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AnnaH · 11-30-2020, 02:23 AM

The most interesting move yet has to be New England Wolfpack moving up for the first pick, selecting Jonathan Granström. I consider him as a franchise defining center. Gonna be interesting to see where it lands them in a few years.

Mazatt · 11-30-2020, 02:25 AM

There are a couple offseason moves that stood out for me, and shockingly they all revolve around the Edmonton Blizzard. Exiting last season they had 3 rostered defensemen, with the rights to Jon Toner who is at 992 TPE, and IA FA's Zhernov and Wolfe who sat around 900 TPE combined. Their rostered defencemen all sat at above 1000 TPE, with Scholz and Rhys combining as a top defensive pairing in the west. But they were still left with the issue of how to handle their defence. Personally I figured they would re-sign Toner, call up Axel Foley, and find an IFA to fill a hole, maybe even an AFA if we were lucky.

That got all kinds of fucked up with the first move, Toner to Los Angeles for McZehrl + 1st
This is a significant move for a number of reasons; and it stands for both teams. Los Angeles struggled mightily on the defensive side of the puck last season, needing an MVP-eque season from Knox Booth in order to make the playoffs. With this trade they acquire a defensemen in Toner, who was previously a Panther for a majority of his career, and also dumped GOD McZehrl who was a large cap presence on a team looking to attract free agents. While the free agency side of things didn't pan out for LA, they were still able to acquire their 3rd best defensemen TPE wise to fight for a playoff spot in the West. This is also matched by them making room for up and coming rookie, Linus Grimstad to make an appearance in the lineup for his inaugural SHL season.

The Edmonton side of things is also massive. With plenty of cap space to play with, Edmonton dropped GOD McZehrl for a penalty of $2.5 million and essentially traded a retiring, sub-1000 defensemen for a 1st. Seeing how this plays out for Edmonton in the future, you need look no further than that S57 1st which was used to select Rude Sniff this past season. For a team that is lacking defensive depth with its prospects, being able to add a boom or bust d-man in Sniff is massive. A recreate with a storied past, Sniff has a lot of potential and has already been viewed as one of the 'steals' of the S57 draft by pundits. The impact of this pick panning out would be massive for Edmonton, being able to run a tandem of Foley - Sniff for the foreseeable future would be a massive boon for the question of how they follow up the successes of Scholz and Rhys as a pairing. If it doesn't pan out, all they've lost is 2.5 in cap space that they didn't need. Also Toner, but he's still around and I love him.

So my expectations we're a bit shot, but this one was predictable, Calling up Axel Foley
I don't mean to toot my own horn but reigning Agante trophy winner, and MVP nominee Axel Foley joining the SHL is going to be big. I hope. With the current d-core looking like
Scholz - Rhys
Tanner -
-
There was some work to be done. By calling up Foley they get a defensemen who is at 824 TPE at the time of the season starting, which is almost double what they had all of last season on the bottom pairing. On it's own it's a move that takes the pressure off of Edmonton's big defensive stars, especially with the minutes they had to much last year. Even if Foley is absolutely dog shit, him simply existing on the roster frees up Edmonton's top guns to produce more. In terms of looking at the future, Foley is currently 2nd in his class for TPE and was a top prospect in the Blizzard org, being called up after three seasons in the J to a competing team, only rivaled by former teammate Conner Hutton being called up a year prior to a team that made the playoffs. This is the beginning of what will hopefully be a long relationship with the Blizzard, and Foley hopes to open it up with a bang.

Adding Foley gets a whole lot better when you look at FA Signings
The first move was a savvy pickup off of the IFA market by Edmonton; Chico Smeb. After getting posted for 4 million by Chicago, Keygan offered 4.5... and that was it. Smeb sits at just above 1000 TPE and at the time of signing would be the 4th highest TPE defensemen on the Edmonton roster. I can't reiterate enough how huge adding defensive depth for the top guns is for Edmonton, so I won't. You get the idea. All that matters is that by signing Smeb they are effectively upgrading 1 IA player from 400 TPE -> 1000 TPE. That's a pretty big difference when looking to compete.

In another savvy move, Edmonton reached out to the retiring Eric Vanderberg for another run at the cup in his final year in the league. With Edmonton being one of the first teams to reach and actually inform Vanderberg of his ability to play, it was an easy choice to bring him on as another d-man hovering about 1000 TPE. With an eye for the offensive side of the game it wouldn't surprise me to see Vanderberg helm one of Edmonton's powerplay units, giving one of Rhys or Scholz the occasional special teams rest throughout the season. While these two pickups aren't made for the future, they offer immense value this seaosn.

Realizable impact
Instead of giving you an inherently biased look at the Edmonton d-core I would instead refer you to Muerto's S57 NW division - Roster TPE Analysis article which states Edmonton as now having the "strongest overall defensive core [in the NW]", or possibly the entire west.

