -- when he was on the ice his team conceded a total of nine goals in a seventy-two game season. If that does not describe how dominant he was defensively there are not many others statistics that could detail it. His last main strength will be his ability to keep possession of the puck for his team. It is rare for Bust to lose the puck and give possession to the other team. He could be compared to Jaromir Jagr in this regard as he rarely gives the puck up (unless he is passing) and thus he is able to frustrate opponents. This usage could be utilized on the penalty kill as he will be able to kill off approximately a half to a full minute when killing a penalty.

Bust has been preparing for the SMJHL draft his whole life without knowing however this week has been the most focused he has ever been for it. Wherever he goes he knows he will be happy and he hopes for a long and prosperous time in the SMJHL with whichever team he is drafted to.