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***yosh*** · 11-20-2020, 03:28 PM

Welcome one, welcome all, to the Newfoundland Berserkers SHL S57 Rookie Entry Draft Preview Mega Bonanza Extravaganza! In this article, we will be offering our pitch as to why Simulation Hockey League teams and their General Managers should consider drafting these amazing Season 57 eligible prospects from the Newfoundland Berserkers!

As a sort of preamble, the Berserkers rookie class for this season features a lovely batch of rookies. For comparison, the Berserkers prior rookie class only featured a grand whopping total of two rookies! With that being said, I am certain that Vaseline Podcalzone and Jonas Kahnwald are more than happy to share a locker room with these lovely rookie Zerkers.

To tack on, the Berserkers had a fantastic season. Although some form of regression was to be expected as a result of them losing several of their top players to call ups, Newfoundland still made it to the Four Star Cup Finals, where they took the Vancouver Whalers to six games, before ultimately falling short by losing Game 6 in overtime.

Although this season will leave the stale taste of defeat in the mouth of these players, the Berserkers are still revitalized and most of those rookie Zerkers will be expected to step up even more for their sophomore campaigns, as the team will lose a few more key players to call ups.

We’ll kick off our draft extravaganza by going over some of the Berserkers’ eligible prospects, starting with the team’s first selection, left handed defenseman Matty Sandeen! Sandeen put up 13 points in 50 games for the Berserkers. Although he didn’t blow folks away with an offensive season, Sandeen has been a rock solid presence in the Newfoundland blue line. He put up 6 points in 17 games during the postseason, contributing solidly to the Newfoundland playoff run. Sandeenie is a positive presence in the Newfoundland locker room, as most players would attest, and by all means should be on most draft boards heading into Saturday’s draft.

Next, we have winger Bas O’Bigbers. Bas had a tremendous rookie season, putting up 22 points in 50 games. The Berserkers winger provided huge scoring for the team, helping to relieve the veterans of some of the pressure given that the team lost several of its top players to call-ups ahead of the season. What’s amazing about Bas’ season was that he operated on just 12 minutes of ice time, and certainly played some of the tougher minutes for the Berserkers. SHL teams can expect O’Bigbers to do big things for them, and the Berserkers can certainly trust Bas with a larger role and more ice time heading into his sophomore season. I would not be surprised if O’Bigbers came in and put up at least 40 points in his sophomore campaign. In the playoffs, Bas put up 7 points in 17 games, holding steady production during the Berserkers’ playoff run.

Another prominent Berserkers rookie winger was Dwayne Gretzky. Playing very limited minutes, Gretzky still had a very respectable rookie season, putting up 12 points in 50 games with only an average 8 minutes of ice time! For comparison, Vaseline Podcalzone played in a similar role in his rookie season, but only managed 8 points. Gretzky could be a player that, if given more ice time, can also step up big time for the Berserkers. After all, given that his comparison in Vaseline Podcalzone put up an additional 20 points after slotting into the top 6 this season, if Gretzky gets the opportunity to shine in a larger role, I would not be surprised if the winger could push for 30 points in his sophomore season. In the playoffs, Gretzky put up 3 goals and 1 assist in 17 games playing on even more limited ice time.

Next, we have right handed defenseman Chad Alfa! Alfa played some of the tougher minutes for the Berserkers, as his -14 +/- can attest to. He put up a very respectable 5 goals and 9 assists in his rookie season, which are fair numbers to come from a rookie blue liner. He also held steady with 7 points in 17 games. Although he isn’t the most vocal player, he certainly has been a steady gainer and will hopefully continue to improve in his sophomore season.

Finally, we can take a look at goalie Hugo Gronroos! Hugo came in following Junior Guardia’s call-up early in the season to the big lights of the Simulation Hockey League. Gronroos stepped up and played in some tough matchups as the backup goaltender for the Berserkers this season, but had some great performances. With Newfoundland’s beloved goaltender Cale Amundsen getting the call up to the spotlights of the SHL, you can expect Hugo to carry more of the work load entering Season 57 for the Berserkers.

ROOKIE BERSERKERS PRESENT THEIR PITCHES TO SIMULATION HOCKEY LEAGUE GENERAL MANAGERS

And so with little more to be said, we decided to give these rookie Zerkers the opportunity to pitch themselves to the Simulation Hockey League General Managers in this article. Although I am sure they’re already in the process of being interviewed by these GMs, this article will hopefully help attract some more eyes towards these bright young stars.

So, after a team practice, we managed to persuade Newfoundland winger Vaseline Podcalzone to go around and ask the rookies the essential questions, “What can you bring to the table a few seasons from now, and why should GMs draft you on Saturday?”

