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[2X Draft Media] SHL Teams Draft Preview: Atlantic and Northeast Divisions
#1
(This post was last modified: 10-20-2021, 10:11 PM by Whitecap.)

With the draft coming up, I wanted to take a look at where each SHL team stands in terms of strengths and weaknesses to get an idea of who they might draft. I wanted to give a bit of background on how each team has performed over the last few seasons so I could better understand which direction they were trending in. It should be noted that I really don’t know much yet about how the SHL works so take all of this with a massive grain of salt. It’s also worth mentioning that a lot of trades could still be made in the days leading up to the draft, so a lot could still change. I will start this off with the Atlantic division teams, and then the Northeast. In Part 2 I will include the Pacific and Central divisions.

Atlantic Division
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Atlanta is a team that has not been awful, nor particularly impressive over the past several seasons. A very middling team with almost an impressive consistency in their point totals. A slight bump in performance in the past two seasons should give the team something to build off as they head into next season. As they have retained all of their picks for the upcoming draft, this large draft class should be a nice opportunity to bolster their efforts in breaking out of the middle of the table in the future.
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Strengths: The Atlanta Inferno seem to have solid defensive depth, and a fair bit of promising send downs on defense that should be able to reinforce the lineup once some of their S40s players retire. They don’t quite have any high-end defensive players that some other teams do, but having five players over 1000 TPE, all of which put up over 20 points in S61, gives them something to work with. Their starting goaltender, Samat Beibitzhanov, also had a pretty solid season, putting up a 0.918 save %, 2.94 GAA, along with 5 shutouts.

Weaknesses: Their main weakness seems to be that they lack a real ‘strength’ other than a passable defensive depth. Their top forward line of Guy Zheng, Dick Clapper, and Bobby Sharp is not too bad, but as these players age and eventually retire, the team will have to find some replacements, and hope that their second line of forwards can step up to fill the void. Outside their top line, their next oldest forward is from S55, and then S57 after that. So having some younger forwards should give them some hope that they can improve enough to generate some future first line talents.

Draft Outlook: An aging first forward line and only two forward prospects to speak of means this team will likely look to fill some holes here. Their defense pipeline, as well as their goaltenders seem to be in decent shape, but could still use some bolstering if they are looking to become a true contender. It would not be too surprising if they draft for every position, even if their forward group needs it the most.

Atlanta still holds all five of their picks, which includes 9th overall and no one else’s. Looking at the draft class, while there are a lot of defenders around 9th place, there are still some forward options that Atlanta could look to. If Jeff Larsson manages to fall to Atlanta, I imagine they would opt to select him. Barring that, Larsson’s teammate in Newfoundland Alexander Mackenzie looks like a good option, as well as Aksel Fiske with his 41 point season in Québec.
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Baltimore is the team that has probably seen the most improvement over the past five seasons. In S57 they finished second last in the league with a dismal 13-48-5 record. Fast-forward five seasons later and they have found themselves near the top of the standings with 100 points. One area where they still need to improve is in their playoff performances, which will surely come soon for this team. To find this success, they have mortgaged big parts of their future, and as a result they won’t be selecting a player until the third round. Still, it is a deep draft, and so it is worth looking at the team to see who they might be selecting with their later picks.
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Strengths: Given that they have two whole forward lines of 1600+ TPE players, I’m going to say this is probably their biggest area of strength. Baltimore scored an impressive 265 goals in S61, which comes out to just over 4 goals a game. Their offense was largely spearheaded by MVP candidate Karl Krashwagen who finished with 85 points. It was further fueled by their impressive depth, as none of their forwards scored fewer than 30 points. I also should mention their 1938 TPE goalie Luca Del Vecchio, who put up some solid numbers this season as well.

Weaknesses: It is really hard to find weaknesses in this lineup, as they have some great depth, as well as the high end talent that turns them into a cup contender. Their defensive depth is not quite as stacked as their forwards, but is still very solid. One area of concern is maybe their backup goaltender situation, as this role is currently filled by the inactive, 184 TPE goalie Ryan Aaron. They could use one of their later picks on a goaltender to play as backup and eventually replace Del Vecchio once they eventually retire, but even that will probably take a while, as they are only an S51 player. They also have a very small prospect pool with only two send downs to speak of.

