S47 of the SMJHL has ended, and the playoffs are now underway.  We once again sat down with St. Louis Scarecrow rookie defender Lyle Odelein III, to chat about his first season, the upcoming playoffs and the SHL S48 entry draft.  So here we go…

Q: Good morning Lyle, once again, thanks for making time for us.

A: Not a problem, happy to do it.

Q: Well lets get things started off, how do you feel your rookie campaign went? 

A: It was great, we won the Laurifer trophy and are about to start our journey to the Four Star Cup.  I couldn’t have asked for a better rookie season.  I’ve learned a lot from my teammates, and I think I’ve shown them that I am in this for the team, and I really want to help raise the cup at the end of it all.

Q: You are right, the Crows had a great season this year.  They were able to grab the #1 seed going into the playoffs, not too bad for the team everyone was gunning for.  But you really didn’t answer my question, so, on a personal level, how do you think your season went?

A: Hahaha, sorry, I’m a team first kind of guy!  I think my season went well.  I knew coming onto this amazing Crows team, that I wouldn’t be playing top pairing minutes as a rookie.  I knew that I had a lot of work to do, and that I still have a lot more to get to a point in which I could compete for one of those top spots.  But I feel that I played very well when I was on the ice.  I was able to put some points on the board, and while I was on the ice, we scored a lot more goals than we allowed.  That to me is a huge success.

Q: Agreed, you finished the season at +13, with 7 points with playing around 6 minutes per game on the 4th defensive pairing. And both of the goals that you scored were game winning goals.  That isn’t an easy feat.

A: I did what I could when I was on the ice, I’m happy I was able to contribute, my goal is the same as everyone of my teammates, to win it all.  I will do whatever I can to help get there, on and off the ice.

Q: Now that the playoffs are underway, and the Crows now know who their first opponents will be, you’ll be facing the Detroit Falcons.  Tell us about your opponents.

A: There is a long history between our two teams, I’ve learned a lot about our rivalry from my teammates and some of the Crows alum.  There is no love loss between us.  We know we’ll be facing a different team than the one we played during the regular season.  They made a lot of moves before the deadline, they are going to be a tough team to play against, I think they showed that against Halifax.  We are ready though, we were never going to take them lightly, we know that the playoffs are a different game. We are ready.

Q: I know that you said you are focused on the playoffs, but have you had time to think ahead to the SHL draft?

A: Not really.  I mean, getting into the SHL is the ultimate goal, I can’t wait until I can start playing in the big leagues.  But I know that I’ve got a long ways to go, so it’s been hard to think about where I may end up, I’m just hoping that I can help whichever team I end up on.

Q: Do you have any SHL teams that you would prefer over others?  Have you been talking with any teams?

A: I’d wear any teams jersey with pride, just happy to be able to play.  I’ve met and chatted with a couple of GMs who are St. Louis alum, and I had a good chat with another GM.  I am looking forward to the draft, I really enjoyed the SMJHL draft process and I think the SHL draft will be an even better time.  I’m just hoping that I’ve shown what I can do during the regular season, and I’m hoping I kick it up another gear in the playoffs.  This is a little more intense than the Prospect Showcase I had a chance to play in before the Crows drafted me.  This is the real thing, and I want to play my best hockey and show all the SHL GMs what I bring to the table.

Q: I remember back to one of our first talks, you said that your ultimate goal on the ice is to stop pucks going into your net, and put them into theirs.  You seem to have achieved that in your rookie season, would you agree?

A: I guess I would.  More pucks went into their nets then they did ours, that was a huge team effort, again, something I am glad to have been a part of.  I’ve been putting in a lot of work to improve myself, I think I’ve done a pretty decent job at that.  I’ve got a long ways to go, as I’ve said before, I am going to keep trying to get better and better, I want to continue helping the Crows to win games and I want to be able to do the same when I get the chance to move up to the SHL. 

Q: Well, I think that about wraps it up, thanks again for sitting down with us, it’s always a pleasure.  Any parting words?

A: Thank you, I always enjoy these, a lot of the times I just have my head down, just thinking about hockey, I like being able to talk about hockey as well.  I’m really excited for these next few weeks, hopefully we have a long playoff run and then the upcoming draft after that.  I’m excited to know where I’ll be heading once I make it into the SHL, but my main focus is St. Louis, I’ve had a taste of winning during the regular season, I want more of that in the playoffs.   GO CROWS GO!!! 


Word count: 1047

Steal of the upcoming draft, mark my words

Alvin Towne || G || S66 Draft Class || Peak: 155 TPE

Adrian Ayers || RW || S56 Draft Class || Peak: 1154 TPE

Gordie Boomhover || LW/C || S46 Draft Class || Peak: 1076 TPE

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