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Mika_Kandinsky · 03-10-2020, 03:33 PM

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4,440 words, 2x draft media, Research.

Hello there sim hockey lovers. Siberia Sports is back again with another article. Today we are going to be looking at the upcoming S53 SHL entry draft where prospects finishing their first year in juniors will be selected by the big clubs in the SHL to be the newest members of their rosters. Futures of entire organizations can be changed on draft day so it's an exciting time for everyone. It's offseason so winners have been crowned, losers are on the golf course, and the TPE is flocking into builds like the Salmon of Capistrano. Siberia Sports is going to be looking into each team's needs for the first round of the draft and predicting who they are going to pick. Let's get to it!

Pick #1 - Texas Renegades -

The first overall pick this year belongs to the Texas Renegades. The Texas Renegades are in need of another top center prospect. They have a few in the pipeline, including Ivan Maximus who is looking like quite a solid pickup for the team. However, if you want to win in this league you are going to need a lot of depth down the middle. Their current roster is lacking in center talent and this is the draft where they really solidify their future down the middle. Available to them are top choices of Rocco Berni (Kelowna) and Edward Williams (Detroit). Both centers are earning decent tpe per week with Williams having the slight edge in that department. What Berni has is the big fat bank account. With over $60 million in the bank, you know Berni will have plenty of money for all those new coaching options available to players starting this year. Another thing Berni has going for him is that he is a recreate and is seen as a reliable player around the league, while Williams is a first gen player and might be seen as more of a risk.

On the ice, Williams found himself with a better season production wise. He went 14-18-32 which was good for second in rookie scoring, while Berni was 6-16-22, seventh in rookie scoring. The on ice performance plus the slightly higher tpe earning rate, might just be what the Renegades need to decide on picking Williams with the first overall pick. Our prediction is that the Renegades will take Berni at first overall.

Pick #2 - Tampa Bay Baracuda - Barracuda

We believe that Tampa Bay is in serious need of a top defenseman of the future. Maui was making a rise and then has completely fallen off for the team. A player they were really hoping to anchor their defense has gone inactive and it's killing them. So, they are going to have to look to the future and find a player to fill in the gap of being a top guy on the team. Getting a great player for the back line could help stabilize the roster and see a large jump in performance for the team. At pick 2 Tampa Bay should be selecting Ambacas Cuddles. Cuddles is a recreate and has a fat bank account of $64 million and earning about 1.89 tpe per day. Cuddles finished 10th in the rookie scoring race with 1-20-21 in his rookie season. A solid showing for a young defenseman. Cuddles is an easy choice to make it seems on the surface. There are other options available such as Erben Kasius or Magnus Liljestrom who both have higher tpe per day earnings than Cuddles. Erben is also a recreate and could be a solid choice for Tampa. He also is coming up on a strong St. Louis team and we all know how well St. Louis raises future stars in this league. Erben is more of an offensive defenseman, so it very well might come down to whether the organization wants more offense out of their blue line or not. Seeing as Maui is a defensive defenseman, they might allow Maui to continue in that role and take a back seat to a rookie who can put some points on the board. It can be a toss up between Erben Kasius and Abacas Cuddles, but our inkling is that Cuddles will be going to Tampa Bay at pick #2.

Pick #3 - Buffalo Stampede -

Buffalo traded for pick three in the S53 draft and they are going to be very happy with whoever they decide to get with this pick as there is a lot of great talent in this draft. With this pick Buffalo is going to be looking to find a replacement for one of their aging vets in hopes that the torch can be passed seamlessly and the team can stay competitive for a longer window. Buffalo is a talented and experienced team with some young guns coming up such as Nicolaj Mueller and Aron Hernadivic. Their center core is starting to age, though and in a few seasons will hit regression. They may want to restock those cupboards and select a top line center of the future with the third overall pick. For the third pick, we would expect Buffalo to take whoever the Renegades don't take at number one. We are expecting the pick here to be Edward Williams.

Pick #4 - Winnipeg Jets - Jets

Another pick that was traded for. Winnipeg is wanting to draft early believing they can grab a franchise level talent at the fourth overall pick in the draft this year. Our analysis concludes that the Winnipeg Jets are in need of a future franchise center as their current roster lacks center depth and they have missed on their last two picks for a centerman. Without a pipeline of strong centers coming up, it will be hard for Winnipeg to compete into the future. Luckily for them, there will be a solid option at pick #4 for them in Ethan Duncan. Duncan is earning tpe at 2.21 per day which is one of the best earnings paces out of all incoming rookies. He is a first generation player playing for Kelowna. He is a two way forward who can shoot and pass as well as the rest of them and doesn't skimp out on playing defense in his own zone. He'd be a solid choice at pick four.

