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***bluesfan55*** · 05-24-2020, 02:19 PM

As we all know, the new season is almost upon us. Of course, that means that we'll get to see a new crop of rookies jockeying for the Jesster. I decided to take a look at this season's group, briefly analyze both their builds and stats, and do sort of a mini, very early power ranking for the Jesster . Without further ado, let's get into it. (before we start, no, I am not doing any S50 IA players employed by either Toronto or Tampa Bay)

Elizabeth Doyle, goalie, Stampede

, 904 TPE

The Irish netminder spent four seasons in the SMJHL with the St. Louis Scarecrows, and enjoyed a stellar, yet underrated junior career. She was nominated for the Tom Corcoran Trophy in S52, but lost out to White Goodman, and I don't think that she got the recognition she deserved. She backstopped the St. Louis Scarecrows to the S52 Four Star Cup finals, and was a consistent presence in the Scarecrows net for her entire juniors career as she was the team's undisputed starter. She also went out on a high, going 21-15-2 this past season with a .904 save percentage and 2.64 GAA while starring for the Crows as they almost defeated the juggernaut Detroit Falcons in the Eastern Conference finals, falling in 7 (a .913 save% and 2.28 GAA is nothing to scoff at). Looking at her build, Doyle is a hybrid goalie with outstanding positioning, reflexes, and mental toughness. She really has no holes in her game whatsoever and is a great goalie all-around. Doyle is an obvious favorite for the Jesster as she gets to play behind a fantastic Buffalo defense.

Mitchell van der Heijden, center, Specters

, 904 TPE

Fresh off an Ideen Fallah win, Specters center Mitchell van der Heijden enters S54 as another Jesster favorite. He won a Four Star with Anchorage in S51, and has been at least a point per game over the past two seasons, scoring 53 in S52 and 52 in S53. van der Heijden also has a physical side, with 109 hits last season, and was an animal on both the power play and penalty kill for an Armada team that finished third in the league. Build-wise, van der Heijden is a two-way forward who is competent at both ends of the ice. He's a good skater with a great shot, but he struggles with stickchecking and isn't the greatest hitter despite his totals last season. Set to anchor a third line with SHL legend Joe Kurczewski, van der Heijden looks to be a solid player in the seasons to come.

Kaarlo Kekkonen, left wing, Renegades

, 902 TPE

Arguably the most decorated rookie forward coming up is former Falcons star Kaarlo Kekkonen, who won both the Raymond Lindsay and Ideen Fallah in S52 following a quite fantastic 62 point season. Kekkonen was one of three players to be a point-per-game last season (van der Heijden and linemate Edward Williams were the others) and can dish it for days (he had 33 assists in S52 and had 31 last season, good for second), starring on a Falcons team that romped to the Four Star Cup. He was also dynamite on the power play (19 points) and can play a role on special teams if need be. Obviously, he's a great offensive forward who can shoot, read the play well, and get open. He's also relatively fast and has great puckhandling skills, and is surprisingly competent defensively. Slated to play top 6 minutes on a Renegades team projected to be near the bottom of the West, Kekkonen should have his eyes on the Jesster as well as he plays a major offensive role on his team.

Ruslan Zaporozhets, left wing, Stars

, 830 TPE

Another player who should get top 6 minutes is former St. Louis Scarecrows star Ruslan Zaporozhets. The Czech left winger was second on the Scarecrows in scoring last season with 42 points (falling just short of the 46 points he had the season before), and scored 8 points in the playoffs as well. He also scored 15 power play points and was a major part of the Scarecrows' PP as a whole, averaging 4:04 PPTOI. Zaporozhets is a jack-of-all-trades offensively; he can shoot, screen, get open, the whole works (expected as a sniper). But he's also strong, agile and a decent checker (both with the body and the stick). However, Zapo isn't the fastest skater, which is only the real knock on his game. I expect him to have a big role on the not-so-good North Stars.

Alex Petrenko, defense, pride

, 807 TPE

Petrenko may be the most decorated player of this entire rookie class (S50 Anrikkanen Trophy for ROTY, S53 Quilha Agante for best defenseman) and is a dynamite offensive defenseman (41 points in S52 on a cup winning Outlaws team and 32 in S53) who's steady at the blue line (68 blocked shots, 34 takeaways last season) and can play on both the power play and penalty kill. He's a strong player who's really good in his own end (he can read the play, check, the whole lot) and has a great shooting range and an eye for a pass. However, despite being able to get off the mark quickly, his top-end speed is lacking (not a great sign, but also not the worth thing as he can work on his speed). Petrenko won't play a lot, as the Pride have a stacked defensive corp (see Leopold Lockhart, Dominic Montgomery, Ray Bork, Charlie Scheick), but he has the potential to be an elite defenseman.

Henrik Lundqvist Jr., center, Platoon

, 714 TPE

Next up is former Raptors/Falcons center Henrik Lundqvist Jr. Lundvist Jr. isn't the scoring type (his SMJHL career high in points was 25, which he reached in both S52 and S53). But what he lacks in offensive skill he more than makes up for in defensive acument (a staggering EIGHTY-ONE blocked shots, 19 takeaways). Henrik is a fast center who will beat you at the draw, reads the play well, has great positioning, and is a checker. He can also handle the puck well and is a great passer. However, Lundqvist Jr. lacks a great shot, isn't the most agile, and lacks in both strength and stamina. The Platoon will likely use him on the third line and penalty kill and he should be a very good defensive forward. Won't blow you away with his offensive skills but shines in the defensive end.

