SHL S53 Draft Prospect Overview (part 1)

Time to get in on some of that double media draft bonus. I'll be releasing multiple parts to this overview as the draft nears (and possibly even after the draft finishes) until I either get through all of the eligible prospects or until double media is up (this is most likely going to be the reason I stop). The prospects are in no particular order besides TPE at the time when I was pulling their information, which may or may not have been accurate. Prospects, don't take anything to heart if I miss you or if any of the information is wrong. I'm too lazy to fact check anything or double check my work. And with that said, let's get to part 1!

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Rocco Berni - Center, Kelowna

Rocco Berni is a playmaking center out of Switzerland who currently plays for Kelowna after being drafted by them in the 1st round at 9th overall. He shoots right handed, registering in at 5 foot 10 inches and 180 pounds. Some of his biggest strengths coming into the draft are his passing, skating, and defense abilities while his biggest weakness is his checking. These strengths will come in handy especially being a center, as he'll need a polished two way game to control the flow of the game at both ends of the ice. In his first regular season with Kelowna, Rocco averaged 13.88 minutes per game. He finished with 6 goals and 16 for a total of 22 points while scoring on 10.34% of his shots. His 22 points put him in 7th overall among all rookies in the SMJHL. He had a -3 plus minus rating on the year and had 23 penalty minutes to his name. Despite not being known for his checking, he managed to rack up 38 hits. Rocco won 45% of his faceoffs this past season which isn't too shabby for a rookie center that's trying to develop all aspects of his game. In the playoffs, Rocco played in 13 games and picked up 1 goal with 5 assists. He had a -7 rating which leaves room for improvement, but that's sure to come as he develops his game defensively.

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Ambacas Cuddles - Defense, Carolina

Ambacas Cuddles is a defensive defenseman hailing from the Land of Gumba. He currently plays for the Carolina Kraken after being drafted by them at 15th overall in the 2nd round. He possesses a right handed shot, and registers in at an astounding 7 foot 9 inches and 350 pounds. His height and weight are a concern of scouts heading into the draft as they wonder if he'll be able to stay physically fit enough to take the ice. Some of the biggest strengths of Cuddles are his defense, checking, and puck handling abilities while his biggest weakness is his inability to score. This shouldn't be a big issue as he is more of a defensive player and shouldn't be relied on to score goals from the blue line. Cuddles averaged 18.02 minutes of ice time per game in his first season in the SMJHL. He tallied 1 goal and 20 assists for a total of 21 points. His 21 points was good for 10th among all rookies this past season. His +14 raiting was among some of the best on his team, while he added 44 penalty minutes. Cuddles showed his defensive prowess by laying 51 hits and blocking 55 shots this season. In the playoffs, Cuddles played 11 games with 2 goals and 5 assists. He finished with 2 hits per game and nearly 2 shot blocks per game as well in that small sample size, but it goes to show that he's willing to lay it all on the line when it matters most.

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Jaska Seppala - Left Wing, Kelowna

Jaska Seppala is a sniping winger from Finland. He currently plays in the SMJHL for Kelowna after being drafted by them in the 3rd round at 23rd overall. Jaska has a left handed shot and weighs in at 205 pounds, while coming in at a height of 6 foot 2 inches. His strengths as a sniper obviously include his scoring ability, but also his puck handling and defense. It's great to see a scoring forward that also takes pride in his defensive game. His biggest weakness is his strength, despite his decently sized frame. Jaska did not see too much ice time in his rookie season, as he averaged just over 12 minutes of ice time per game. He tried to make the most of his limited minutes and was able to score 4 goals and add 4 assists for a total of 8 points on the campaign. He finished with a -7, which is fairly common for depth players at the junior level. He only had 10 penalty minutes and was able to maximize his potential ice time each game, knowing that he didn't want to waste any minute of it. He scored on just 7% of his 56 shots, and ideally this number would be a tad higher for someone who is typically known for his goal scoring abilities. Seppala faired much better in the playoffs. Again, he played an average of 12 minutes per game but in just 13 games he nearly matched his point total from the entire regular season with 3 goals and 4 assists. His shooting percentage was much better at over 14%, and this is a clip that we'd expect to see him maintain throughout his career.

