I did this in ISFL and I had so much fun with it that I decided to do it in the SHL as well though I openly admit that I’m far less knowledgeable about the SHL then the ISFL. As I said in the ISFL version, My goal is not to take the highest TPE players available as I don’t think that would be a good long-term strategy for building a new franchise. I think regression has to play a significant factor in who you decide to put on your roster.
Center - Jonathan Granström - New England Wolfpack - 1194 TPE
I took Granstrom because he’s the highest earning center in season fifty-seven as well as The highest earning player overall. He’s got a few seasons for regression so he'll be able to grow into the first line center role.
Center - Ethan Duncan - Baltimore Platoon - 1977 TPE
Duncan is the third highest TPE player in season fifty-three and the highest TPE center in his class. He’s got a handful of seasons for regressions and a center with nearly two thousand people is definitely someone you want on your team.
Center - Daniil Nikiforov - Baltimore Platoon - 1579 TPE Two centers from the Platoon. I noticed that a lot of teams seem to have level players at the same position which makes sense for center so it’s arguably the most important position on the ice. Nikiforov is the fifth highest player by TPE in the season fifty-five draft class and the highest center so once again, we get a high level player center with a few years before regression.
Center - Niccolo Livius - Free Agent - 803 TPE
This is probably a questionable pick but it makes sense in my head. Is Livius a superstar player? Absolutely not. He’s thirtieth in his draft class in TPE but he has a perfect twenty in fighting. I Think this team needs some grit and heart and Livius gives that to us. This is a pick that’s more about intangibles than total TPE.
Right Wing - Cal Labovitch - Buffalo Stampede - 2100 TPE
This is a pretty obvious pick for me. Labovitch is close to regression but he’s also a two-thousand TPE player. He’s also Third in total TPE for the season fifty-two draft class. Beyond that, He’s my GM in the SMJHL so I felt obligated to pick him. That obviously isn’t the only reason I picked him because he is a very very good player but it certainly helped the decision.
Right Wing - Ryuuji Minamino - Chicago Syndicate - 1979 TPE
Ryuuji’s second in the season fifty-three draft class in terms of total TPE and the highest right wing of his class. He’s got a few years before regression and he’s obviously a level wing.
Right Wing - Liam Slate - Toronto North Stars - 1636 TPE
Slate leads the season's fifty-five draft class in total TPE. He’s got a few more years before regression and that’s all he needs to get on the team. I also vaguely remember Tylar from a previous sim league and he seemed like a cool dude so I just decided to put him on the team.
Left Wing - Ryu Jones - Toronto North Stars - 1590 TPE
The season fifty-five draft class was incredible as evidenced by the fact that three of my six wingers all come from that same class. Ryu Jones is fourth in total TPE for the season's fifty-five draft class and the second highest earning left wing behind my next pick, Theo Kondos. He’s also a teammate of Liam Slate so hopefully they have some line chemistry.
Left Wing - Theo Kondos - Texas Renegades - 1615 TPE
He’s a great defensive winger. He’s second overall in TPE in the season fifty-five draft class and the highest left winger in the class as mentioned previously. I’m a bit concerned that three of my top wingers are going to regress in the same season but hopefully we can remedy through the draft or trades. Kondos is also a former Ryan Jester award winner.
Left Wing - Tomas Lind - Manhattan Dragons - 937 TPE
Lind is a bit of a reach but his user Canadice invented the analytic tool I used as my primary way of selecting these plays so I decided to add him onto the team.
Defenseman -
Jonas Kahnwald - Los Angeles Panthers - 1428 TPE
Kahnwald is the TPE leader for season fifty-six. He's got a couple of seasons before regression and he’s a member of HO.
Michael Withecheck - Atlanta Inferno - 1383 TPE
Withecheck is the second highest defenseman in the season fifty-six class behind Kahnwald. He’s also third overall in the class in terms of TPE.
Jukka Timonen - Chicago Syndicate - 1954 TPE
Maybe a bit of a shocker that I took a player this old at this point but I feel like we need a veteran presence on the defense. Timoen is a very high level defensive player, He’s fifth in total TPE for season fifty-three and the highest earning defenseman of the entire draft.
Ryosuke Sato - Toronto North Star - 1789 TPE
Let’s give Jukka Timonen a fellow veteran to play along with. This is the second SMJHL GM I’ve put on this team which I kind of tried to avoid. Ryodsuke Sato is the highest earning defenseman of season fifty-four and the second highest overall player in the draft class by TPE.
Jasper Maximov - Baltimore Platoon - 1285 TPE
I debated this pick for a while and it came down to Jasper Maximov or his teammate Tanjiro Kamamoda. I went with Maximov here because he has the higher bank account though he’s behind twenty-eight TPE and seventeenth highest earning player in season fifty-six draft class.
Ruggs McOoooh - San Francisco Pride - 1056 TPE
Our third SMJHL GM on the team and our second SMJHL GM on the blue. I guess McOoooh and Sato can form their own front office blue line. McOoooh is the third highest earning defenseman in his class and the eleventh highest player overall.
Goalie -
Mat Smith - Chicago Syndicate - 1321 TPE
Smith is the highest earning TPE goalie in season fifty-six and thirteenth overall. He’s got playoff experience, helping lead the Chicago Syndicate to the Challenge Cup last year. He’s also got a few years left before regression so hopefully he can mind the net for this franchise for a while.
Senji Seteki - Anaheim Outlaws - 449 TPE
Seteki is the highest earning TPE goalie in season sixty so he has a long way to go before he devlops into a starting goalie but my hope is that the team is built well enough that it won’t matter. He's also the only true prospect the team has.
Total TPE: 26,375
So this total puts us third in the league in terms of total TPE behind the Toronto North Stars and the Buffalo Stampede. Obviously total TPE doesn’t tell you the entire picture but it does give you some insight on how this team would be likely to produce on the ice.