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Merica · 06-14-2021, 12:37 PM

ANAHEIM—The off-season is coming to a close, every team is completing the finishing touches on their rosters for S60, and with the SMJHL Draft coming to a conclusion and players being notified of their call-up/send-down status, we now have a good idea of what to expect from each team. For the Anaheim Outlaws, if you thought last season was a “rebuilding” year, as many pundits did, this season should be considered contender status without much dispute. Outlaws GM Ace has managed to navigate the draft beautifully over the last couple seasons, with his penchant for being willing to take “riskier” selections paying off in droves so far as they have assembled a very dynamic roster going into S60 and beyond. Let’s take a look at your S60 Outlaws.

New Additions:
D- Adelie de Pengu (S61), C- Grogu Mandosson (S61), RW- Bjorn Viggosson (S61),D- Doby Hintzskanen (S61), D- Adriano Donini (S61).

- Anaheim had five picks in the S60 entry draft, and made the most of the them. With the third overall pick, they elected to bring in defenseman Adelie de Pengu, a first generation member who is already up to 223 TPE, well on his way to being a top earner. Bjorn Viggosson, who is GM Ace’s client, was taken with their second round pick, and has been described as a brutally physical forward, the kind that they are probably going to need to protect their outspoken winger Daniel Merica Jr. Perhaps the surprise of this draft was Grogu Mandosson slipping all the way to 18th overall, where he was selected by Carolina and then promptly traded to Anaheim. Mandosson is the prospect of Winnipeg Aurora GM Muerto/Kez, which by all accounts means he will be a top tier earner, probably for the next 15 seasons, and is a highly respected member across the board. I find it hard to believe there were 17 players ahead of him.

- Circling back to the first round, the Outlaws also landed another first gen player in Dobby Hintzskanen, who is the definition of an Offensive Defenseman, maybe even too much so, but the great thing about the Juniors is it allows people to develop, and I am sure he will spend some solid training time on improving his defensive skills. Either way, he will be a deadly powerplay quarterback in the future. With their final pick, they took another defenseman in Adriano Donini, another longtime member of the league who’s been absent for some time, so the potential there is certainly high, but only time will time will tell if he remains committed to Adriano, and if he does it will certainly be a huge steal.

Departures: G- Vincent Mietitore (S57), C- Kaapo Kaimpainen (S57)

- On the departures side, Anaheim will definitely feel the effects. Kaapo Kaimpainen is being called up by the Blizzard and is a huge loss, as he finished with 43 points last season, second on the team while being the teams top earner and holding down the top line while providing solid two-way play. Vincent Mietitore was the Outlaws starting goalie, where he posted a 18-20 record and 2.72 GAA with 4 SO. Anaheim does have Zhen Rhoza ready to step in, but it’s never easy losing a goalie of Mietitore’s caliber and there will be a lot of pressure of Rhoza’s shoulders as he steps in to take over full time on a squad that is aiming for the Four Star Cup.

Projected Lines:
- Strictly based off what I believe they could be, these are not official lines, so just what I project them out to be! This actually turned out to be more difficult than I expected, because this roster is stacked, and it’s pretty much dealers choice, lots of options for Ace and company to tool around with while not every having any real weaknesses.

Line 1: (TPE)
LW- Videl Valor (547) | C- Ryuuji Kawashima (613) | RW- Bob Duncan (532)
LD- Sekai Wollker (541) | RD- Jonathan Hagan (381)

- Line one we have four capped players, with the sole exemption being Jonathan Hagan, but that wont be for long, as he should hit the 425 cap by about mid season at the latest, giving Anaheim a fully capped top line going into the second half of the season. All six of these players have immense potential, the kind of potential that can carry a team. Duncan led the Outlaws in points last season, and is actually a center technically, but with how stacked this roster is, I could definitely see him being moved over the winger to fit the other talent in. The idea of Wollker-Hagan combo defensively is absolutely nightmarish. Wollker is a generational talent, a top pick five pick in is draft class, and Hagan burst onto the scene in a big way last season as a rookie, his ability to quarterback plays and push the puck up the ice being a catalyst.

Line 2: (TPE)
LW- High Haschidi (396) | C- Stan Din’Desque (363) | RW- Jack Micro (519)
LD- Matej Winters (518) | RD- Arturs Tumovs (396)

- This line is much harder to project, because there are a couple of players that could be interchanged with either winger, all dependent on what the GM wants to focus on skill wise. Micro leads the charge in development, but he’s coming off a rough season where he only put up 26 points, I wouldn’t be surprised if the coaching team considers putting Merica Jr. In that slot to increase the offensive output from this line. Din’Desque will anchor the line at center, coming off back-to-back #1 overall selections, it’s clear he has the highest ceiling of anyone on this team and the Outlaws will be looking to capitalize on it. Winters-Tumovs will slot in defensively, and although Winters is more than capable of playing first pairing, I think the Outlaws will spread the wealth here and drop him to the second line to run that show.

Line 3: (TPE)
LW- Daniel Merica Jr. (328) | C- Grogu Mandosson (155) | RW- Top Cheddar (393)
LD- Adelie de Pengu (213) | RD- Tomas Kalnoky (209)

- This is a sneaky line with a lot of offensive potential on the table. Cheddar had 21 goals last season and 35 points, showcasing elite scoring abilities, and Merica Jr. boasts some of the highest offensive skillsets in the entire Juniors. Both Merica and Cheddar will hit the 425 cap in no time, just adding to the immense depth of this roster. Rookie Grogu Mandosson will likely slot in here at the center spot, which will can Winnipeg Aurora fans a taste of what their future will look like, as both Merica Jr. and Mandosson are Aurora prospects. Defensively I think Adelie de Pengu is a lock, but I’m not sold on Kalnoky, it’s very likely he gets dropped to the fourth line In favor of Hintzskanen.

Line 4: (TPE)
LW- TBA | C-Rob Duncan (195) | RW- Bjorn Viggosson (155)
LD- Dobby Hintzskanen (155) | RD- Adriano Donini (155)

- Line four consists of three rookies and an opening on the left winger slot, which will likely be one of the Outlaws top forwards pulling double duty. I don’t expect much out of this line, as it’s mostly used to get rookies a little ice time as they develop, much like Anaheim did last season.

Goaltender: (TPE)
G- Zhen Rhoza (332)

- Rhoza will step in as the new starting goalie, he was decent in minimal time last time, going 10-12, but has all the potential in the world to be an elite goalie, and is on track to be capped at some point this season. With a star-studded defense in front of him, I think Rhoza will flourish between the creases and be near the top of the leaderboards.

Overall Outlook:
- Like I said before, this time is loaded with elite talent at all levels and only getting better. Ace has put this team in a beautiful position to succeed at the highest level, both now and in the future. Anaheim should be a top contender all season and be a threat for the Four Star Cup. Looking any further ahead, S61 may be the season of the Outlaws, when they roll out possibly 3 fully capped lines depending on call ups.

Thanks for reading!

Words: 1,396

*WithTheMoose* · 06-14-2021, 01:16 PM

Loved reading this! Lets go Outlaws!

ValorX77 · 06-14-2021, 01:32 PM

Nhamlet · 06-14-2021, 02:25 PM

@SDCore 4th pairs pog

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