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***Whitecap*** · 09-04-2021, 03:34 PM

The Anaheim Outlaws are a team that has been around for a while now, having started operations in S45 of the SMJHL. As such, they have a fair bit of history to them, including two Four Star cup wins, as well as a finals appearance as recently as S57. With these successes, however, Anaheim has also endured some tough times, like when they went a dismal 21-41-4 for tenth place in S58. As things stands, S61 will be another one of those difficult seasons for the team as they begin the early stages of a rebuild.

After a very average S60 for Anaheim, where they went 32-29-5 to finish 7th in the league, many changes were made in the following offseason. Despite the respectable showing, the team decided to tear it all down with a massive rebuild after appointing a new GM. The new management spent no time getting the rebuild underway by very quickly dealing former first overall pick Stan Din’desque to the Québec Citadelles for 3rd, 4th, and 5th round draft picks in future drafts. Their third overall selection from the S60 draft was traded shortly after when they gave up Adelie De Pengu to Nevada for a 2nd, and a 4th in the S61 draft. Then they started dealing with one of the expansion teams, the Great Falls Grizzlies, where through two trades they gave up four more players for a total of eight draft picks over the next five drafts. This included the fourth overall selection in the S61 draft. Lastly, they gave up three players to St Louis for a further four draft picks.

Once the dust settled on the offseason trades and the S61 SMJHL draft was about to begin, the Outlaws had a total of sixteen selections over ten rounds, including three in the second. The strategy was to build the foundation of their S61 team using these selections, given that their flurry of trades in the offseason left them with only one returning player from the previous season, and only five total players who weren’t rookies coming into the season. The rest of their roster would be filled out with the players selected in that S61 draft. On top of this, they still hold yet another ten extra picks through to the S65 draft, meaning they will be in a good position to build on their young core.

All of this means that the Anaheim Outlaws are in for a very rough road ahead, especially in the upcoming season. At the time of this writing they have won only a single time through the first eleven games, and they are showing no signs yet of breaking this trend. Despite being a dreadful team for the next season, they will at least be a very interesting team to watch as they go through their roster overhaul. The team is hoping it can use their abundance of selections in future drafts, as well as their massive haul in this past one to recapture the glory of their past four star cup victories.

(508 words)

Approved! +5 TPE @Whitecap

Talls · 09-04-2021, 06:11 PM

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