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FreakinAnime · 11-17-2019, 02:08 PM

Hello Henrik Lundqvist Jr. here newly drafted by the texas renegades at sixth overall to cover the next up and coming SHL stars. The S52 class is looking strong a lot of people to see there when I go to the unassigned section. I counted over 60, which is at least double the amount in the S51 class. It’s pretty impressive in size but also the quality is impressive too. Deeper SMJHL teams like my team the Colorado Raptors won’t even have room for most of the draft but it will help balance the playing field for the weaker teams. And eventually these new people will become prospects for SHL teams, who will be scouting them from now until the end of the season, when their final and fateful draft day comes.

I don’t know if there’s a clear first overall pick but everyone will want to be that guy. After all there’s nothing better than knowing that you beat everyone else and GMs think you are that great to take you over everyone else, right? I hear some chatter about Noah Nystrom who is a Swedish defenseman who just joined going first overall but now that I’ve been here long enough I know that GMs tend to favor recreates. They like veterans who have been on the site for multiple players because they have a history, connections, and offer consistency. They are safe picks if you will.

So maybe Velveteen Dream, there’s a recreate with experience who is a center, has a really good build, and some important titles and roles on the site, he could go first overall or somewhere near there, but that doesn’t exclude that some first gens could go very highly. Like Trey Nets has been raking in the TPE and should be a top 10 pick as far as I’m concerned GMs are sleeping not to take him. And there’s three Franciszek’s that are doing very well and should go high in the draft, they look very good but I don’t know if they want to be drafted together. Nystrom has been looking really good though even though he joined recently I expect him to be like top 15. Seems like a quality active player with a lot of potential and seems to have a lot of discord presence which is always good, being active in a locker room is something that GMs like.

SMJHL mock drafters are sure scrambling to figure it out after all the draft is today so pretty soon there will be no speculation just a solid knowledge of what has gone down. It’s the last chance to make a good impression, so what can players do? Media is a good way to get attention something I learned a little too late is that GMs really like to look at your bank. They want you to be loaded and have a ton of cash so that you can pay for stuff because it always costs more than your salary. It’s way worse in the SHL but even in the SMJHL that is true. I think also talking on discord is good especially in your draft class chat there are GMs there that are listening and will take notice and get to know you, that’s how you can get on their radar. Or having a good build, actually just fill out all the interested prospects forms you get TPE and I think the teams read them. I mean if you say you really want to go to a team they’ll probably try to help you work it out to make it happen. Everyone wants a player who wants to be there so just figure out which roster works for you and express your wishes fully.

So ultimately just be yourself be engaged and show that you are an active player. Commit yourself to earning as much as possible and make sure you do absolutely everything that is available to earn for TPE, including even the interested prospects forms even though they are a bit of a drag. Active players are valuable, I have learned no active will go undrafted because there is always a role for you to fill. Show that you will be loyal no matter what and are willing to cooperate with the team and then you’ll really be highly considered. Show that you are nice and friendly and like to have conversations with people, so that they know you’ll treat your teammates and GMs well. Everyone wants a nice guy in the locker room so just be the person you would want to be dealing with yourself that’s pretty good advice honestly even for real life. And of course be yourself, don’t be shy or be fake nobody wants either of those things, someone who is genuine will always shine and will really catch the GMs eyes. That’s really just things to do to be engaged and get drafted, you do this and soon you’ll find yourself a key part of an SMJHL team.

Wait hold up, I realized I just talked about skaters in my picks analysis and not goalies so of course one of the main questions every draft is who the first goalie to be taken is. There is always a ton of goalies and only two spots on each team for a goalie so that makes the competition much harsher than it is for us skaters. I think the first goalie off the board will be Olli Saarinen, Jr who is a Finnish recreate, a veteran that has been around practically forever. They’re getting all that TPE and look to be the starter type, so much potential and should be earning a lot with consistency. Once Saarinen Jr goes I think a lot of other goalies will follow but I expect at least the top 5 to be skaters I can’t see a goalie going inside the top 5 it’s just not likely. That’s just a concept of supply and demand like we learn in economics, there is a big supply and not enough demand at that position. But Saarinen Jr. should be somewhat of an exception to the rule based on reputation alone. They’re very respected and have so much experience that you just can’t pass on them in spite of position, they’re so good and will bring a lot to a team on the ice and off the ice in the locker room.