I have also continually referred to the prospect of giving the top Edmonton players a 'break'. For reference, last season Scholz and Rhys each played 25 minutes each night on average. Tanner and Toner? 23 minutes a pop. This meant that Zhernov and Wolfe combined for an average of 12 minutes of ice time per game. In the playoffs this trend continued, leading to the bottom pairing averaging 10 minutes a night. For a team that, by the time they took Hamilton to game 7, looked gassed, those minutes become crucial. If Vanderberg (15 minutes) and Smeb (17 minutes) are able to handle similar minutes in the regular season, Edmonton will be able to manage not running their stars into the ground and running a more even set of ice time, and be able to trust the bottom 4 in playoff games to not struggle as much as this past season.

I feel like doing another trade:
Toronto - Winnipeg
To Toronto: Adam Barron
So this is a big grab for Toronto. You get a top defensemen who is going to produce for y e a r s to come. An immediate boost of 1.7k TPE for a team looking to be competitive in a tight divison? Hell yeah. The future impact of this for Toronto in terms of winning now looks good. Barron matches up with the current core of Kandinsky, Lane, and Carpet, and will continue to be relevant as players like Rhys Pritchard, Danny Marston, and really a lot more prospects come into their own. I don't know how many times I can rephrase they added their #1 defensemen. But wait, what could you possibly give up that's worth a #1 d-man?

To Winnipeg: 2 S57 1sts, S57 2nd, Daniel Kuster, Sarah Burke, and James Kimanje.
So yeah. Turns out you have to give to get. For Toronto let's look at some justification for this massive package
Future D-core:
Barron - Zimmerman
Mezaros - Sato
Richards - Fudgeson

Well... ok losing Sarah Burke seemingly hurts quite a bit. She's a well earning prospect on the defensive end who is looking to be impactful in the league, and would be the perfect replacement for Fudgeson as they slow down, or a fallback option in case any players in front go inactive. However that's alright. Barron is an immediate upgrade and trading 1 d-man for 1 d-prospect seems reasonable (Kuster is IA). The other pieces, are really hefty to lose. The picks that turned into Hellstrom and Gretzky, as well as James Kimanje. Those are three forwards who project to be at least impactful at the big leagues. Of course, forward is one area of Toronto's roster I feel they have room to address. Perhaps not in the sense they don't have prospects there, but say, being able to take Gretzky and picking from the healthy crop of Jari Heikkinen, or Ruggs McOooh on the back end would be massive, as well as keeping recent award winner James Kimanje. For Toronto this is a trade that has a lot of room to go south, and the future impact of this deal could be felt for years to come. If Hellstrom, Gretzky, and Burke all project to match up to their expectations this will be a trade Toronto looks back on and wonders if they could've given up less for Barron, as these prospects would line up as a second wave of depth to support players eventually leaving Toronto as they become competitive.

For Winnipeg, hot damn. The came into this offseason with the knowledge they'd be losing Zlatan Ibrahimovic Jr. to free agency, so forcing moves to stay competitive in the weak west, while enticing for making the playoffs, clearly couldn't be the focus of the team. A future d-core that already features Pojo Biscuit and Magnus Liljestrom is already a good prospect (alongside prospect Jesper Maximov), adding in Sarah Burke and her potential is a huge boon for the organization. Slip McScruff is going to be leading this d-core for the forseeable future but with this deal Winnipeg has completed a future top 4 for when they hope to be competitive around top earning starter, Strom Chamberlain.

The forwards in this deal add a lot more intrigue, as expected. Over the next couple seasons I could see:

Shepard - Muerto - Brain (no reason for this to change)
Crudelli - Sutherland - McCloud
Zuntnere - Desrouleaux - Diporov

This is under the assumption Blunt retires and IA's like Bale are eventually dropped off the roster. The most noticable thing here for me is that Winnipeg is lacking in natural centres, only having Muerto as options at the SHL level with Jst Maro still being a ways off from impacting the game, and they will need to shift a winger to play down the middle as seen with Desrouleaux. In all honesty I am surprised that Winnipeg didn't do as I outlined above for Toronto with the picks and pursue more defensemen. While they have a great top 4 for the future they have no other young d-men to come up and supplement that core. Again, shooting for a Ruggs McOooh or Jari Heikkinen while also getting Gretzky/Hellstrom. Regardless, the future impact of this trade will be massive for Winnipeg if all pans out right. They have a goal scoring sensation in Hellstrom, a top forward prospect from S57 in Dwayne Gretzky, a solid D prospect in Burke, on top of an improving Kimanje, and the unmentioned Metitore (mostly because I feel he has limited impact playing behind Storm Chamberlain). If that all pans out that is a young core they will be able to build around for the next decade of SHL hockey, however there is always a chance with prospects that we look back on this deal and ask how Toronto got away with the steal they did for Adam Barron. Regardless, the current outlook is that Winnipeg has further cemented the next core of the Jets with this move.

