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fever95 · 11-24-2019, 08:39 PM

Hello and welcome to Fever’s Season 51 SMJHL Entry Draft review! The entry draft took place on Sunday evening in St. Louis, Missouri inside the Enterprise Center, the home of the St. Louis Scarecrows and it was an exciting time for all prospects and SMJHL management teams involved. I will reviewing all picks in the first round of the draft as well as any picks that I deemed to be notable and gauging the value of each selection. With that being said, let’s jump right into it and get to the first overall selection in the Season 51 SMJHL Entry Draft!

Sabo Tage – Defense – Canada
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The Vancouver Whalers owned the first overall selection in the Season 51 Simulation Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft by virtue of winning the Season 51 SMJHL draft lottery with only 10 of the 100 total balls in the draft lotto. The Vancouver Whalers elected to use this selection on an offensive minded Canadian defenseman in the form of second generational player, Sabo Tage. Tage worked very hard to attain this draft position, logging 207 hours of training prior to draft night. Sabo is offensive minded with a hard shot from the point with decent passing ability but does not compromise his defensive responsibilities. He also has strong skating ability with a quick first step but will need to get better at delivering body checks and can tire if given a large amount of ice time. He handles the puck well while rushing up the ice or setting up on the powerplay but could use a boost in his strength. Sabo Tage was well worth the first overall pick by the Vancouver Whalers and given time to develop, he should become a very good two-way defender on the blueline who can quarterback the powerplay as well as be a regular on the penalty kill and play his fair share of minutes of 5 on 5 hockey.

Velveteen Dream – Center – Unassigned
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The Carolina Kraken held the second overall selection in the Season 51 SMJHL Entry Draft and elected to select the first forward in the form of a second generation playmaking center, Velveteen Dream. Dream could have been drafted first overall had the Vancouver Whalers been in need of a forward, as he spent 209 hours in the training room prior to draft night. Velveteen is very defensively responsible and very solid positionally with great vision and a knack for finding open teammates with slick passes. He is a decent puck handler and skates fairly well but will not blow you out of the water with speed on an end to end rush and is a mediocre checker and can be out-muscled at times. He has the ability to put the puck in the back of the net from time to time but will need to improve his skills in the face-off dot drastically before he can become an effective centerman and can not handle big minutes without becoming fatigued and his play taking a hit as a result. Velveteen Dream should be a great pick-up for the Carolina Kraken and develop into a top-tier playmaking center who will be content with being the set-up man and playing a big role on both special teams units.

Morgan Forestier – Center – Canada
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A second straight selection in the Season 51 SMJHL Entry Draft was used on a Center, this time the Kelowna Knights selected fourth generational Canadian born playmaker, Morgan Forestier who had logged 204 total hours of training as of draft night with the third overall selection. Forestier is very defensively sound and always seems to be in the right position to make a play as well as strong on the puck, either holding onto it in a cycle or coming up with it in a loose puck battle. Morgan is a decent skater and puck handler but will not shock you with an alarming acceleration rate or handling skills in a high traffic area. He is a good passer who has the vision to find an open teammate and set up quality scoring chances, although he is not able to handle big minutes of ice time at this point is his career and he has somewhat of stone hands and rarely finds the back of the net while shooting and his body checks have little to no effect on opponents. Morgan Forestier was a great pick-up for the Kelowna Knights here and they should be happy to watch him develop into an elite playmaking center that is able to use his skills to his advantage in every situation, including 5 on 5, powerplay and the penalty kill.

Blake Faux – Defense – Unassigned

The St. Louis Scarecrows were the owners of the fourth overall selection in the Season 51 SMJHL Entry Draft and they are known to have a sweet spot for first generational players, thus they snatched a defenseman off of the draft board in the form of first generational rearguard, Blake Faux. Faux has not been all that committed in terms of training as of now, logging just 163 total hours of training to this point but surely, he will become more committed to training in the near future. Blake is a stay at home type of defenseman who is very solid positionally as well as a very hard checker with decent skating ability. He is a gritty, blue collar type of player that you won’t expect to put up many points on the scoresheet or give you flashy type of plays but he will do his job and do it well, which is keeping the puck from getting to the Scarecrows’ net as much as possible. His strength, endurance, puck handling and passing attributes are of mediocre value but given time, he will get stronger and be one of the toughest defensemen in the SMJHL to play on the opposing side of. The St. Louis Scarecrows would be happy to see Blake Faux develop into a top shutdown defenseman who can be a great asset on the penalty kill unit.

Slatt Potts – Left Wing – United States
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The Lethbridge Lions were on the clock with the fifth overall selection in the Season 51 SMJHL Entry Draft and elected to select the first winger of the night with second generation, American born right winger, Slatt Potts. Potts has been very active in training thus far, spending 210 hours in the training facility and can play a disciplined game at both ends of the ice, being of the two-way forward variety. He is a strong skater with explosive speed and a great first step as well as being very dangerous in scoring areas and is a threat to score every time he steps onto the ice. Slatt is highly skilled when it comes to handling the puck, especially in high traffic areas and will not leave teammates hung out to dry on his defensive responsibilities as he is very good in that department as well. He also has the ability to set his teammates up for scoring chances, albeit not as skilled as his scoring ability but if he hopes to become a true two-way forward, his checking and strength abilities will need to improve immensely and he can become fatigued if given a lot of time on ice. The Lethbridge Lions should be very happy with their selection in this draft position and Slatt Potts should develop into an elite two-way forward that can play in all situations for them.

