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Boomcheck · 02-17-2019, 04:23 AM

The S46 draft is coming up and most of us have submitted our mock drafts. Well, about 5 people max actually did a mock and the rest of the folk just copied. There may be some discussion about the players but this is more of a draft outlook on how the league landscape has been changed.

Expansion

With this being a reddit draft, expansion slid in at just the right time to get some prime talent while also making certain that the existing teams get a crack at guys too. At least 22ish new positions opened up with this so teams are a lot thinner. I personally am of the belief that this will not speed up the desire for players to go up quicker by much, but I would still likely to see it through and give this a chance. The S46 group will let us see how expansion has truly affected the league's system and if players do feel motivated to be called up sooner with these extra opportunities.

More spots in the draft, due to expansion, will result in teams waiting longer before picking. I expect some trade movement regarding picks at the draft since there are a lot of quality guys but teams may be willing to part with some selections if they can get their guy anyways.

Position

A lot of goaltenders this draft, which is not a bad thing of course. The league has a lot of older players between the pipes and could use a new generation of them to take over. Some teams do not even have a reliable active on their roster so there are some golden opportunities. Does the number of goaltenders hurt their overall value? A little. Teams like Chicago and Toronto will need guys that can develop at a quicker pace than most. Most should be able to cook in the SMJHL for an extra season before coming up as eventual successors.

I am not entirely certain if goaltending is all that important? More of a personal opinion here. I do believe high quality goltending is definitely a key commodity but teams seem to be TOO in love with players to notice. FourFour did not work in Buffalo for two whole seasons, whether it be some mix of their personnel or strategies but it just wouldn't go. They did not bother trading for a different goalie and decided to just suck. I remember back in the day when goalie changes could turn seasons around, heck i have seen a starter lose his job in the PLAY OFFS. People are often blinded by the number of TPE rather than how goalies perform which can be a double edged sword.

With this new injection of goalies I hope to see more movement overall and the league culture being more accepting of potentially splitting starts or trades to shake things up. Trust me, there are a lot of open spots for these players right now.

Cannellini getting crafty against Ask Jr during the WJC Exhibition

Looking at the FA market this season I noticed the defense is pretty bare and rosters seemed to be stretched THIN in this area. Hoping this does pull players hiding in the minors up but this is quite literally one of the easiest places to make a great player on not an amazingly high TPE count. Edmonton has shown that a stacked defense can carry a team pretty far and I would expect more of these positional players to go EARLY. Now is the time to be a defenseman in the SHL and I am going to speak to all S46 draftees. If you have an opportunity to play in a legitimate top 4 spot, (5 on 5, PP, PK) TAKE IT! Though I would suggest a seasoning stint in the SMJHL, I do believe a true rookie can do a lot of damage at the SHL level early on.

Forwards have the most increase in slots due to rosters requiring to have 9, though most do not prefer to be in third line roles. A lot of high TPE earners this draft appear to be forwards but this is no surprise given the magnitude of this draft I could see some guys slipping due to there being an abundance but if a team truly wants you, they will scoop you right up. Positional fit/build/LR matches all are taken into consideration here but with Esa retiring people are clamoring for the next legend. I see a lot of top 6 openings for these rebuilding teams that will lean in this direction.

I am exciting to see how this draft unfolds, as I have absolutely no clue as to who will go where. No, seriously. It's a complete mystery after a certain point. Some rumblings of Nikolai Evans going first overall but is he truly that hungry to be the best there is? With the likes of Morgan, Luffy, Cannellini, Zheng and Slothface breathing down his neck you never know what stunt Hamilton may pull.

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