Today I am going to be writing about the first 3 picks of the most recent SMJHL draft, how the players have done so far, and rank them off of their performance. I will also be adding myself in there, one as a comparison to see how high they are really playing, and two because I'm biased.

#1 Pick - Alexsandrs Balcers (Left Defense)
Balcers has a pretty good start to his career so far. He has gotten very solid playtime throughout the first few games and been very consistent on the defensive side. He is yet to score a goal or get an assist, but he has been able to get off 8 shots on goal to contribute some pressure. He also holds a +5 +/- which shows he is not a weak point on offense. On the other side of the puck, he is playing lights out defense. In his most recent game, for example, he had a 71 defensive grade. On the season he has 4 hits and 3 shots blocked. He has an additional 3 takeaways to go with that. Overall his defense has been able to show why he was the number one overall pick and if he keeps it up, he will stay up there for the SHL draft.

#2 Pick - Fedor Sotakov (Left Wing)
Fedor has had an amazing offensive season to start out. In his 6 games played he has been able to put up 5 total points, slightly under an average of 1 point a game. With 3 of the points coming on goals and the other 2 coming on assists. Another impressive stat is he has been able to get 15 shots on goal, showing that he can really keep the pedal to the metal. Despite his amazing offense though, he is holding onto a -2 +/-. For a guy picked for his offensive ability, he has been fairly impressive on defense too. Putting together 6 hits and 3 takeaways, he also has 2 shots blocked. He is simply making life easier for the goalie on defense. I would say he has a pretty good argument for the best rookie in the SMJHL and he will most certainly hear his name called early in the upcoming draft. 

#3 Pick - KEKW Kekkonen (Right Wing)
KEKW in his first 6 games might be seen as a little disappointing. As a player myself I know it can be hard to get that first leap but he hasn't quite put up the stats they may want. He has shown a lot of bright spots though, especially on defense. Let us start with the offense though. He has been able to knock in his first point with an assist and holds on to a -1 +/- which isn't too bad. He has been able to get 11 shots on goal which can be looked at as good or bad. On the positive, he is keeping a ton of pressure on the other team, on the negative, he is getting a ton of opportunities and failing to do anything with them. On defense, he has an impressive 6 blocked shots. He also has 4 hits and 2 takeaways. He has shown he has real defensive potential and if he can step his offense up a bit, will be a massive all-around threat.

#38 Pick - Lebron Brady (Right Wing)
Lebron Brady is nowhere near the level of the guys above, he is just here to give the comparison for the top guys to an average rookie. Lebron Brady isn't really too impressive. He has an assist with a -2 +/-, would be nice if he could step up his offensive production a little more, especially because he is offensive-minded. His defense isn't too flashy either, he had 4 blocked shots and that is really it. He is a nice guy to give a rookie comparison but isn't too flashy, he is what you would expect from the #38 pick.

Rankings
1 - Fedor Sotakov
2 - Alexsndrs Balcers
3 - KEKW Kekkonen
4 - Lebron Brady

698 Total Words

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