Reflecting on My SMJHL Draft Experience



The S76 SMJHL draft was a whirlwind, with a fairly flat draft with a good amount of talent, but very not as many prospects as usual. Heading into it, mock drafts were all over the place with very little conviction behind each of the mock draft positions. With Smirnov Light III most commonly mocked to the Kelowna Knights at the 10th pick and a generally expected range of 5-15, the eventual landing spot for Light III came as a surprise, at least to the agency behind the player. In the pre draft process it was interesting the sheer number of scouts that had reached out. When asked about it, Light III had the following to say:

"The SMJHL draft process was unique and something to behold. You had GMs reaching out who did not even have picks until late in the 2nd round just so that they could get to know you. It was easy to understand that there would be plenty of movement come draft night, but even I could not have expected the sheer number of trades that occurred. If I had to do it all again, I would temper my expectations a little more as I came out of the draft a little disappointed at where I fell in the draft, albeit at an elite team which I cannot complain about."

Light III certainly had some interesting takes regarding the draft. The first being the amount of scouts that reached out. I think a large portion behind the confusion is that these scouts must have held many conversations with the incoming prospects in the draft class, but did not seem to shed light on how the conversations were going and where certain players were likely to land based on their intel.



"I really felt like I had some strong conversations going into the draft. I could have sat back and pondered whether I did anything wrong, but I understand that the SMJHL is different to the Simulation Hockey League (SHL) for a multitude of reasons. You have players staying down for years on end with a TPE cap, and the locker room is arguably one of the most important components. This league is not solely about winning."

Light III had some interesting points regarding the nature of the SMJHL as well as the draft itself. This league primarily serves a purpose as a development and member acquisition vehicle for the SHL. Activity is by far the most important attribute for these clubs as it is important to have an active locker room to captivate as many new members as possible. One may have been led to believe that a lot of the picks in the draft would be influenced by that line of thinking. Did the GMs think that Light III would be an inactive voice?

"I do not believe that any of the GMs were led to believe that I would not be an active member of their LR. I think the stigma behind recreates (and while it probably rings true to myself) was a primary factor for my "fall" in the draft. I think I have done a much better job of engaging, specifically in this iteration of my SHL career and look to be an active voice in the Colorado Raptors locker room."

When reflecting on the SMJHL draft, one could considerably say that first generation players were absolutely prioritized. Oftentimes recreates have their eyes set on the SHL from the jump and may not capture the same enthusiasm that first generation players have for the SMJHL. No matter who the recreate is, it is impossible to recreate one's first feelings when going through the SMJHL system. That definitely played a large part in why Gwendolyn Telenn and Trevor Lopez ended up as the first two picks.



"They are talented, extremely talented individuals. I have seen both Gwendolyn Telenn and Trevor Lopez in our pre draft showcases and they both can play. Gwendolyn is an extremely unique player given her size but her heart is what sticks out the most. I heard about her enthusiasm in the pre draft process and that is something that is unique about her and set her apart. One could say the same thing about Trevor Lopez, they both set themselves apart in the pre draft interview process."

Could it have been that maybe Light III had messed up his pre draft process? When reflecting on the interview process, could he have shown more emotion and enthusiasm for the SMJHL? At the end of the day, his story mainly focused on righting the wrongs of the prior players in the agency, but is that what SMJHL GMs want to hear? Those GMs want to hear about players who are excited to take a run through the SMJHL and are primarily focused on that league.

"I think my story set me back. I do believe that I have a unique story that could have bought some GMs in on my hype, but I think that I did not understand my audience correctly. My audience wants to hear about what I can do for them. The prior players in the agency who struggled were all valuable SMJHL players. They spend the majority of their years down there and were able to be elite. I maybe could have highlighted increased activity and utilized my line about my willingness to learn to be a point about locker room activity."

