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*Zerg* · 06-16-2021, 11:30 PM

Time for a pick-by-pick overview of the first round of the S60 SMJHL entry draft. Why? Because I said so, and because if I could make this much money doing this in real life I wouldn't have to work for IntellIQ Cloud Solutions-Management Solutions Inc. and wish my wife would let me day-drink. "But TapdancingNecrons," you say, "I don't want to read a massive stonking article full of information you made up based on the player pages of people you don't know!" "Then don't." I reply, "Go enjoy your life you socially competent life-haver. If you're worried about me making your player look bad, don't be, you're all future all-stars to me."

"But Zerg," you ask again, this time using my discord name, "Why not do every round if you like money so much?" "Well," I answer, "I ran out of bloody time. Maybe next draft."

"And Nystrom," you finally ask, this time using my player name for some reason, "Why not tag all the users at the end like you did for the team pick lists?" "Because," I reply, grateful that this is the last question, "None of these dudes have a clue who I am and I don't like pinging people at random."

Anyway, at first overall, the Quebec City Citadelles used the pick they'd snagged from St Louis to select Konstantin Selich. Any player picked first overall is presumed to be a franchise anchor going forward, a genuine tone-setter who can establish the identity of an entire era of organizational history. So, let's have a look at what les Citadelles want to build a team around.

The answer is the exact kind of player you'd expect a winning organization like Quebec to pick out as a cornerstone. Konstantin is the latest scion of a veritable SHL dynasty in the Selich family. A mid-sized centerman measuring in at 6'2", Konstantin shows all the signs of living up to that illustrious legacy. Fittingly, the pressure he has to live up to the name on his jersey matches the pressure to live up to the logo on the front of it. Quebec expects excellence, and so does their new centerman.

In terms of his current skills, he's one of the best-rounded players in the draft. His role on his German league teams was that of a screener who could drive the play as well as finish it, while still getting back on the back-check on time to lead in both zones. To say he doesn't have any standout skills is just a more negative way of saying that all he has are standout skills. In fact, the only area that could even be said to 'need work' right now are his faceoffs; a more veteran player took those on his line in the German league. In the SHL, Konstantin projects to be an elite two-way centerman, just as capable of being the face of a franchise at that level as he will be in Juniors. Expect him to be a serious candidate for first overall in this upcoming draft for the big show.

At second overall, with their own pick, the Nevada Battleborn selected Melvin Majestik-Moose of Junsele, Sweden. A towering right handed defenseman registering six feet seven inches, Melvin Majestik-Moose is an extraordinarily gifted defenseman who shines his brightest in his own zone, something more than a little rare at the junior level.

His strongest offensive skills are in puckhandling and reading the play; beyond that he won't generate much offense himself or score you a clutch goal. His skating, while solid, is nothing to write home about despite his incredible stamina. If he can round out his skating and keep his stamina high, he'll be a force to be reckoned with in physicality. But again, neither offense nor physicality are what made him attractive enough to the Battleborn to warrant the second overall pick.

Melvin Majestik-Moose's defensive read is one of the stronger ones in the class, and his willingness and ability to sacrifice the body and block the shot will play well with Nevada's, well, 'battle-born' team identity. Positioning, hitting, and checking are all strengths of his defensive game, with his stickwork not far behind. Overall, in Melvin Majestik-Moose, the Battleborn drafted the next great rock of their blue line, and a player with an excellent career in front of him.

Third overall, with the most complicated pick of the draft making its way from Anaheim, to Anchorage, then back to Anaheim again, the Outlaws selected Adelie de Pengu. Another defenseman, this one playing on the left side despite being right handed, Adelie de Pengu is a remarkably similar player to the one drafted immediately before him, which would be a good thing for young defenseman to note as they chart their own career courses and contemplate the style of defenseman the pros prefer.

De Pengu, again, isn't much of an offensive player, though he starts off stronger in that area than Majestik-Moose, especially in getting open and passing. Defensively, he's only a close shave under the second overall pick, with plenty of room to make up the ground and more. Physically, he's a bit slower, but his better-rounded skillset makes up for it. He's far shorter, but still respectable at 6'0", but his defensive skills are more evenly spread with very strong defensive read and stickchecking to match his bodychecking and positioning.

