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***hhh81*** · 07-19-2020, 10:37 PM

Revisiting the Colorado Raptors S54 Class (after the S55 SHL Draft)

S54 was the first draft for Colorado since S46 that that I wasn’t in charge of as Co or Head GM. While I still helped out, this draft started the @NONAME and @LordBirdman era for the Raptors. How did the do? Read on to find out!

RW Gudmundur Kristjansson @Fluw – 359 TPE
S54 SMJHL Draft Position: 5th overall (1st round)
S55 SHL Draft Position: 11th overall (1st round) Wolfpack

S54 Stats: 50 GP, 2 G, 6 A, 6 PIMs, 2 PPP, 43 SOG, 4 Hits, 17 SB, 10:09 TOI

Many others have discussed that Kristjansson’s rookie season leaves something to be desired. He played most of the season on the fourth line, and struggled to produce very much with his fellow rookies. Still, GK was a strong earner, currently sitting tied for 14th in the class with over 350 TPE. Fluw’s first player was an SMJHL legend, goalie Patrice Nadeau, but fizzled out. It seems like Fluw is back and focused now, and when they were available at 5th overall in the S54 SMJHL Draft, NONAME knew he wanted to draft his former SFP teammate’s recreate. So far, Fluw has been an active and great fit in the locker room, and should be in for a big jump as a sophomore. Much of this explains why New England used their second first-round pick to grab Icelandic winger.

It wouldn’t be insane to see Kristjansson get a chance to flank fourth-year sniper, Sven Svenson, on the Raptors’ first line. Their passing ability is borderline elite, and the coaches already trusted them with over a minute of power play time as a rookie; that should only grow in S55. Kristjansson showed a glimpse of what Colorado fans can expect next season in the playoffs, where they led all Raptors skaters with 5 points in their five-game loss to the Anaheim Outlaws. The point per game assault came on the back of playing almost 16 minutes per night, including 3:17 with the man advantage.

D Terrence “Big Terry” Smith @Puljujarvi98 – 384 TPE
S54 SMJHL Draft Position: 14th overall (2nd round)
S55 SHL Draft Position: 13th overall (1st round)

S54 Stats: 47 GP, 1 G, 5 A, -7, 10 PIMs, 49 SOG, 11 Hits, 30 SB, 17 TkAs (0.531 TkA/GvA ratio), 16:19 TOI

Going into the S54 SMJHL Draft, Big Terry was the TPE leader amongst all draft-eligible players. The massive (6-7) California-born blueliner signed with Colorado as a DFA in S53, and grabbed a regular shift in our opening round series versus Kelowna. While not the most vocal locker room presence, showing the consistent earning/updating streak means a lot. I’m thrilled he’s stuck with it, and now is still 3rd in class TPE (only 3 back of class leader Liam Slate). All this must have helped him be the latest in the Colorado-to-Edmonton pipeline, going in the first round to the Blizzard.

During the season, he was a third pairing guy for the Raptors, playing mostly with second-year Sheen Beckett and rookie Jed Mosley Jr. While the speedster didn’t put up a lot of points, the coaches trusted him to play some PK minutes for the Raptors. He seemed to hold his own. His role likely won’t change much this coming season, as the Raptors blueline remains one of the deepest in the SMJHL. With Bryce Turner’s development somewhat stalled, it’s possible some of his minutes will shift to Big Terry. Smith has developed a much more well-rounded game heading into his second season, and definitely has earned a chance to be an all-situations player for the Raptors.

C Mack Daddy @Mack – 379 TPE
S54 SMJHL Draft Position: 24th overall (3rd round)
S55 SHL Draft Position: 30th overall (2nd round) Dragons

S54 Stats: 50 GP, 5 G, 15 A, -4, 6 PIMs, 6 PPP, 76 SOG, 34 hits, 16 TkA, 26 SB, 14:49 TOI

Sitting at sixth in the class (tied with 1st overall pick Rikard Bjerg), it surprised many to see Mack Daddy fall to the end of the second round in the SHL. In a sense, this mirrored his SMJHL Draft. Mack created early in the draft process and signed with Colorado as a DFA. This let him get a feel for Colorado and vice versa, and that experience was enough to target Mack early in the SMJHL Draft. The Raptors management considered taking him as high as 14th overall, but were patient and were able to grab him a round later. Surrounded by youth, Mack immediately put his TPE games to good use and spent the entire season as the third line center, flanked by fellow rookies Ryan Rieley and Asclepius Perseus Flitterwind most of the season. He spent time on the second power play unit as well, which helped him lead all Colorado rookies with 20 points.

