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***boom*** · 01-26-2020, 08:20 PM

[2549 words, ready for grading, first article bonus]

We're fifty games into the SMJHL preseason now, and many young players are getting their first taste of SMJHL game action. Among those are several players from the last two draft classes of the Vancouver Whalers. Despite having only drafted four players in an okay S51 draft class, they're making an impact so far in preseason action. The S52 draft class has showed out as well, with the team's seven picks in that draft showing varying results so far. We thought we'd take a dive into the results of these exhibition matches so far and see how the team is looking for next season. The player summaries have been organized by year and in descending draft order. All TPE numbers are considered to be current as of the last update.

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S51 Draft Class Picks

Sabo Tage, D, 359 TPE, picked 1.01

Last year, the Whalers had the first overall pick, and they used it to grab a big right-handed defenseman in Sabo Tage. Heading into his second season with the team, Tage is making a huge impact so far, with the second-most points on the team at 15 goals and 35 points while paired with a third-year pro in Zlatan Ibrahimovic Jr. The offensive defenseman is provided a good contrast to the more physical play of Ibrahimovic, with only 10 penalty minutes and 22 hits while providing 118 shots. Tage also proved to be a power-play weapon, scoring nine goals on the man advantage. Tage projects to be a second-pairing defenseman on the team by TPE, behind Ibrahimovic and Mikas Bieksa, but the West Kendall Platoon draft pick should hopefully play his way into the top pairing soon, especially since Ibrahimovic has 580 TPE and is likely to be called up in S54.

Nicholas Corrigan, RW, 245 TPE, picked 2.11

Corrigan has been largely rested this preseason, playing on a veteran-heavy third line with S49 draft product Francois Breton and S50 pick The stingray that Killed steve irwin (yes, that is his real name), but has still put in 8 goals and 20 points in exhibition play so far, good for ninth on the team. Corrigan should improve this season with more ice time, as he is currently the highest RW on the Whalers by TPE, close to S50 pick Dario Medici. It remains to be seen if the Vancouver coaching staff will slide a winger over from the left side though, as the other options on RW are the unproven Jacob Rizzo and Lucas Leclerc. Regardless, Corrigan will be a vital piece on the wings to a young offense that badly needs their wingers to step up.

Sven Yxskaft, D, 372 TPE, picked 2.14

The other half of Vancouver's two early second-round picks in the S51 draft, Yxskaft has been a consistent producer for the Whalers throughout this preseason, recording 32 points in 50 games playing on a second defensive pairing with Mikas Bieksa. Despite the Whalers being in last place in the preseason through 50 games, Yxskaft has had a strong defensive showing with 53 hits and a -3 rating. Unfortunately, his shooting percentage leaves something to be desired, as even though he has 6 goals, he has also taken 112 shots for a dismal 5.36% success rate, which would be the worst on the team if not for rookie William Hartmann being snakebit. Yxskaft, by TPE, is projected to end up on a second pairing with draft teammate Sabo Tage, who he actually outgained in TPE in his first season, and with veteran defender Bieksa missing all of last season due to inactivity, both will need to be core contributors.

Austin Powers, C, 197 TPE, picked 3.24

Powers hasn't had much ice time in the preseason, and hasn't done a whole lot with it. Playing on the fourth line with Marcus Ohlsson and Dario Medici, the second-year centre has only put up 3 goals and 10 points and will likely be passed by multiple rookies from the S52 draft class before the end of the season. Going inactive near the end of last season, he'll likely stay on the roster due to a lack of depth at centre, with only Stracimir Petrovic as a higher veteran option, but promising rookie Lligma Broomstick is breathing down his neck fast.

Now on to the rookies from the S52 draft.

