Login

Aaron "AAA" Allen · 12-10-2013, 10:46 PM

<div align="center"> [Image: stranskygroup.jpg]

The Life of a SMJHL Rookie â€“ Stransky Style (Part 2)

Matej Stransky Talks Pre-Draft Tournament and SMJHL Combine</div>

Welcome to Part 2 in our series â€œThe Life of a SMJHL Rookie â€“ Stransky Styleâ€. In this installment we follow Matej Stransky as he goes through a grueling SHL Combine and then plays 10 games in a SMJHL Pre-draft Tournament, which will likely be used by SMJHL GMâ€™s to weigh players value in the upcoming draft.

The SHL Combine, which started this season is a new feature for GMâ€™s to ask interested players a few questions to reveal a little more about themselves and give the team and the player an idea if they might be the right fit for each other. The process this year ran Friday to Sunday, with two teams each day conducting interviews.

Matej Stransky participated in all 6 non-mandatory interviews.

Q: So Matej, how did the SHL Combine go?

Matej: It went well, though you had to be on the ball to get all the interviews done, considering we were also playing tournament games at the time.

Q: Any information you can share about the SHL Combine, teams that interested you, didnâ€™t interest you?

Matej: I like to keep an open mind about most teams, but there were some that I liked over others, there is no doubt about that. Unfortunately, the PGF didnâ€™t have a GM or Co-GM represent them at the combine, so I for one kind of felt like this wasnâ€™t that important to them, which scares you as a player wanting to commit two seasons someplace. As a result, I would have to rank them last on my choices for destinations, even considering they have the 1st overall pick.

Q: That makes sense, if youâ€™re going to be active, you want an active team, which starts with the GM/Co-Gm and though I am sure they have a good reason for not being there, your concern makes sense. Did any teams impress you?

Matej: A few did, but also 3 teams have contacted me so far via PM, so I would have to rank them the highest on places I would want to goâ€¦and I am not going to tell you who they are, but that effort to send a PM and talk a bit is important to me, because it shows me they are active and want to find who might fit or not, so I am hoping this translates to a good draft and therefore a good team.

<div align="center"> [Image: July%2025th%20Stransky%20Update2147.jpg]

[Image: July%2025th%20Stransky%20Update2147.jpg]

</div>

During the SMJHL Combine, Matej was participating in the Pre-Draft Tournament with the â€œBattalionâ€. The Battalion had some solid players on the team besides Matej, which included Saoul Commeunebotte, Max McDonald, Simeon Mars III, Volker Bayer-Holtby and goalie Gustav Grimm.

The Battalion raced out of the gate and after the first 4 games had a 3-1 record, however they stumbled a little in the next 4 games and finished with a 4-4 record, however they still finished 1st in the eastern division and played the Blazers in the elimination round.

In the elimination round, they beat the Blazers 1-0 on an outstanding performance by rookie goalie Gustav Grimm, who played incredible the whole tournament.

In the Championship game against the Lions, Matej scored a hat trick, being set up by both McDonald and Commeunebotte on some great plays and it made the difference as the Battalion won the game 4-2 and took home the Pre-draft Tournament Awardâ€¦which was basically just congratulations by the league.

Q: Matej, congratulation on winning the pre-draft tournament with the Battalion and getting a hat trick in the championship game. Do you think GMâ€™s will look at that and see how you elevated your game when it was needed the most?

Matej: I donâ€™t know what the GMâ€™s might think, so youâ€™ll have to ask them, but I know if it wasnâ€™t for the rest of the Battalion players we wouldnâ€™t have won the tournament, it was a complete team effort, so whether I scored the goals or someone else did, we won as a team and thatâ€™s all the matters.

Q: Finishing with 6 goals and 3 assists in 10 games, equates to a productive 50 game junior season, but I know you always want to improve, so what do you take away from the tournament?

Matej: A couple things, first there are some great players in this league, so its going to be a really good test this season and secondly I need to continue to work on my skating, puck handling and strength to get away or hold onto the puck when checkedâ€¦I think if I can do these things I will get even more chances to score and be even more productive. My goal is to be a point per game guy, if not more, in the SMJHL.

There you have it folks. We will have the final installment of this series on Friday prior to the draft, where we talk to Matej about talks with GMâ€™s and potential destinations for this up and coming superstar.

~843 words + 2 pictures