Massive Coiler · 11-30-2020, 02:28 AM

Toronto traded for Adam Barron, who is absolutely dirt nasty. And most importantly, have reduced my monstrous minutes, which is probably the best thing for the team.

*Katth* · 11-30-2020, 02:55 AM

The best moves these offseason was everyone the Kelowna Knights drafted this entry draft for the SMJHL. Every single person has been amazing so far and the locker room has gained a lot of energy and we are sure that we can make things happen with this group of players.

S50 Challenge Cup Finals Game 7
[Image: gNFVjT6.png]

*Keven* · 11-30-2020, 03:10 AM

San Francisco made some great moves during the draft by selecting players not only based on their effectiveness on the ice, but also taking the player's junior team into consideration. Three of six picks play for the Colorado Raptors, while two play for Quebec City, which will increase comradery in the locker room due to this familiarity.

Gumbaman · 11-30-2020, 03:17 AM

The offseason that stood out to me was the Kraken's. They went into the draft after losing some key pieces of their team. But came out stronger than before. They draft amazing rookies, one Being r0tzbua and another being amidships. Both being top earners and amazing people. They've been an amazing presence in the Locker room and just around the league. It's been an hour to be around them and to also be their assistant captain this season. But not only those two. They drafted more amazing people who have been sich a locker room presence. To me, they had the best draft out of any J team.

Snuffalupagus · 11-30-2020, 03:48 AM

In the S57 SHL Entry Draft, The Baltimore Platoon drafted Rob Wright in the greatest decision in SHL Entry Draft history. Wright brings an insane tool kit that is missing in SHL arenas - his mother's sewing kit. Wright has spent most of his SMJHL career sewing jerseys throughout the junior league. The Anaheim Outlaws couldn't cover their nipples for over three weeks before Wright intervened. Now that Baltimore has a new seamstress, they're going to have their holes patched.

Wink

UrsinZ · 11-30-2020, 03:51 AM

Well the Toronto North Stars traded for Adam Barron, first off it was a great trade and second it helps their D a lot. So now i dont have to play this many minutes anymore.

Zema · 11-30-2020, 03:59 AM

The call-up of Gudmundur Kristjansson from the Colorado Raptors t the New England Wolfpack will show itself as a great move as he wins the best rookie award!

Salming · 11-30-2020, 04:45 AM

I followed of course closely how Seattle drafts and uses its picks on its second ever SHL draft. I was impressed that they picked goalie Yanno Rosejac because every organisation needs a good goalie to have successful future and maybe he will be a key part of Argonauts' success in the future.

***retuperkele*** · 11-30-2020, 04:57 AM

Calgary Dragons offseason has simply been superior compared to everyone else. During this time the Dragons called up backup goalie Cale Amundsen from the Newdfoundland Berserkers, as well as his team mate Mats Marner. Last but not least they called up Mack Daddy, a very promising forward, to add to their forward depth core. In the latest SHL draft they used their 14th overall first round pick to add Luukas Lilja to their rising star squadron. Lilja posted 2 goals and 17 assists for total of 19 points in his first season with Carolina Kraken. Calgary made some big deals here and there and are looking stronger than ever for their upcoming campaign

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dankoa · 11-30-2020, 05:02 AM

Not really sure on this one, feel like there’s been less huge moves this offseason compared to the one before. Maybe the Barron trade, saw an elite player entering his prime go one direction and a lot of picks and future assets come back the other way. Interested to see how it pans out for both teams but defo one that grabbed the headlines

C9Van · 11-30-2020, 05:29 AM

I think it has to be the defensive players that Edmonton Blizzard picked up. Cause now with the D looking a lot stronger we can basically have an even better shot at winning it all and getting insane stats again like 2 seasons ago. True contender this season.

[48 words]

***Tomen*** · 11-30-2020, 05:37 AM

A move that didn't get enough attention from my point of view was Toronto acquiring Adam Barron. Barron is going to be a huge important piece of a Toronto squad that is poised to take the fight for a playoff spot to the other Great Lakes teams and is shaping about to be a contender in about 5 to 6 seasons.

Thank you all for the amazing sigs & player cards
Germany

3. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 5 (Maximilian Wachter, Alexis Metzler) at 16:25
5. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 6 (Steven Stamkos Jr., Brynjar Tusk) at 19:48
8. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 7 (Brynjar Tusk, Alexis Metzler) at 13:55
9. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 8 (Anton Fedorov, Mikelis Grundmanis) at 15:12
10. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 9 (Dickie Pecker) at 19:43 (Empty Net)

***_Blitz_*** · 11-30-2020, 06:37 AM

The Scarecrows had a big draft this season. Our rookie class looks promising, which is really needed after we drafted a large class last season and only had two players drafted to the SHL. If they develop well, the 'Crows could be a sleeper pick for Round 2.

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