Draft Analysis: PART I


ANAHEIM OUTLAWS

OVERVIEW

The Outlaws come into this draft as the worst team in the West and needs help on both offense and defense. In the past few seasons, they have been drafting defenseman after defenseman trying to build up their stockpile of young D. This has worked out well for them as they now have a ton of young defensemen that could be the best in the league in a few seasons. Last year started the transition to grooming forwards with Kawashima in the 4th overall spot. They are going to take a huge hit in scoring losing "Long" John Donair to the SHL. His 15 goals led the team, and he was second in points (33). Kappo Kampainen won't be too far behind Donair joining the halls of the SHL. Anaheim must look to recoup these future losses and look for a forward in this year's draft. There are a ton to choose from and picking high will help get the one they want.


PAST PICKS IN ROUNDS 1 AND 2 SINCE S56

S58 - Round 1 - 4th overall - C - Ryuuji Kawashima

S58 - Round 2 - 21st overall - LD - Sekai Wollker

S56 - Round 1 - 1st overall - LD - Arsene Leclerc

S56 - Round 2 - 15th overall - G - Vincent Mietitore

S56 - Round 2 - 19th overall - RD - Michael Scotch

MAINE TIMBER

OVERVIEW

The worst team in the league employed multiple DFAs to end the season and need help on both sides of the puck. For this pick, I could see the Timber going either way, either forward or defenseman. In the first two rounds of the past two drafts, Maine has gone with forwards. They might try to shake things up and pick a defenseman. Maine wasn't much better than St. Louis in the goals against department (3.68 GA), so picking up someone who can keep the puck out of the net may be the best thing for them. Another factor they should really consider is activity level. This is important for all franchises, but for a team that is trying to improve and climb up the standings, it is paramount. Look for Maine to take a long look at all the DFAs they signed this season.


PAST PICKS IN ROUNDS 1 AND 2 SINCE S56

S58 - Round 1 - 5th overall - C - Miguel Hefeweizen

S58 - Round 2 - 22nd overall - RW - Julian Kazarine

S57 - Round 1 - 7th overall - C - Dogwood Maple

S57 - Round 2 - 16th overall - LW - Fredrik Stefansson

S56 - Round 2 - 18th overall - LD - Sean Gatez

QUEBEC CITY CITADELLES

OVERVIEW

It's insane how good this team is. And they may just pay for it too: a few Citadelles are on the list for potential SHL recruits. This pick could really go either way - forward or defenseman. Quebec City may look to shore up some potential holes in the defense if Jasper Maximov leaves for the SHL this year. But then again, a ton of their forwards are approaching or exceeding 800 TPE. S60 could see a wave of forwards leave QCC for the SHL. Citadelles management may look to the future and try to get a nice forward prospect to groom before the loss of scoring power next year. This is the hardest pick to predict, I think.


PAST PICKS IN ROUNDS 1 AND 2 SINCE S56

S58 - Round 1 - 10th overall - RW - Shane Duffy Jr.

S58 - Round 2 - 17th overall - LD - Kappa Kappa

S57 - Round 2 - 21st overall - RW - Mew Two

S56 - Round 1 - 5th overall - RD - Jari Heikkinen

NEVADA BATTLEBORN



OVERVIEW

Nevada hasn't had a pick in the first two rounds of the draft the past two seasons. We have to go all the way back to S56 to find a Battleborn first round pick in Rob Wright (2nd overall). Not too many of their picks from the past few years have stuck with the team. For this pick, they need to think long and hard about who may be a long-term active user and who fits into their long-term plans. In my estimation, the Nevada Battleborn seem to be perfectly average. They score 2.68 goals per game and give up 2.59 goals per game. I would grade their defense to be slightly better than their offense - their top four defensemen are all capped (or extremely close to the cap) at 425 TPE. Barring any loss of one of these top guys from the SHL draft, I would think that Nevada looks at a high scoring forward for their first round pick


PAST PICKS IN ROUNDS 1 AND 2 SINCE S56

S56 - Round 1 - 2nd overall - C - Rob Wright

S56 - Round 2 - 13th overall - LW - Jarmo Kekäläinen

S56 - Round 2 - 24th overall - RD - Rude Sniff

CAROLINA KRAKEN

OVERVIEW

The Kraken need defense - or at least some help keeping the puck out of their own net. The Kraken finished in the bottom four of the league this season. Their offense wasn't bad, but it wasn't so great either. Their goals against per game was terrible (3.45). While it looks bad at first glance, I can't quite place my finger on why it was so bad. Three of their defensemen are capped at 425. The other three are in the mid-200s TPE. Goaltending isn't a problem. In the past few years, Carolina has picked a lot of forwards. As a result, Carolina has a lot of young, active forwards that only look to get better. For this draft, they need to focus on their relatively bad defense.


PAST PICKS IN ROUNDS 1 AND 2 SINCE S56

S58 - Round 1 - 11th overall - C - Daud Ramza

S58 - Round 2 - 24th overall - LW - Cormac Ponaire

S57 - Round 1 - 10th overall - LD - Ole Olsen

S57 - Round 2 - 13th overall - LW - Tomas Lind

S56 - Round 1 - 10th overall - LW - Freyja Hellstrom


And also included in part I because I thought they would be 3rd overall:

ST. LOUIS SCARECROWS

OVERVIEW

There is absolutely no way around the fact that the Scarecrows need defense. St. Louis gave up the most goals in the league this season at 3.85 goals against per game. To make matters worse, there is a high possibility that number-one defenseman Michael Withecheck gets drafted into the SHL. But what's interesting is that most of the St. Louis forwards have capped, so they are bound to lose a few to the SHL. Their defense should get better as von Gucci and Bouchard develop, but there is still a depth issue. Two defensive roster positions were filled by DFAs in the latter half of the season. While there is a looming threat of losing top forwards, I think St. Louis addresses the immediate problem and looks for a defenseman in this year's draft.


PAST PICKS IN ROUNDS 1 AND 2 SINCE S56

S58 - Round 1 - 6th overall - RD - Ethan Bouchard

S58 - Round 2 - 14th overall - LD - Dane von Gucci

S57 - Round 1 - 1st overall - RD - Jean-Locke Zidane

S57 - Round 2 - 15th overall - RW - Friedensreich Hundertwasser

S57 - Round 2 - 18th overall - G - Kit Kirkstone

S56 - Round 1 - 12th overall - LD - Borek Podlezl


To be continued in Part II .... if I get around to it. Media is hard lol

(1298 words, 2x Media)