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Vancouver Whalers
Obligatory - We know nothing about Hockey and Roster Building in the SMJHL.

We wanted to do some team reviews - looking at the roster and attempting to predict their draft needs.

To start with looking at the potential draft needs of the Colorado Vancouver Whalers, we are going to begin by looking at their current roster. If it looked as though a player is IA based on their forum activity, We’ve tried to indicate that, along with their TPE. We have also tried to estimate the likelihood of call ups based on a mixture of activity, creation season, and TPE earned.

Current Roster features:
3 Goalies (1 IA)
5 Centers (1 IA)
8 Wingers (3 IA)
5 Defenders (1 IA)

Goalies:

Player Name: Olof Karsikko
Position: Goalie
Season Created: 60
TPE: 309
Activity: Active
Call Up Risk: None
Important Stats:
12 wins, 16 losses
983 saves
86 goals against
2.81 goals against average
2 shutouts
0.920 save percentage
73 grade

Discuss: Here he is. Olof Karsikko, the great hope for the future of the goalie position in Vancouver. This guy is a top earner, seems fairly active, and his player is already off to a fairly good start statistically even with his limited games played and minutes. He had one of the highest goalie grades in the juniors despite being an S60 player. As a goalie, he is going to be with Vancouver for a long while and I feel like they’d have it no other way. As one star goalie ages out for this team, they managed to go ahead and get his replacement ahead of time.

Player Name: Ivan Browning
Position: Goalie
Season Created: 57
TPE: 167
Activity: Inactive
Call Up Risk: None
Important Stats:
0 wins, 0 losses
61 saves
5 goals against
3.6 goals against average
0 shutouts
0.924 save percentage
66 grade

Discuss: An inactive goalie is something you never want to see. This is a position that is hard to get into because of how oversaturated it is in both the juniors and the upper level. I do not see this guy on the roster next season or at a minimum I do not see him taking minutes.

Player Name: Jon St. Ark
Position: Goalie
Season Created: 57
TPE: 918
Activity: Active
Call Up Risk: Dangerous to imminent
Important Stats:
13 wins, 19 losses
1069 saves
109  goals against
3.16 goals against average
1 shutouts
0.907 save percentage
70 grade

Discuss: I know that goalies are plentiful in this league and that it is hard to get a job as one, but Jon St. Ark has done everything right. He is a max earner with tons of TPE and he has done his waiting. He technically has one more season of juniors eligibility and he may be sent down again, but this guy has earned well enough that I think he would absolutely be going up at any other position. I think he is going to leave a void on this team much sooner than later and could even depart in this offseason.

Goalie Outlook: I can not see Vancouver going for a goalie in this draft. Sure one of their goalies is IA and another may very well be getting called up, but they have a second season stud holding down this position for the foreseeable future and goalie is one of those positions that I can not really see a team needing a ton of depth for. Maybe once Jon St. Ark is officially called up or in a few seasons when Olof Karsikko starts getting older, but for now I think they are set and will likely avoid this position.

Offense:

Player Name: Leb Lebedev
Position: Center
Season Created: 60
TPE: 300
Activity: Active
Call Up Risk: None
Season Stats:
18 goals
17 assists
35 points
-7 plus/minus
116 shots on goal
15.5% shooting percentage
40 giveaways
19 takeaways
62 blocks
36 hits
55 overall grade
59 offensive grade
50 defensive grade

Discuss: With Leb Lebedev you have the highest earning S60 player on this squad and player who is really rounding into his own as an offensive style center. His shooting percentage is over 15 percent which is something you always want to see and he really racked up the points this season. This was just his first season as well. I can see him becoming one of the top scorers for the Whalers going forward and they can expect to have him for roughly another three seasons. He will be THE star for this team in a couple seasons and you can quote me on that.

Player Name: Ragnar Ragnarsson
Position: Right Wing
Season Created: 60
TPE: 291
Activity: Active
Call Up Risk: None
Season Stats:
10 goals
6 assists
16 points
-20 plus/minus
90 shots on goal
11.1% shooting percentage
27 giveaways
12 takeaways
56 blocks
28 hits
55 overall grade
56 offensive grade
53 defensive grade

Discuss: Ragnar Ragnarsson is a middling S60 earner who very well may be one of the future true stars on this team. He seems to be a decent all rounder who doesn’t make too many mistakes despite his youth. He puts together a decent number of blocks, he has a decent shooting percentage, and he seems capable of racking up assists. He doesn’t turn the puck too awfully much, but he could definitely up his takeaways. I do not see him going anywhere anytime soon and he is a player this team can look to hold down one of their wing spots for a while.