Although initially reluctant, Podcalzone was finally convinced to complete the task with a promise of part of the money. This is what the rookies had to say.

When asked by Podcalzone, the blue liner Matty Sandeen gave a very long and passionate response to the questions:
“The reason why every GM, starting with @trella of the Tampa Bay Barracudas with the first overall pick, should draft me is because in a few seasons they can expect a player that is going to be too busy putting the puck in the net at the other end of the ice to let the puck get into the one on our end. You can expect a player whose skating is too strong to play in SMJHL. You’ll be drafting a player who is comfortable with the puck on his stick and is always one pass away from a goal. This past season was only my second season playing on the back end, so I was dealing with not only the learning curve of playing a new position but also the level of competition of the SMJHL. I say that because I know I have so much more to give than I was able to show this season. Look at my playoff performance. I played my best hockey of the year when it mattered the most against the best teams in the league. You’ll be drafting a player that is going to give you their absolute all to win hockey games. But more than anything you’ll be getting a player that understands that you need more than just 100% on game day. If this jump in competition is any indication of how hard the jump to the SHL level will be then I understand that this league requires so much more than just showing up on game day. You should be drafting me with your first pick in the draft because I am ready to give it my full 100%, 100% of the time.”

Meanwhile, the winger Dwayne Gretzky had just this one statement to make with his response:

“I hope to be a superstar in the league for many years. I am a loyal and dedicated teammate, as an earner and in the locker room. I plan to outperform my draft position, and make teams regret passing on me.”

Podcalzone was able to catch the goalie, Hugo Gronroos, outside at the parking lot after practice, and was able to get an honest statement from the backstopper:

“To be quite honest, I'm not really sure what I even expect from myself. My last player had a strong start but fell off in activity, mostly due to lack of engagement with the LR at the time. Goalie for me, as a position I've never played, brings a lot of uncertainty. It's a stationary position where your prospects for upward or lateral movement are fewer and farther between than being a skater, so there's a lot of "am I still gonna like this in a few seasons?". The potential for boredom is far higher than I'm used to, but being a part of a strong LR like Newfoundland has kept me engaged and will probably continue to do so. I'm still finding my feet, but if I can stay the course, you could probably expect some good things from me in a few seasons, but that's about all I'll commit to right now.”

Podcalzone then called over Bas O’Bigbers, who made a very striking pitch to all Simulation Hockey League GMs”

“SHL GMs need to know a few things bout me lad. Number one, I don’t work sober. Guinness is not some drink that I have after work, it is the fuel that my body thrives on. I don’t care if the Nutritionist thinks ‘its protein content doesn’t offset its caloric disadvantages.’ When I sit down to watch film with me coach there sometimes will be a note pad with a pen around. On occasion I’ve even taken a note about what we be watching. But always shall there be a pint of the black stuff in me grasp.
    Second thing that is very important is that I don’t do faceoffs. Faceoffs are for the people who don’t live to score goals like me. They are very important but not fundamental to all hockey players and I don’t do them. If your plan is to draft Bas O’Bigbers and stick him in the middle of the ice you’ve got another thing comin lad.
    Third thing is that I’m not terribly interested in improving my defensive game a tremendous amount more. Do you even understand how hard it has been in Newfoundland? I showed up and one day one of them coaches got me doing defensive drills all day and watching film on how to play defense. I showed up in Newfoundland as a lad who ain't never done anything but score goals and now they want me to play defense. Well guess what!? I DID IT. Yeah that’s right I played good defense. I did it just to show you people that you ain't know what you speak of when you say Bas O’Bigbers couldn’t play defense if he tried. Well I tried and succeeded so there.
    Now if any of this doesn’t sound like an ideal candidate for your team, I might tell ya to buzz off. It took the might of the mighty JNH to change me of my old ways and I don’t see it happening again. Bas O’Bigbers be a goal scoring man. Goal scoring is what I was put here to do.”

NEW NEWFOUNDLAND BERSERKERS CO-GENERAL MANAGER ESPOUSES SIMULATION HOCKEY LEAGUE GENERAL MANAGERS TO DRAFT ROOKIE ZERKERS

Well, after letting the rookies get their words in, junior reporter Podclazone was then asked to interview the new co-general manager of the Berserkers, Juke, for his thoughts on this new crop of rookie Zerkers. This is what he had to say on the new batch of potential draftees.

