Login

***39alaska39*** · 04-10-2023, 05:11 PM

At the halfway point in the SMJHL season (prior to the 4/10 sim), there are a lot of things in play for teams and players to make a go at being successful the rest of the season. Of course, success looks different to different people, but I think these players are among those rookies in the SMJHL who are in a position to be in the conversation for rookie of the year at the end of the season! While I’m not sure if this is a rule for the SMJHL Awards, it is going to be for the Alaska mid-season rookie of the year contenders: to be considered here you must be active (a post in the last 2 weeks).

In no particular order besides team name:

Alexej Kastrba, Carolina Kraken

The first of 3 Czechs (of a 3 person class) on this list, Kastrba leads the way for that group and is currently 5th on his team in scoring. Just a point behind fellow rookie, and next name on this list, Filip Svatos, this Czech winger has been nothing short of impressive and continues to make teams look silly for passing on him in the draft. He’s put up an impressive 22 assists to go with 6 goals in order to be in the top 5 of rookie scoring across the league. Probably the most impressive part of the year for Kastrba is that he’s putting up excellent numbers without the benefit of powerplay time. Averaging just 3 seconds of powerplay time this season, and with just 1 point on the powerplay, he’s thriving at even strength which is a great sign of things to come for him down the line.

Filip Svatos, Carolina Kraken

Let me just say that the former country of Czechoslovakia has put together an excellent crop of rookies between Kastrba, Winters, Wehadababyitsaboy, and the Svatos brothers. All 5 find themselves on this list and who would be surprised to see all 5 go in the first round of the SHL draft? Filip Svatos is playing some rather balanced hockey on the first line of the Kraken with 10 goals and 19 assists at the halfway point of this year. He does currently lead all active rookies in terms of scoring and is doing it with a good mix of even strength and powerplay points (7 powerplay, 1 shorthanded, 21 even strength). Even though Carolina has slid down the standings a bit lately with some growing pains, Svatos hasn’t slowed down, and he and Kastrba look like good bets to be key players for the Kraken moving forward beyond this season.

Levin Schattenaxt, Grand Forks Grizzlies

Team in first place in the standings? Check. Player playing big minutes on said team? Check. Raise your hand if you would be surprised to see Schattenaxt win the Esa Anrikkanen Trophy at the end of the season as rookie of the year? No one? Good. One of the eternal arguments when it comes to the rookie of the year conversation whether the team around the rookie should have an effect on how the voters vote and I think Shattenaxt will be in that sort of conversation this year. He’s having an excellent season with 7 goals and 17 assists for the Grizzlies as they’ve climbed the standings and he’s not looked out of place on their second line early in this season. There always seems to be a sink or swim moment for rookies and Schattenaxt has been swimming like a fish so far. If he keeps it up, a finalist spot for rookie of the year would be the least I expect for him this season.

Mercedes Bayle, Regina Elks

Arguably one of the biggest snubs from my initial article about rookies off to a good start, Bayle has proved it to be impossible to ignore at this juncture of the season. A perfectly balanced 11 goals and 11 assists, to go with 78 hits thus far, Bayle is excelling in a power forward role for Regina. While only playing 3rd line minutes and about 2 minutes of powerplay time per game, Bayle is having an excellent season and fully deserves to be in consideration for rookie for the year. As Regina is a growing team, the team growth around Bayle should see them have good development and see an increase in stats throughout the year. I think this is one player who might fly under the radar and I hope this article brings how well they are playing to more people’s attention.

Dominik Winters, St. Louis Scarecrows

Winters is a scrub, not sure why I put him on this list. Just kidding. Winters is the otherside of the coin that existed with Schattenaxt. If he’s got a great team, Winters (and Bayle above) do not. Playing first line minutes is going to be a boon to any player, rookie or not, and Winters is taking advantage of that to lead the Scarecrows in points with 6 goals and 18 assists so far this season. The biggest thing going for Winters is that while he is 9th in rookie scoring, he’s a top 5 defensive forward in the SMJHL full stop. He’s currently 4th among all forwards in takeaways, and he has the best takeaway to giveaway ratio among anyone in the top 5. Couple that with being in the top tier of centers with regards to faceoff percentage, there’s a respectable chance that even if Winters isn’t really in the conversation for rookie of the year, he will be for defensive forward of the year.

