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S52 SMJHL Anaheim Rookies Drafted into SHL Teams by J. Botchford Jr.

Ride or Die

With an influx of talented rookies from the S52 SMJHL draft, the Anaheim Outlaws, together with a hungry and strong foundation of veterans cruised their way through the S52 SMJHL Season and Post-Season to capture their second Four Stars Cup. Celebrations were short as the rookies were now eligible to be drafted into the SHL. With the media circus surrounding the draft, the Anaheim rookies met with prospective GMs, the media, and their growing legions of fans as they all tried to increase their draft stock. While not projected to be drafted in the first round, the Anaheim prospects filed into the arena waiting to hear where they were going to end up.
 
Round 2 – Pick #22 – Ethan Price -> New England Wolfpack  

Selected 13th OA in the S52 SMJHL draft, highly touted rookie Price had a great first season with Anaheim, scoring 7 goals and adding 5 helpers for 12 points in the regular season in a 3rd line role. While the usual suspects patrolling the right wing at the professional level are usually hulking power forwards, Price is part of the new breed of speedy, shifty snipers. At 6’0”, 195lbs, Price has always relied on his speed to get into position to unleash his lethal shot. Shifty, with an eye for the back of the net, his comparable ceiling could be that of a Patrick Kane. New England drafted themselves a great offensive talent, only time will tell if he reaches his ceiling.

Round 2 – Pick #24 – Taylor Johansson -> Toronto North Stars  

An undrafted center, Johannsson burst onto the Anaheim lineup with gusto as a playmaking center. Regularly setting up his teammates, Johannsson amassed 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points in the regular season, while proving proficient in the face-off dot winning 52.94% of his draws. His play with Anaheim pushed fellow rookie countryman from the 3rd line and often skated with Ethan Price and Bale. Johannsson’s game warrants to be paired with an elite sniper, and his ceiling could be of a Niklas Backstrom. Here’s hoping Toronto can match him with an Alex Ovechkin type.

Round 2 – Pick #26 – Ziggy Tambo -> West Kendall Platoon

Ziggy Tambo had an excellent rookie season with Anaheim. Selected 41st OA in the S52 SMJHL draft, Ziggy exploded as a rookie winger as the sniper on the fourth line, as well as on the the second power play unit. Anaheim’s special teams were spectacular during the season and the playoffs and Ziggy was big part of that. Boasting a stellar 8g-10a-18pts season, and a 3g-4a-7pts playoff run, the Platoon is getting a great player. A hulking playmaking left winger at 6’3” and 220lbs, Ziggy projects to be a player similar to Blake Wheeler on the wing.

Round 2 – Pick #28 – Rikard Hammarberg -> Hamilton Steelhawks

Selected 48th OA in the S52 SMJHL Draft, Rikard Hammarberg had an average if not underwhelming season with Anaheim. Starting on the 3rd line, he was bumped down 4th line duties in a defensive role, a far cry from his calling card, his offensive game. Playing on the 4th line exposed Rikard’s defensive game and he ran a large deficit in his +/- and his face/offs weren’t spectacular to write home about. While it may seem that Rikard may not amount to much in the big leagues, looking at some advanced stats, Rikard had the 4th lowest PDO, at 922. As all things tend to return back to 1000, it can only mean Rikard’s game can only get better. While Rikard shapes his game around Elias Pettersson, time will tell if he can reach the ceiling. Hamilton rolled the dice with their first selection in the draft, but chances are Hammarberg will become a good player.

Round 2 – Pick #31 – Separa Borro -> Minnesota Chiefs

Rounding out the slew of Anaheim Rookies selected in the second round is Separa Borro. Selected 63rd OA in Round 7 of the S52 SMJHL Draft, Separa played in a backup role to starting goaltender Strom Chamberlain. Borro posted very similar numbers to his mentor Chamberlain with a record of 9W-5L-1OTL and a SV% of 0.883 and a GAA of 3.08 and 1 Shutout. Stylistically comparable to Henrik Lundqvist, Separa has the tools to become a #1 goaltender in the SHL.

Round 4 – Pick #56 – Yompy Stearf -> Minnesota Chiefs

The last of the Outlaws to be drafted into the SHL is Yompy Stearf. Drafted in the 3rd round of the S52 SMJHL Draft at 27th Yompy, a classic stay at home defenseman, played on the third pairing for Anaheim and on the Penalty Kill. Yompy had a good season, but did not seem to improve significantly over the course of the season and started dropping off near the end of the season, but put up solid numbers, with 1g-8a- 9pts and a +/- of 7. Spending a late round pick is low risk on a player, but time will tell if Yompy will play up to SHL Standards or will stay as a journeyman defenceman in the SMJHL.
 
Other Rookies
Pooks Halloway – Undrafted

While undrafted rookie Pooks had a decent preseason, racking up 8g-6a-14pts, his play did not translate well into the regular season and into the playoffs. His progression stalled midway through the season, as with most rookies, and found himself often relegated to 4th line duties. Pooks amassed 2g-2a-4pts in the regular season, and 0g-2a-2pts for the playoffs. While there is still potential in Pooks, like Stearf, there needs to be improvement, and with it, Pooks may find himself on a SHL team sooner rather than later. He was undrafted into the SMJHL, he can prove to others that he is worthy for the primetime in SHL undrafted as well.

Shane Rinne – Undrafted…. Dead?

Rinne was drafted onto Anaheim in Round 8, 73rd OA in the S52 SMJHL Draft. Everything looked kosher as discussions were made with Shane through his agent, but when it came time to put pen to paper to sign his contract. It appeared that the Shane Rinne that showed up was merely a dead body, or a mannequin, in other words, this player did not exist. It became very problematic because no one knew what happened because on draft day, there definitely was someone named Shane Rinne that was drafted. To keep up appearances, until head office or a coroner could properly identify or find Shane Rinne, the rest of the Anaheim rookies took it upon themselves to keep up appearances, bringing the body around . Shane was brought along to interviews, had professional headshots taken for the SMJHL and Anaheim databases and websites. There is even an Upper Deck Rookie card made for Rinne, and player intros done for the jumbotron. After pre-season ended, the rookies gave up their quest to keep their fellow rookie’s appearance afloat. The contract was never signed and Shane was released……… or was he? We will never know.
With a promising future for all the S52 SMJHL Draftees from Anaheim, it will likely take several seasons of maturing before they each split off into their respective teams in the SHL if they continue their growth. Time will tell if the S53 SHL Draftees live up to their draft positions or excel and become star players in their own right. So before the Outlaw gang of S52 disperses, they have several seasons to rock the Saloon and get another Four Stars Cup before their services are required in the big league. With SHL teams and their resources at their disposal, these rookies will have all the tools to continue their progress and establish themselves up the line up in Anaheim and ver soon, the SHL.