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S52 Draft Class Picks

William Hartmann, LW, 201 TPE, picked 1.07

The Whalers went for a two-way forward with their first pick, and they may have found it here. Hartmann has had decent offensive stats so far, with 2 goals and 10 points in the preseason, but has garnered the attention of the fans and management for his willingness to hit anything that moves. The Swiss left-winger has 108 hits in 50 games, good for fourth in the entire SMJHL so far this preseason. The all-rookie line of Hartmann, Lligma Broomstick, and Jacob Rizzo has given Whalers fans an exciting glimpse of their future. Unfortunately, there is one major knock on Hartmann so far: his shooting percentage. He's taken 39 shots but only scored twice for a 5.13% success rate, the worst on the team. However, this could simply be an issue of sample size, and he should hopefully improve with better matchups in the regular season. His 41 penalty minutes are also a little high, but it is possible that this is simply the price to pay for a physical forward. Hartmann's depth placement is difficult to predict so far. On paper, he's only the fourth-best LW on the Whalers, behind Francois Breton, The stingray that Killed steve irwin, and the inactive Marcus Ohlsson. However, Hartmann's physicality makes his contributions hard to value precisely.

Miro Slapskinnenen, LW, 193 TPE, picked 3.21

The Whalers continued to add to their winger depth in the S52 draft, adding sniper Miro Slapskinnenen with their third-round picks. Slapskinnenen projects as an elite scorer, and he's done well for himself so far, scoring 8 goals and 16 points with a 12.70% shooting percentage, indicating that he picks his shots well. He skated on a second line with Lucas Leclerc and veteran Stracimir Petrovic, which produced strong results for all three players on the line. At 193 TPE, Slapskinnenen is currently the fifth LW on the depth chart, right behind his draftmate Hartmann, but he should continue to improve as the season goes on. I wouldn't rule out seeing one of the wingers on this team getting some reps at centre due to a lack of options there, though, as has happened with Francois Breton in this preseason.

Jacob Rizzo, RW, 182 TPE, picked 4.31

Vancouver had two fourth-round picks, and decided to use the first of them on yet another winger in Jacob Rizzo. He's looked good so far on the rookie line with Hartmann and Broomstick, with 6 goals and 7 points so far. However, one major red flag sticks out at first glance: this line's defense. All three of the rookie forwards are at least -30. It's unknown whether this is a result of putting all three first-year players on a line, defensive team structure, goaltending, or a player problem. Regardless, it's something to keep an eye out for as the season starts. The Whalers' right-wing depth is an issue, with only mid-240s Dario Medici and Nicholas Corrigan here, so Rizzo, along with lower pick Lucas Leclerc, will probably get a fair bit of ice time at right wing early to see what they're capable of unless the coaching staff decides to shift a winger over.

Joe Simpson, G, 180 TPE, picked 4.40

With White Goodman holding down the fort as the Whalers' starting goalie and likely to remain another year with 511 TPE, Vancouver opted to go for potential in the net, grabbing Joe Simpson with the last pick of the fourth round. Simpson is a big goalie who relies on his positioning, which is a slight contrast from the more athletic Goodman, but this shouldn't pose an issue to the team's defensive systems. The rookie has gotten the lion's share of the starts so far in the preseason and done well enough, posting a 14-20-3 record with a .856 save percentage and a 3.66 GAA. It's tough to forecast numbers for a goalie, especially a rookie behind a team that has a lot of young players on defense, but if he stays active and keeps improving consistently he should be able to take the reigns as the Whalers' starting goalie once Goodman makes the big leagues.

Lucas Leclerc, RW, 175 TPE, picked 5.45

The Whalers picked yet another winger with their fifth-round pick, drafting Lucas Leclerc. He performed well enough in preseason, scoring 6 goals and 18 points on a line with Slapskinnenen and Petrovic. The major question with both Leclerc and Slapskinnenen is how much impact Petrovic, a 335 TPE centre from the S50 SMJHL draft class, had on these two, as he got 32 points himself. Regardless, his defensive play was close to an even plus-minus rating and he recorded 59 hits in the 50 games so far, which are both good signs for his development. Similarly to Rizzo, he'll probably get some reps at right wing due to a lack of proven options on that side.

Lligma Broomstick, C, 174 TPE, picked 6.51

Lligma Broomstick was taken with Vancouver's first pick of the sixth round, and through the preseason has shown to be a pretty intriguing pick. Skating on a first line of rookies with William Hartmann and Jacob Rizzo, he's led the three players with 7 goals and 21 points. As mentioned before, this line has recorded a horrid plus-minus rating with all three being below -30, but it's difficult to evaluate how much impact the forwards have had on this. There is one major concern with Broomstick himself so far in the preseason, and that's his physical numbers. He's gotten absolutely demolished in the first 50 games, only delivering 19 hits while absorbing 75, the largest disparity of its kind on the Whalers. While Broomstick is a skilled finesse player, he may need to improve his physical play to be a better contributor at centre. He'll likely slot in at second or third-line centre with Austin Powers stagnating, behind Stracimir Petrovic. This may change, however, depending on if the Whalers shift a winger over from their deep LW group to play centre.