He's the type of defenseman that doesn't get much attention in the Swedish league, where they prefer their smooth passers and big hitters. They like the kind of player that gets the crowd on their feet. Adelie de Pengu is the kind of player that doesn't make the flashy play, but brings home the W after the third frame. He won't hold the cameras, at least not yet, but one day he's the exact type of player who ends up holding a cup.

The Carolina Kraken had the next two consecutive picks, their own at fourth and the Vancouver Whaler's pick at fifth. I'll address the two picks separately, as each player is worthy of his own description.

At fourth, the Kraken snagged Tanner Fox. The third consecutive defenseman selected, Fox is the first true offensive defenseman taken off the board in this draft. He works magic with his stick, has the offensive IQ to see lanes nobody else on the ice does and the raw skill to thread the puck through them, and can snap off a killer shot from deceptively far away. Obviously, no defenseman is going to bother practicing screening the opposing net, but in all other respects his offense is best in class. The one bit of room for improvement left in his skillset is being able to receive a pass, rather than dish it. He can't quite create the space away from the puck that the elite offensive defenseman in the SMJHL and SHL can magic up, but he certainly has the tools and IQ to get there. Expect him to compete for the most points by a defenseman in at least one of his junior seasons.

Astoundingly, he does all this without truly sacrificing defense. He's not nearly as strong on defense as the previous two picks, to be sure, but no player in this age bracket is that good at both. His defensive IQ and positioning skill are both better than average, even so. The actual mechanics of defending lag a bit behind, but not by enough to worry anyone's scouts. Indeed, some sources predicted a toss-up between Tanner Fox and Adelie de Pengu for third overall. Carolina, by all accounts, was thrilled that Fox fell to them. Let those tidbits warn you off underestimating his ability to develop a two-way game with elite offensive upside. Expect another early pick in the upcoming SHL draft, if his development proceeds apace.

Fifth, the same team marched right back up to the podium and proudly selected Patya Perevalov. This pick came as a bit of a surprise to some of the talking heads on TV, but the other teams' scouts, in their usual anonymous commentary, called out Perevalov as a meteoric riser in all of their internal boards, one they'd been hoping would fall to them and were not at all surprised to see Carolina take so early, especially after grabbing a sure-fire prospect in Fox.

Patya is a lethal offensive mastermind with very strong, equally well-rounded physical abilities to match. His offensive hockey IQ and ability to get open are strong enough to carry his own line in the Russian league already, and will only get better as time goes on. With exceptional passing to combine with his ability to create space, he makes everyone on his line better in the offensive zone, an easy fit to make a team more than the sum of its parts. Even then, while the opposition waits for him to pass, he can wheel around and snap the puck into the back of your net from the high slot before your goalie has time to realize that his own defenseman just skated across his vision. That half-second accidental screen was all he needed.

Defensively, of course, he's not quite as strong. Patya doesn't really block shots or body check, though he's paradoxically quite capable of laying a massive hit. While his defensive game definitely needs work, he has the tools to elevate his positioning, stick checking, and defensive IQ in relatively short order. By the time his junior career is over, Carolina will have gotten four good years of an elite offensive play driver who's shown the willingness to at least improve in his own zone. He's not going to kill penalties, but if you put him on a powerplay with Fox, you could have one of the most lethal units in the entire SMJHL three years down the line.

With the sixth overall pick, acquired from the Maine Timber, Nevada made their second selection of the draft. With this pick, the first goalie of the class came off the board: Willie Miller.

Miller stands 6'2" in front of his net, and terrorized the Swedish league for much of the past few years. He's done this with rock-solid all around stats, and two true areas of excellence. These are his positioning sense, which is incredible for a goalie with such comparatively little experience, and his reflexes, which border on the superhuman and match those of some veteran SMJHL goaltenders on day one. If he does get out of position, his recovery lags just enough to prove to an onlooker that Willie Miller is mortal. In all other respects, however, Miller is a goalie with no outstanding weaknessess and two spectacular strengths, the type of goalie that backstops a team through a fondly remembered era. Nevada, with these two picks, made a very strong case for the best overall draft of any team this year.

