03-06-2020, 01:04 AM(This post was last modified: 03-08-2020, 10:50 PM by MarlinManiac4.)
Note to graders: 4349 words. I would like to use my x2 "first" article bonus. up until now I've deferred it by using other media bonuses.
S52 SMJHL Draft Recap and Class Rankings
Hey everybody. Today we are going to take a look back at last years SMJHL draft. Over the course of the season I have kept track of every teams’ rookies and undrafted free agent signing. The goal of this article is to get a better idea of how every SMJHL team did in both the draft and subsequent transactions, including trades. Let us start by looking at the team average TPE of the S52 SMJHL rookie class. This average only includes rookies eligible for the S53 SHL draft that are still on SMJHL rosters. If they were cut during the season or never signed, they are not included in the average. Each player's TPE is updated as of 3/4/20 at 9PM. If a player updated after this time, it is unlikely that update factored into this article, so keep that in mind as you read.
In this graph we see that most teams are clumped between 200-225 average TPE, with a few exceptions. Kelowna is ahead of the entire pack with an average TPE of 260.8 among eligible rookies. This is almost 20 points ahead of 2nd place Detroit at 241.1 average TPE. On the other end of the spectrum is Halifax at only 193.9 average TPE among rookies. This is followed relatively closely by Vancouver at 197.8. Looking at this simple metric, you may be wondering: Does this really tell the full story? In the subsequent sections, I will attempt to answer this question and analyze each teams’ rookie class and attempt to rank each team. Note that these rankings will be mostly subjective and do not consider roster players not in the S53 class.
#10- Vancouver Whalers
The Class:
Pick #7 William Hartmann RW- 277 TPE Pick #21 Miro Slapskinnen LW- 199 TPE Pick #31 Jacob Rizzo RW- 182 TPE Pick #40 Joe Simpson G- 180 TPE Pick #45 Lucas LeClerc RW- 181 TPE Pick #51 Lligma Broomstick C- 207 TPE Pick #61 Tommy Outlaw D- 159 TPE Biggest Star: William Hartmann Hartmann was picked in the first round of the draft and did not disappoint. Not only is he among the Class leaders in TPE, He has also racked up the media money to the tune of 16.2 million. Unlike many in the rookie class, Hartmann focused on a heavy physical game. It’s unknown how he will build his player in the future, but you can bet he will be one of the key leaders in the Vancouver locker room for a long time.
Biggest Bust: Miro Slapskinnen The Finnish winger made a solid impression leading up to the draft and looked like another high potential prospect in a deep draft class. He had created graphics and appeared fairly active. Unfortunately for Vancouver, this potential failed to manifest once the season got going. After being picked at the start of the 3rd round, Miro went inactive, not even hitting the 200 TPE mark. Vancouver scouts will be scratching their heads trying to figure out what went wrong for years to come.
Summary: Oh boy. With the exception of Hartmann, there isn’t a whole lot for Vancouver to be optimistic about when it comes to this draft class. The only other player who actively updates is Lligma Broomstick. Even more unfortunate for Vancouver, Broomstick usually only does the activity checks in his updates, making progress very slow. Besides those two, it is bust city in Vancouver. Another concern is that while Vancouver had a poor class, they didn’t try to improve the situation, as they failed to sign any undrafted free agents throughout the year. Hartmann’s high TPE may have single handedly prevented them from having the lowest Average rookie TPE, but it did not save the Whalers from being bottom of this list.
#9- Halifax Raiders
The Class:
Pick #5 Valentín Kalashnikov D- 271 TPE Pick #28 Lucas Hellquist RW- 237 TPE Pick #38 Luke Niemi LW- 165 TPE Pick #58 Jim. E. Russel RW- 158 TPE Pick #68 Skyler Stevens G- 155 TPE Pick #78 Peakay Soupcan C- 159 TPE UFA Marty Sertich LW- 209 TPE UFA Blake Feaux D- 204 TPE UFA Alexander Roach C- 202 TPE UFA Jack Von Arx D- 196 TPE UFA Rapid Eagle RW- 177 TPE Biggest Star: Valentin Kalashnikov Similarly, to Vancouver, Halifax got their big star in the first round. The Raiders went and got the defenseman at the 5th overall pick. Kalashnikov has been active throughout the year and ranks along the bottom of the top tier of defenseman in the draft class. While he doesnt not do written media very often, he is active in the graphics department, and that has allowed him to accumulate a healthy 8.4 Million in his bank account. He might not have the biggest name recognition among rookies, but its clear he will be a force to reckon with in the coming seasons. Biggest Bust: Luke Niemi At this point in the draft, there was still chances to pick up solid contributors or find diamonds in the rough. Halifax did not find one of those players with the 38th overall pick. While its not unexpected to have several flops at this point in the draft, Halifax must be disappointed that Niemi never updated again after the draft occurred. Summary: Like the Whalers, The Raiders only managed to find a single star among their draftees. Unlike the Whalers, The Raiders were able to draft a solid player in Hellquist. Hellquist generally only does his weekly training and activity checks, but he has demonstrated a high rate of consistency that will surely allow him to be a key contributor in the junior level. Halifax was also very active in the UFA market, signing a total of 5 throughout the season. While most of these seem to be busts, Sertich and Roach both updated recently and give hope that they will end up solid players. In the draft itself, Halifax didn’t have many high value picks, but they failed to find any useful players beyond Hellquist, giving them one of the worse draft classes in the SMJHL.
