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TheFlash · 12-01-2020, 02:23 PM

Good morning everyone! Welcome to my weekly (maybe bi-weekly, we'll see) check in on the prospects of the San Francisco Pride. Of course, my interest on the subject stems from being a newly minted member of the club, being drafted in the most recent draft. Each article will check in on those who are members of the Pride's pipeline (a group I have officially dubbed as "The Cubboard") and follow their progress and activity along the way. I hope if you're a member of the team, or a just a fan of reading articles, you'll check this out each time I post and let me know what you think! Lets get to it!

For those who haven't been paying attention to the Pride, let me quickly catch you up to speed. The team has been through a few management changes over the past few seasons. Questionable moves were made, and the current management was forced to do a true rebuild, waiting out their prospects and embracing the suck. Of course, last season, the Pride had a brutal season. Unfortunately, they didn't have the first overall pick that they should have due to a trade made by previous management. Alas, the new now is ready to turn a corner, with some of their prospects being so close to making the jump, and the others who aren't so close are making fantastic progress. Below, I'll talk about the prospects (listed from "oldest" to "newest") and what the future holds for them. As we progress in the season, I'll be able to list some stats and analyze their games a bit closer!

(no specific order, just going from top to bottom in terms of how they are on the player page)

1) (S55) RD - Rikard Bjerg - 802 TPE Timber

Bjerg is perhaps the crown jewel of the Pride's prospect pool and is without a doubt the closest to being ready to make the jump. Drafted 1st overall in S55 by the Pride, he's been the definition of a sure fire, can't miss prospect. His dedication to improving his game has been well noted, winning the league award for "Most Dedicated" last season and earning a nomination for "Best Defensive Defenseman". He'll be joining the team next season and will surely be thrusted into a spot where he is heavily relied on by his teammates, and for good reason!

2) (S55) C - Walton Stromberg - 783 TPE Timber

The Maine to San Francisco pipeline is strong. Or should I say, Strom? Lame, sorry. Stromberg is another product of the S55 draft, being selected in the 2nd round, 22nd overall. He's been an offensive dynamo for the Timber, putting up 39 points last year and should be in contention to be amongst the league leaders this season. He'll also come up along with Bjerg next season, injecting some much needed youth and firepower into an offence that has grown stale with inactives.

3) (S55) G - Nicolae Antonescu - 755 TPE Scarecrows

The Pride's third and final pick of the Season 55 draft was Antonescu. At the time, they had just acquired superstar goalie Geezus Kyyrst and had a young Cillian Kavanagh (who they had just drafted three seasons before) ready to take the reigns after Kyyrst stepped aside. Of course, Kyyrst didn't really work as planned. Kavanagh wasn't having the rebuild and just signed this off season with Texas. Enter Antonescu. He's been the starter in St. Louis for sometime now, and is also just about ready to join the Pride. He's the highest earning goalie of his class by over 200 TPE, and is 16th among all players from that class. Fingers crossed, but it seems like the Pride will finally have a home grown, franchise goalie within their ranks.

4) (S55) RD - Nathan Thomas - 531 TPE Timber

Thomas is one of the few on this list NOT drafted by the Pride. He was taken by Texas with the 55th overall pick, and flipped to San Francisco before the season started in a package that saw Piotr Czerkawski go the other way. Thomas is actually earning above his draft spot, coming in at 40th in his class. He had a nice offensive season last year, with 22 points. The hope for this year is he'll be able to see more than the :38 he averaged on the powerplay, increasing his chance for some points. Not as big of an earner as his S55 counterparts (he also started roughly a month later than some in his class), he'll be a bit behind them in development, but should fit in with the team due to their inactive and next season being his fifth season (waiver eligible if the Pride decide to have him play his fifth season in the SMJHL).

5) (S56) LW - Yngve Simonsson - 570 TPE Falcons

Now we're getting into the players who are at LEAST another full season away from joining the Pride. Simonsson was the 7th overall pick by the Pride in the Season 56 draft, and ranks 12th in his class in TPE. He had a really nice sophomore season, scoring 12 goals and 33 total points. A dynamic playmaker, he'll complement the shooters on the Pride nicely. Look for him to likely spend one more season and make his debut in S59.

6) (S56) LW - Patrik Money - 457 TPE Knights

Money was drafted by the Pride at the back end of the 2nd round, 35th overall in the Season 56 draft. He's earned at about the same rate, being ranked in the mid 30's for his class. He showed some potential last year in a 25 point sophomore campaign in Kelowna. He saw some powerplay time, which is a great sign for his development. Expect to see him take on an even bigger role as a third year player this season

7) (S56) C - Daedalus James - 421 TPE Falcons

James was a third round pick 42nd overall selection by the Pride. James is a defensive minded center, who has a real knack for positioning and blocking shots. Last seasons total of 76 put him in the top 25 in the entire SMJHL. James (much like his S56 counterpart Money) is a later pick who isn't the biggest earner. He'll look to hone his defensive game this year, and will likely spend another before making the jump.