There are many other goalies though Oleg Igorevich Burov is neck and neck with Saarinen Jr and may even pass them but if not will be the next goalie off the board. They are also a recreate so they have the experience GMs like to see and have the respect of many people. They will already have passed 200 TPE when the regular season starts in the juniors so they are already ready to play from the second that they are drafted. It’ll be a long race to see who the top goalie of the class is both at the SHL draft and in the long run but that’s some really quality goalie material there. S52 may end up being the best class for goalies that the league and the site have seen in a long time it looks very solid and strong. Whatever team gets those two will be super super lucky and should be pumped to get their guy.

Which SMJHL team needs a goalie then? Who might be the one to take one or maybe even both of these two (after all it is possible to take two goalies)? Probably one who has their main guy going up or one who doesn’t have a main guy, or one who has a main guy that is going up next year if the top goalies don’t care about playing backup. After all every team could use a backup even if they don’t play quite as many games as they probably would hope, it’s an important role to keep your top guy rested and happy and playing his best. Colorado maybe could use a new starter that’s probably our biggest weakness right now. I don’t see any goalies over 200 TPE on our roster so I wouldn’t be shocked if we take one of the two guys I mentioned even with our first pick of the draft, it would probably be the most valuable to us since what you need to win a championship is good goaltending. I’m not sure what else Colorado will draft for this year, maybe forwards but those forward will get stuck on line 4 so it’s not even a need for us and I’m not sure if our defense situation is the same. I’d definitely rather see the goalie pick it is the smartest move in my eyes and one that really improves our roster. It would really shore up our situation in net and that would help us actually get the four star cup next year which is something I and everyone else on the team really wants. Winning is the goal and you have to make picks that align with making your team better and progressing to that objective. It’s the players who can guide your team to the top and even the slightest adjustments can tip the balance one way or the other. You need the right guys or it will cost you dearly. Chemistry, communication, and talent are absolutely everything at least on the ice and that’s the difference between a good team and a bad team.

Anyhow it’s actually a real shame I can’t do the SMJHL mock draft any more this one looks like a ton of fun and like there’s a lot of people to predict. I see now why S51 was called super weak and boring but hey at least it had me and some other people it wasn’t like we had nobody. The S52 just looks special and it should find some stars for the SMJHL teams who will surprise everyone and soon be household names. And then after we find the best juniors players they will head to the world juniors championship and really prove themselves. Hopefully they will have better stats in their first season than I did lol because doing nothing every game is sad and disappointing these hard working people deserve more, deserve better. They have the class to be up at the top of the charts and to dominate the other players even the ones who have been around for awhile, they just have that presence and that skill to really carry on the ice. I think people will be very impressed with them when all is said and done.

So as the clock ticks down, the anticipation and nerves build. GMs do their last minute work to figure out what they will be doing, players pull their last minute stunts for attention, and SHL teams watch out of the corners of their eyes if they are already looking ahead to the future. Many eager eyes watch on draft day to see who is called or when you yourself will be called if you are in this class, so there sure will be an audience that waits with crazy hype and anxiety. I don’t know if I will be watching but I’m sure I will read about it later and maybe make another article, after all it’s double media week so that’s what you have to take advantage of. Many other users are probably following the draft to get the double media coverage too. But it’s not just about that it’s about seeing the new players who are joining your team and to watch other people become the next generation of stars who may one day be legends and have legendary status among the SHL users. I’m excited to see what happens and I wish everyone participating the best of luck. I’m excited to meet the new Raptors, I trust that my new teammates will be amazing and will help us get a Cup!

dankoa · 11-17-2019, 04:02 PM

very nice writeup

Legend · 11-17-2019, 04:15 PM

Good read. Although black text on the dark theme is tough to read Laughing

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