Nevada is a team that is seeing perhaps the deepest rebuild in the entirety of the SMJHL currently. However, they have come at this season strong off the bat. Before the season 60 entry draft, Nevada made moves in an effort to gain a few more picks in this draft, and some future drafts. To start with, Nevada was picking 2OA due to where they ended the previous season. Next, Nevada made moves to trade up to gain an additional first round pick, and in exchange are providing Maine with multiple picks in the next few seasons, but they are also looking to have a very strong draft overall, so it’s understandable. Afterward, they were able to trade a current player on the roster for another 3rd round pick in the season 60 drafts, and a few future pictures (offsetting, a little bit, the picks they gave up to get a second first rounder), and finally, the last major move they made was trading back two spaces to gain another pick in the next draft. Ultimately, this provides Nevada with pretty much a wash in terms of the number of picks over the next few seasons, and they were able to pick up a few extra picks in a relatively strong draft.

Next is what Nevada did with those picks: They currently have 2 of the top 3 TPE players in the class, and 7 of their draftees are already over 200 TPE. Compared to the status of the team in previous seasons, they’re working their way toward the active end. That said, Nevada still, as a team, has the lowest TPE in the league (by about 1,000), and their average TPE is also the lowest sitting at just around 256. With the two highest draftees of the current (S61) class not even hitting 250 TPE yet, it’s clear that the team has nowhere to go but up. They’ve worked hard to slowly remove inactive players from the roster, signing actives as the preseason starts, and they are making sure that their players are provided with every opportunity to have a chance to earn and compete well.

Over the next few seasons, as teams at the higher end of the TPE spectrum, like Newfoundland, Anchorage, and Colorado, St. Louis and Detroit start to lose their older players (and those worth more TPE), we’ll see a shift in how Nevada is able to climb up the rankings slightly. By the end of the season, I expect the average TPE totals for Nevada to be closer to 300/350, which will definitely put them more middle of the pack. As this incredibly large group of rookies that they have drafted are able to hit sophomore levels of TPE in two seasons, you’ll see their average continue to rise, and most of the team hitting that 425 cap. With those pieces in place, and still several picks in the next draft (especially as it is a reddit draft), it seems that Nevada has all the pieces they need to find some replacements for their aging players, build depth in their lines, and make sure that as players are called up and hitting the end of their time in the SMJHL, that there are smooth replacements and transitions.

The current season, and even the one after will be rough for Nevada, but if they can continue on the rebuild path that they are on, they are looking to make some serious moves in building the team into something special.

@SchwarzNarr GRADED! +5 TPE