Noah Nystrom – Defense – Sweden
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The Kelowna Knights were back on the clock with their second selection of the first round in the sixth overall slot and went with a defender this time, first generational player and the first Swedish born player taken in the draft, Noah Nystrom, who had accumulated 196 total hours of training as of draft night. Nystrom is a two-way defender whose best asset is his defensive ability. He is always in the right position to make a play or come up with a big blocked shot and he is also an above average passer who can make a great outlet pass to start the breakout and a rush up the ice. Noah is a decent skater and handles the puck fairly well, while not tiring too easily and is strong on the puck while fighting for puck possession. He will need to improve his checking ability as his body checks are mostly ineffective and he is not a threat to score at this point in his career. Noah Nystrom is a good selection for the Kelowna Knights here and given time to develop his game, he should become a great two-way defender on the back end for them, able to play big and important minutes for them.

Olli Saarinen Jr. – Goaltender – Finland

The Halifax Raiders come in with their first selection of the Season 51 SMJHL Entry Draft at the seventh overall selection and are the first team to select a goaltender as well as a Finnish born player, a third generation player coming from a line of successful players in a well-known player agency in the form of Olli Saarinen Jr. Saarinen logged 199 hours of training time up to draft time, who has a very quick glove hand and reacts very quickly between the pipes when facing shots on goal and he is very solid positionally, using the right angles to get square to oncoming shots. Olli does not give up too many juicy rebounds and moves from side to side well when caught out of position, able to scramble back to make the save in highlight reel fashion. He does not use his body all that well in making himself look big in net and if facing a lot of shots, will get fatigued pretty easily as well as giving up turnovers while trying to play the puck and is not a strong skater at all. Olli Saarinen Jr. Will become an elite starting goaltender for the Halifax Raiders, there is no question about that and the Raiders should be very happy to have selected him late in the first round.

Ulrik Bergstrom – Defense – Sweden
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The Anchorage Armada stepped up to the draft podium for the first time with the eighth overall selection in the Season 51 SMJHL Entry Draft and they had their eyes on another Swedish defenceman, first generational player, Ulrik Bergstrom who they plucked off of the draft board. Bergstrom is a two-way defenseman who had 198 total hours spent in the training facility by draft night and is very good on the defensive side of the puck, making plays with his stick and just being in solid defensive position. Ulrik is a strong skater with good speed and can make some slick passes to set up teammates, especially while exiting the defensive zone and making a zone entry into the attacking zone. He is a decent puck handler who can deliver some hard body checks from time to time and can score timely goals if he makes a decision to shoot the puck but he cannot handle a lot of minutes on the ice, tiring easily and becoming fatigued. He also is not a very strong player and has a hard time in the dirty areas of the ice, often times losing the puck battles and is easily knocked off the puck. Ulrik Bergstrom has a ton of potential and should develop nicely into a top two-way defenseman for the Anchorage Armada.

Simothy Drunkebird – Center – Czech Republic
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The Colorado Raptors had their first selection in the Season 51 SMJHL Entry Draft late in the opening round (ninth overall) when they selected Czech born power forward center, Simothy Drunkebird, a second generation player who had 223 hours spent training at the time of the draft. Drunkebird is an undersized player for a power forward but he is very good in the face-off dot with the ability to win almost at will and is very good at taking care of things away from the puck with a solid defensive game. Simothy can hold his own when it comes to handling and protecting the puck as well as skating up the ice on a rush or coming back to backcheck and he is a decent enough hitter with a good amount of strength, especially for a smaller player. He does not have the hands to be a scoring threat as of now and his passing ability is just mediocre as it stands right now and he cannot handle big time minutes on the ice without tiring. Simothy Drunkebird has all the tools to become a successful power forwards but power forwards usually take more time to develop and thus, the Colorado Raptors must be patient with his development and they will have a dominant player on their side.
Riley Kuse – Center – Switzerland
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With the final pick in the opening round of the Season 51 SMJHL Entry Draft, 10th overall, the Lethbridge Lions decided to select first generation, sniper centerman, Riley Kuse of Switzerland who totalled 180 training hours on draft night. Kuse is a big time scorer who loves to bury the puck in the back of the net and light the red lamp and does not sway from his defensive responsibilities as he is always in the right position to make a great defensive play. Riley has decent skating ability but definitely not one of the quickest skaters you will see and he is also decently gifted in the puck handling and passing departments. He is not so bad in the face-off circle but that is not one of his better attributes and he can only stay on the ice for short shifts before getting tired, often times leading to mental lapses. He is not all that strong, something that will be needed to be worked on to improve his face-off numbers and prevent him from getting knocked off the puck and losing puck battles so easily. The first Swiss born player in this draft class should develop nicely for the Lethbridge Lions and that should translate into his name showing up on the scoresheet more often, a nice pick-up here for Lethbridge.

Well, that does it for this season. I hope you enjoyed this presentation as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. See you all next season!

*Training hours denotes TPE and numbers from update pages on Friday, November 22/Saturday, November 23/Sunday November 24 were used.

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