#8- Anchorage Armada
The Class: Pick #10 Danny White C- 257 TPE Pick #19 Chris De Siren LW- 267 TPE Pick #29 Braden Lowrie LW- 226 TPE Pick #39 Vladimir Khristorozhdeskvensk D- 203 TPE Pick #59 Soloman Frosty LW- 185 TPE Pick #69(nice) James Boxman- UNSIGNED/CUT(not nice) UFA Brooks Wayne D- 171 TPE UFA Santtu Rasanen C- 253 TPE Biggest Star: Danny White This was largely a toss up between De Siren, White, and the UFA Rasanen, but the 1st round pick is the clear choice due to the extremely large cash reserves in his bank account, which numbers north of 40 million. De Siren is an impressive prospect, but his bank account of 1 million surely raises enough questions about his continued training to give the honor to White. White’s TPE may not be among the top at the moment, but it would be unwise to bet against him in the future as a star. Biggest Bust: Vladimir Khristorozhdeskvensk Vladimir started off his career at a solid pace, but in the past few weeks that has dropped off significantly, and he has also run out of money in his bank account for training. He has never created any media and is already falling far behind. He has never created any piece of media and is high risk of falling inactive entirely, which would be disappointing after spending a 4th round pick. Summary: Anchorage may place towards the bottom of this list, but this class is clearly a step up from teams before. Danny White and Chirs De Siren certainly project to be high end players, but the person that really rounds out this draft class was the addition of UFA Santtu Rasanen. Despite coming into the league after the draft, Rasanen has already eclipsed the 250 TPE mark by consistently updating and doing PT’s. He has also been active media wise and looks to be strong player in the coming years. It wasn’t a huge bounty for the Armada, but they should be happy with the solid additions to the squad.
#7- Anaheim Outlaws
The Class: Pick #13 Ethan Price RW- 241 TPE Pick #27 Yompy Stearf D- 195 TPE Pick #41 Ziggy Tambo LW- 257 TPE Pick #48 Rikkard Hammarberg C- 253 TPE Pick #53 Andreas Stacks D- 183 TPE Pick #63 Separa Borro G- 233 TPE Pick #73 Shane Rinne- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #83 Dusty Bender- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #93 Zeep Zorp- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #103 Chet Ubetcha- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #113 Squid-Actual- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #123 Martin Nemo- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #133 Nicotine Overdose- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #143 Mars Vendetta- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #153 Love Beck- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #163 Nathaniel Burden- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #183 Ferda Shoresie- UNSIGNED/CUT UFA Pooks Halloway LW- 212 TPE UFA Taylor Johansson C- 262 TPE Biggest Star: Taylor Johansson Boy did this guy come out of nowhere. He entered the league over a week after the draft and has taken off running ever since. He’s already over 260 TPE, and if he hadn’t joined late, it is likely he would be among the top of the rookie draft class. He beats out all of Anaheim’s actual draft picks in TPE and has emerged as one of the leaders. One dig against him is the lack of money in his bank account. He has only made a single media piece, which has his account at 500k. If he wants to continue his great run, he will need to stock up on the cash. Biggest Bust: Yompy Stearf This has to be one of the more obvious picks in this whole article as Anaheim’s 3rd round pick and 2nd selection in this draft, went MIA shortly afterwards. Yompy has only intermittently updated and shows little signs that will change anytime soon. Summary: To say Anaheim went for a “spray and pray” approach might be an understatement. The Outlaws didn’t have first round pick and missed out on selecting some of the top stars when they selected a solid, but unspectacular player in Price. They also managed to snag several other solid players, including Ziggy Tambo and Rikkard Hammarberg who should be fixtures in the Outlaw lineup in the future. While at this point, it seems this draft class come without a true “Elite” top earning player, it is a class with solid forward depth and in the future its possible we will look at this class more favorably for Anaheim.
