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*takethehorizon* · 07-02-2023, 03:01 PM

S71 has come to a close and the playoffs are in full swing! The 25th overall selection for the Great Falls Grizzlies in the S71 SMJHL Entry Draft was goaltender, Beau Kavanagh. Let's take a deeper look into Kavanagh's rookie season in the SMJHL with the Grizzlies and see how he did. Kavanagh finished his rookie campaign with a record of 14-38-1, a GAA of 4.51, a save percentage of .875 and 1 shutout to his name. Beau played 55 games which is good for 4th out of all goaltenders in S71. Kav's 4.51 GAA was good for 4th worst in the league and his save percentage of .875 was good for 2nd to last. Looking purely at statistics, it was a difficult rookie season for the Great Falls goaltender.

Great Falls has their struggles as a team to say the least finishing dead last in the standings with only 41 points. Having a single maxed out dman on the team in Tenderloin will do that to a goaltender who saw bunches of shots on goal every single night. Luckily for Great Falls, they do have young dmen ready to improve in the upcoming seasons such as Arnost Hlemyzd, Billy Hill, Bryson Basham and Thunderdome to name a few. This should help stabilize the blue line in the next few seasons and allow Kavanagh to see less threating shots/chances on a night to night basis. It's also on the forward core to keep the opposing team hemmed in their zone longer to eat up minutes on the clock. A team with virtually no center depth will make this difficult so looking at centers in the upcoming draft is crucial for success down the middle.

Kavanagh is determined to improve this offseason specifically working on his positioning in goal, rebound and recovery skills as well as the ability to make saves with his blocker, glove and shots below the belt. "I have to be better" said Beau following the last game of the season. "It's on me to improve my game to put my team in the best possible chance to win night in and night out". Kavanagh will have his hands full in a tough league with lots of goaltender talent such as Luka Nogoalov with NBB and Bernard Lodge with MET.

With all of that being said, Great Falls is greatly looking to improve their chances of success and winning in S72. The dmen should be improving their play enough to help Kavanagh limit the on ice scoring chances and the forwards will look to keep the puck in the opponents end for longer sucking up valuable offensive time for the Grizzlies. Beau Kavanagh is excited to say the least finishing out his minors career in Great Falls for the next 3 seasons. He also looks forward to the S72 SHL Draft where Beau will be selected to his home for the foreseeable future. "I want to go to a team I can call my home and stay their for my entire career." "Similar to my brother Cillian who played 11 seasons with the Texas Renegades organization, I don't want to hop around from team to team but to be the rock for a franchise for years to come". Let's see how true this will be - only time will tell!

Word Count: 552

*CptSquall* · 07-06-2023, 11:45 AM

Approved, +5 TPE to @takethehorizon

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