Player Name: Elvis Alexander
Position: Right Wing
Season Created: 60
TPE: 266
Activity: Active
Call Up Risk: None
Season Stats:
2 goals
9 assists
11 points
-17 plus/minus
83 shots on goal
2.4% shooting percentage
45 giveaways
12 takeaways
57 blocks
27 hits
56 overall grade
55 offensive grade
55 defensive grade

Discuss: Elvis Alexander is a young S60 player who is at least active, but seems to be barely so as he earns at a slower pace than most. Despite that Vancouver is giving him plenty of opportunities and should his number of giveaways drop as he improves as a player, he could be a very long term player for them. With his current earning he isn’t likely in danger of call up any time in the near future and could be a franchise player for the Whalers. He just needs to keep working on his build and not fall off entirely.

Player Name: Gio Marsh
Position: Center
Season Created: 60
TPE: 174
Activity: Inactive
Call Up Risk: None
Season Stats:
2 goals
7 assists
9 points
-7 plus/minus
33 shots on goal
6.1% shooting percentage
11 giveaways
7 takeaways
14 blocks
10 hits
52 overall grade
53 offensive grade
51 defensive grade

Discuss: An inactive S60 player seems to be something we see fairly commonly in these rosters and it makes me wonder if teams can not cut them midseason or maybe they need them to fill out lines. Either way, Gio Marsh’s contributions to the Whalers this past season were virtually nonexistent and he is a player they need to show the door as soon as possible. This team seems to lack true youth and are entering their prime, so cutting loose these guys who are weighing them down on some of these lines with decent earners could see Vancouver make the leap to a cup contender.

Player Name: Isiah Lopez
Position: Right Wing
Season Created: 60
TPE: 177
Activity: Inactive
Call Up Risk: None
Season Stats:
1 goals
10 assists
11 points
-5 plus/minus
36 shots on goal
2.8% shooting percentage
16 giveaways
3 takeaways
32 blocks
34 hits
54 overall grade
52 offensive grade
53 defensive grade

Discuss: One of the casualties of the inactivity bubble should see Isiah Lopez one of the first players than Vancouver looks to replace on the roster. He didn’t really contribute much at all in the previous season because of his inactivity and is easily expendable for a team who is looking to round out the roster for the last hurrah for some of their stars. The top talent on this team starts making their exit very soon and replacing a guy like this who will never get any better seems like a no brainer if they have someone decent available when they pick.

Player Name: Uhtred Ragnarsson
Position: Center
Season Created: 60
TPE: 319
Activity: Active
Call Up Risk: None
Season Stats:
3 goals
8 assists
11 points
-25 plus/minus
68 shots on goal
4.4% shooting percentage
25 giveaways
22 takeaways
18 blocks
21 hits
55 overall grade
55 offensive grade
54 defensive grade

Discuss: We are looking at one of the real future assets for this Whalers team with Uhtred Ragnarsson. He is a solid earning S60 prospect who can look to have another three or more seasons on this team at least. He is developing and could use more minutes to prove himself, but the minutes will come as he improves as a player. At first glance nothing stands out about his numbers as he is incredibly average across the boards. I’m unsure if he’s leaning offensive or defensive as he seems to be leaning into both, which can be hard as a young guy. As he rounds into shape though, he is a piece that Vancouver can build around long term.

Player Name: Markus “The Tater” Jager
Position: Center
Season Created: 59
TPE: 442
Activity: Active
Call Up Risk: None to low
Season Stats:
9 goals
16 assists
25 points
6 plus/minus
117 shots on goal
7.7% shooting percentage
42 giveaways
24 takeaways
59 blocks
61 hits
58 overall grade
58 offensive grade
55 defensive grade

Discuss: Markus “The Tater” Jager is one of the better earners on this team and as a young player should be around for a while yet. He is one of just three players with a positive plus/minus on this team though his shooting could definitely use some work. Outside of that, he seems to be exactly what you expect from a good all around center. He seems to have a knack for getting the puck to open shooters and is pretty average on defense as well. He could help anchor the center of this team going forward and as he improves, he should be one of the big stars of this squad.

