2. Looking Towards the Future

As we near the end of S75, the SMJHL draft will be happening soon. Going into next season, what are your team's biggest needs and areas of strength? Do any holes need to be filled with call-ups? Do you have a position that is incredibly stacked? Give us all an overview of your team, from top to bottom.

Going into the next J draft, Saint Louis is in the position of being able to use players in almost every position imaginable. The truth is that we’re one line deep at best in most positions, and most of those are rookies. However, even for Saint Louis there’s a few positions that are better or worse.

First off is goalie; we have a goalie between the sticks who is already beloved by the team, and who seems to have plenty of potential, in Kris. A reliable backup goalie is still a need, but the starter position is locked down for the foreseeable future, barring any incidents which render Kris unusable, or him going inactive.

For positions of particular need, though, there’s defense. We only have one true blue liner at the moment, in Jack Booth. He’s an awesome defender, who puts in a lot of hard work, long minutes, and had the most blocks of all rookies last season, but he needs help desperately. One defender isn’t enough anyways, but it’s even less enough when his linemates are forwards trying to help out in a pinch. This is likely a big priority.

Speaking of forwards, however, there’s a need for more depth, but a solid first line can be established already in James Maddison at Center, Alexa Johansen on Left Wing, and Scar Bealey on Right Wing. There’s even the hints of a second line, players like Mason Chernezky also looking likely to grow, but after defenders, it would be good to also collect some more forwards, so that the first line isn’t exhausting themselves night in and night out trying to match up to the league’s highest powered offenses.

Saint Louis does need to keep in mind one thing, though. With eight rookies from the Class of 76, it’s likely that some movement will eventually need to happen, just to keep the team from entering a cycle of booming and busting. That’s likely to be a problem for the next draft, though, because with the expansion draft, Saint Louis is already likely to lose at least one of those players, and there’s not that many draft picks for us this season anyways!



3. Secret Plans

It’s never too early to start thinking about how you’re going to gain a competitive edge next season! How is your team going to go the extra mile to get wins next season? Is it a secret training regimen? Sneaky equipment modifications? Booby trapping the visiting teams’ locker room? Anything goes.

Sorry, Kahri, but everything goes. The first plan is simple and audacious. We’re going to put bats in the opposing locker room. The only question is what kind of bats it should be! So let me know, folks: do you think finding a vampire bat in your locker would throw you off your game? I bet it would!



6. Team History

I know history isn't everyone's favorite thing to discuss, but a team's past can really define its identity, what its known for and who they are in the present. Tell us about your team's past! Have there been any franchise defining moments that are integral to your team or even SHL history? Conversely, is there some interesting tidbit that not many around the league know?

Team history is an interesting one for Saint Louis. Not many other teams rise so high or fall so low as the Scarecrows have in their tenure, and it’s a lot to get into.

For a very long time, the Scarecrows were a premier team in the SMJHL. They ran like clockwork, they turned out amazing players, they won the cup without having to sacrifice the development of talent. When looking back on this era, everyone in Saint Louis can feel inspired. And then, in more recent years, it all started to fall apart.

Saint Louis became a much more difficult place to be as the culture slowly turned rotten, and general managers became too busy with real life or other issues to properly run the team. The Scarecrows began picking up fines, pick forfeitures, warnings, and slowly but surely became the butt of the joke of the J. This culminated in an unlikely way in season 73, when the team traded the farm and won the Four Star Cup. But selling the farm is a very bad habit when you’re in a development league, and now Saint Louis found itself floundering.

Season 75 has really become the first in a sea change for the team. After some aggressive trading to restock emptied draft picks, a lot of rookies were picked up. Now, the entire team is looking forward to establishing a new locker room feel, as well as helping to once again make Saint Louis the place people want to play.



8. An Alternate Timeline

If you weren't playing for your current team, which team would you most like to be playing for in the playoffs.  Explain why you chose that team and how you think you'd slot into their roster.  Would your player make a big impact on the team?  Would you improve their chances of winning a cup?

If I weren’t playing for Saint Louis, I think the obvious choice is that I would be playing for the Carolina Kraken. The first reason for this is that I went second overall, and they had the second overall pick until it got traded to Saint Louis. I like to think I was also top of their draft board, but the offer from the Scarecrows was too good to pass up.

I think I would have done quite well at Carolina, likely better statistically than I did at Saint Louis. But stats aren’t all that matters, and I think the best thing I would have brought to Carolina, that I also brought to Saint Louis, is my attitude. Would I have been the secret sauce to guide them to a cup win? I’m unsure, but I know I would have worked my hardest to do so.





18. Milestones


You will have the opportunity to cover up to 3/16 TPE with milestones relating to your player's performance/accolades during the season. Link your post in the Milestones thread and post your comment in your CW reply to claim. They will come soon!

Milestone Claim