Al Kayhall, right wing, Steelhawks

, 669 TPE

A surprising name mentioned in the Jesster race has been former Timber winger Al Kayhall. Kayhall had two fantastic seasons in S51 and S52 (46 and 40 points respectively) before scoring 26 last season. However, while he's not the best scorer, he offers a great two-way game as he's useful on special teams and a defensive force (32 takeaways, 69 (nice) blocked shots). A worry is that he scored 11 of his 26 points on the power play, but that's not really anything to worry about yet. Al is a great skater who is agile, strong, adept at reading plays at both ends of the ice, a decent stickchecker, a fantastic puckhandler, and an easy target to find. Kayhall lacks a strong shot, and isn't the greatest shotblocker either (despite his nice totals from last season), but is just a really well-rounded forward and someone who should excel on the third line under good coaches in Hamilton.

Indigo Trevino, right wing, Platoon

, 611 TPE

Likely to be Lundqvist Jr.'s linemate is silky right winger Indigo Trevino, an accomplished scorer in the SMJHL (see 53 points in S52 and 30 in S53) who split time between Maine and St. Louis last season. Trevino is offense through and through, a player who can score both on the power play (8 points last season and 13 in S52) and at even strength. He's got a good shot, is fantastic at getting open, has great hands and read of offensive plays, and is fast to boot. But he cannot defend to save his life, lacks strength, stamina, and agility, and is a below-average passer. Trevino should operate as a third-line sparkplug offensively due to his speed and shot, but will struggle defensively.

Thicc Cheezy, left wing, Chiefs

, 542 TPE

Thicc Cheezy isn't a real scoring machine (after scoring 48 points in S52, he followed up the next season with 18, a 30 point decline), but he is a very good defensive forward who can block shots (108 blocks last season) and take away the puck with ease (28 takeaways). He was used on both the power play and penalty kill on a Maine team that missed the playoffs. Cheezy, as mentioned before, is great in his own end, and is a fantastic passer, along with being a decent skater who can read plays relatively well. However, he can't shoot really well, he lacks strength, and isn't really an offensive force. Cheezy, like most rookies, will play on the third line, and should act as a decent defensive forward.

Luc-Pierre Lespineau-Lebrunette, defense, syndicate

, 562 TPE

The big burly former Scarecrows defenseman Luc-Pierre Lespineau-Lebrunette is one scary motherfucker. The enforcer had a staggering 216 hits last season (in fact, he broke 100 hits every season he spent in the juniors) and blocked 41 shots while excelling on the penalty kill. He's a great option for third pairing defense and a penalty killer as he'll hit anything that stands and is great in his own end, with brute strength and decent stamina. However, he had 93 penalty minutes last season, showing a real lack of discipline, he's fairly slow, and he can't really offer anything offensively. A player to be feared, not because he's great, but because he will hit you, and he'll hit you hard.

Bale, right wing, Jets

, 682 TPE

Our first S52 call-up (and one of two in total) isn't one you'd expect. Adam Scianna, Cal Labovitch, and Rhys Pritchard are all names you'd think you get the call, but Bale is one that seemed to have caught most (not Winnipeg insiders) by surprise. Bale scored 34 points in S52 (winning the Four Star with the Outlaws) and 33 last season, so he's a decent scorer but not the best, and is a good power play forward (13 PPP last season). His defense isn't anything special (he can hit and read the play but won't wow you) and he's not the strongest or most agile, but Bale is a speedy kid who uses that speed to get open easily, and he can shoot and handle the puck fairly well. It's likely, but not certain, that the Jets will give Bale top 6 minutes so it'll be interesting to see how the season goes for him.

Olli Saarinen Jr., goalie, Specters

, 690 TPE

The other S52 callup is goalie Olli Saarinen Jr. filling in the backup role for the Specters that Sebastien Primeau had last season. Saarinen has been the main starter for the Raiders/Timber over the last two seasons, struggling in S52 (16-24-4 with an .878 save percentage and 3.37 GAA) before splitting starts with Leo Bloomfield last season, going 8-16-2 with a great save percentage of .913 and a better GAA of 3.03. Olli, like Doyle, is a hybrid goalie. He's great with the blocker and glove, and has great reflexes and positioning, but is prone to struggling with rebounds. Saarinen is seen as the future replacement for Aleister Cain, and while he's not going to get a lot of starts this season, Saarinen will be given time to develop by the Specters management team.

With the roundup of all 12 rookies done, here's my early Jesster rankings (keep in mind this is very very very early and will probably look bad come the end of the season)
1. Elizabeth Doyle
2. Kaarlo Kekkonen
3. Mitchell van der Heijden
4. Ruslan Zaporozhets
5. Alex Petrenko
6. Bale
7. Henrik Lundqvist Jr.
8. Al Kayhall
9. Indigo Trevino
10. Olli Saarinen Jr.
11. Luc-Pierre Lespineau-Lebrunette
12. Thicc Cheezy

It'll be interesting to see how this season goes, especially for the rookies, and I think the Jesster race is going to be very close. It should be a fun one.