Player Name: Robot Sunfish
Position: Right Wing
Season Created: 59
TPE: 497
Activity: Active
Call Up Risk: None to low
Season Stats:
17 goals
18 assists
35 points
6 plus/minus
133 shots on goal
12.8% shooting percentage
45 giveaways
31 takeaways
105 blocks
78 hits
64 overall grade
64 offensive grade
60 defensive grade

Discuss: Robot Sunfish is one of my favorite players on this entire roster and mostly because I know him from another league and he’s an incredible dude. Looking at his player though, he seems to be doing decently on the offensive side of things and is one of just three players on this whole roster with a positive plus minus. As a fairly young player, he’ll likely be here for a couple more seasons and will only continue to improve. He is going to be a rock for this team and I can not see any reason why the Whalers would be looking to replace him unless his SHL team loves him enough to call him up fairly early.

Player Name: Strawberry Sailfish
Position: Right Wing
Season Created: 59
TPE: 222
Activity: Inactive
Call Up Risk: None
Season Stats:
7 goals
13 assists
20 points
-8 plus/minus
46 shots on goal
15.2% shooting percentage
13 giveaways
7 takeaways
20 blocks
13 hits
51 overall grade
53 offensive grade
49 defensive grade

Discuss: It is a sad day when one of your best shooters happens to be an inactive who never really reached their potential. Unfortunately that is the case with Strawberry Sailfish. Due to his inactivity, he didn’t get a ton of quality minutes, but he seemed to make the most of what he did get with over 15% on his shooting percentage. He seemed to get destroyed defensively, but at least when he was on the ice scores seemed to happen if he was given the chance. As a low earner and an inactive though, this is one player that the Whalers can look to replace sooner than later.

Player Name: Alexis Saint-Michel
Position: Right Winger
Season Created: 59
TPE: 505
Activity: Active
Call Up Risk: None to low
Season Stats:
16 goals
26 assists
42 points
-23 plus/minus
168 shots on goal
9.5% shooting percentage
47 giveaways
13 takeaways
43 blocks
61 hits
58 overall grade
62 offensive grade
53 defensive grade

Discuss: do not let the bad plus/minus deceive you when it comes to Alexis Saint-Michel. He’s a high earning S59 player who is likely a star for this team for a few more seasons. He’s one of their best offensive weapons and when he is on the ice, he makes things happen. The Whalers are a developing team that do not have much to offer Saint-Michel in terms of help, but he is definitely the kind of guy you can build around. Get him a few young studs around him to help develop as a team and I think he may be a superstar for the team we he departs after a few more seasons.

Player Name: Ako Zile
Position: Center
Season Created: 58
TPE: 502
Activity: Active
Call Up Risk: Low
Season Stats:
9 goals
25 assists
34 points
-13 plus/minus
121 shots on goal
7.4% shooting percentage
36 giveaways
23 takeaways
82 blocks
65 hits
62 overall grade
61 offensive grade
61 defensive grade

Discuss: Ako Zile is a medium earning S58 player who seems to need some help on the ice. As a center he doesn’t seem to currently be standing out anywhere as his shooting percentage is fairly low and his defensive grade doesn’t show much despite his 82 blocks. He gives up the puck a fair often, but that may just be that he is trying to do too much without much help. He is one of the only capped players on this roster and can only do so much. The Whalers have him for at least another season I think, but he may be departing without much individual success at this rate.

Player Name: Austin Smith
Position: Left Wing
Season Created: 58
TPE: 392
Activity: Inactive
Call Up Risk: None
Season Stats:
7 goals
10 assists
17 points
-16 plus/minus
78 shots on goal
9.0% shooting percentage
19 giveaways
13 takeaways
25 blocks
39 hits
54 overall grade
55 offensive grade
51 defensive grade

Discuss: Austin Smith is a S58 inactive winger who I think lingers on this team for a bit longer. While I hate to advocate for the use of inactives, this is a nearly maxed out player who can play a critical role for this squad for a while longer yet. They can build up around him a bit while not having to stress about him leaving until he reaches the point of aging out. He currently doesn’t stand out anywhere, but you can not ask for more than a solid all arounder in a situation where I player goes inactive. I wouldn’t look for the Whalers to be quick to replace him.

