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Arkz · 09-14-2020, 02:08 AM

Good evening folks! Well, after weeks and weeks of speculation, hype, mocks, point tasks, and Discord invites, we finally had the S57 Entry Draft! A new class of prospects have been welcomed into the league and assigned to their new teams and the first step towards next season has officially been taken. While there is going to be a good amount of media coming from various sources breaking down the picks and telling the story of the draft (shout outs to @Demolish for getting the party started), I thought it would make sense to focus on the Vancouver Whalers. Now the Whalers are coming off a middle of the road season, making the playoffs but losing to fellow nautically themed team, the Carolina Kraken. However, having come off that heartbreaking loss, Vancouver has already made some waves during the off season via trade. Their roster is a year older and a year more experienced, and they have a lot of hope going into next year. However, there are a few key pieces on the Whaler squad that may be called up in the very near future, so how would the General Managers add to that experienced core and wily veterans? Well, let's see who the Whalers harpooned during the draft and get into the picks!

Round 1, Pick 6: Jon St. Ark, Goalie
TPE: 187
Height: 6ft 2in
Weight: 190 lbs
Birthplace: Austria

Key skills:
Blocker: 12
Glove: 12
Positioning: 12

The first goalie taken off the board, young St. Ark here is a promising prospect from Austria. An early declaration for the draft meant that he had enough time to pick up some training from the league, and his status as a Draftable Free Agent for Vancouver during the end of the season meant that he got some experience and exposure in the locker room. Hopefully more experience than exposure, any way. St. Ark fits an important need for the Whalers, who expect to lose veteran and team leader Name Redacted at some point. St. Ark will hopefully take the opportunity to learn under the experienced net-minder while he can before the big job becomes his at some point. In the meantime, he will have to double down on his efforts to grow his skills if the General Managers are going to trust him with starting duties, or if they'll make a trade instead. Still, the fact that he was taken sixth in the draft in an otherwise crowded first round still is a good sign. The draft was a little shallow for goalies this year, but the talent was there and time will tell if Vancouver made the right decision.

Now, let's get into the other picks that Vancouver made in the draft! Next up we have...

Wait, am I missing something?

No, nothing here. Are we sure? We are? Double check. Okay triple check. Still? Well, okay then.

Yes, the Vancouver Whalers made only a single pick in this season's entry draft for the SMJHL. They join the Quebec City Citadelles as the only teams who made a single pick in the draft. Perhaps the General Managers got bored, or perhaps they didn't scout the talent beyond the first round. Or, perhaps, the actual truth. This is a deep, talented Vancouver Whalers team. There were some question marks, of course, but those were addressed in earlier trades and the goalie backup (and hopefully goalie of the future), was selected. Talented veteran players like Rotticus Scott (acquired via trade), William Hartmann, and Daniil Nikiforov will be out there, as well as young talent like Sarah Burke, Dee Centerman IV, and Valtterri Kauppinen will anchor this team. The Whalers made shrewd moves, planning for the future and acquiring picks in future drafts to help fill the gaps once the call ups come down. It may not have been the most exciting draft of all time, but it was a clear show of faith in the roster as it currently stands, and Vancouver will go into next season with a ton of confidence. During the course of the season, we'll be featuring some breakdowns of hot Whaler action, but for now we'll call it a day. Thanks for reading Whaler Nation!

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Dextaria · 09-14-2020, 02:11 AM

It's about the quality of the picks <3

Kraagenskul · 09-14-2020, 10:00 AM

Good stuff!

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