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LightningDragon · 11-18-2019, 05:23 PM

The Prospect Times
SMJHL Draft Recap

Teams, fans, and the media alike gathered yesterday evening to see which prospects would get drafted where. It was a deeper draft than expected, with many surprises and interesting storylines. With that said, The Prospect Times today will make a snapshot evaluation of each team's draft class and what each team's fans can look forward too in the upcoming season.

10. Anaheim Outlaws
Anaheim elected to trade most of their draft picks away this draft, leaving them with the smallest draft class in the league. Their first pick wasn't until #17 Overall in the second round, taking Right Winger Ryhs Prichard. The other two were #34 Strom Chamberlain and #47 Lucy Retriever. All three of these prospects are players that many teams overlooked who could be really impactful on the next level. However, considering that all they have to show for a draft in which they originally had the 6th overall is 3 mid round prospects means that right now this is the consensus worse draft. Now Anaheim is waiting on the futures they traded out from this draft to see how they pan out.

9. Anchorage Armada
I will say out front that #9 through #4 in these rankings are really close. You could make the argument to have any of them in any of these spots. I ultimately put Anchorage down here due to a few reasons. First is that they had relatively few picks, only 5. They also drafted towards the bottom of the draft order, letting bigger names get taken in front of them. That still left some good names on the board when the Armada came up to pick at #8. They decided on a rookie defenseman, Ulrik Bergstrom out of Sweden. This almost seems like deja vu. Bergstrom was the second swedish defenseman rookie creation taken in 3 picks, after Noah Nystrom was taken at 6. While some might view the pick as a bit of a risk, Bergstrom impressed scouts around the SMJHL and the Armada seem happy with the pick. The rest of their class includes low risk high reward players, though no real game changers right off the bat. Time will tell if Anchorage found some hidden gems, or just made what they could out of their low draft position.

8. Colorado Raptors
There is a lot of similarities between Colorado and Anchorage here. Both took 5 players. Both had positions near the bottom of the totem pole in the original draft order. The only significant difference is that Colorado traded up and took 2 players in the 3rd while taking none in the 4th. At first glance, this seems like one of the bottom tier draft classes just based on who people were talking about pre-draft. The unfound gems of this class, however, make this one of the most interesting ones to watch 2 players catch my eye here as under the radar picks to be really good takes. While the draft stream seemed to dismiss Simothy Drunklebird (#9), I like the pick a lot. Considering what was available, the Czech Center was a fine pick who has potential to be a solidifier down the middle in the future for the Raptors. The other interesting pick in this class I want to highlight is the 2nd pick Colorado made, #20 Samat Beibitzhanov. While most remember that the stream couldn't pronounce the name, Samat has a lot more to him than just a cool last name. He is a rookie goalie, and has shown promise in and out of draft circles. Taken at the end of the second round was a bit high for the inherit risk rookies bring, but I think Colorado got a steal here, especially with how active Beibitzhanov was pre-draft.

7. Detroit Falcons

Interestingly, the teams that drafted 5 players are ranked below the teams that drafted 4 (we will get to why in a bit). The Falcons lead the way for teams taking 5 players, and get higher scores for two main reasons. The first is a bit obvious, but a slew of trades gave Detroit 4 picks in the first 3 rounds (albeit at the sacrifice of a 1st round pick). The second is simply the quality of players taken. If Detroit had 3 more picks I have a feeling they might be much higher than they are here, just due to the great job the front office did in finding talent and making the most of draft positions. With the possible (but not certain) exception of Oleg Igorevich Burov (#15), every pick here was considered a steal. Detroit has filled their needs on the team while simultaneously picking some really interesting players. Jmac NCheese (#18) also leads the way with my favorite name of the class.

6. Lethbridge Lions

Both teams with 4 players in their class made those picks really count. While the 5 player class teams certainly have an advantage in number, the high picks and pedigree give Lethbridge and Vancouver the edge (for now). Lethbridge really went for the high picks, trading around to be one of the 2 teams with 2 first rounders (Kelowna the other). Those 2 first rounders are looking really impressive as well. SLATT Potts (#5) rounds out a top 5 filled with exceptional talent. League insiders pegged these 5 as almost certain to make some big noise both at the junior and pro level, and Lethbridge made sure to get one of them. #10 Riley Kuse is a safer pick compared to what was taken above to round out the first round, and the other 2 prospects (Thor Bergdahl #35 and Filip Franciszek #45) have steal written all over them. Time will tell if the lack of picks hurts Lethbridge, but as of now they have some players with elite ceilings in the junior level from this class.