Player Name: Nikolaj Boyle
Position: Left Wing
Season Created: 58
TPE: 671
Activity: Active
Call Up Risk: Low to moderate
Season Stats:
25 goals
31 assists
56 points
-9 plus/minus
176 shots on goal
14.2% shooting percentage
39 giveaways
17 takeaways
111 blocks
44 hits
64 overall grade
65 offensive grade
61 defensive grade

Discuss: Nikolaj Boyle is one of the older players on this team, but his earning in TPE has not been great overall. It is for this reason that I think he isn’t in big danger of being called up. There are younger players who are more filled out than Boyle who I do not think take that leap yet, so he will be chilling with the Whalers for a bit longer. Good for them too because he is one of the higher percentage shooters on the team and while he doesn’t stand out much aside from that, the team does seem better when he’s on the ice. There is a fair chance he is gone next season though.

Offensive Outlook: I think going forward, the youth on this side of the puck for the Whalers is going to pay off. Sure, they have quite a few inactives here that need to be replaced sooner or later for the sake of their depth and so they can get a decent three lines together, but I think they have a solid two lines of offense that can carry them into the future as this team develops. Some of their active players are lower earning and may be on the squad for quite some time to give the Whalers something to build around and they also have a few young stars blossoming as well. I can not see them looking here early, but I could see them trying to round out their depth as the draft gets into the later rounds on offense.

Defense:

Player Name: NeverBrokeAgain YoungBoy
Position: Left Defense
Season Created: 60
TPE: 333
Activity: Active
Call Up Risk: None
Season Stats:
11 goals
23 assists
34 points
-11 plus/minus
120 shots on goal
9.2% shooting percentage
19 giveaways
28 takeaways
33 blocks
48 hits
62 overall grade
58 offensive grade
63 defensive grade

Discuss: NeverBrokeAgain YoungBoy is arguably the future of this entire defensive squad. He’s the youngest one here and he has been earning decently as a S60 create. Given than most of the rest of the defenders on this squad are gone in the near future or inactive, YoungBoy may be called on to lead this defense sooner than later and he’ll need to step up in a big way to get there. He has a higher volume of shots than I’d like to see on a defender, but he has at least managed to limit his giveaways. His grades aren’t spectacular yet, but he’ll continue to grow into the role they need him for, especially if they can get him some help.

Player Name: Dara McQuick
Position: Right Defense
Season Created: 59
TPE: 335
Activity: Inactive
Call Up Risk: None
Season Stats:
4 goals
4 assists
8 points
-23 plus/minus
80 shots on goal
5.0% shooting percentage
58 giveaways
53 takeaways
108 blocks
81 hits
63 overall grade
48 offensive grade
75 defensive grade

Discuss: Unfortunately for the Whalers, it looks like Dara McQuick has gone IA. he was a fairly young player as an S59 create and seemed to be solid earning, but now has fallen to the wayside. It is a real shame because he could have been a long term staple in the defensive corps of this team. He has one of the highest defensive grades on the squad and if they could get him to take less errant shots, he would be spectacular for them. Unfortunately he’ll never get better. That said he is certainly at a decent TPE level and could be seen as better than a bot, so I could see the Whalers holding on to McQuick for a while just in case they need depth on the defense.

Player Name: Sven Svenchnikov
Position: Left Defense
Season Created: 59
TPE: 539
Activity: Active
Call Up Risk: None to low
Season Stats:
9 goals
18 assists
27 points
-21 plus/minus
115 shots on goal
7.8% shooting percentage
53 giveaways
24 takeaways
43 blocks
90 hits
60 overall grade
55 offensive grade
62 defensive grade

Discuss: Sven Svenchnikov is a high earning and active S59 defender that makes him a staple for this team for at least a couple more seasons. He’s a player that is hard to get an understanding of on the ice though as he has one of the worst plus/minus on the team and seems to have far too many giveaways for someone who is playing defender. If the Whalers can get him to handle the puck a little better, they can build this defense around this budding star, especially as they may have quite a few young guys coming in on that side in the near future with some of the team veterans exiting to the SHL sooner than later.