#6 Newfoundland Berserkers
The Class: Pick #4 Steve Harrington LW- 279 TPE Pick #17 Jukka Timonen D- 279 TPE Pick #33 Ryan Aaron G- 184 TPE Pick #37 Patric Twist RW- 214 TPE Pick #47 Magnus “The Ogre” Orrsen- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #50 Vince Chalut D- 198 TPE Pick #52 Andrei Kostitsyn RW- 240 TPE Pick #56 Ryuuji Minamino RW- 266 TPE Pick #67 Wolf Weib C- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #77 Emil Hamaarjarvi- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #87 New Player- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #97 Sergei Killingyouguy- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #107 Shlapp Shaht- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #117 Bentley Boogie- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #127 Wayne Ontariaboi- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #137 Zach Attack- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #147 Harry Howes- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #157 Jay S- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #167 Veikko Vatippa- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #177 Destro MacGregor- UNSIGNED/CUT UFA Matias Birdstrom RW- 184 TPE UFA Gregory Stiemsma C- 171 TPE Biggest Star: Andrei Kostitsyn: He pass. He Score. By the way, have you seen his brother Sergei? Because we’ve been looking for him for a while now and…. (The Real) Biggest Star: Jukka Timonen If you’re reading this, you probably know that this really came down to two elite prospects: Steve Harrington and Jukka Timonen. Its practically impossible to pick one, yet I must. Timonen and Harrington are tied for TPE, but Timonen has a slight edge on Harrington in bank account with Jukka having 21.1 Million vs Harrington’s 20.7 Million. That’s how close it is. The Finnish Defenseman has proven himself to be more then worth the 2nd round pick Newfoundland spent on him and has starred on his team and is expected to star in the upcoming S52 WJC. It’s all but guaranteed he will be a high first round selection in the SHL draft. Biggest Bust: Ryan Aaron The Berserkers were hoping to select a goaltender that could fill the backstop for years to come, but It appears that is not the result they are going to get. The Berserkers current starter, Vassallo, is inactive and stuck at 287 TPE. This failed pick is another blow to the Berserkers who will once again have to prioritize picking up a goalie in this year’s draft. Summary: From one “Spray and Pray” team directly to another. The main difference between Newfoundland’s and Anaheim’s draft classes is the star power. Anaheim got a bunch of solid players, but Newfoundland struck gold with both of their first two picks, not to mention and under the radar high end talent in Japanese winger Minamino and the solid winger in Kostitsyn. Like the Outlaws, the Berserkers didn’t find any true diamonds hidden in back of the draft, but they did not need to after their initial haul. This is where the rankings start to get difficult to differentiate teams, meaning the berserkers are not far off of the next few teams on the list, but they do slot in at #6 for now.
#5- Kelowna Knights
The Class: Pick #9 Rocco Berni C- 306 TPE Pick #23 Jaska Seppala LW- 291 TPE Pick #26 Michael Preeb D- 208 TPE Pick #36 Antti Antinen RW- 220 TPE (RETIRED) Pick #46 Ethan Duncan C- 279 TPE Biggest Star: Rocco Berni Rocco is a re-create and he has taken full advantage, earning the title of highest earner in a stacked draft class (Tied with Cuddles). He has a ridiculously high bank account of around 60 Million and is a sure bet to go in the first round of the SHL draft. Already one of the leading voices in the Knight’s locker room, we’ll be hearing this guys name for a long time. Biggest Bust: Michael Preeb The 26th overall pick falling into inactivity is not a great result for the Knights. Preeb has not been active for a month now and holds little cash reserve. He started off well, publishing 3 separate media pieces in the lead up and right after the draft, which made it look like Preeb might actually be a steal, but it was not be. The Knights were hoping to supplement their blue line using a relatively high pick, but it appears that will have to be addressed once again in the upcoming draft. Summary: The Knights came into this draft already looking like a complete team, and it showed in their draft strategy. The Knights were content to select a small group from a deep draft class and let their existing quality shine. They went conservative with their first two picks by picking lower risk recreate prospects in Berni and Seppala and it certainly paid off, with each being inside the top 10 in TPE among all draftees. The plan started to fall apart a bit with their next two picks as Preep busted, and Antinen chose to retire after just one season, securing his bust status as well. However, a bright spot appeared in their 5th round pick Duncan, who went on to become one of the top rookies in the class despite being drafted so low. While the Knights have the highest rookie TPE average, the lack of depth in this draft class hurts their ranking. The Knights did were not very active in the UFA market and only signed 1 UFA who did not qualify for this draft class and will be in the S54 class. The 3 stars selected by the Knights allowed them the edge out the Berserkers but come in ultimately at #5.