Draft Outlook: It is hard to say where Baltimore goes with their picks this draft as they will all be in later rounds, and things might get a little unpredictable by that point. As I mentioned in their weaknesses, they could opt to go for a goaltender, as some good players in this position might fall in the draft order. Rebecca Montagne and Brick Wall are the two highest rated goaltenders in this draft class, but I doubt Baltimore uses a high pick on them. They should probably just play it safe and look to pick a skater with a high amount of activity if they can.
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Manhattan’s point totals for their past five seasons almost look as if Baltimore’s chart has been inverted. It shows a very neat trend downward, that the Rage will surely look to reverse with a big S62 draft that they hold a lot of picks in. This is a team that has fully embraced the rebuild after trading away many of their core players, so it is clear that their strengths are in what lies ahead rather than what they have at the present.
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Strengths: There really is not much to look at for Manhattan's current roster when it comes to strengths. The only one that should be mentioned is that their goaltending actually seems to be in pretty good shape, with Name Redacted having an excellent season in the crease, putting up numbers that might just include him in the discussion for goaltender of the year. Another strength is in their prospect pools, which should rate as one of the strongest in the league. They have an impressively high total of twelve send downs, four of which already have a TPE of over 750 and might be competing for roster spots as early as next season. If some of their forwards keep up with their development, they will be in decent shape there too in the future.

Weaknesses: Obviously being in the middle of a rebuild means that the Manhattan Rage have a lot of weaknesses. That being said, I think their defense looks to be in worse shape than their forward group, as they have only one defender that even has over 1000 TPE, while six of their forwards can say the same. Their forward prospects also seem to be further ahead in their development than their defense prospects, but they do have about the same amount of each. They might also be looking for a backup goaltender, but after the season their starter just had, this might not be a very high priority.

Draft Outlook: The truth is that the Manhattan Rage will need help at every position to get themselves out of this rebuild. Twelve picks in this draft, including a whopping seven in the first two rounds, should help them do just that. They also have the first overall choice, which could be used on just about anybody in the top of the draft class. Maybe they go for someone very active like Spack Jarrow or Mikko Rashford.
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The Philadelphia Forge, one of the recent expansion teams, has put together a solid couple of initial seasons. They improved from 63 to 69 points across their two seasons, and while it is too small of a sample size to suggest that they are trending upwards, they have certainly put themselves in a good position to keep improving in future seasons. To accomplish this, they had to give up their first round pick in this year’s draft, but they still hold all their picks in later rounds.
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Strengths: This team has a decent amount of depth, and no glaring weaknesses to really speak of. This is especially true of their defense, where even their third line boasts a player with 1371 TPE. Another positive to this roster is that they do not have a lot of players on the verge of retiring. Although Rex Kirby and Luke Thomason are both S43 players, and their backup is from S46, their next oldest player is from the S50 draft class. Speaking of their backup, the Forge has a better backup goaltender than most teams as well, with Peter Larson putting up a phenomenal 0.926 save percentage this season.

Weaknesses: Despite some solid performances from Larson, I would still put their goaltending down as a slight weakness. Larson will likely retire soon and I doubt his high level performances are sustainable, and their starter, Scoochie Stratton, put up some mediocre numbers. This is also a team that lacks superstar talent. Only three players sit at 1600+ TPE, and they had only one 20+ goal scorer in S61. Since they are lacking a first round pick in this draft, they will really have to hit a homerun with their later picks if they want to fill this need for a superstar.

Draft outlook: The Philadelphia Forge are one of those teams that can easily justify drafting players for any position. They could look for some players that have jumped up the draft rankings in order to try and find that homerun pick I mentioned. Cup Noodle and Stephen Gill could both still be available when the Forge select 30th.  I would not be surprised, however, if these players are off the board by then and they have to try and find another player who could be a steal.
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It’s probably a good thing I’m only showing the last five seasons on these charts, as the Barracuda had some truly woeful seasons just before that, including S50 where they went 0-50-0. Since then, the Barracuda have been steadily improving and now have become a very solid team with hopes for a cup in the near future.
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Strengths: The amount of depth throughout the Barracuda’s entire lineup is a true strength for this team. Top that off with several forwards who are at about 1900 TPE, and the 2042 TPE Magnus Liljestrom anchoring the top line on defense, this is a very dangerous team. Over half the team scored over 40 points, and they were able to spread out the icetime very evenly, with even the least used player still averaging 16:50 per game.