Now, if Erben Kasius is still on the board at pick four, we expect that Winnipeg will pick best player available and take him here. While Kelowna could definitely use a great center in a few years, defense is also important and hard to come by. This makes their choice very interesting because it goes down to that old question of whether they should make a pick based on team needs or best pick available and make the roster work around that. I guess it depends on how active the front office over in Winnipeg want to be. Considering they've traded up for pick four, it is possible they have their eyes set on a guy and are hoping that they will be around. Could that be Erben Kasius? Could it be Duncan? We'll have to see on draft day. But we are thinking that Winnipeg takes Duncan at pick four to lock up a franchise level center in the first round.

Pick #5 - Buffalo Stampede -

Buffalo traded with Winnipeg and now has two picks in the first five of the round. Buffalo is really looking to stock up on young future talent to replace the soon to be aging roster. We had them taking a center at number three, and so we would fully expect them wanting to snag a young defenseman with this pick. A great pickup here would be first generation player, Magnus Liljestrom. This is of course with the condition that both Cuddles and Kasius are now off the board. Magnus Liljestrom is a smooth skating two way defender and has a 2.21 tpe per day earning rate and a bank account north of $30 million. If Buffalo walk away with two of Williams, Cuddles, Kasius, or Liljestrom they could easily be declared the clear winners of this draft. Having two picks in the top five is an embarrassment of riches and it will help set the team up for a long stretch of success. Another strong pick at five could be Jimmy Wagner, but it's hard to imagine Buffalo picking a winger here with the other talent available for more valuable and harder to find positions.

Pick #6 - West Kendall Platoon - Platoon

West Kendall has pick six via a trade with New England. West Kendall were an absolutely dominant team for a while and now they are trying to rebuild their roster that has aged out. They have a few players in regression now, most notably star defenseman Kristaps Ball. I think at this pick in the draft the Platoon are going to be looking to find a franchise defenseman if there is one to be found. If Liljestrom falls to WKP I believe they would be pretty happy with him being available and snatch him up with the 6th overall selection of the draft. If Liljestrom is taken, we expect that Newfoundland defenseman Jukka Timonen would likely be selected by the Platoon. Timonen is a two way defenseman who can really skate and has a bit of a nose for the net. Timonen finished 8th in rookie scoring with 10-11-21. Solid stats for a young defenseman playing their first year in juniors. He certainly seems promising with a tpe earning rate of 2.18 per day and a bank account holding over $20 million dollars. Timonen is focused on improving and going as high as he can in the draft. He could be a potential steal at number six for a team in need of replacing a franchise defenseman down the line. We believe the pick here is either Liljestrom or Timonen.

Pick #7 - Los Angeles Panthers -

The Panthers are a deep team with not too old of a core. However, their top guys are starting to show their age and LA needs to start looking to the future to find a replacement for some of those guys. At pick seven they should be able to find a valuable pick here to fill the role of center or defense. Jon Toner is getting up there in age and so defense could be a priority for LA here. That being said, GOD McZerhl, a true star in the league is also starting to get older and it's going to start showing in his game before too long. So we think that the Panthers would be wise to try and pick up a solid center choice here at pick seven. If Ethan Duncan is still available because some teams above decided to go best pick and ended up taking some of the wingers we haven't mentioned yet, Duncan would be a great pickup here. If Duncan is not available, the Panthers could look towards Reid Sutherland from the Detroit Falcons. Sutherland is earning tpe at a 2.16 per day pace and has over $10 million in his bank account. He is a play making center who is so smooth with the puck, has a nice set of mitts, and can dish it at high speeds better than anyone in the draft. Sutherland uses his speed and vision along with his great passing accuracy to make plays happen on the ice. The kind of player all the other players on your team would be incredibly happy to see picked up and added to the roster this offseason. I think, you definitely take Duncan if he's there, but if not, LA would be very happy with picking Sutherland here and reinforcing their center pipeline.

