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Keenan · 10-27-2020, 02:33 PM

Well the playoffs are upon us, and that means that the SMJHL entry draft is not that far away. SMJHL GM’s are no doubt busy trying to advance their teams to the promised land and may not have all that much time to focus on scouting right now, so I figure, let’s be a nice guy and help them out, at least on one front. I’ll scout myself for them. But the catch is I’m going to scout them as well. Let’s begin:

Hi, I’m Keenan, I’m 28 and live in Illinois. I started in the SHL in season 10, built a nice long career with my first player, Kyle Keenan and actually ended up a 2 time cup champion and Hall of Famer! Afterwards I recreated as Clayton Goode and just kind of ran out of steam making 2 players back to back. When I recreated as Kyle Keenan Jr, some circumstances lead to me becoming inactive again, but I’m back and have renewed vigor for the site!

So, says the hypothetical GM reading this, why should I draft this guy? Good question! I think my previous paragraph made it clear that I have built a strong player before. I know we’ve switched engines and all, but I still think going through the motions before can put me in a nice spot where I am familiar with how to succeed in the SHL. My prior experience also means I’ve accrued a nice amount of money in the bank, just over $30M. Now we all know money isn’t too hard to come across, but it must be pretty nice to know that they guy you’re drafting has enough to reliably train every week as well as purchase the top tier personal training as soon as he hits your roster. I also like to think of myself as a positive LR presence, I’m sure most people I’ve shared LRs with in the past can attest to that.

Ok, you say, but what’s stopping you from going inactive again? Again, good question, I think it comes down to a few factors. 1) This is the most excited I’ve been to be here since my first player. A new sim engine, several new teams, a new player builder and bank system, it actually feels like joining the league for the first time in a way. 2) Much more free time. I work full time, but I live 10 minutes from work. I am in management so sometimes it ends up being 9 or 10 hr days, but again, I’m only 10 minutes from work. I’m going on kind of a tangent, but having done hour long commutes I can’t tell you how much of my day is freed up from being a stone’s throw from work. Likewise, I moved from my hometown so I’m definitely not out with friends as much (even before the pandemic) and while I work 8a-4p most days, my girlfriend works 3p-11p. Put that all together and I usually have at least 6 hours of time to myself every day, with which I can use to build a wonderful player.

But that’s enough about me, let’s get to me scouting you guys out. As a disclaimer, I’m not picky, I have my preferences, we all do, but I will play for anyone. There are three main criteria that I’m looking for in a team. 1) I want a good LR full of great people and just a nice place to hang out 2) a chance at a cup. I’ve never won a 4 star cup, and since it seems like players spend much more time in juniors now than in my heyday I’d like to add some hardware in my time here, and 3) I’d prefer to be a key player sooner rather than later. It kind of ties in to #2, where odds are you’re gonna start as a #5-6 D-man, but I’d prefer seeing a path to first or second pairing open itself up pretty quickly, I think it would be good for my production. That’s not to say I intend to start a stink about playing time or anything like that, quite the opposite, I will definitely start as a bottom pairing D-man and have to earn my playing time. It’s just that were everything else the same I’d rather play somewhere where that path to first or second pairing isn’t as long. If I’m reading the rules correctly then I’m checking each team’s roster for D-men from S57, 56, and 55, as players from S54 will have to pass through waivers to play in the SMJHL next season.

Anaheim Outlaws
Anaheim is a new franchise, one that I have no prior feelings about. The first thing I notice is their logo, which I do kind of like, although I get kangaroo before I get rabbit. And I may not know much, but I know they don’t have any kangaroos in California. Next thing I see is that Donini is GM, which is pretty cool, we broke into the league in the same season, and he was always someone I compared my career to. We hadn’t talked much, but I always respected him. Looking at their roster though, I don’t know how much room they have for me. They have a young active core of Scotch, Hank, and Leclerc. Looks like Hiller and Schaufelberger haven’t been online within the last week so if that continues, I may be able to leapfrog them, but it looks like a trek to the first pairing.

Anchorage Armada
Anchorage is where Keenan cut his teeth, back when it was still known as Prince George (the first time), so in a way it’s where I first fell in love with the league. Ragnar is someone I’ve always thought would be a good teammate, and though they look very defense heavy on first glance, it seems like they have a lot of S54 guys, and guys that the SHL team won’t want to lose, but also some guys that they might risk exposing to waivers. Ultimately with Anchorage I think it comes down to whether or not New England sends down Sawful and Toronto sends down Petrikov. They both haven’t been online in a few weeks, so I could see them being exposed to waivers if need be. If they’re both staying up though there seems to be a pretty good chance at 4D almost immediately.

Carolina Kraken
The Kraken are the continuation of the Impact/Militia franchise, the franchise where I got my first GM job, even though it was only for one season. My last player was also with Montreal, but I really didn’t enjoy my time there. Granted that was several seasons ago so I’m not going to hold it against the current regime or anything, but it does warrant mentioning. They don’t seem to have too many familiar faces, and like Anaheim they seem to have an active young D corps. They did finish 1st in the conference this season, though. Ultimately Carolina isn’t checking off too many of my boxes, but were they to pick me, I’d look forward to be proven wrong.

Colorado Raptors
Colorado is basically a copy paste of what I said about Carolina, but without the finishing first in their conference. They have 6 rostered defensemen right now, 2 of which are active young players, 2 of which are S54s, one I’d wager on being in the SHL this season and one that is hit or miss whether or not he’ll be sent down (I’d lean towards sent down), and then 2 inactives, though ones with high TPE. And one of those inactives is JayTee, who I was teammates with before and would love to be teammates with again, but alas. Ultimately it seems Colorado has at least 4 and probably 5 of their defense spots filled up, so I’m sure I won’t be high on their list, but if I’m a Raptor come draft day, then I’ll be ecstatic.