8) (S56) RW - Kev Kevens - 494 TPE Citadelles

Kevens was a bit of a steal, being taken after James at 46th overall. Despite the draft spot, he's jumped up to 30th in his class and continues to climb the ranks. Kevens is a big body at 6'3, but has fantastic skating. Like James, he blocked a lot of shots last season (77), a quality that's desired in forwards. With some more powerplay time this season, Kevens could take an offensive jump and really catch the interest of San Francisco management.

9) (S56) G - Valtteri Aalto - 333 TPE Falcons

Aalto was the last pick by the Pride in Season 56, at 61st overall. He unfortunately has had a few hiccups in his activity (one being nearly two months, the other a month) so he has fallen behind in TPE greatly compared to those in his class. Despite this, Aalto still has a shot at the backup role in San Francisco, as by the time he goes to the SHL, it's likely Kyyrst will be gone and Antonescu will be the full time backstop.

10) (S56) LW - Chad Danger - 392 TPE Battleborn

Danger was actually a fairly high selection by the Pride, their second in the Season 56 draft at 25th overall. He had a really nice season on a good Nevada team, scoring 39 points in his second season. Despite all of these positive factors, Danger has not updated since the second to last October update, and is filed away in the "what if" category for the Pride. A rare early draft miss by the club.

11) (S57) LW - Anna Pontecorvo - 246 TPE Knights

Pontecorvo was the final pick of the Pride in the S57 draft. She's been a bit sporadic in her updating, so the jury is still out on her as to whether or not she'll be an impact player at the next level.

12) (S57) LD - Ruggs McOoooh - 335 TPE Raptors

Ruggs was the first round pick of the Pride, and started off a long standing tradition of Dinos joining the Pride. He's fallen behind a bit, down to 24th in his class, but there is no worry within the brass in San Francisco, as he's a terrifically active member of the locker room and is about to have a season where he'll see top pairing and powerplay minutes in Colorado.

13) (S57) LW - Jarmo Kekalainen - 358 TPE Raptors

The 2nd choice by the Pride, early in the second round, here's another Raptor who is sure to have a massive season with a huge increase in ice time. He's earned well, and should be a key part of the rebuild from the Season 57 draft. He's a playmaker turned sniper, so expect to see him light the lamp for a long time in San Fran.

14) (S57) C - Igor Petrov - 282 TPE Citadelles

Igor was the 31st overall selection this past draft by San Francisco. He had a very respectable 10 goal, 20 point season in Quebec. He's in that TPE range that makes his career hard to forcast. He's not among the leaders in his class, but he's no slouch either, closing in on 300. He should be close to capping next season, around 400, which is a fine spot for a player drafted where he was. As you know if you've read this far, the Pride have several forwards who will likely make the jump before Petrov is ready, so there's no rush.

15) (S57) C - Sonata Diamante - 267 TPE Raptors

Diamante was the the fourth of four 2nd round picks by the Pride in the Season 57 draft. He's yet another S57 Raptor taken by the team, and he's seeing an increased role down there this season, with some top six time and a bit of powerplay action as well. He had a fine season last year, but had a dip in his activity that he has seemed to have corrected. Could be a slow burner that turns into a fine player for the Pride. Oh, and ITS LONDON STYLE BABY (If Matty reads this he'll understand).

16) (S57) RW - Mikael Koskinen - 357 TPE Citadelles

Now THIS was a value pick. Picked as the last pick in the second round, Koskinen is a excellent earner, in the top twenty of his class. Koskinen should see a massive bump in his role in Quebec now that he's a 350 capped, and will probably have the rest of the league's GMs kicking themselves for passing on him for seasons to come. The Pride management have to be thrilled that Koskinen was on the board when their pick came back around.

Well, that does it for this week. Just wanted to get a media in for some cold hard cash, also wanted to set the ground work for what will likely be a weekly recap spot. Might not do each prospect every week, but I'll probably focus on a few who had big weeks. Just a fun way to do some research and stay up to date on the comings and going of the Cubs.

I think needless to say, regardless of the reputation of the Pride right now, it's pretty clear they've got a young team coming up that has a ton of potential. Couple that was a few teams in their division getting older, maybe retiring or depreciating? Baby, you've got a stew going!

2007 words. brb taking a nap. ready for grading!