#4- Carolina Kraken
The Class: Pick #6 Jimmy Wagner RW- 283 TPE Pick #15 Ambacas Cuddles D- 306 TPE Pick #20 Frans Eller G- 290 TPE Pick #49 Erik Johansson(Traded from Anchorage) D- 206 TPE Pick #57 Michael Lee D- 241 TPE Pick #60 Scott Hamilton LW- 163 TPE Pick #70 Wilhelm Schumacher LW- 172 TPE Pick #80 Walter II- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #86 Jonathan Hunt- UNSIGNED/CUT UFA Ben Van Dijk D- 232 TPE UFA Buster Cherry C- 163 TPE UFA Rinako Yukikami LW- 186 TPE Biggest Star: Ambacas Cuddles The best defender of this draft class so far belongs to Carolina. Cuddles is a recreate with a vast reserve of 60 Million in his bank account, which makes him ready to succeed in the long term. His style of play differs a lot form his fellow rookie defenders as he plays a much more defensive 1-way game. Forwards used to getting their way will have to fear the name of Cuddles for many years to come. Biggest Bust: Erik Johansson While Johansson was not picked by the Kraken themselves, Carolina traded away a future 3rd round pick in order to acquire him after the draft. So far you could say that Carolina’s investment has not been bearing fruit. Johansson has updated within the past week, but he still sits at only 206 TPE. He still has 4.6 Million in the bank, so there is still hope that this player will end up being worth the pick spent on him. Summary: Carolina used their 3 early picks to great advantage, and it’s a big reason they rank this high. With their first pick they went with an unknown but high potential player in Jimmy Wagner who has been nothing but aces in his first year with the Kraken. To supplement Carolina took two less risky recreates in Cuddles and Eller, who have both developed as well or even slightly better then expected. Eller in particular should give Carolina management great confidence that the goaltender position will be well manned for the next 3 years or so. Carolina was also active in the UFA market and have managed to pick up a good depth option in Ben Van Dijk as well as a surprisingly solid but unspectacular player in Michael Lee, both of which should feature in Carolina’s 2nd and 3rd blue lines in the future. Did I mention ranking these teams was getting hard? Carolina beat out Kelowna because of their greater depth in addition to the top end talent. But the reality is that this was pretty much a complete toss up between Carolina and my 3rd place team….
#3- St. Louis Scarecrows
The Class: Pick #8 Axel Meszaros D- 267 TPE Pick #16 Erben Kasius D- 289 TPE Pick #25 Trevor Johnson D- 214 TPE Pick #35 Eric Hudson LW- 276 TPE Pick #55 Alex Reyer C- 229 TPE Pick #65 Jason Voorhees G- 169 TPE UFA Kriss Darzins RW- 212 TPE Biggest Star: Erben Kasius Kasius was selected with the 16th pick and St. Louis got a good one. Kasius is an offensive defenseman with a ton of focus put into scoring and passing, which provides a real punch to the Scarecrows power play. Kasius is one of the TPE leaders in the rookie class and he has over 30 million in the bank, practically assuring rapid improvement in the coming years. Biggest Bust: Trevor Johnson When your biggest bust is a guy at 214 TPE, that’s not too bad. However, the Scarecrows spent the 25th overall pick in the draft on Johnson and he has not quite lived up to the hype thus far. The good news is that Johnson updated last week. The bad news is his cash reserve is pretty low. He has written articles in the past and the recent update can be taken as a sign that perhaps good things are to come for Johnson and the Scarecrows. Summary: The Scarecrows certainly had a pretty good draft when you look at the total haul. You have several high-end guys in Meszaros, Kasius, and a 4th round gem in Eric Hudson. The Trevor Johnson pick does not look as pretty right now, but there are signs that might be improving. Reyer was a very late round pick that was surprising a lot of people before he went inactive 2 weeks ago, and Voorhees was a 7th round shot in the dark that didn’t pan out. The scarecrows weren’t very active in the UFA market, but they did land Darzins, a winger who joined quite late, but has updated every week and has shown willingness to do more as he has not missed a chance to complete a PT to this point. Its fair to say that Darzins future prospects can be described as very good. As I mentioned previously, the Scarecrows and Kraken were pretty much a toss up to me. Carolina’s top end guys may have a little more TPE at the moment, but I liked the overall look of the Scarecrows class a little better, landing them at the #3 spot.