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Frans Eller - Goalie, Carolina

Frans Eller is a hybrid goaltender from the nation of Denmark. Frans was drafted in the 2nd round of the SMJHL entry draft by the Carolina Kraken at 20th overall. Frans comes into the draft weighing in at 195 pounds with a height of 6 foot 2 inches, a fairly average sized build for a netminder. The league is starting to see a shift with taller goalies, so who knows how long 6 foot 2 will be considered an average. For the NHL fans out there, take a look at the similarities between Eller and Freddy Andersen. The results might shock you. Frans played as the backup in Carolina this season, but still appeared in 12 regular season games. He finished with a respectable record of 6-5-1. For individual stats, he had a save percentage of .881 and a goals against average of just north of 3.08. These numbers were just a hair behind the starting numbers in Carolina, so it's easy to see why he was given 12 starts on the year. Eller did not start any games in the playoffs for the Kraken, but he did get his number called in relief for one game. After entering the game cold to begin the second period, he managed to stop 25 of the 26 shots he faced.

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Erben Kasius - Defense, St. Louis

Erben Kasius is an offensive defenseman coming out of the Netherlands. He's a right handed shooter that was drafted in the second round of the S52 SMJHL entry draft by the Scarecrows at pick number 16. Kasius weighs in at 210 pounds and stands a solid 6 foot 2 inches tall. He possesses all of the best qualities that one could look for in an offensive defenseman, with some of his best qualities being his scoring, defense, and puck handling abilities. His biggest weak point is his checking game, which is to be expected from a defender that is more known for generating offense on the other end of the ice. Kasius played in all 50 regular season games for the Scarecrows in his rookie year, leading all rookies on the team with 10 goals and 15 assists for a total of 25 points. That point total was good enough for the 5th best rookie scoring in the league this season. Of his 10 goals, 9 of them came on the power play. He's one of the few rookies in this draft class that actually managed to finish with a positive plus-minus rating, with a +4. We mentioned earlier that his checking was a weak spot, and that should be very obvious when we see he only had 1 hit the entire season despite averaging over 20 minutes per game. He did block 49 shots so his worth on defense should still be noted. The Scarecrows advanced to the SMJHL cup finals, and Kasius proved his worth in crunch time as he picked up 2 goals and 7 assists in the 17 playoff games he appeared in.

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Jack Kanoff - Defense, Detroit

Jack Kanoff is an offensive defenseman out of the great hockey nation of Canada. He was originally drafted by the Halifax Raiders at pick number 18 in the second round, but was later moved to the Detroit Falcons. With such an indecent name, one has to wonder if mr. Kanoff is a problem in the locker room and that may have led to him being traded to Detroit. Either way, it's certainly something for prospective GMs to look into before the SHL draft. Jack measures up to 6 foot 2 inches and hits the scales at 220 pounds. As an offensive defenseman, Jack's strengths include scoring, defense, and skating. Like most offensive defensemen that we see, his biggest weakness turns out to be his checking ability so don't expect to see big hit numbers from him very often. One thing of interest to note here is that Jack bares a strong resemblance to Drake, so take that into consideration if you're into his music. Over the course of his rookie season playing for 2 different teams, Jack compiled 7 goals and 13 assists for a total of 20 points while averaging just under 19 minutes per game. He finished with a positive plus-minus rating of +2, and picked up 22 penalty minutes. While his hits weren't the strongest, he still managed to register 48 hits this season by bumping a player just enough off the puck to gain possession. He also blocked 49 shots. Jack really shined in the playoffs, where he picked up a total of 8 points in just 10 games before being defeated by the Scarecrows in the semifinals.

Jimmy Wagner - Right Wing, Carolina

Ol' Jimmy Wagner is a right handed shooting right winger out of Austria. He came into the league via the SMJHL entry draft, where he was drafted at 6th overall by the Carolina Kraken in the first round. Wagner weighed in at the combine at 190 pounds and measured in at roughly 6 foot 1 inches tall. His game is that of a two-way forward, with his biggest strengths being his scoring, defense, and skating ability. He isn't the strongest of lads in the draft class, but once he hits the state of the art SHL weight rooms this is sure to improve. The training staffs on those teams can turn a string bean into Popeye in a matter of months. In Wagner's rookie season with the Falcons, he scored 6 goals and added 8 assists for a total of 14 points while averaging under 12 minutes of ice time per game, so his numbers were actually very strong all things considered. With a +5 rating to add on to his strong scoring numbers, we can truly see his ability as a two-way forward to produce in the offensive end and also defend in his own end (if you buy into plus-minus at all which I do). Wagner was a non-factor in Carolina's playoff run, as he only managed 1 assist. This may cause some concern for managers that Jimmy didn't show up for the playoffs, but this may be written off as a lack of postseason experience.

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DRAFT MEDIA x2
word count ~1950