What SMJHL GMs want to hear about is determined on a case by case basis, as well as a relationship basis. In the pre draft process, I had assumed that teams such as the Detroit Falcons or Kelowna Knights could be prime landing spots. It felt like there were strong conversations between parties as well as a history and affinity towards the franchises. When thinking about the "story" to sell to SMJHL teams, those were the strongest. As someone who won their first player league championship with the Falcons, I had attempted to return there since joining - specifically wanting to join as a post trade deadline create. The Kelowna Knights were also a prime landing spot as I won a SMJHL championship as a GM there.

Both teams had plenty of picks and traded in and out of that first round and ended with five of the first 16 picks. Light III continued to wrestle over the fact that neither of his desired teams drafted him despite plenty of opportunities.



"It hurt. It really really hurt. I was not going to delude myself into thinking that I was a top five player in this draft, but of the five picks the two teams had in the first round, I really thought I would land at one of those picks."

That feeling of pain was the first emotion during what seemed to be a much longer draft night than initially anticipated for the agency. Finally hearing their name during the supplemental round, as the 20th overall draft pick, Smirnov Light III found a new home with the Colorado Raptors. The Raptors are the defending champions of the SMJHL and their co-GM is a member by the name of Takk, who the agency has a relationship via their Minnesota Monarchs co-GM role.

"My first emotions were definitely a little dulled given how I felt the whole draft night. At the end of the day, I could not have dreamt of a better organization to have landed with if I were to look at things on a blinded basis. They are the defending champions with a strong locker room and an extremely involved leadership team. I have a lot of things that I can learn when I join the team and I look forward to it."

As draft night started to wind down and integration to the various SMJHL franchises began, the emotions that were once prevalent on draft night slowly faded away. Seeing friend Yuri Boyka III fall to the 42nd pick seemed to hit home to Light III and let him reflect on things a little further.



"Boyka III is a friend due to our the friendship our agencies have for many years now. It became much easier to understand and rationalize my fall. I do not believe I did anything wrong, it was just an extremely talented draft with plenty of ways for things to progress. I could pout, but I understand that I have about 50 other people that I will need to beat out on this level to stand out on the SHL stage. I look forward to continuing to train with Boyka III in the offseason and we can both use the extra motivation from that night to become standout SHL players."

What was once a night of anger or disappoint looks to have ended up as one that will lead to a longer and more successful career that the Smirnov Light agency has been yearning for in the SHL. The emotional response to "falling" in a draft is one that can make or break a player and the mentality that has evolved post SMJHL draft is one that the truly elite players possess. The SMJHL draft process was certainly a unique one as the GMs elected to take "unknown" commodities who possess strong soft skills, such as activity of enthusiasm that others are incapable of replicating.

I have seen this pattern for many years, specifically with the SMJHL, and was disappointed that I was shocked about it. Unlike other leagues, our minor league system is not solely based around winning, it is about winning members to stay in our league system. To all of those drafted ahead of Light III, I hope they continue to push forward and forge a successful SHL career. Cheers to a strong S77 SHL draft class!

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This was an amazing read. I finally understand why i fell so hard in the standings.

S77 Yuri Boyka III ||LW|| Nevada Battleborn ||Peak :461 TPE||
Name: Yuri Boyka III
Birthplace: Russia
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 230 lbs
Number: 17
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Career Statistics:
SMJHL Regular Season:
42 OA pick in s76 SMJHL draft
S76 | 0 GP | 0 G | 0 A | 0 P | 0 +/- | 0 PPP | 0 PIM | 0 H | 0 SB
S76 | 0 GP | 0 G | 0 A | 0 P | 0 +/- | 0 PPP | 0 PIM | 0 H | 0 SB
S76 | 0 GP | 0 G | 0 A | 0 P | 0 +/- | 0 PPP | 0 PIM | 0 H | 0 SB
SHL Regular Season:
11th OA pick in s77 SHL draft
S?? |  GP |  G |  A |  P | +/- |  PPP |  PIM |  H

This was an amazing read. I finally understand why i fell so hard in the standings.

I mean creating relatively close to the draft would also do it.