The Colorado Raptors selected Gabe-Gooney-Waters Harrack at seventh overall. I covered this pick in more detail in my previous piece that focused on the Raptors' draft, all rounds, so please check that out for my analysis on "GG". I won't run afoul of the graders by plagiarizing myself here.

The Detroit Falcons, by all accounts, were counting on Harrack making it to them at eighth overall, and had to call an audible at the drafting table before they moved up to the podium. That audible's name was Jannik Nordstern, a very different player from the one the Falcons allegedly had their sights on to begin with.

Nordstern, for one, is a defenseman and not a forward. For two, his strengths lie more in defense than goal scoring. However, Jannik still projects to be an excellent player, and his selection proves admirable flexibility in Detroit's scouting staff and team-building from their management in general.

This particular defenseman is a bit of a recluse as far as public scouting is concerned. His height and birthplace are not public knowledge, nor is his previous hockey career, leading some to speculate that he played a season or two in North Korea. Whatever he did and wherever he did it, scouts were astonished with his defensive hockey IQ. His stickwork, checking (with stick or body), and ability to outright level an opposing player all stand out as truly exceptional.

Offensively, his stickwork is just as excellent as it is in his own zone. For a defense-first defenseman, he's sneaky good in the opposing zone as well. His passing, offensive IQ, and ability to get open and give someone else the opportunity to make the play are all very strong, and project to get stronger. Overall, Nordstern is one half of an elite defensive pairing. He'll play his best hockey when he has his best partners across the blue line. The Falcons' choice is the kind of player that makes it easy for other players to make him better, and commands enough respect on his own to return the favor.

Eigth overall, with a pick recouped from Quebec, the St Louis Scarecrows selected Sam Stone. In Stone, the Scarecrows have found a rock.

He's a good old Canadian boy, Toronto born and bred, who wears Gordie's number 9 and clocks in at 6'1", 210 lbs. An impeccably hard worker with stamina to burn, Stone plays the role of a responsible two-way forward who always puts the good of the team ahead of personal glory.

Offensively, Stone is not flashy. He doesn't dangle anyone out of their jock strap, he doesn't snipe from impossible angles, and he doesn't thread needles through pinholes to set up his scorers. Instead, he battles on the boards, dogs the opponent's every step, and grinds them down with sheer determination. He's the classic coach's pet, outworking the opposition until he brings home the W he values far more than a scoring title.

Defensively, though, he outright shines. His stickchecking is arguably his strongest mechanical skill of all, and his ability to line up the hit at the end of a long shift is sure to have fans buying his jersey in droves. He's an identity player, an habitual ass-buster who knows how to win, and he's going to provide St Louis with a core identity player for many seasons to come. The Scarecrows have had a run of bad luck recently, and Sam Stone is exactly the kind of player who can help them turn it around. This, sneakily, may be remembered as the single most brilliant pick of the draft.

The Falcons made their second pick at 10th overall, a piece they acquired from Nevada, and used it to bring in Clem Fandango. The Big Boy from Brighton measures 6'4", and is surprisingly lanky at only 158 lbs. This wouldn't be terribly shocking on its own, if not for his playstyle.

Clem Fandango may be the hockey world's skinniest goon.

Perhaps the word 'goon' is unfair, since Clem can definitely play hockey. Moonlighting as a forward on his powerplay units back in the UK, he's developed a sneaky talent for screening in goals. His stickhandling is above average, and his offensive IQ and passing abilities both surprise opponents who expect him to be more interested in connecting his fist with their faces than the puck with a teammate's stick.

Defensively, Fandango probably needs work if he doesn't want to move to forward full time. His defensive read is solid, and his positioning and stick work remain very good from his offensive game, but his hitting and body-checking skills, his actual ability to physically disrupt the play, leave something to be desired. He has, however, demonstrated good awareness of the holes in his game and a desire to fill them, so we're more likely than not to be talking about a completely different player in two years' time.

