Drafted 4th overall in the S80 Draft, Jean Bon is a 6-foot-2, 225-pound defensive defenseman who has established himself in his draft year as one of the best defensemen in his group, mainly due to his extraordinary defensive play, positioning and motivation. The coach of his former college team, Montreal Senior Academy, described him as "a spectacular player all over the ice, ready to compete in the biggest leagues." During the draft, the Saint-Louis Scarecrows Franchise had the chance to afford him. A choice perceived as surprising to some, but above all, extremely interesting. I intend to explain to you how this defender could help this Franchise, what this choice means for Saint-Louis but above all, If it was the best choice for them.

St. Louis knew in advance that they had to draft defenders in order to be competitive. The S78 season was brutal for them, finishing 5th in their division and posting a -21 differential, allowing 32 penalty kill goals over 66 games. Unfortunately for them, it was in the playoffs against the Detroit Falcons that this weakness was felt, suffering a painful sweep. The only team to be swept in the playoffs with the Armada Anchorage. So a defenseman who was going to give them defensive stability was their priority in that draft. After 2 meetings between Jean Bon and the coaching staff of Saint-Louis, they finally decided that it will be this Rookie who will take over the defense from next season.

The former 4th overall pick had an impressive start to the season. After 10 games, he had already had 1 goal and 7 assists totaling 8 points. A production that exceeded his coach's expectations. In addition, he caused a lot of turnover in the opposing zone, creating a lot of opportunities for his team. Still in 10 games, he made a grand total of 147 shifts. That's about 15 shifts every game and about 5 shifts every period. For the time being, the results were satisfactory.

After 35 games, we could see how Jean Bon managed in the long term. We had already completed more than half of the season and his statistics have changed a lot since then. First, his offensive production has been significantly reduced. In almost 3 times more games, Jean only managed to score 1 more goal, now bringing his counter to 2 goals. However, he has greatly improved in his passing game, now counting 21 assists. A slight disappointment on offense, but extremely positive results on defense. In as many games, Jean had a +/- of +19. All while playing slightly more than 20 minutes each game playing on the second defensive pair alongside Dog Jagr.

After playing the full season of 66 games, Jean finally completed his season with 35 points, 6 of them being goals. A season perceived as a success on defense, helping the Scarecrows finally reach a goal differential of +30 (Top 7 in the league)

In order to conclude, I believe that Saint-Louis made a good choice by taking this rookie. There are 5 defenders who were chosen in the top 10 of the S79 Draft and 2 of them were chosen by St-Louis. Among the 5 defenders chosen in the top 10 of the draft, Jean Bon ranks 2nd in the blocked shooting section with 121 shots blocked. In my opinion, Saint-Louis got what they wanted by selecting Jean Bon. He may not be the most spectacular player at first glance, but he is a very important player to have for every team.

@Ferwx Approved