As an elder statesman on the site, Mack has never been much for Discord. He left the locker room midway through the season, but continued updating. It doesn’t surprise me he fell to the Dragons at 30th. He fits there well. With Simothy Drunkebird’s departure, expect to see Mack Daddy step into the 2nd line center role for the Raptors, possibly flanked by Flitterwind and fourth-year power forward Carlos Brown.

RW Ascelpius Perseus Flitterwind @CaptainCrazy- 381 TPE
S54 SMJHL Draft Position: 30th overall (3rd round)
S55 SHL Draft Position: 47th overall (3rd round) Steelhawks

S54 Stats: 50 GP, 12 G, 7 A, +1, 12 PIM, 4 PPP, 96 SOG, 13 TkA, 14:12 TOI

I’ll say it right now, Colorado got a steal in Flitterwind. He was a top 5 earner prior to the draft, really wanted to join Colorado, and was still available the end of the 3rd round. It’s a no brainer, honestly. He stepped right in with fellow rookies Mack & Rieley on the third line and were decent. Midway through the season, he got a chance to spark the top line with veterans Sven Svenson and Simothy Drunkebird and wasn’t out of place. He’s also been a pretty active member of the locker room, and is a fun guy.

One of the players with the biggest falls during the SHL Draft, APF certainly comes as an outstanding value for the Steelhawks. How often do you get the fifth highest TPE earner in the class at the end of the third round? His precipitous fall seemed to be related to CaptainCrazy’s past experience with players fizzling out, but if he continues at his current pace, Hamilton will have a superstar on their hands. Regardless, I expect him to challenge Sven Svenson for the team lead in goals this next season. The Latvian is pure offense, and should be a standout member of the Latvian team in IIHF play for a long time.

LW Ryan Rieley @Brandon – 285 TPE
S54 SMJHL Draft Position: 34th overall (4th round)
S55 SHL Draft Position: 15th overall (1st round) Wolfpack

S54 Stats: 50 GP, 8 G, 5 A, -10, 32 PIMs, 57 SOG, 99 Hits, 17 SB, 12:00 TOI

Rieley still being on the board in the 4th round felt like a steal for the Raptors. Brandon knows how to make a solid forward from his past players, so the hope was he would stick with it and stay active (at least through the SMJHL). While he isn’t an elite earner in the class so far, his 285 TPE (37th highest in class) is nothing to sneeze at. He was a mainstay on the Raptors’ third line flanking Mack Daddy all season, and provided decent secondary scoring touch (13 points) and a strong physical game (99 hits).

Unfortunately, Colorado's general managers made the call to expose Rieley in the expansion draft and Quebec City jumped at the chance to add the super sophomore forward to their young nucleus in S55. He will likely enter the season as a safe guess to join Alexander Roach on the Citadelles’ top line, and could be in for a huge season. I wish him well in his new adventure. While not being in the top echelon of TPE earners, that didn’t stop New England from using their third 1st round pick to grab him for their retool. I expect him to keep earning and be a solid contributor in S55 and beyond.

G Mertin Broduer @KarrdisBored – 177 TPE
S54 SMJHL Draft Position: 44th overall (5th round)
S55 SHL Draft Position: undrafted
S54 Stats: n/a

This one is sad for me. NONAME and Birdman were planning for life after their two-headed goalie monster of Samat Beibitzhanov and Jerry Huuveri. There was a very high likelihood both goalies would play their final games in the SMJHL in S54, so they wanted to find and groom the heir apparent as soon as they could. Broduer had some solid activity before his SMJHL Draft, so they took a chance on the Canadian netminder. He appeared in one preseason game, a win where he made 26 of 28 saves. Unfortunately, he and his recruiter/friend chilidawg went inactive. Despite having over 9 hours of online time since 5/14/20, his last post was 5/28 and he was last online 6/30. It seems the Broduer era ended before it began with Colorado drafting two goalies in S55. The little activity he had made me like him, so I hope he comes back to the league someday.