Weaknesses: As I begin to cover some of the teams higher up in the standings, it will become more difficult to point out many weaknesses. Some of these teams are very well rounded, and the Tampa Bay Barracuda are no exception to that. I will point out that four of their top forwards are from the S50 draft class, and will be regressing a fair bit by the time the S62 draft class starts making a real impact on the roster. It might be beneficial for the team to start looking at some more forwards to help fill that potential void in the future.

Draft Outlook: I imagine position won’t matter a whole lot for Tampa Bay, as it will probably be a while until their prospects make the team anyway. There aren’t a lot of spots up for grabs, so any player they select will likely be in the juniors for a while. Despite moving their own first round pick, they do still have one courtesy of Edmonton, so they will select 17th overall. If a player like Paul Koivu falls to them here, that might be a good choice to help keep their forward depth solid in the future.

Northeast Division
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The Buffalo Stampede are a team with a huge history of success. This season was the first time they did not make it into at least the semifinals since S53, and they’ve had a huge amount of regular season success in that same span. Their lowest point total over the past five seasons was 90, and they got as many as 107 in S60. It should come as no surprise then that this team is strong at every position and presently does not need much help from the upcoming draft. They still hold a decent amount of picks that they will use to try and keep their impressive run going in the future.
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Strengths: Can I just say everything is their strength? I mean they have elite players in every position all the way down their lineup. Every forward in this team scored at least 40 points this season, with seven players scoring 60+. They have one of the best goaltenders in the league, they scored the third most, and allowed the second fewest. This roster is strong everywhere you look.

Weaknesses: They have a few older forwards who will probably need to be replaced in the future, but they seem to have some prospects already that might be able to fill that gap. Their backup goalie isn’t very good but they have a good enough starter that that might not matter a whole lot. As far as weaknesses are concerned, the Buffalo Stampede does not have many to speak of.

Draft Outlook: Because they do not have any immediate concerns in their roster, Buffalo can draft without much concern for positional need. They are slated to draft sixth overall after acquiring Minnesota’s first rounder. There are many very good players they can choose at this position, such as Jeff Larsson on forward, who has become a much more known player since the SMJHL draft and looks to be a solid player. On defense, they could go with another player who jumped in the rankings with Shōyō Hinata after his impressive season with Colorado.

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The draft preview for the Hamilton Steelhawks will probably sound very similar to that of the Stampede. Another team with a lot of success, and coming off the back of yet another Challenge Cup, the Steelhawks still hold their first round pick in this draft, but not a whole lot else. They will be hoping to grab another superstar with this selection as they will have to replace some of their older players in the near future.
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Strengths: Their biggest strength is how well rounded the team is. They finished with the most goals for, averaging almost five goals a game. They also only allowed 141 on the season, also top of the league. I am most impressed by their forward group, as they had four of the top five point scorers in the league this season. Notably, Aaron Wilson finished with an astonishing 104 points, which is 17 clear of his teammate Mitchell van der Heijden, who finished second. Overall, yet another powerhouse team in the Northeast division.

Weaknesses: As you would expect from a championship winning team that also finished on top in the regular season, there are not a lot of weaknesses for the Steelhawks. They do not have quite the depth on defense that Buffalo does, but it is still one of the league’s best. Their goaltending is also not quite as elite as the rest of the roster. Their starter sits at 1410 TPE, while their backup is at the minimum of 155. So their goaltending situation is not a huge problem, but it is slightly worse than the state of their forwards and defensemen. They also do not have a very large prospect pool, so they could benefit from adding a solid player to it with their first round pick.