Pick #8 - Toronto North Stars - Stars

Toronto is a team building from the ground up. They traded away their best player in the offseason last season and still somehow made it into the playoffs this year. Toronto is lead by Russian center Mika Kandinsky who is having a great start to his SHL career so far. In past drafts Toronto has really restocked the cupboards and have gone heavy defense and center. In season 53 at pick number 8 we believe the Toronto North Stars are going to be looking to add a star winger to go along with Bobby Lane and Mika Kandinsky on that top line or to be beside young center Jan Zacha in the future. Toronto needs all sorts of depth and need to find star players if they want to compete. So, at pick eight the Stars could be looking to take Jimmy Wagner. If our predictions work out, no wingers have been taken off the board yet and that lets Jimmy Wagner be ripe for the picking for the Stars. Wagner is earning tpe at a 2.23 per day pace and has over $13 million in the bank. He is a two way counter attacking forward who can skate like the wind and knows his way around his own zone. He could be a perfect pickup for Toronto's top two lines in the future. Although his production didn't get him into the top 10 of rookie scoring this past season, Wagner has what it takes and is dedicated to improving his game. He is no where close to reaching his ceiling and the potential there is probably too great for Toronto to pass up. This pick will be very important to Toronto, a team that needs every pick to be active and contributing to the team's hopeful future success.

Pick #9 - Calgary Dragons - Dragons

The Calgary Dragons have the ninth pick in the draft. The Dragons are an experienced team and have a few big stars starting to reach the twilight years of their careers. Two left wingers, Shooter McGavin and Mike Izzy as well as defenseman Otis B. Driftwood. The Dragons have a strong pipeline of LW coming in the future so, they may look to bolster the other side with a right wing. They could also look to add a defenseman to be Driftwood's future replacement. At pick nine we think it will come down to whoever the best available player is available. The priority should end up being another winger to make sure they have enough depth there in the future. They need to look no further than Steve Harrington. Harrington is a play making winger who is also strong on defense. Known for his smooth skating and ability to dish the puck, Harrington is an enticing choice at pick nine. Harrington is earning 2.18 tpe per day and has a bank account of about $20 million. He did not reach the top 10 in rookie scoring, but his potential is through the roof. This would be a great pick for Calgary to shore up their wing defense as their team starts to age. At this pick we see any other winger as a reach and don't think there will be a defenseman of high enough value to be picked at this spot unless one of Timonen or Liljestrom end up dropping. If one of those guys dropped, we could see Calgary picking defense to eventually take over for Driftwood down the road.

Pick #10 - Edmonton Blizzard -

Edmonton picks 10th in the draft and here they are faced with a bit of a conundrum. Their D corps is aging and at ten we are not seeing a great pick value wise as far as defenseman go. Edmonton already have a deep pool of forward prospects, but only one defenseman. Edmonton is going to have to hope and pray that Timonen drops to them and if he does, they take him and run home crying with joy. We think the best thing that happens for Edmonton outside of Timonen falling to them is if they took best pick available and tried to trade a forward prospect and a pick for a defensive prospect on another team. The other option for Edmonton, and this might be what they actually do, is on trade day, trade down to a team wanting to move up. If Edmonton could manage to trade down to pick 16, they would probably be able to pick up defenseman Bradly Barkov. Barkov has been earning tpe at a nice pace of 2.14 per day. That's solid for a late first round pick. He also has about $4 million in the bank, while not extremely strong, is a pretty good starting point for a rookie. Barkov might be more of a project than some of the D men going before him, but he would still be a solid pickup, and if Edmonton can get a pick or two for trading down, the value in this move would be great for the franchise. We believe that maximizing the value at this pick would be in Edmonton's best interest.

Pick #11 - Chicago Syndicate -

At pick eleven, Chicago could find themselves lined up to take a winger that's going to really be able to help the team win in a few years. Their core is aging and in that group are a few wingers. They also have aging defense, but they do have a few defensive prospects coming up, and given the lack of availability of solid defense choices this far down the draft, we'd rather see them pick a winger here. Burlok Sulfurfold would be a strong choice should he still be on the board. Sulfurford is a power forward for the Detroit Falcons who is strong on defense and can move the puck. He's a big strong winger who can get into the dirty areas and grind the other team down. He's a pain to play against for the opposition. If Chicago find value in this type of player, he could be a game changer for the team come playoff time in a few years. As another option, the Syndicate could try and take Zoltan Topalo, a two way winger with a scoring touch and very soft hands. Topalo is earning tpe at a 2.20 per day pace, the same as Sulfurford. The two players have similar potential but vastly different styles of play. Chicago is going to have a hard choice here, but if we were betting money on it we'd think they'd take Topalo with their pick as he has a bit more offensive upside while not sacrificing in the defense department. Topalo does have a small bank account at only $2 million so that might be a concern to some GMs. If Topalo starts to fall, this would be the main reason.