Bellamy Blake, Vancouver Whalers

Arguably the top defensive rookie in this class, Blake has been thriving in the Vancouver system as it has allowed him plenty of opportunities for success. He’s playing big minutes on the first line ahead of 1st overall pick Bob Wehadababyitsaboy and he’s rewarding the Vancouver coaching staff for putting him in that position. 5 goals and 17 assists is a stat line that wouldn’t look out of place on a rookie forward, much less a rookie defenseman, but here it is for Blake. I think defensemen get overlooked sometimes when it comes to award voting unless they’re completely dominating play, but Blake is forcing themselves into the conversation for awards so far this season. They’ve got a great opportunity down the stretch, if they are able to keep pace and stay in a similar range of scoring, they’ll fully be in that conversation.

Inactive Forever, Vancouver Whalers

The second of our four Vancouver rookies on this list, Forever has been impactful early for the Whalers. 13 goals and 14 assists is nothing to scoff at and puts them in the top 5 for rookie scoring. Playing on the Whalers second line, they’re averaging over 20 minutes a night and getting good minutes on the special teams, both powerplay and penalty kill. The biggest question for Forever is probably if their 12% shooting holds up over the course of the season. That being said, it has thus far and I don’t see a reason to believe that it won’t down the stretch. If it does continue and the Whalers can sneak into a playoff spot, the play of Forever (and the other three Whalers rookies) will be a massive part in the team’s success.

Thomas Liebold, Vancouver Whalers

Oh look, another Vancouver rookie. The Whalers scouting staff did an excellent job this season in terms of identifying talent and getting them established on their team. Their rookies are getting good opportunities and they’re succeeding at every opportunity so far, and Liebold is no exception. 7 goals, 16 assists sees Liebold with a similar stat line to Winters and Bayle, and I think all three are in a similar tier of rookie players so far this season. Liebold is another player that is off to a hot shooting start at 12.1%, but they’re not a volume shooter with just 58 shots so far this season. This bodes well for them to be able to continue picking their spots and hopefully producing points for Vancouver. They’ve also made a concerted effort to throw the body around with 123 hits so far this season, almost 4 per game. This adds an important aspect to their game and makes sure teams are taking notice of when they’re on the ice.

Bob Wehadababyitsaboy, Vancouver Whalers

Points aren’t everything in the SMJHL and Wehadababyitsaboy is a perfect example of that for Vancouver. Even though he has a respectable 2 goals and 12 assists, his defensive game is really what lands him on this list. Leading the entire league in takeaways and with just 9 giveaways as well, he is absolutely a defensive stalwart for this Whalers team. His ability to take the puck away is something to behold and will have him high on any team’s draft board this season. If you want a strong defensive presence on defense, he is it. In the long term, I would expect to see Vancouver pair him with Bellamy Blake as they would provide a good balance of strong defense and offense while on the ice.

Theodore Svatos, Yukon Malamutes

Tied with his brother Filip on points, Theodore Svatos is having an outstanding season for the young Malamutes. He’s the second rookie on this list to lead his team in points (along with Winters in St. Louis), and he’s looking to continue an excellent start to the year. 12 goals and 17 assists, along with 90 hits, sees Svatos as an excellent option for any team and one that the Malamutes are glad to have on their roster. Even more impressive is how little of his points have come on the powerplay with just 2 goals coming with the man advantage for Yukon. This is, likely, a byproduct of the fact that Yukon has the worst powerplay in the SMJHL and should they get that up, Svatos would likely be ahead of his sibling on points. There is a lot of time left however, and I think I would expect him to continue gaining points at this rate.

This was just my quick, midseason update on some of the top rookies in the SMJHL so far this season. Hope everyone enjoys!

WC: 1705