Draft Outlook: Hamilton has a few forwards at the top of their depth chart that are both from the S47 draft class, and they might look to replace these two in the near future. They could also look to shore up their defensive depth, so it is hard to say what they will do here. There will likely be a lot of forward options available at pick 20, and on defense they could reach down a bit to take a guy like Theo Berglund, who was Regina’s top defenseman last season after capturing their team award.
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The Montreal Patriotes were an expansion team in S60. As such, it can be expected that they are still in the process of building a core of players that will bring them into contention. Despite two mediocre seasons, I think they have set themselves up quite nicely for the future, and this draft could go a long way in further helping in that regard.
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Strengths: After a productive season with Montreal, the team traded their best player, Kaarlo Kekkonen, to Philadelphia. Although this hurts the team down the middle, they still have Taylor Johansson, who also had a good season and is now their best forward in terms of TPE at 1727. With their S60 first overall selection Stan Din'desque still waiting in the wings, the Patriotes should be fine at center. The team also did not give up a terrible amount of goals based on where they finished in the standings. With a high number of players filling out their prospect pool already, this is a team that will likely get better soon.

Weaknesses: One thing that struck me when looking at their roster is that they have a fair bit of inactive players, which obviously hurts their ability to improve their current core. Especially on defense, they are seriously lacking in depth after their top line, and they do not have a lot of defense prospects that will be ready to crack the roster soon besides maybe Zak Wilson. They could probably also use some more help on the wings, as they do not have a lot of high end talent there.

Draft Outlook: After a recent trade with Seattle, Montreal will have two picks in the first round, 7th and 18th overall. This should provide them with ample opportunity to grab some players who could help fill out some of their weaknesses. If they go with a winger they could go with Oskar Von Walther or Paul Koivu. Or maybe they go with a defenseman like Ben Jammin. Either waym it will be interesting to see where they go.
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Looking at New England’s past five seasons, it is clear to me that this is a team that is on the rise. Looking at their roster further confirms this notion, as they have a good mix of talent and up and coming prospects. As some of their top players start edging closer to retirement, the team will likely start to rely more on that prospect pool, especially as they are currently without a pick in the first round for this draft, although they do have a lot of picks stocked up over the next few seasons.
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Strengths: The Wolfpack had a pretty good season, as they went 36-24-7, good for a 7th place finish. New Hampshire currently has a very solid roster, although they are probably still a tier down from the top teams in the league like Buffalo and Hamilton. The team has some great depth, with all of their skaters being above 1000 TPE. Forwards Slap McShotty and Ethan Price were both over a point per game, and defensemen Sven Yxskaft and Kaspars Claude were also very close to doing the same. So with some good top line players and decent depth, New England has a lot of positives.

Weaknesses: New England is one of the few teams in the league that probably has a need for some better goaltenders, as their two lowest TPE players are both goalies. It is possible that they will look to bolster this area with some of their picks, as it is likely that some good goalies will slip down the order as most teams are already good at the position. Otherwise this team does not have a lot of glaring weaknesses.

Draft Outlook: As I mentioned, I would not be too surprised if the New England Wolfpack pulled the trigger on drafting one of the many good goaltenders in the draft. Although they do not have a first round pick to do this, they could pick one in the second round where they select 25th overall.
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Opposite from New Hampshire, Toronto is a team that has steadily been declining over the past few seasons. After finishing with 98 points and making it to the semifinals in S58, the North Stars have fallen to as low as 70 points in S61. On paper, this is still a very good team and they will likely bounce back soon, but they could still use some help from the draft to bring them back to those heights they reached in S58.
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Strengths: Despite not scoring as many goals as they may have hoped this season, Toronto has some very good forwards on their roster. Two players over 2000+ TPE and several more over 1700, there is still some very good talent. They also have some high TPE players on defense, although the depth is somewhat lacking compared to the forward group. With a good goaltender to top it off, the Toronto North Stars are a pretty well rounded team.

Weaknesses: Although they are well rounded, Toronto could use some help in rounding out their defense lines. Another concern is that some of their top forwards are inching closer to retirement and could possibly use some replacing soon, and with only a small group of prospects, they will need to hit with some of their S62 picks to round out the team. They could also use another goaltender to eventually replace Harry Carpet, who is from the S47 draft class.
Draft Outlook: Toronto picks 11th in the first round, which is probably too high of a selection to use on a goaltender. My guess is that they go for defense with this one, and I could see a player like Ka Chow jumping up the rankings to be selected by Toronto.

(3870 words)

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#2

Really great writeup! can't wait for the rest of the teams!

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