Coming off of a mediocre season, finishing 4th in the West, the Anaheim Outlaws needed to find a solid draft this offseason in order to try to propel the roster forward. Thankfully for them they set themselves up well to have a pair of picks in the second round, and were lucky enough to land the top pick in the draft. In total, Anaheim made picks at 1, 15, 19, 30, and 39, passing on all further picks after the class had thinned out. As the season kicked off earlier today, the Outlaws sit at 0-0-2, opening up the season with a pair of close overtime losses, but showing strong performance with their fresh blood playing active roles in the lineup.

Picked 1OA - Arsene Leclerc, LD

Offensive Ratings
Screening: 5
Getting Open: 11
Passing: 11
Puckhandling: 10
Shooting Accuracy: 11
Shooting Range: 10
Offensive Read: 10

Defensive Ratings
Checking: 12
Hitting: 5
Positioning: 11
Stickchecking: 10
Shot Blocking: 8
Faceoffs: 5
Defensive Read: 11

Physical Ratings
Acceleration: 10
Agility: 11
Balance: 10
Speed: 10
Stamina: 13
Strength: 9
Fighting: 5

Picked at first overall the Outlaws selected Arsene Leclerc, who represents an SMJHL franchise puck-moving defenseman, who slots into an offensive oriented lineup well and has the ability coming into the league to be strong on the powerplay. Going into this season he will be playing on the second pair at even-strength and has already kicked off the season well with 1 goal and 1 assist in the leading 2 games of the season. His best attributes are his ability to find space on the ice, as well as disrupt the opponents flow of play going the other way, as well as strong accuracy when shooting the puck. He tends to avoid committing to hits or shot blocks, preferring to use his stickwork and puck handling to strip pucks and make it difficult to get past him. In the offensive zone he is difficult to track, has strong hands, and is able to find the net no matter where in the zone he gets the chance. He is currently one of the highest talents in the league and should be able to quickly establish himself in the league as a threat and a key piece of the Outlaws core, and will need to make sure he continues to make progress on both sides of the puck in order to become more reliable in his own zone.


Picked 15OA - Vincent Mietitore, G

Goalie Ratings
Blocker: 12
Glove: 11
Passing: 9
Poke Check: 9
Positioning: 12
Rebound: 11
Recovery: 12
Puckhandling: 9
Low Shots: 12
Reflexes: 13
Skating: 9

Finding Mietitore at 15th in the draft was a steal as he comes into the league as one of the premier options in net and has already shown himself to be capable of putting up big performances in the preseason games. He has had some struggles in the opening pair of games, only posting a 0.885 save percentage, but having posted multi-50 save games in the preseason, there isn’t anyone questioning his position in Anaheim. He has a very strong ability in net to track pucks through traffic and put rebounds to low danger areas. He has some trouble handling the puck and moving around in his crease on occasion, but if he is able to get himself set in time he is nearly unbeatable.


Picked 19OA - Michael Scotch. RD

Offensive Ratings
Screening: 5
Getting Open: 10
Passing: 10
Puckhandling: 10
Shooting Accuracy: 10
Shooting Range: 10
Offensive Read: 13

Defensive Ratings
Checking: 10
Hitting: 8
Positioning: 8
Stickchecking: 8
Shot Blocking: 9
Faceoffs: 5
Defensive Read: 10

Physical Ratings
Acceleration: 10
Agility: 10
Balance: 7
Speed: 9
Stamina: 12
Strength: 8
Fighting: 6


Taking Scotch at 19 has yet to pay off for the Outlaws, as he has fallen slightly behind relative to his draft position. He has a strongly offensive build, making him a threat to opposition despite being a rookie. So far this season, Scotch has been an effective defenseman, putting up a solid +2 over 2 games, despite not being involved on the score sheet. He has settled in at around 17 minutes a night on the blueline, but the Outlaws are hoping for him to flourish into an offensive threat who can soak up more minutes in the coming seasons. He will find it hard to crack the powerplay early on as the Outlaws have a few more established options for that role, in both their current franchise Dman, James LeBlond, and potential future in Arsene Leclerc. It is difficult to say how far Scotch will develop, but all the Outlaws can hope is that he is able to put time in to establish himself into the top four and potential powerplay in future seasons.


Picked 30OA - Farley Hank, RD

Offensive Ratings
Screening: 5
Getting Open: 11
Passing: 11
Puckhandling: 11
Shooting Accuracy: 12
Shooting Range: 12
Offensive Read: 11

Defensive Ratings
Checking: 9
Hitting: 9
Positioning: 9
Stickchecking: 9
Shot Blocking: 9
Faceoffs: 5
Defensive Read: 11

Physical Ratings
Acceleration: 9
Agility: 9
Balance: 9
Speed: 9
Stamina: 12
Strength: 9
Fighting: 5

After sliding deep into the draft, Farley Hank has become a bit of an early steal. He has progressed through the preseason enough to be seen as a top 25 player in the draft class, and is yet another offensive focused D man for the Outlaws. Based on this draft class alone we can see that the Outlaws like their offensive players, and Hank fits right into that strategy. His premier talents as of season starting are his high level shot, and ability to run the offensive side of the game on and off the puck. Ultimately though his play is a little cavalier, as he is lacking in his defensive and physical side of the game as of late. Anaheim would probably like to see a bit more time in the gym to develop his physical potential at the very least, as well as a bit more time working on his ability to disrupt opponents without committing to a hit. Like his fellow rookie D men, Hank has also had a solid start to their first season, putting up 1 assist, 4 hits, and 4 shots on goal in the first 2 games.

Unfortunately, Viktor Petrenko, Anaheim’s 39th OA pick was not able to crack the roster out of camp, and has not been retained. That has been the early season review of the rookies in Anaheim!

890~ words without ratings pastes

APPROVED +5 TPE @spooked