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*Redderder15* · 08-25-2021, 02:22 AM

I wanted to read a post about the Berserkers draft day, so instead of waiting around for someone to make 1 I took matters into my own hands and decided to make one. I'm not great at player summaries at length, so cut me some slack if it sucks. Anyways, here are the player profiles in full, along with his best quality and his worst. Hopefully you enjoy reading it as much as I would have if someone else made this post.

BERSERKERS PICKS:

5th overall pick: Mikko Rashford (LD)

Strength: Offensive skills, especially his offensive read
Weakness: Defensive skills, all around defensive game could use work

Mikko Rashford is a small Finnish prodigy that does have the finish. He may only be 5'10 and only weigh 200 pounds, but he makes up for that with his offensive skill. He is a self proclaimed "Makar-Byram hybrid" and truly lives up to that description. His acceleration is great, but I think his offensive read is his true strength. The way he sees the ice offensively should be one of his traits that should best translate into the SMJHL, and this skill along with most of his main strengths makes him do great on the power play, or when he's paired with a defensive defenseman in even strength. His passing is great and is the main producer of his points, his puck handling and puck protection are very helpful when he goes for long skates, and his shot is quite accurate compared to previous years. Word on the street is that he his mainly working on his defensive skills right now, but is to remain an offensive first defenseman and the true #1 D on this team.

11th overall pick: Tommy Tightpants (RW)

Strength: Well rounded
Weakness: Shot blocking (not a huge deal)

Tommy Tightpants is a Montreal born winger, with a solid hockey build of 6'3, 205 pounds. He plays right wing but is left handed, and uses the number 26. He is the definition of a well rounded jack of all trades. His only glaring weakness would be his shotblocking, which shouldn't be too hard to patch up. One thing about his play is that his physical attributes are incredible for a rookie, but his read on the game could certainly use some work. Because of his lack of hockey IQ, his time in the defensive end can't elevate to the level that we know his physical attributes can reach, but his hitting and checking are great, and he is certainly a player with some grit. He can position quite well and play with his stick quite well, but his physicality is his best attribute in the defensive end for sure. His offensive ability is also bottlenecked by his offensive read on the game, he is still a great player and certainly is best used in front of the net with his unique screening ability and incredible strength. His net front play is great because of the screening but also the way he handles the puck in that area. If he gets the puck in front of the net, he isn't giving it away and has the strength to power his was through and he will put it in the net for you. He is also a fast player, with his speed being one of the best attributes, but his ability to get up to that speed is a bit behind what would be expected. All in all, I think will 1 or 2 updates in his offensive and defensive read he will become a top tier prospect in the SMJHL, and he just needs time to put it all together.

28th overall pick: Jeff Larsson (RW)

Strength: Being the writer of this post and having bias
Weakness: Fighting

Jeff Larsson is a Langley born right winger, with an average height and weight of 6'1 and 205 pounds. Full disclosure I will be using the not-yet-updated version of my player. Jeff Larsson's greatest asset is his skating ability, with his acceleration and speed being 13 and 14 respectively, he wasn't outskated in the showcase and shouldn't have many issues adapting to the SMJHL. His mind is one of his greatest abilities in both ends of the ice with 13s on both stats. Jeff is still a pretty good checker with both his body and his stick, but his positioning isn't perfect in the moment. He sees defensive plays forming which help with his positioning issue. The better half of his game is his offence rather than his defense though, as we can see with his great passing, but mainly his ability to see plays happen before they occur with his offensive read, and he is able to get open most of the time with his wonderful offensive positioning. He is a strong speedy power forward type and can drive plays well, and it's because of this that he's so highly touted by scouts and GMs. He excels when with the puck on his stick and can find great passes and shots, and should be able to thrive in offensive situations. His build is made to adapt to the SMJHL and I think he should do well anywhere in the lineup but especially in the top-6.

33rd overall pick: Jay O'Neil (RD)

Strength: Defensive ability
Weakness: Speed, offensive ability

Jay O'Neil is a Boston (as a Canucks fan, ewwwwwwwww) born right side defender. He is on the upper side of 6 feet at 6'2, weighing 215 pounds. Jay is absolutely exceptional in his own end, with no defensive flaws. His defensive read is great, he is a top tier checker and hitter, and can shot block well. He can play tough minutes as a guy with high stamina, he is a strong guy in front of his own goal, and handles the puck well which bodes well in a defenseman. His weaknesses shouldn't be exposed that well as his build and skills go perfectly with an ideal defensive defenseman. The only weakness that I can see giving up chances is his top speed, as his acceleration is fine but his top speed is not good enough in todays SMJHL. He also basically cannot play offence at all, as he not only doesn't really know how to play in the offensive end but also doesn't possess a good enough shot or passing ability to be a 2-way defender. I think he will be paired with Rashford for most if not all of his time here in Newfoundland, which should for sure bring out the best in both players. I think he's one of the only rookies in the league that could play solid hockey right now with no adjustments to his skills, which is a good look for Newfoundland this year.

42nd overall pick: Pope Cowsi ©

Strength: Passing
Weakness: N/A

Pope Cowsi is a Sacremento born small 5'11 197 pound center. He may be small, but that doesn't mean you should write him off. The Pope is a well rounded player that doesn't have any true flaws, which is a great thing to see in a smaller player, especially when he's offensively proficient. The Pope is much better in the offensive zone, but that doesn't mean he isn't good in the defensive zone. He doesn't necessarily thrive in any area defensively except for faceoffs, but he doesn't do much wrong in the defensive zone which can never hurt to have on the ice. This means he can center a PK line, he can be on the ice in key minutes, and doesn't require sheltering. All of this talk is for the future, as compared to top tier SMJHL players, and SMJHL veterans, his defensive stats are actually not that great, but he obviously has shown he's willing to improve in that area which is great in a prospect. His passing is his top quality for sure, but the rest of his offensive stats are no joke either. He has shown to have skill in every aspect of the game and unless he changes dramatically, he should be a 2-way staple on this team that provides solid playmaking and offence.

47th overall pick: Alexander Mackenzie (RW)

Strength: Offence
Weakness: Defence

Alexander Mackenzie is another guy of solid build (6'0, 181 pounds) that is for sure an offence first defense second player. He is very well rounded in the offensive zone, with every offensive ability shining through making him a solid point producer, although lacking in the defensive zone. In the defensive zone, his positioning is wonderful but he isn't great at checking players at all, and doesn't have a great read in the defensive zone. The upside to not training your defensive stats, is being great everywhere else. His speed is pretty good along with his acceleration, but his turning ability really makes his skating deadly, along with his stamina. Then we get to the best part about him, which is his offensive ability. He is good at passing, he has great vision, a wonderful shot, and a great ability to get open and you can definitely be confident he will be in the right place at the right time, whether it's screening the goalie, getting open for a shot, or making the right pass. I am fully confident that Mackenzie can improve whether it's his offence becoming even better, or his defence becoming good enough to be trusted in harder situations, I think he should be able to thrive in the right situations.

I'm sorry if I made it sound like your player sucks, I am very tired at the time of posting and was purely going based off of stats, so its not personal and I'm just recommending ways to improve. If you are not on this team reading this, then I hope you liked the inside look at the future of the most recent cup winners.

1694 words

***Patty*** · 08-25-2021, 05:20 AM

Good summaries! Can't wait to see the young zerks tear up the league.

***Sburbine*** · 08-25-2021, 08:49 AM

Great write up!

*lmao* · 08-25-2021, 10:10 PM

Solid group of rookies! Couldn't have asked for better

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