<div align="center">Has De Bruin Hurt Himself By Signing Early</div>

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To say that the first few games of Leif De Bruins career have been a learning experience would be an understatement. The Halfax Raiders went into this years SMJHL playoffs as one of the better teams, with a realistic chance of repeating as cup champions. While the opening series with Detroit Falcons has not yet wrapped up, Detroit holds a steady 3-2 lead and has been the dominant team so far. Through this stretch, the young De Bruin has been under-whelming and in many cases un-noticeable on the ice. In fact in five games De Bruin has registered 0 goals and 0 assists, all while playing fourth line minutes. This isn’t exactly what Leif and the Raiders had in mind when they initially inked this short term contract. Overall, De Bruin showed some initial promise that may have led to some un-realistic expectations. He did in fact score a goal in only the second game of his career, just prior to the start of the playoffs. With the low level of performance, many radio and television analysts are beginning to question what the real draft value of a player like De Bruin might be.

“I wouldn’t even sniff this guy with a first round pick.” John Smart, a local sports radio host in Kelowna remarked. “Over-rated! What more evidence do you need? We rarely get a good look at these prospects prior to draft but what we’re seeing with De Bruin is that he has bust written all over him.”

The criticism hasn’t stopped there either. SHL beat writer, and host of the popular hockey program “Sunday Night Skate”, Greg Sheiffer had very few positive words to send De Bruins way.

“It hasn’t been pretty. I get that he’s young, I get that he’s still trying to find his feet, but it’s been ugly. You don’t even notice him out there unless he’s making a mistake. This isn’t the kind of guy that you draft high. After what I’ve seen, im putting a 3rd or 4th round grade on this kid with a big fat “Draft at your own risk” sign on his back.”

No, the first impression has not been a kind one for De Bruin. Through it all though he has managed to keep a positive attitude. Considering the fact that he is still only 18 years old, that may be the most impressive attribute from De Bruin that we’ve seen so far. Harsh criticism of a young talent has destroyed many promising careers in the past and perhaps De Bruins ability to shake all the negative press will be what saves his.

“I learned from a young age that if spend your career trying to impress other people than you usually fail. I work every night for myself, for my team, for my coaches and not really for anyone else. If you listen to media or allow yourself to ride that roller coaster then your going to have a pretty miserable career. They seem to latch onto the bad times and really drive them home. I have a lot of faith in myself as a player and as a prospect. I know my own goals and I know how hard I need to work to get where I want to be. In the end all the media and analysts in world will have nothing to do with where I get drafted or how my career turns out, so I’ll continue to not pay attention to what their saying.”

It all seems like very positive and mature language from an 18 year old kid who has struggled to adjust to a new style of game. While many GM’s have clearly already made up their mind about this young man, I will continue to look for the good in this promising young prospect. I will continue to bet on the kid name De Bruin, with the heart of a bear.


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Jaden Tanner || RD || Calgary Dragons
Age: 22
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 220 lb
Number: 98
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SHL Regular Season:
S74 | CGY | GP: 66 | G: 3 | A: 16 | P: 19 | +/-: -14 | H: 46 | SB: 98 | GA: 13 | TA: 48
S75 | CGY | GP: 66 | G: 2 | A: 11 | P: 13 | +/-: -21 | H: 48 | SB: 104 | GA: 17 | TA: 38
S76 | CGY | GP: 66 | G: 0 | A: 14 | P: 14 | +/-: -5 | H: 73 | SB: 112 | GA: 21 | TA: 74
S77 | CGY | GP: 66 | G: 5 | A: 16 | P: 21 | +/-: -8 | H: 38 | SB: 311 | GA: 21 | TA: 32
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SHL Playoffs:
S74 | CGY | DNQ
S75 | CGY | DNQ
S76 | CGY | GP: 5 | G: 0 | A: 2 | P: 2 | +/-: -7 | H: 4 | SB: 4 | GA: 0 | TA: 3
S77 | CGY | GP: 6 | G: 1 | A: 1 | P: 2 | +/-: 1 | H: 2 | SB: 15 | GA: 0 | TA: 7
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SMJHL Regular Season:
S71 | VAN | GP: 66 | G: 3 | A: 23 | P: 26 | +/-: 1 | H: 93 | SB: 112 | GA: 17 | TA: 52
S72 | VAN | GP: 66 | G: 5 | A: 25 | P: 30 | +/-: 27 | H: 112 | SB: 86 | GA: 32 | TA: 61
S73 | VAN | GP: 66 | G: 1 | A: 21 | P: 22 | +/-: 35 | H: 106 | SB: 91 | GA: 19 | TA: 57
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SMJHL Playoffs:
S70 | VAN | GP: 5 | G: 0 | A: 2 | P: 2 | +/-: -1 | H: 6 | SB: 9 | GA: 4 | TA: 4
S71 | VAN | GP: 5 | G: 1 | A: 0 | P: 1 | +/-: -1 | H: 11 | SB: 4 | GA: 3 | TA: 8
S72 | VAN | GP: 5 | G: 0 | A: 0 | P: 0 | +/-: -5 | H: 9 | SB: 4 | GA: 1 | TA: 6
S73 | VAN | GP: 11 | G: 2 | A: 6 | P: 8 | +/-: 1 | H: 14 | SB: 18 | GA: 6 | TA: 15
Jakob Tanner || HoF Goalie || HoF GM || CGY Co-GM
4x Challenge Cup (S24, S26, S30, S31)
1x IIHF Gold (S23, Ireland)
1x 2nd All-Star Team (S29)
1x 3rd All-Star Team (S30)
1x John McBride Trophy (S29)
1x Anton Razov Trophy (S30)
1x Mike Honcho Trophy (S29)
1x John McBride Nominee (S30)
2x Joe McKeil Award (S24, S35)