(This article was initially posted as a deep dive, it is a total of 1,219 words. I was told I can submit it here to get money on the remaining 719 words. If 2X first media applies here I would like that pretty please and thank you <3)

Now that the S75 SMJHL Draft has passed, we have a much clearer picture of what position each team is in. Some teams are made up of older, capped out veterans who only have a season or two left in the league, which means that they're very good right now but a quick slide down the standings could be possible in the coming years. On the contrary, some teams are in the opposite boat. They don't have a ton of high-end players yet, but are full of promising rookies and younger players that are poised to take leaps forward as time goes on. I will be analyzing where each team lies on the scale of "Here for a good time now" or "We're gonna get you in two years just you wait." 

Anchorage Armada
S73 players-3
S74 players-6
S75 players-4
S76 players-4

Anchorage is one of the most balanced teams in the league in terms of their draft classes. They aren't losing much at the end of the year, and with a strong S74 class they won't be lacking in strong veteran players even after the S73's leave. Every one of their S75 players are already at the 350 TPE cap so they will all be ready to take massive leaps forward as well next season.

Carolina Kraken
S73 players-2
S74 players-5
S75 players-6
S76 players-4


Carolina is in an enviable position here. They have a very strong nucleus of players with bright futures ahead of them, ready to keep them in contention for the next few years. When their S75 class graduates it could be a hit, but they have 4 S76 players that will be ready to take the torch from them when they're done, including 7's late 2nd gem Jamie Fraser.

Colorado Raptors
S73 players-4
S74 players-6
S75 players-5
S76 players-2


Coming off a cup final appearance, Colorado is more built to win over this season and the next. A relatively weak S76 haul of only 2 players leaves not much room for reinforcements, but that shouldn't be a problem for a couple seasons since they have 6 players from S74 and 5 from S75

Detroit Falcons
S73 players-4
S74 players-5
S75 players-5
S76 players-2


Detroit is also a very evenly aged team, even if they lean on the older side a bit with only 2 S76 rookies. For a team coming off of a championship, they're in decent shape for the future. They're gonna lose a few players at the end of the year, and the S75 players they do have aren't as close to the 350 cap as some other teams, but they shouldn't be going away any time soon. 

Great Falls Grizzlies
S73 players-1
S74 players-5
S75 players-5
S76 players-6


Great Falls is in Great shape here. They might not be the best this season, but they're looking to stack themselves for future seasons. They're only losing one player at the end of the season, and will be replacing that with 5 players looking to move past the 350 cap. Between that and a very strong class of 6 S76 players, they should be in good shape for the next few seasons.

Kelowna Knights
S73 players-5
S74 players-4
S75 players-2
S76 players-6


Kelowna is in a bit of weirder spot. They're losing a lot of players at the end of the year, but management did a good job pivoting this season to try to get some new blood in. They'll have 5 players aging out at the end of the season, and only two S75 players to jump into the top of the lineup holes, but with 6 S76 players they should be able to rise towards the top pretty quickly.

Maine Timber
S73 players-3
S74 players-5
S75 players-5
S76 players-4


Maine is another very balanced team, except they lean slightly younger, with 3 S73 players to 4 S76 players. The age of the team is so even that it's hard to see them taking any real step backward, they'll always have players to fill the holes. It could get a bit dicey after the S74 players age out, but as long as management keeps a steady flow of rookies they should be just fine.

Nevada Battleborn
S73 players-1
S74 players-4
S75 players-5
S76 players-9


Nevada is one of the two youngest teams in the league. They only have 1 S73 player they have to worry about aging out, and they have a total of 14 players between S75 and S76. They have a strongest S76 class in the league with a total of 9 players, thanks to a series of waiver claims that will only help make the team stronger in the future. They're not good right now, but they will be a force in a couple seasons.

Newfoundland Berserkers
S73 players-5
S74 players-4
S75 players-4
S76 players-4


Another highly balanced roster, although they have 5 players aging out this year they have to worry about. It shouldn't be too big of a problem, they don't have any real holes in their classes so whatever they lose they will be in a position to replace

Quebec City Citadelles
S73 players-1
S74 players-9
S75 players-5
S76 players-2


Quebec is in an interesting spot. They only have 1 player aging out this season, but only 2 rookies. Over half of their team falls under the S74 class. meaning that for this year and the next they could be a dominant power, but after that it could get a bit rough.

Regina Elk
S73 players-5
S74 players-5
S75 players-6
S76 players-2


Regina is a bit older, with 5 players aging out this year, but they'll have 6 S75 players looking to take advantage of the 425 cap. They didn't get too many players out of the recent S76 draft, but they have enough S75 players that they should be alright until they restock the pipeline a bit more.

St. Louis Scarecrows
S73 players-1
S74 players-4
S75 players-6
S76 players-8


St Louis is the other one of the two youngest teams. Just like Nevada, they have 14 players combined between the S75 and S76 classes, and after a masterclass of trading up from management, they were able to bring in a solid haul in this last draft, including the 2nd overall pick. They're gonna be bad right now, but they've made peace with that and are building up to be an absolute monster later down the line.

Vancouver Whalers
S73 players-3
S74 players-3
S75 players-6
S76 players-6


Vancouver is a good, young team. They have 6 players from both the S75 and S76 classes, and only 3 from S73 and S74. They aren't gonna lose much to age over the next couple seasons, and what they do lose they'll have no problems replacing.

Yukon Malamates
S73 players-6
S74 players-5
S75 players-5
S76 players-1



Out of all the teams in the league, no team has more players aging out this year or less S76 players than Yukon. They'll have 6 players moving on at the end of the season, and only has one rookie. It might be tough sledding for them after this season, so they'll be looking to make the most out of this year.

(all analysis done by somebody with very little idea of how things work this might all be wrong but i tried!)

Great article @JohnFranklinKennedy !

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Ekaterina Valieva - Baltimore Platoon
Co-GM - Maine Timber


Thanks @xjoverax for the sig!

Very hard to read on light mode - could you remove the text colour?

Otherwise great article!