Player Name: Narboza Manyhands
Position: Right Defense
Season Created: 58
TPE: 645
Activity: Active
Call Up Risk: Low to moderate
Season Stats:
10 goals
21 assists
31 points
-9 plus/minus
119 shots on goal
8.4% shooting percentage
20 giveaways
51 takeaways
65 blocks
82 hits
65 overall grade
55 offensive grade
72 defensive grade

Discuss: With his 51 takeaways, only 20 giveaways, and decent shooting percentage for a defender, Narboza Manyhands is one of the best defenders on this entire roster and is easily one of the most efficient players they have. He’s a high earning S58 player who will be looking to make the next step to the SHL in the next season or so. I can not see them being able to keep him longer than that. He is a huge impact player with this team that can stretch the ice and play both sides. Versatility like that can be hard to come by and the Whalers may struggle to replace him regardless of if they try to get a head start on that this season or not.

Player Name: Zayne Rotzbua
Position: Left Defense
Season Created: 58
TPE: 596
Activity: Active
Call Up Risk: Low to moderate
Season Stats:
5 goals
17 assists
22 points
-2 plus/minus
93 shots on goal
5.4% shooting percentage
30 giveaways
29 takeaways
122 blocks
398 hits
59 overall grade
47 offensive grade
70 defensive grade

Discuss: While I do not think there is much chance of Zayne Rotzbua getting called up this season due to rumors saying that that it is normally more than three seasons before you get called up, I do think he isn’t long for the juniors at this point. I believe the Whalers have him for possibly one more season before he heads up and the Whalers may need to look at replacing him before he’s gone. He’s one of the best defenders on the team and I believe his 398 hits were the best in the league last season. He likes to fight, but he does it well and it has been an incredible asset to this squad. He’ll be tough to replace but looking at that potential sooner than later could be the way to go so they have someone ready to step into that role.

Defensive Outlook: This team needs help on the defense almost immediately. With only five defenders on roster, they do not even have enough players to make a full three lines. More than that, they have an inactive at the position as well and at least two guys looking to go up in the next season or so. There is about to be an exodus of talent on this side of the puck and they do not even have it fully rounded out yet. The Whalers need more than just a top pick at the position, they just need warm bodies that earn to any extent. Unfortunately for them they do not have a first round pick, but I could see them looking this direction with any picks they have as they try to piece together something on defense going forward.

Overall Outlook: The Whalers are a team that really seem to be a mixed bag. They have a few stars on this team who are getting older and may be called up sooner than later or age out entirely. They have a few inactives who will never get better and are filling spots that could be better used for earning players. They also have some young studs though who can help carry this team long term. It is hard to get a read on this team as they mix veterans and youth really well. I think they are most exposed on defense though. Their defensive lines are already short staffed and with an inactive and a few players about to be departing the position, I think this is a spot Vancouver desperately needs to address as soon as possible. They could use a bit of depth on offense as well to help clean out some of the inactives there, but it’s not as dire as the defensive side. I feel like with a few good pieces this team could be a contender, but I also feel like if they lose a player or two it could be a long road to success. Like I said, a weird spot.

Prospective Picks:

Vancouver traded out of the first round of this draft in the previous season, giving their pick to Carolina. They are in a pretty good spot otherwise, but seem to have some defenders who are going to be called up. Fortunately for them there are still a lot of good defenders that they can expect to be there later on in this draft, and you could see them targeting players such as Leons Briedis as he is clearly a first rounder but with so much depth in this draft class, I think that he will definitely be a great pickup, and possibly a steal that other GMs are sleeping on. Unless they read this.

Second Round Pick: Leons Briedis

[img=0x0]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/819596167843151906/843586092388057098/De_pengu_logo_2.png[/img]

Vancouver traded out of the first round of this draft in the previous season, giving their pick to Carolina. They are in a pretty good spot otherwise, but seem to have some defenders who are going to be called up. Fortunately for them there are still a lot of good defenders that they can expect to be there later on in this draft, and you could see them targeting players such as Leons Briedis as he is clearly a first rounder but with so much depth in this draft class, I think that he will definitely be a great pickup, and possibly a steal that other GMs are sleeping on. Unless they read this.

Second Round Pick: Leons Briedis

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