Something highly unlikely to change, however, is Clem Fandango's impeccable talent for goading his opponent into fighting him, then promptly kicking his ass. Fandango is one of the best fighters ever drafted into this league. Whether his wiry frame is a weakness he overcomes or a strength that consistently baits his opponents into underestimating him is a call someone else will have to make, but what's not in dispute is that he makes it work. A very interesting second selection for Detroit, Clem will bring a significant fanbase of rowdy English lads across the pond with him when he comes to Detroit, and the Falcons will love him every step of the way.

Taking their own second pick of the draft, the Anaheim Outlaws then selected Dobby Hintzskanen eleventh overall. Another defenseman, and perhaps a bit more of a project, Hintzskanen does one thing brilliantly, and that one thing is pass. 5'11", 200 lbs on the dot, Dobby isn't a monster patrolling the blue line. In fact, his defense would be a total liability if he were thrown directly onto Anaheim's top pairing. There is not one defensive metric in which he excels, at least at present. Fortunately, he will not be, and will be given time to develop and round out his game before being expected to contribute to defending his team's net.

What he'll provide right now, from the Outlaws' rookie pairing, is burgeoning elite playmaking. His passing already equals some of the league's playmaking forwards, and his lethal shot combines with that to make him an absolutely deadly dual threat once he crosses the opposition's blue line. Hintzskanen can and will make you pay for a lapse in defense even on draft day. As long as the Outlaws can provide him with some sheltered minutes while he brings his defense up to scratch, Anaheim has a future all-star on their hands in Dobby Hintzskanen.

With the final pick of the first round, twelfth overall, the ever controversial Kelowna Knights picked the final defenseman of an absolutely stacked first round at that position. Leons Briedis plays on the left and hails from Latvia, weighing in at 225 lbs on a 6'3" frame. He plays the type of game that would have made him very attractive to an even higher pick in a draft less stuffed to the gills with future elite defensemen, and Kelowna fans should be thrilled that a player like this fell to them.

Briedis is a defensive defenseman with all the tools to become a power play quarterback in the future, even if he isn't there on draft day. His passing regularly offers glimpses of greatness, and even if his offensive IQ hasn't quite caught up to the speed of the North American game quite yet, he gives us every possible reason to believe it will. He already has the talent and the tools, it's only a matter of time before he puts them all together. A team like Kelowna, with a reputation for farming elite talent year in and year out (regardless of certain accusations thrown their way this year), is a perfect landing spot for a defensively responsible offensive project like this.

Defensively, he's a cerebral player willing to sacrifice his body whenever he has to. His ability to get into the right place to block the shot, and then lay down and smother the play to prevent an easy rebound off his body as much as prevent the puck from reaching the goalie, showed Knights management exactly what kind of player he can become on their watch. His overall defensive read and bodychecking skills are both quite strong as well. His stickchecking is solid, but isn't his bread and butter, and when given the choice he'll take the body every time.

Leons Briedis, overall, is a high ceiling high floor pick for Kelowna. If he develops to his full potential, expect a defensive rock that can turn the play around and enable all kinds of nasty breakaways against your favorite team, or even a powerplay captain who sees his job as defending the opposition's blue line! Even if he slows or stalls, the Knights will still have a rock-solid defender they can rely on to eat hard minutes, kill penalties, and be a calming anchor their goalie can rely on. An outstanding, can't-miss pick by the Knights closed out round one of the S60 SMJHL entry draft.

Doubtless this article will be an interesting point of reflection in two or three seasons when these players reach their SMJHL peaks. Obviously this article is not Gospel; any one of these players could completely change their playstyles, or even positions, by the time they leave the J. Developments stall, or take off, when we never expect them to. However, it's always fun to look back and laugh at goober columnists and their terrible (or prescient) predictions years after the fact, and here I offer that exact opportunity. Enjoy the season, rookies and veterans alike!

[3575 words; I'm not tagging half the draft class]

natedoeshockey · 06-17-2021, 04:45 AM

Patya am lethal! Patya am ma-....maaaaasss-...maaaaaste-....Patya am masterm-....Patya am master!

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