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HillsHaveHats · 05-30-2024, 01:56 PM

After missing out on the SMJHL draft due to his agent missing the deadline, the SHL draft was the first opportunity for Oliver Cornwall to really get a picture of where SHL GMs placed him in their hierarchy and understand where he stood relative to his peers. After being the first waiver pickup of the season and landing with the Vancouver Whalers, Cornwall had a steady but otherwise unremarkable rookie season where he got his legs under him and started to become a more reliable contributor on the Whalers’ third pair. Showing off some higher end TPE growth with all PTs completed, Cornwall has improved steadily over the course of the season and ended up being scouted by a handful of SHL clubs. However, as he lacks the flash and immediate offensive contribution of some of the other rookies, his steady development proved enough for the New England Wolfpack to take a chance on him early with their second first round pick.

After picking up the electrifying right winger Louis Bélanger, a fellow SMJHL waiver pickup, from the St. Louis Scarecrows organization at seventh overall, the Wolfpack took a chance on the British defender at tenth overall. They concluded the draft by trading up to the top of the second round to grab a fellow Whalers defenceman in David Vent, who is expected to provide some offensive flair opposite the more defensively-oriented Cornwall. When reached for comment, Wolfpack GM Luke provided an in-depth explanation for their draft process:

“Entering the draft, New England had basically a top 10 of players/users we actually want to draft. Knowing that we had 2 picks in the top 10, we really only needed a list of 10 players we actually wanted. So heading into the draft, JR and I went to work on messaging all the users in the draft that we think would be active enough to select. When scouting, we divide them into 1st gens and recreates. Going from there we put some players that we have in our DND, and then really figure out the users that we like and think would fit well into the locker room. Then we rank them based on a couple variables; how much they will earn, quality of the user, how much they interact in locker rooms. It's not a perfect science but it's a good benchmark on how well a player will do. With recreates it's a lot easier because of past performances. For example, a user like DrunkenTeddy is basically the most guaranteed 2k Player you can get. but the locker room presence nowadays is not the strongest. Or the user of Ruggsy who has a pretty good chance of hitting 2k, had some inconsistencies in the past, but is a great lockerroom asset.

Then when it comes down to 1st gen players, me and JR really put together a list of 1st gens that impressed us. Out of the shortlist came just 4 1st gen players. Steelflex, Popol, Trevor, and hillshavehats. If we could get one of you guys + a recreate at 7 then it would be a great draft as we got the added protection of a recreate, who is typically a safer pick, with a 1st gen being paired as another amazing pick with upside. However, as the draft happened, with Ruggy going at 6, all of the recreates we really liked came off the board. So with that sat 3/4 1st gens we liked, and having picks 7 & 10, we hope that we got 2. With Hillshavehats having a lot lower TPE than Trevor & Popol it came down to those 2 for pick #7. In the end, with 2 picks being great, we felt Popol would do the best, as he also just got 2 SHL jobs that will help with earning money for seasonal coaching. So we picked Popol, knowing that Oliver Cornwall will likely be there at 10th OA. And that's exactly what happened. Having a lower TPE total than most typical 10th OA players. We were confident however that you were the right pick. Buffalo did offer 13 + 33 to move up to 10, to select who they eventually picked at 13(Peyton Campeau). So in the end it all worked out for them. But for us, we didn't feel like 33 would be the right pick and might lose the only other player we wanted in the draft. So we picked Oliver Cornwall at 10.”

We spoke to Oliver in the days after the draft and Luke’s availability, and he had nothing but great things to say about his experience leading up to the draft.

“You know, obviously it’s such a huge vote of confidence not only to end up being taken in the first round but for an organization to have enough faith in you as a player who doesn’t have the demonstrated development that some of the other guys do, it just makes you feel good about yourself right? Obviously, Luke and I had a lot of conversations leading up to the draft and you know when you’ve got a good connection with any group, you start to get a feeling for where you might end up going and I really ended up where I wanted to be. I’d spoken to a few organizations, but when I was talking with Wolfpack management in the leadup to the draft, I really had a great feeling that the organization had a clear direction and they had a really good picture for where we were going, not to mention that they began scouting me a long way ahead of the draft. I just got a great connection immediately to the organization and now it’s up to me to prove that their faith in me was warranted, so I’m going to go out there and keep getting better for my teammates in the Whalers and keep getting better to one day perform in the big leagues.”