C Lord Raiden @Jumbobone19 – 347 TPE
S54 SMJHL Draft Position: 54th overall (6th round)
S55 SHL Draft Position: 20th overall (2nd round) Platoon

S54 Stats: 50 GP, 9 G, 1 A, -3, 2 PIMs, 43 SOG, 10 hits, 11 SB, 7:40 TOI

The biggest surprise of the draft, in my opinion, was Raiden. Birdman talked to him a good bit before the draft, and felt very confident he was going to be a good player and a great fit. Boy, was he right. He’s likely been the most active person in our LR, always jumping in to chat with people and even taking on posting screenshots of box scores after sims. He’s a joy to be around and I’m so glad he’s in Colorado.

While he didn’t play much, Raiden still made the most of his time with a rotation of linemates, scoring 9 goals and shooting an inhuman 20.93% on the season. He’s also been a solid earner, currently ranking 19th in the class. He follows the recent history of elite two-way centers like Simothy Drunkebird and Jean-Uhtred Ragnarsson-Tremblay for the Raptors, and should have a lock on the 3C role and some additional special teams minutes.

Baltimore (likely with a good word or three from recent acquisition Derek Bohne @wumaduce ) decided to use their 20th overall pick early in the second round to draft the jumbo American center. I think they made a great pick, and history will look back on this choice favorably for all involved. You go, Lord Jumbo!

Jed Mosley Jr. @BasedMinkus – 244 TPE
S54 SMJHL Draft Position: 64th overall (7th round)
S55 SHL Draft Position: 43rd overall (3rd round) Rage

S54 Stats: 25 GP, 0 G, 4 A, -8, 8 PIMS, 31 SOG, 4 TkA (1.0 TkA/GvA ratio), 15:24 TOI

Confession time: I 100% thought this guy was inactive. I recall midseason checking and saw he hadn’t updated/posted in a few weeks but was still somewhat active in the locker room. I wrote him off as a recreate from the way back that just wasn’t as invested now—no judgement, happens to a lot of great people. Well, he was still updating and his accounts didn’t get merged (thus my confusion!) While not a top earner (his big update today moved him to 51st in the class), he’s still been a steady updater.

His past history with @JayWhy seemed to make him a must draft option for the Rage in the 3rd round. So long as he keeps up the progress, he’ll be a good SMJHL and SHL player. He likely won’t see much increase in his role, as the entirety of Colorado’s blue line returns. He should at least cement himself as the 6th defender instead of rotating with Sheen Beckett. Mosley looks to be an offensively-focused defenseman, a skillset similar to veteran blueliners Aumy Jr, Bryce Turner, and fellow S55 player Big Terry Smith. With so much talent in this group don’t expect Mosley to see a ton of powerplay time in S55.

LW Juris Berzina @ThoProce – 155 TPE
S54 SMJHL Draft Position: 74th overall (8th round)
S55 SHL Draft Position: undrafted
S54 Stats: n/a

With their last pick of the draft, Colorado took a flier on a new create that had been slightly active before the draft. He did a few tasks, and would have been a solid addition as a 13th forward. Unfortunately, Berzina never signed, and was cut by the Raptors. He never returned and never played a game in the SMJHL. In hindsight other than James Boxman II, no other active players were drafted in the 8th round. This was a harmless shot in the dark.

RW Juni Panda @juniped - 226 TPE
S54 SMJHL Draft Position: undrafted – free agent
S55 SHL Draft Position: 34th overall (3rd round) Stars

S54 Stats: 19 GP, 1 G, 1 A, -7, 2 PIMs, 18 SOG, 2 Hits, 2 SB, 7:11 MPG

Juni Panda was a late add by the Raptors, joining the site 6/1/20 and signing not long after that. The Swedish winger played the role Berzina was intended to play, rotating in and out on the fourth line. While the stats don’t jump out at you, his activity in the locker room and updating was strong enough for the Toronto North Stars to take a shot on him in the third round of the recent SHL Entry Draft. Look to Panda to take advantage of the departures of Simothy Drunkebird, Ryan Rieley, and Noah Johns II this season and show off his offensive games for the Raptors in his sophomore campaign.

After a up-and-down S53 season and a turbulent rookie class that only saw one player drafted to the SHL (Jean-Uhtred Ragnarsson-Tremblay @lespoils), we all knew the S54 class would be an important one. Looking back, a season later it looks like NONAME and LordBirdman did a spectacular job finding value everywhere in the draft and keeping players active. Having five players in the top 20 highest earners of the class and seeing pretty much everyone (including +1 draftees Aumy Jr and Anrijs Asts) drafted looks good for the future of the team. This is the sort of class championships are made of, and it takes pressure off of the new rookie quintet to step into big roles immediately.