5. Carolina Kraken

This class lives and dies by Velveteen Dream. The #2 overall pick was considered a steal if that is possible, with many saying he has the most talent right now and possibly most potential of anyone in this class. Carolina trading up to get him might be the move of the draft, though some other teams higher on this list will have something to say to that. As for depth, Carolina took 6 players, but had to wait until the third round to take Casimir Blaszczyk #28. Don't get me wrong, there are some nice picks late in the draft that help boost Carolina. Stirling MacTavish (#38) and Alyx Sabor (#48) both could be found on mock drafts the fans and media were making. However, the lack of picks from #2 to #28 might also haunt the Kraken who missed on some talent other teams below them got.

4. Vancouver Whalers

Vancouver is an enigma to me. On one hand they got the #1 overall, taking Sabo Tage, an elite defenseman with a proven guy behind him. Tage already has SHL teams very interested in how he develops, which is normal for a player of his draft pedigree. On the other hand, Vancouver only has 4 picks. Sure, getting Tage helps them a lot, but the lack of players might (like Carolina) also haunt the Whalers. Unlike Carolina, however, Vancouver had 4 picks in the top 24. That is what truly puts them above many of the other classes below them. Though I did say it was very close, I really like the 4 guys Vancouver brought aboard. In addition to Tage, Nicholas Corrigan (#11), Swedish defenseman Sven Yxskaft (#14), and Austin Powers (#24) round out an above average, if smaller, class. Time will tell if Vancouver made the right choices, but so far going for the high picks seems to be working out.

3. Halifax Raiders

Halifax might have the most interesting class in the J. Despite giving up #2 overall, Halifax has assembled an incredibly talented group. It might be the best class in terms of finding talent late. Their first pick, Finnish Goalie #7 Olli Saarinen Jr., is the consensus #1 goalie in the draft and could make an impact immediately for Halifax. Halifax doesn't pick again until the first pick of the fourth round (#31 Simon Moreau), but get some of the most talented players in the late rounds. Quantity isn't everything in this league, however, and while the last 3 picks of the draft might pan out, there is also a reason Halifax was the only team taking players that round. For now, Halifax has it's goalie of the future and a possible few late round steals.

2. St. Louis Scarecrows

St. Louis has some similarities to the draft class of Halifax. Both took a great player early, waited a bit, and then grabbed incredible steals later. Let's start with #4 overall Blake Faux. Faux is an elite talent and someone I think is overlooked a bit. I think in a weaker class Faux could easily have risen to #1, and if I were a betting man I could see him being a late riser to #1 when this class goes to the SHL. In addition, the steals St. Louis got later were equal to, if not better than Halifax. Mega Tron (#23) and Trey Nets (#26) were both projected to got 2nd round at the latest. The fact they fell to the third is pretty incredible. In addition, the Scarecrows took 3 out of the 4 Franciszeks with their third, fourth, and fifth round picks. Putting the tight hockey family (most of it anyway) in the same locker room seems like a recipe for success. St. Louis has a great class here, and there are arguments for them being #1.

1. Kelowna Knights

Well, well well. The first thing people want to talk about with this class is #3 Morgan Forestier and #6 Noah Nystrom. Yes, Forestier might be the best center in this class when it is all said and done. Yes, Nystrom got a lot of love both predraft and from the stream. He was mentioned as one of the best picks in a draft that included some elite defensemen both above and below him, as a rookie creation. What sets this class apart isn't Forestier and Nystrom, however. Kelowna fans must be loving their GM at the moment. Though they did have to shed some future assets, Kelowna's late round steals were on par with St. Louis and Halifax. Adam Scianna (#12) already has a lot of buzz in terms of media, and Luke McSquirrelly (#37) was also loved by the stream of the draft. Personally, I put Kelowna #1 due to the fact that they got so many great talents both at the top and bottom of the draft board. Time will tell if the assets given up will bite them in the butt, but so far returns might make this a very special Kelowna class.

RedCapeDiver · 11-18-2019, 05:36 PM

crutch · 11-18-2019, 05:42 PM

Legend · 11-18-2019, 07:45 PM

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