Pick #12 - Tampa Bay Barracuda -

Tampa owns pick twelve via a trade with Hamilton. Since they should be targeting a defenseman with the second pick in the draft, they will be free to grab a forward at 12. Sutherland would be a great pickup at center here or they could grab Topalo if he falls to them. Two solid choices to bolster their offense in a few seasons. Tamp is a team that needs more depth and needs to round out the roster so picking a winger could be a good idea for them. A winger could possibly be flexible and end up at center later on if the need arises. They could reach a bit to take Sven Svenson or William Hartman, but there is probably a good chance they will be able to take either Sutherland or Topalo. If not, Sven Svenson would be a good pick because Hartman has a puck handling deficiency which might not help him out too much in the upper levels.

Pick #13 - New Orleans Spectors - Specters

New Orleans has the lucky 13th pick of the draft this year. New Orleans is a team that is competing for a cup right now and their older stars are starting to show their age a bit. They have a solid prospect pool of centers and defenseman and a good amount of youth in the lineup currently. The team has been built well and they will want to continue restocking and replenishing the roster with a strong pick at 13. Finding a steal deeper in the first round would really help New Orleans keep their competitive window open for much longer. We believe New Orleans will target the two way forward Eric Hudson at pick thirteen. Hudson is on the St. Louis Scarecrows which acts as a farm team to New Orleans in a way with close ties between Joe K and the Scarecrows. It's a pick that makes sense and Hudson could be a big steal. He currently has about $7 million in the bank and is earning tpe at a 2.16 per day pace. Very solid numbers for a pick this late in the first round. Hudson is a guy who can pass and shoot while also being a big presence in his own end. The type of guy you can rely on in big situations. He'll have to keep up his earnings and continue to improve if he wants to crack the New Orleans lineup, but for NOLA, this pick seems like a no brainer. The Scarecrows raise star players so we expect this pick to happen.

Pick #14 - Winnipeg Jets - Jets

The Jets traded for #14 from the Buffalo Stampede. Their second pick in the first round, if they go through with picking Duncan, I think they might target a defenseman here late in the first. If Bradley Barkov is still on the board, he would be a very solid pickup at #14. He would help give Winnipeg a lot more depth and reliability on the blue line in a few years when he's ready to have an impact. The Jets could also be looking at a pair of defenseman, Valentin Kalishnikov and Toki Wartooth. We think Kalishnikov would be a pretty solid pickup for Winnipeg if Barkov is already off the board for them. He is earning at a 2.04 tpe per day pace and has a little over $8 million in the bank. This is something that really separates himself from Wartooth in our opinion. While the two are earning at similar paces, Wartooth has less than a million in the bank and that has to be worrisome for a GM. If he can't keep earning because he can't afford training and coaching, then he's not going to be going anywhere in this league and he would be a solid candidate for a first round bust. So, if Barkov is off the board they should go with Kalishnikov of the Halifax Raiders. He's a big shut down D man who is big and strong and loves to throw his body around. He can put fear into the opposition with the threat of his body checks. This is the kind of guy you need next to a stud offensive defenseman. If Winnipeg wants to keep more pucks out of the net, Kalishnikov would be a great selection here.

Pick #15 - San Francisco Pride - pride

The Pride have the second to last pick in this year's draft. The Pride already have a well balanced team and a lot of experienced but non regressing players. They also have a decent number of regressing players that would need to be replaced in the coming seasons. The Pride currently don't have a very large prospect pool to work with so they really need to take the best player available to them at pick fifteen and hope they turn out alright for them. They are going to want to keep that pipeline going as their vets start to age out. So, at fifteen I expect that they would want to take Frederick Wanesly from the Detroit Falcons. Waynesly is a two way winger who can skate like the wind. Some say he's got eyes in the back of his head with the way he dishes the puck out there. He's earning at a 2.11 tpe per day pace and has $4 million in the bank account. I'm sure the Pride would love to see that account number rise, but they have to like what they see in his earnings this late in the first round. This is a player who is going to work hard to make the roster and help bolster that prospect pool. He'll be able to compete with Detroit and grow and be ready for the SHL in about three season we predict. There's no way SFP would be disappointed with this late first round grab.