Tommy Outlaw, D, 159 TPE, picked 7.61

With Vancouver's last pick of the draft, they took their only defenseman of the class in Tommy Outlaw. He's made some contributions to the scoresheet, with 2 goals and 6 points in the preseason, paired with an inactive undrafted defenseman in Tiberius Maximus. His physical numbers and plus-minus were actually decent with -6 and 33 hits. Outlaw might not project as a high-ceiling defenseman, but he's a body back there for the third pairing and if he becomes active he could be a useful piece of a young Whalers back end.

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All in all, the Whalers, while they didn't have many picks in the S51 SMJHL draft, hit home runs on two defensemen in Sabo Tage and Sven Yxskaft and got a strong right-winger in Nicholas Corrigan. They then augmented those players by focusing on improving their winger depth in the S52 draft, drafting two wingers on each side as well as getting a promising centre and goalie in the later rounds. It should be an exciting year in Vancouver next year as this young team comes into their own.

We'll leave you with what we think the depth chart might look like:

1st line: Francois Breton - Stracimir Petrovic - Nicholas Corrigan

Petrovic is the highest-TPE centre on the team, and of the three centres on the roster, he was the only one to crack 53% in faceoff percentage. As seen in the preseason, he's put up 32 points playing with two mid-round rookies that are both just under 200 TPE. Francois Breton is the best forward on the team and is leading the Whalers in preseason scoring. Right wing is a little harder to project due to a lack of high-TPE options here, but we're going to go with our gut and say that Corrigan gets it for his activity. It could be Dario Medici, who knows.

2nd line: The stingray that Killed steve irwin - Lligma Broomstick - Dario Medici

The stingray that Killed steve irwin should hopefully be able to hold down this line with 305 TPE, but we're curious to see where this line goes. The 2nd line spot could go to Lligma Broomstick due to his activity over the higher-TPE Austin Powers, while Medici slides in as the second right-winger with his 240 TPE.

3rd line: William Hartmann - Austin Powers - Miro Slapskinnenen

This is an interesting line to project due to the play styles of the three players. All three are around or just below 200 TPE but have room to grow. As we discussed earlier, Slapskinnenen has the potential to become an electrifying offensive talent, while Hartmann is a defensively responsible hitting machine. The weak link on this line could be Powers. Does he come back? If not, this line may be hampered significantly if the centre doesn't develop.

4th line: Marcus Ohlsson - Lucas Leclerc - Jacob Rizzo

This fourth line is a bit of a hodgepodge. Ohlsson has the highest TPE by far of the trio, but is inactive. Leclerc and Rizzo are both promising rookies from the last draft, but some questions remain about Rizzo's defensive game and whether Leclerc can produce without being on a line with Petrovic. We'll find out the answers to those questions soon enough.

1st defensive pairing: Mikas Bieksa - Zlatan Ibrahimovic Jr.

The two highest-TPE options on the Whalers slot into the first pairing. Bieksa is inactive, but Ibrahimovic is the heart of this defense. Whalers fans, just hope he doesn't get called up.

2nd pairing: Sven Yxskaft - Sabo Tage

A pair of sophomore players anchor the second pairing for Vancouver. Both are young and have performed well in the preseason, so this should be a fun pair to watch.

3rd pairing: Tommy Outlaw - Tiberius Maximus

Two warm bodies to round out the defense. Outlaw is a project who could become a strong player on the third pairing, while Maximus is an undrafted free agent who never developed.

Starting goalie: White Goodman

Backup goalie: Joe Simpson

No questions here. Goodman is the man this year, with Simpson hopefully able to take the reigns in a season or two.

*kenvald* · 01-26-2020, 09:17 PM

Great article, it was an interesting read. Keep 'em coming!

Jearim · 01-27-2020, 06:50 AM

Don't count Simpson out, he may have to replace Goodman after a horrible start

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