We asked Cornwall about his experience since getting some exposure to an SHL locker room:

“Oh it’s been a blast, it’s exceeded my wildest expectations haha. I tell you what, I usually don’t click with filthy wingers, but I connected really naturally with Louis in particular, which is super nice because our fates are obviously intertwined as picks for this team. Seeing him already stepping into a mentoring role with some newer SMJHL prospects, it’s just really cool that he’s putting in the work to better the up and coming guys. And then you add that I’ve already got that relationship with David, who I’m looking forward to pairing up with for the next few seasons in the SMJHL and then on into our SHL careers, we have a really great group of rookies who I expect will keep bringing the energy into that locker room.

And then of course, there’s all the folks who provide the foundation of that Wolfpack locker room. Luke and JR have both stepped up in a huge way to make us all feel welcome and really integrate us into the group. And then Lily Jin Morrow (Shiamus) is obviously in management with the Whalers, so I already knew we would have a really good rapport. I could keep going down the list honestly, all the veteran players have been nothing but accommodating and excited for us, honestly I’m just really blessed to be in a locker room like this. It’s the most active I’ve ever been involved in, you can always jump into anything and be integrated immediately, I think this is a place where it would be hard not to thrive.”

When an organization invests top ten draft capital in a player, the fans always expect it to either knock their socks off right now, or to have a clear gameplan for how to maximize the value of that pick in the long term. When asked about that plan, Luke had more to say about one of the newest pups in the organization:

“So, what's the move for Oliver Cornwall next. Right now it's to just kill it in the SMJHL. Being a later create player, he is behind on TPE. But for us, we feel like 9/10 seasons from now. Cornwall will be right up there with his peers in terms of TPE earned. No doubt about it. We know that in the long run, Oliver will exceed our expectations and become a solid defensemen for this team. Having some aging defensemen like Sean Davies, Seamus O'Slapahan, and Pork Tenderloin eventually. We will have a need for getting quality defensemen that we think will step in both on and off the ice. Cornwall fits that mold. With defensemen like Troy McClure, Jaxson Reaper, and Jeff Goldblum already on the roster. We are set up for another decade of dominance on the blue line. As for a particular role, he will probably fit the mold of players like Sean Davies or Pork Tenderloin. Defensive stalwarts who can chip in on the offense here and there. But who knows, maybe he develops more offensive too. We will have to see when he gets here. All I know is that he will be a member of the pack for a very long time.”

We put the same question to Cornwall, who had more to say:

“I mean it’s just one day at a time right. Right now, I just came off my rookie season in the SMJHL where, speaking frankly, I was on a third pair with pretty limited minutes, so I don’t think I’ve really shown off what I’m capable of yet. My plan is to just keep plying my trade and keep doing those right things, the unsexy things that sometimes go under the radar. I’m going to keep focusing on taking the puck from the other team and getting the play moving up the ice with the puck on our difference-makers sticks. I’m going to keep going to the dirty areas, keep blocking shots, and keep trying to make our goaltenders’ lives a little bit easier. I want to move the needle for my team, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win whether that means hitting, skating, blocking shots or trying to chip in to put the puck in the net. I love to win and I want to do whatever I can to put my teammates in the right place to get that result. I also hate to lose, and I’m going to continue to hold myself and my teammates to the highest standard, because dammit I would love to never lose again.”

Clearly, the sentiment is shared among the Wolfpack faithful. The only thing that is certain is that it will be a very exciting next several seasons as the Wolfpack continue to develop a core that should win for a very long time.

1809 Words

Popol · 05-30-2024, 02:17 PM

Great article! It's been great to get to know you and to have joined this team as teammates. Our fate is intertwined.

Mark my words, you're the steal of the draft.