The Manhattan Rage will be adding 7 draftees to their active SHL roster this season (6 if Crasher signs with us but I'm going to just go on what I have at this time) and will send the other two down to Seattle. The team is now stronger than ever and will be packed full of actives, so much so that our lines 1-3 will all be essentially lines 1.5 A, 1.5 B, and 1.5 C, with three lines of equal time on offense and never giving opposing defenses a break. Even our fourth line, which will not get that much time, still has a few really good players on it. Defensively, we were already a top team and have only gotten better, with Brent Wood replacing the inactive Eric Hansen.

Line 1.5A:
This line will include last season's leading scorer, Gianni Ciddio, centering our new first rounder Rachel Belmont and local favorite Frank Grimes. Ciddio, the team's most veteran forward, is a strong passer as well as scorer, along with moderate success on the physical side of his game, and he should work well as a duo with Belmont, who is extremely offensive and just about Ciddio's equal on the passing and scoring front although not as strong all around. Grimes, who has long been toiling on a third line with less time, will step up into this role and be the balanced presence needed on the line. His offense is strong enough not to look out of place with Ciddio and Belmont, and he will provide a defensive presence to the otherwise all-out scoring line. Grimes is already extremely underrated, and should look to have a strong training camp to fill out this line.

Line 1.5B:
This line will include last season's team captain, Daniel Malenfant, who will likely reprise that role again this season. He will be centering the pair of Montreal Impact linemates, Simon Aseplin and Kurtis Hunter. Malenfant and Hunter are natural set-up men, who should be able to build Aseplin's goal count fairly well. Hunter isn't a bad scorer himself, and when he and Malenfant aren't setting up Aseplin, he should provide this line with some secondary scoring. Along with Malenfant's passing ability, he should provide this line with a strong defensive presence, and perhaps become a top candidate for next season's defensive forward of the year award. Aseplin, as the scorer of the line, will likely not be required to use his passing that much, but he is capable on that side of things as well.

Line 1.5C:
This line will include our other top center, Frankie Gooseneck, using his passing ability to set up his dual-threat scorers, Yuri Kulikov and Pavel Vure. Gooseneck is a solid enough scorer himself that the goals should come in bunches from this line, and Kulikov, while one of the strongest scorers on the team, is a highly versatile player as well with a moderate deal of skill in several other areas. Vure is an odd case in that he's almost purely scoring. He can skate, handle the puck, and put it in the net, but that is about it. While not very versatile, what he is good at, he is really good at. He might need to work on rounding out his game but until that time, he will provide a solid scoring presence for Gooseneck, as will Kulikov. All three of these lines will get roughly equal playing time, and should provide different ways of scoring against the opposition defenses, who won't have time to transition from one line's style to the next.

Line 4:
This line will include our remaining center, Zach Voss, who hasn't actually impressed as much with his activity as we were initially hoping. Pairing with Voss is another player whose activity has declined since his initial draft selection in Yuri Volkov. Despite the activity, Voss put up solid points last season with Grimes and Beaulieu on his line, so it's not out of the question to see even this line produce. Joining them on this line will likely be Jason White. White will probably step in to provide the biggest scoring threat from the line, and in fact is a similar player in many regards to Pavel Vure. White's agent was busy for some time, so he'll start off here, but should the top lines lose activity anywhere, he would likely be the next player to move up.

Defense 1:
The top Rage defensive pairing from last season has returned, in Jardy Bunclewirth and Quilha Agante. Bunclewirth is one of the best defensemen in the league in several categories, and while he mostly focuses on the defensive side of things, his passing and scoring are both capable as well. Agante is similar on the defensive end, actually putting up better defensive numbers than Bunclewirth last season, and has strong passing, but is a rather weak scorer. His scoring and his ability to handle the puck are perhaps the two areas he most needs to work on.

Defense 2:
The second Rage defensive pairing from last season has also returned, the pairings worked last season so there's no reason to change them. Erik Chisling is the best passing defenseman on the team. He's certainly not a liability in his own end, although not defensively up to the level of either of the first pair or his partner Mike Ochocinco, but in passing, he is ahead of all three. He is also the best puck handler and has good endurance. Where Chisling is weaker though is on the physical side of the game. That particular strength belongs to his partner, Mike Ochocinco. Rivaling Bunclewirth and Agante defensively, Ochocinco is also one of the best checkers and strongest physical players in the game. He's the weakest passer of the four, but he is stronger at scoring than Agante. Essentially this line is a yin and yang, what Chisling is strong at is what Ochocinco is weaker at, and what Ochocinco is strong at is what Chisling is weaker at.

Defense 3: This pairing has made a major upgrade, and should see an increase in playing time because of it. This increase is well deserved for Rage role player Ryan Powell, who despite being down in the depth chart behind some of the best defensemen in the league, has remained active and not really ever complained about his role. He's not the player that those in front of him are, and he's much weaker defensively than the others, but he is a capable passer and scorer, and is one of those type of guys who usually goes unmentioned but deserves some recognition for his services. He will be paired with rookie Brent Wood, who despite just cracking the SHL level is already far superior to inactive scrub Eric Hansen. Wood is a little better defensively than Powell, but Powell provides a better offensive presence, although Wood is certainly capable as a passer.

Goaltending: Jayson Hornet has quickly developed into a solid if unspectacular starting goaltender in the league. While he's not necessarily to the level of the absolute all stars in Honcho, Garcia, and Jesster, Hornet is capable of playing to that level on his day, and is actually not far behind. He has practiced the maximum amount in several areas, but is a little smaller and less agile.

Stingrays: The last two Rage draft picks, Cody Snow and Paul Hurowitz, will be sent down to the Stingrays for next season. Snow is a balanced scorer and passer, kind of a poor man's Rachel Belmont. He may need a little more development but he should become a solid player in the league. If Volkov does not return, Snow will definitely have a place on the SHL roster next season, and could perhaps move even higher if some players ahead of him struggle. Hurowitz is essentially a backup plan for Hornet. While Hornet is clearly more skilled at this time, Hurowitz is seemingly a little more active, and if Hornet's activity continues to slip as it has begun to, then if Hurowitz remains active the spot could be his in the future. That said, he's not guaranteed a spot, and we'll keep an eye on the goalies in the draft in case Hornet continues to slip in activity and Hurowitz does not pan out. Last season's fourth rounder, Michael Scott, will also return to the Stingrays for an additional season of development, although at this point the Rage don't hold out much hope for Scott to ever crack the SHL level.

Crasher: If the big name free agent were to sign with the Rage, he would likely play with Mike Ochocinco on a heavy hitting pair that would put fear into the forwards that would face them. If this were to happen, Brent Wood would be sent down to the Stingrays, and defensively minded pair Bunclewirth and Agante would split up, each taking an offensive guy in Chisling and Powell onto their line. However, with the surprising disappearance of the caveman, the Rage will most likely just roll with the rookie Wood.