“Well for starters, let’s look at all of this objectively. We have about four to five rookies that will be targeted in the draft, so I’m going to present my pitches in no particular order. I’ll start out with Sopath, also known as Bas O’Bigbers. So yeah Sopath first created almost 3 years ago on the dot, so this isn't his first player. I'm not too familiar with his actual first player, but i think he's already either at or he is on pace to eclipse his previous one. He's actually helped Ham and me out with a few things like organizing stuff for the upcoming draft, so that's been really cool to see him help out and be invested in the Berserkers’ future, which is also probably something that SHL GMs would be happy to hear about as well. we expect him to hit his 350/425 caps basically at the start (or very early on) of the respective seasons, and he's building an offensive winger while also filling out some D stats which is good for overall team play. As for what he brings to the locker room, you [Podcalzone] know as well as I do that he's a super positive force to have around. He’s funny, plays games with us, and is always good for the well timed joke or meme.”

Juke then talked a bit about blueliner Matty Sandeen:

“I'll go with Sandeen next. [The] thing i like the most about Sandeen is he's got that drive to always be thinking of how to make his player better. He's really invested in all the sims as well as how his player did, and he's definitely motivated to find ways to improve his player's success. He's already played around with 350 and 425 builds for the future, and will send us thoughts or tweaks to see what we think. Having that motivation to make your player as good as can be is definitely a trait at least some GMs would prioritize or want to see. as you know he's a bit quieter than a lot of our hyperactive members, but i think i can speak for everyone on our team by saying that when he's around, he brings a really positive energy and a lot of team spirit, and in general is one of the nicer and just overall 'good dudes' of the Newfoundland locker room.”

Juke then talked about the fast gaining 4th liner Dwayne Gretzky:

“Anyways moving on now, Dwayne Gretzky is one of the best earners in the class, currently sitting at 6th most tpe overall, and 2nd highest F group for the class, so you know you're getting a good earner, especially considering he's coming from other sim leagues, so grinding and improving players isn't new to him. He's pretty balanced right now between offensive/defensive/skating, possibly going for more of a two way game down the road. One thing about him is that he had an abysmal TOI this season, just over 8 minutes per game and 2nd lowest in the league, but I swear I have never heard him complain about it once, and was just happy to be along for the ride. His biggest flaw? he has a tough time recognizing who the real GOAT QB is in the NFL.”

Juke also noted the similarities between Gretzky and Podcalzone:

“I think that there actually are some similarities between the two. Like you mentioned, just the line and playing situation on a top heavy championship caliber team is a big parallel. Like I mentioned earlier, Dwayne has a balanced build, and Mr. Yoshi is another player who's also not scared to throw the body around and help out in his own zone. We'll still have to see what direction Gretzky goes with for his offseason upgrades - if he wants to remain balanced or score more goals. With a lot of people graduating to the SHL, definitely look for Gretz to have a big jump in stats, as he'll be going from 8 minutes a game, to likely 2nd line minutes.”

Juke then talked about the future #1 goalie for the Berserkers, Hugo Gronroos:

“For Jedi, not gonna lie, I still don't know him too well. I know that he's been around the league forever now, looks like his first player was in 2014. He's still steadily updating his player still, and is definitely well liked in the locker room, especially for the guys who have been around a while with him. There's a bit of a goalie log jam in the SHL so it'll be interesting and hard to predict where he goes, but we're happy to have him regardless since we'll be using him heavily as the starter moving on. He has big shoes to fill as Wally leaves, and he will be our second ever starting goalie in the FHM era. That being said, we all have faith in him to carry the torch and get us some Ws.”

Juke finally touched on blueliner Chad Alfa:

“Last but not least, Chad Alfa. Alfa is kind of a dark horse, because he hasn’t updated as much as the top earners of his class, but he's still here and doing his ACs and PTs when they're up. I think that he's done a few podcasts with Sopath, though I'm not sure to be honest with you. Honestly, I could see Chad Alfa being this season's case of a player that's taken in later rounds, but ends up being better value than some people picked earlier than him who fizzle out or go IA early. Would have no idea how to predict where he gets taken, but if an SHL team can also continue to keep him interested and invested in the league, I think he can be a good value pick.”

IN CONCLUSION

Overall, you can tell that the Berserkers are a team with quite an exciting rookie group. Whether you want an exciting winger in Dwayne Gretzky or Bas O’Bigbers, or a steady blue liner in Chad Alfa or Matty Sandeen, or even someone to tend the net in Hugo Gronroos, this Berserkers batch is really filled with some exceptional folks, having spent the past few months getting to know them in the Newfoundland locker room.

We’ll see how the stars align tomorrow, as the Season 57 Simulation Hockey League Entry Draft kicks off on Saturday.

If you want more Berserkers content, do not fret, because this Yoshi will have another article planned for the upcoming Season 57 Simulation Major Junior Hockey League draft scheduled for this Sunday.

Until then, so long and farewell.

Word Count: 3009

Special thanks to @Sopath @3lewsers @Jedi @TheBigSandeenie @juke for their help on this article!