#2- Colorado Raptors
The Class: Pick #1 Chris Cerullo C- 269 TPE Pick #3 Hiroshi Ohira RW- 267 TPE Pick #14 Bradley Barkov D- 277 TPE Pick #34 Sven Svenson LW- 277 TPE Pick #43 Glen Anders D- 203 TPE Pick #44 Tomas Grygera C- 172 TPE Pick #54 Jerry Huuveri G- 266 TPE Pick #64 Joko Draz- UNSIGNED/CUT Pick #74 Ragnar Skallagrimsson RW- 184 Pick #84 Fergus Callaghan- UNSIGNED/CUT UFA Carlos Brown LW- 200 TPE Biggest Star: Sven Svenson While this is a deep draft class for Colorado, there is no doubt the top player thus far has been Sven Svenson. Sven is one of the top wingers in this draft class and there are many reasons why. His activity is sky high and he has amassed over 13 million in his bank account and you can count on the fact that he’s not going to stop there. Svenson broke into the spotlight with his interviews with SI for kids and recently he has branched out into graphics, showing versatility that only small number of players in the class possess. If he is not a top 10 pick in the upcoming SHL draft, then I will question the SHL GM’s sanity. Biggest Bust: Tomas Grygera Grygera is one of the only draftees of the Raptors to sign with the team and fail to be a consistent updater. What is interesting about Grygera is that he while he wasn’t updating, he was still posting in all the activity checks for several weeks. All of a sudden, almost a month after his initial update, he updated with all those activity checks, and now has not been seen since. Will he perhaps come back again? Stay tuned, but for right now he is considered a bust. Summary: Ok. So, I’ll admit there may be a tad bit of bias here, but if you look at it objectively, there is no doubt that Colorado has an extremely deep draft class. First overall pick Cerullo has been a consistent updater, and after he updates this week, will be back ranking among the top prospects in the draft class in TPE. Ohira has been a consistent updater and looks to be a very good player for the foreseeable future. Barkov, otherwise known as me, has been a consistent updater whose only real weakness is a bank account of only 4 Million (which if your reading this has already been partially addressed!). Svenson, as previously mentioned, is one of the top wingers in the class. Another Important factor in Colorado’s success this season is the late pick spent on Jerry Huuveri, who despite being picked in the 6th round, has turned himself into the top goalie prospect in this draft class (Note: Frans Eller has higher TPE, but is the NE GM and is not eligible to be drafted by anyone else). And last but not least is UFA Carlos Brown, who signed close to right before the deadline which would have made him a S54 draft prospect. Brown has been a consistent updater, and despite his brief time with the team, has already hit the 200 TPE mark, making him a very solid prospect and potentially even a future star in the making. While Colorado did not pick a Recreate, and therefore do not have any 300+ TPE guys, the depth of the class is almost unmatched, with one exception which lands the Raptors at #2.
#1- Detroit Falcons
The Class: Pick #2 Magnus Liljestrom D- 281 TPE Pick #11 Edward Williams C- 280 TPE Pick #12 Frederick Wanesly LW- 275 TPE Pick #18 Jack Kanoff(Traded from Halifax) D- 288 TPE Pick #22 Burlok Sulfurgold RW- 278 TPE Pick #24 Reid Sutherland C- 278 TPE Pick #30 Zoltan Topalo LW- 278 TPE Pick #32 A Jobin G- 240 TPE Pick #42 Toki Wartooth D- 262 TPE Pick #62 Jordan Biffis LW- 162 TPE Pick #72 Paddy Kane Reilly II RW- 212 TPE UFA Ttam Renkrac D- 176 TPE UFA James Brown D- 192 TPE Biggest Star: Magnus Liljestrom Jack Kanoff may have more TPE, but there is no doubt in my mind that the biggest star in Detroit is the Swedish defenseman Liljestrom. He has been a media factory since joining the league, pumping out many articles which has contributed to him accumulating over 35 Million in the bank as a non-recreate, which is insane. He has shown the desire to go above and beyond repeatedly and should seriously be considered a potential top 5 pick in the upcoming SHL draft. Biggest Bust: There isn’t one I’m sorry, but you can’t consider a 7th round pick a “bust”. Summary: This should come as no surprise to any of you who have payed attention, but Detroit is STACKED, and it showed on the ice this season as well. Detroit has 8 rookies above 260 TPE, which is by far the largest amount among all the teams. Some teams are lucky to have 1. Suffice to say Detroit’s strategy of compiling reddit draft picks has so far been an incredible success. If Detroit can keep this rookie core together and active, it’s not out of the question that we may be seeing the birth of a dynasty.