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Steelhead77 · 06-11-2019, 01:00 PM

DOUBLE MEDIA

[Image: FirstRoundGraphic-1-1024x512.jpg]

Some great players were taken in the S48 SMJHL Draft, we wish them all the best of luck. Let's see how Halifax did!

The Halifax Raiders are coming off a season where they moved out some of their top talent to add future picks. Coming into this draft the Raiders had pick #’s 3, 16, 18, 24, 42 and 43. Being able to draft 4 of the top 24 players is a great for the franchise, especially with the opportunity to draft a stud in the top 3! There was a lot of interest in that pick before the draft but the Raiders held strong and chose to take what they hope will be another cornerstone piece for the organization.

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#3: With the 3rd pick in the S48 SMJHL Entry Draft, the Halifax Raiders select Cody! This guy is so good he doesn’t even need a last name. Not sure what they’ll put on the back of his jersey, maybe Superstar, I don’t know but I guess we’ll find out soon enough! Cody is a 6’1” 220 pound scoring winger out of the hockey hotbed Atlanta Georgia. The American born sniper boasts Scoring, Skating and Puck Handling as his strengths with Checking as a weakness. A very popular and effective offensive build in the league, he chose well here. He should be a nice addition to Halifax’s offense this season and is expected to develop quickly. With a scoring rating of 70 out of the gate he should be able to chip in some goals right away. The sky is the limit for this American sniper and we’re excited to have him in Halifax. I look forward to setting him up for some goals, he better finish!

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#13: With the 13th overall selection in the S48 SMJHL Entry Draft, the Halifax Raiders select Wyatt Rushkoff! Damn what a great name! The linebacker on skates checks in at 6’0” and 240 pounds. He’s a well-rounded two-way defenseman with passing, defense and skating as his strengths and checking as a weakness. With his size though we’d imagine he’ll still be able to throw the body around a bit, which is always helpful on Defense. No question he’ll be a good puck mover with a focus on passing and his D is solid at 70 to start out. We’d imagine he’ll be working that up quickly in the pre-season and come in around 75D. Halifax did well taking a promising young defenseman at pick 13 as they filled a big team need on the blue line. We look forward to getting the big Russian into a Raiders jersey!

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16: With the 16th overall pick in the S48 SMJHL Entry Draft, the Halifax Raiders select Ricky Spanish! The big playmaking winger stands 6’4” and weighs 230 pounds, no question the Raiders are icing a heavy line up this season and will be hard to play against. At first glace Ricky Spanish sounds like he’s from Spain, but his birthplace is listed as “Parts Unknown.” This adds a nice mystique to this player and we’re sure people will be talking about him. Spanish is a playmaking forward with Passing, Defense and Strength as his strength’s along with checking as his weakness. What jumps out at you about his build is his 88 passing, yes 88 passing as a junior! This is a remarkable pass rating and he should rack up some assists right away and also keep the puck moving with limited interceptions. He has a lot of work to do rounding out other areas of his game in the early going but we expect him to become a great player!

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#24: With the 24th pick in the S48 SMJHL Entry Draft, the Halifax Raiders select Jon Snow! With any luck he’ll have the same grit and determination as his TV namesake. Snow is a big Canadian forward, standing 6’2” and weighing 220 pounds. He comes in with Scoring, Skating and Puck Handling as strengths with the common checking weakness. Snow has a well rounded build to start out with an edge to skating already at 70. This guy will have some wheels out there for sure. With a little work he should be able to develop his scoring touch and two-way game quickly. We expect Jon Snow will make a nice addition to the line up as rookie and bring a lot of energy. Raiders fans always love those high energy players who can also score, so he should be a fan favorite. We look forward to his development.

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#42: With the 42nd pick in the S48 SMJHL Entry Draft, the Halifax Raiders select Jimmy Van Johns! Another great name! This guy is an offensive defenseman from the United Kingdom. He stands 6’3” and weighs 225 pounds. Johns has passing, skating and scoring as strengths with checking as a weakness. He’s got a classic 1st gen build that needs a little work, but if he can be active he’s got a chance to turn into a solid Dman for the Raiders and certainly worth a flier at pick 42. We’d imagine Halifax management will be working closely with him on development in the early going to get him off on the right foot.

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#43: With the 43rd pick in the S48 SMJHL Entry Draft, the Halifax Raiders select Elijah Richardson! An American born speedster with an impressive 85 Skating attribute, he's going to really fly around the ice. However, with that many practice hours already into skating he’ll need to put some work in other areas of his game, but with any luck he’ll turn out to be active and develop well. Richardson has Skating, Scoring and Puck Handling as strengths with checking as a weakness, but at 5’10 and 180 pounds he won’t be looked to play the body much on this big Raiders team. Speed and scoring will be his focus and Raiders management will be working with him to develop quickly.

Solid draft for the Raiders, adding some much needed top end talent and filling some holes in the line up. 1st year Raiders Head GM Ed Balls did well in his first draft and we imagine he will be active in free agency also as he builds this team into a contender. It’s an exciting time in Halifax, great group of people and with any luck the Raiders will make some noise this season and maybe even win the cup!

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1050 Words - Double Media

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