Pick #16 - Manhattan Rage - Rage

Manhattan, coming off of a championship season will hope to find a steal with the last pick of the first round of the SHL entry draft. The Rage have a pretty stacked team, but their star players are starting to get older and will now be entering the regression years of their career. They do have a decent handful of young talent already contributing to the team's recent success, but they have basically no prospect pool to speak of. Ah, the price of winning now. You enjoy the pieces you have and let them bring you a championship. So, the Rage will be looking to take best pick available with the last pick of the first round here. We've pretty much talked about just about every player that is likely to go in the first round. I'd expect the Rage to pick a value guy that drops for one reason or another. They will then hope to develop that player into a star. It's possible the likes of Wartooth or Topalo fall to the 16th pick. So, the Rage could get lucky and walk away with one of them. We predict that they try and take Chris Cerullo of the Colorado Raptors who is earning tpe at a 2.00 per day pace and has a healthy $9 million in the bank. Grabbing a center that could grow into your future 1 or 2C this late in the draft would be great for the Rage. We think they would be happier taking Cerullo over some of the fallers at 16.

So there we have it! Siberia Sports predictions for the first round of the S53 draft. Hope you enjoyed reading and stay tuned for more articles about the upcoming draft!

***hhh81*** · 03-10-2020, 03:42 PM

Interesting analysis! I think you're off the mark on a lot of the picks here, though.

Mika_Kandinsky · 03-10-2020, 04:10 PM

03-10-2020, 03:42 PMhhh81 Wrote: Interesting analysis! I think you're off the mark on a lot of the picks here, though.

It's certainly possible!

***hhh81*** · 03-10-2020, 04:13 PM

03-10-2020, 04:10 PMMika_Kandinsky Wrote:
03-10-2020, 03:42 PMhhh81 Wrote: Interesting analysis! I think you're off the mark on a lot of the picks here, though.

It's certainly possible!

Texas doesn't have 1st overall, and I don't think there's any chance the 'Peg takes Berni 1ov.

Mika_Kandinsky · 03-10-2020, 04:19 PM

03-10-2020, 04:13 PMhhh81 Wrote:
03-10-2020, 04:10 PMMika_Kandinsky Wrote: It's certainly possible!

Texas doesn't have 1st overall, and I don't think there's any chance the 'Peg takes Berni 1ov.

Is that a recent development? I was just going by the mock draft order that was just posted yesterday.

***hhh81*** · 03-10-2020, 04:50 PM

03-10-2020, 04:19 PMMika_Kandinsky Wrote:
03-10-2020, 04:13 PMhhh81 Wrote: Texas doesn't have 1st overall, and I don't think there's any chance the 'Peg takes Berni 1ov.

Is that a recent development? I was just going by the mock draft order that was just posted yesterday.

Yep, traded yesterday.

MarlinManiac4 · 03-10-2020, 04:56 PM

Definitely interesting read dude. can tell you put a good amount of work. Overall good job. I definitely disagree with a few of your picks though. As far as my player goes, my bank account may be 4 million at the present moment, but I did write a 4000+ word article with a double bonus last week as well as another media piece which should put me around 15 Million or so. so consider it as being addressed lol.

Mika_Kandinsky · 03-10-2020, 05:17 PM

03-10-2020, 04:56 PMMarlinManiac4 Wrote: Definitely interesting read dude. can tell you put a good amount of work. Overall good job. I definitely disagree with a few of your picks though. As far as my player goes, my bank account may be 4 million at the present moment, but I did write a 4000+ word article with a double bonus last week as well as another media piece which should put me around 15 Million or so. so consider it as being addressed lol.

That's awesome! Maybe I was just trying to downplay you.....

Nhamlet · 03-10-2020, 05:47 PM

03-10-2020, 05:17 PMMika_Kandinsky Wrote:
03-10-2020, 04:56 PMMarlinManiac4 Wrote: Definitely interesting read dude. can tell you put a good amount of work. Overall good job. I definitely disagree with a few of your picks though. As far as my player goes, my bank account may be 4 million at the present moment, but I did write a 4000+ word article with a double bonus last week as well as another media piece which should put me around 15 Million or so. so consider it as being addressed lol.

That's awesome! Maybe I was just trying to downplay you.....

ml ordered operation to tank Barkov draft stock

MarlinManiac4 · 03-10-2020, 07:23 PM

03-10-2020, 05:47 PMNhamlet Wrote:
03-10-2020, 05:17 PMMika_Kandinsky Wrote: That's awesome! Maybe I was just trying to downplay you.....
ml ordered operation to tank Barkov draft stock

A whole conspiracy at work!

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