Detroit Falcons
Let’s rip the band-aid off right away, the Falcons were last in the league this season. Ultimately, I suppose that means there is nowhere to go but up, but how quickly can they rebound? I’d imagine in the SMJHL teams can bounce back quite quickly with all the roster turnaround, but I’ve been gone for seasons, so I’m certainly no expert. But they do have JP which is a huge plus, and I’m pretty sure WannabeFinn was a GM of one of my recreates at some point, so that would be nice too. Of course, the downside is their defensemen are all pretty active and pretty young. I’d be pretty excited to be a Falcon, but I’d also be pretty surprised. I’d expect the Detroit GM (assuming they actually have their 1st rounder) to grab a forward, since it’s such a defense heavy draft.

Kelowna Knights
The Knights were the second worst team in the league, points wise, last season. They have a strong D-corps for this coming season, but I could see myself cracking some major playing time in the season afterwards as guys like Goodname, Park, and Super Sonic probably won’t be exposed to waivers. If I’m drafted by Kelowna I’ll definitely have to look at the big picture instead of the immediate repercussions. Yes, I’ll probably end up as a 6D or something for the first season, but there is certainly a path open to the top 4 by the next season.

Maine Timber
Definitely a very stacked team of Defensemen, I already count 6 on their roster that will probably be down next season. Now, in fairness, if he continues his inactivity, I’ll definitely be passing Zipfel in TPE by training camp time, if not earlier. Similar to Kelowna, I also see quite a few players that will be in the SHL for S58, so I should certainly have an inroad to more playing time.

Nevada Battleborn
I count 7 defensemen on Nevada’s roster. All of them from seasons 57, 56, or 55, and therefore all eligible to be sent down again without penalty. All of them active within the last day. 6/7 of them are either S56 or S57. They are set defensively for quite some time. Which is unfortunate, because it seems like quite a good LR. I loved my time being teammates with Andy, and there’s quite a few guys I’ve always respected, but never really shared a LR with or talked with, guys like Wasty, Leafs, Jala, and WiC. So while it does seem like a good fit in some regards, I’d be very surprised if they end up taking a D-man early (though in this defense heavy draft, who knows).

Newfoundland Berserkers
I’m definitely most familiar with Newfoundland, considering that’s where I signed as a pre-draft free agent. So far the LR has been great, and filled with some of my favorite people from when I was on the site before: Tez, Ty, JNH, Jedi, bbp, etc. Like it’s kind of crazy how this LR seems almost tailored to me. They also won the cup last season and finished second in the conference this season. My biggest concern with Newfoundland is playing time. I see 4 guys that are waiver eligible this season, so assuming they all are up in the SHL that would clear a spot at 5D for me, but if even half of them are sent down, there’s not really a spot for me. Similarly, none of the other 4 guys are even S55 draftees, so there would be quite the trek to a top 4 spot, let alone a top 2. Newfoundland is a fantastic destination for many reasons, I’m just a little worried about if I’d slot in playing time wise.

Quebec City Citadelles
Another team that’s just stacked on defensemen. I don’t see any universe where Bergman is exposed to waivers, so that’s one that’ll be up next season, but Quebec City still has 6 defensemen rostered, all of them either S56 or S57, and most of them are active as well. The only one I could see myself passing anytime soon is Goodman, and that’s without a return to activity from him. Otherwise there just doesn’t seem to be a spot for me either now or in the future.
St. Louis Scarecrows
Clayton Goode was a St. Louis Scarecrow, and I had a good time there. They had the third worst record last season and don’t really have too many guys I’m familiar with. However, what they do seem to have is ample playing time. I count only four defensemen on their active roster (aside from the S58s). Lambert is a S55, so he’ll be in the SHL come my sophomore season, which leaves 3. Weiser is a good prospect, but after him is Matty David who hasn’t been online since August, and Jimmy Dekens who hasn’t been on since September. Both of them currently sit at under 250 TPE. You figure I’m currently at 165 TPE, and by the start of the season I should accrue at least 56 TPE (3 ACs @ 2 TPE each, 3 weekly trainings @ 3 TPE each, 20 TPE from Personal Training, 10 TPE from Training Camp, 2 TPE from Early Bird PT, 6 TPE from the Interested Prospects PT, 3 TPE for Mock Draft), which would put me at 221 TPE, without even lacing up the skates, and that’s assuming I don’t get anything right in my mock draft! Ultimately the point I’m trying to make to the Scarecrows is if you draft me, I’ll be a top 4 D-man almost immediately, and should be able to step in for Lambert next season without hesitation.

Vancouver Whalers
And here we are, at the end, with the best team in the league this season. Vancouver led the league in points this season, but maybe that was a bit of a swan song? 8 of their players are S54, so are ineligible to come back down next season, likewise 6 players are S55 and will therefore be exposed to waivers upon being sent down next season. I’m no expert, but there does seem to be a few guys that GMs wouldn’t want to risk being exposed. So, with Vancouver, like with so many others it comes down to those send downs. They’ll have a very solid top 4 heading into next season with Burke, Leavitt, O’Donoghue, and Shuffleboard and then Sato and Snail as potential send downs. If they both get sent down (I wouldn’t think they would, but I’m new to all this, maybe I’m making waivers out to be a bigger thing than they are) I wouldn’t have a spot, but if not I’d have a comfy bottom pairing spot with the team coming off of the best record in the league. I reckon you can do worse than that.