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***sve7en*** · 05-15-2020, 02:49 PM

[1602 words x 2 (draft media) = 3204 words, ready for grading]

Hype man sve7en here on this beautiful draft day eve to make one final call to the GMs of the SHL. The Carolina Kraken assembled one of the best draft classes this season, while not picking at all in the first two rounds of last season’s SMJHL draft. While we have found studs, they don’t all have the name recognition as some of the people at the top of the class and that’s a damn shame. I’m here to tell you why you should be looking at these amazing people and players who have made my first season of leadership in Carolina truly special despite our low finish in the league this season.

Every single one of these users has made the Carolina locker room better, are worth consideration at and well above their TPE levels, and I would happily vouch for their characters based what I've seen this season.

By order of acquisition:

Dwight Knight - Left Wing - 21st overall pick (2nd in TPE - 305)
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@hockeyiscool

Dwight is a bonafide stud in the making, and most if not all of the GMs picking at the top of the class already know this so this isn’t much of a sell. I can say that from the minute Dwight entered the locker room on draft night he embraced the Kraken locker room, culture, and teammates from the get go. His literal first posts in the locker room were being grateful for us trading up for him, followed by Terry emoji spam, and then getting excited about every other rookie picked up after him. He’s super dedicated to the league, a member of the Hockey Talk Tonight panel, top of his class in TPE, and an absolute meme making machine.

Vítek Víteček - Left Wing - 30th overall pick (13th in TPE - 287)
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@MegaSkuci

Skuci was someone that I got to know in scouting leading up to the draft really well. He’s a young and super high energy kid from Czechia who I definitely didn’t expect to see available at the end of the third round. Him, myself, and people in his class were all surprised that he fell so far, and he never once seemed offended or dejected. He just wanted to get to work, improve his player, and make him a force to be reckoned with across the SMJHL. Every day of the season he was in discord cheering with every goal and swearing with me at every one scored against us, and at the same time he never lost his energy and belief in his team. Never mind that if you’re ever putting together a Counter Strike team for an SHL tournament, Skuci would carry hard, he streams CS on the side when he’s not doing school and asking Mr. Kalakar for epic music during Kraken games.

Panda Panico - Left Wing - 39th overall pick (29th in TPE - 259)
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@peej2189

The first of two late steals in last season’s draft, Peej was someone who I didn’t start talking to until the day before the draft. I was immediately struck by his maturity and candidness in conversation, and that persisted through the entire season he’s been in Carolina orange. When he joined the team he was still finding his way around things but he was always open to learning how things worked in the SHL and really became an underrated member of the team and locker room once he found his legs. He’s always lurking in discord and is always watching our games. Even though he’s a pretty reserved guy, he’s really shown dedication to his player and the SHL as well as a love for his teammates. He’s a high character guy who’s ceiling is high and has already climbed 10 spots above his draft position in TPE.

Stein Nilsen - Left Wing - 49th overall pick (40th in TPE - 243)
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@bordon23

The second of two late steals in last season’s draft, Bordon immediately stood out to me on player creation and my initial conversations with him, he was a pretty quiet and reserved person who was upfront about not being a super social person on discord and that he didn’t feel like he had a touch for media. But as we talked more I saw someone who loved hockey, loved the idea behind creating his own player, and wanted to make whatever team he ended up on the best it could be. Despite him saying he wasn’t the most sociable at first, he’s super engaged with the other people in the locker room at this point with Sea of Thieves and Animal Crossing, (when he’s not flooded at work). He’s cheering with us as we watch sims, always trying to build with the team in mind, and super passionate about seeing this team succeed.

Kwame Dakari - Left Wing - UDFA (37th in TPE - 249)
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@Zaitsev

Leaving the draft, we knew we would need to hit up UDFAs and find good ones to tidy up the rest of the roster. Zaitsev brought a friendly, outgoing, and mature personality to the table from the first time I DMed him welcoming him back to the SHL after being gone for a while. Despite COVID keeping him hellishly busy with work this past season he was constantly in the discord talking about anything and everything. Food, gaming, sports, SHL, anything at all, he always seems down to talk with you whether you were a rookie, GM, alumni, or someone not even on the team.

Bobby Bergen - Center - UDFA (59th in TPE - 205)
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@Nobody

A long standing member of the site, nobody that’s been around for a while needs me to introduce Nobody. He’s a smart dude, and even though he’s not always prompt on the updates he makes sure to stay up to date with his team. He’s got a quick wit and is dedicated to the league even beyond his player, contributing to the site development side of things as well. He might not ever be the most active person in a locker room, but if you get him to open up he’s a stand up guy who’s a real pleasure to interact with.

Adam Friedland - Left Defense - UDFA (32th in TPE - 257)
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@Bongo

They wanted to make a player that would go out and fight the entirety of the SMJHL, and he did exactly that. Bongo is one of the most entertaining characters I think I’ve ever come across in the SHL, and he’s always down to lighten up, spark some activity, or provide insight to the locker room when needed. I honestly didn’t know what to make of him when he first joined up, but his attitude is something that is needed in every locker room. He keeps things light when everything sucks and you’re on a losing streak, he’s in partying with everyone when things go right, and he always chimes in to brighten people’s days.

Linus Grimstead - Center - UDFA (35th in TPE - 253)

@Turd Ferguson

Turd is another one who doesn’t need any introduction but in case you haven’t heard, the man is a graphics wizard. He’s constantly interacting with people in every format of the SHL, on the forums, across discord servers, and in the stream chats as well. He knows so many people from his time here and seems to always have something nice to say about them. He’s been in the SHL from the beginning, but he’s mature enough to not give a second thought to the site drama, always has his team’s back, and definitely has reembraced the new FHM-SHL.

Patricia Reichardt - Left Wing - UDFA (49th in TPE - 233)

@moonlight

The last addition to the team, Moonlight started from the bottom of the class but has really stuck through things, hit every update, and has really become someone I’m thrilled to call a teammate. They’re an insanely smart person with plenty of sim league experience while also being super easy to talk to. They’re never afraid to ask questions or for advice, their gif game is strong, and they’re really interested in taking another run at an SHL career, asking all of the veterans about what their different SHL teams are like. Whichever team takes a third round flyer on them is getting a gem of a user.