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***hhh81*** · 04-04-2022, 08:48 PM

Deep Dive #2: Revisiting the 1st Round of the S64 SMJHL Draft

As we’ve gotten a fair way into the S64 season, this current crop of SMJHL rookies looks very strong. Already 52 of the 89 players in the class have broken the 200 TPE clip. We’re going to take a look at the top earners thus far as well as recap the first round of the S64 SMJHL Draft.

Top 10 earners:
1. LW Matsmith Soderberg-Tremblay Berserkers

– 274 TPE
2. LW Reed Kobo Outlaws

– 272 TPE
3(t). D Patches The III Outlaws

– 268 TPE
3(t). C Sophie Bordeleau Citadelles

– 268 TPE
5. LW Ben Waters Jr. Knights

-267 TPE
6(t). Aleksandr Iskandrov Knights

– 265 TPE
6(t). RW M’Baku Olubori Elk

– 265 TPE
8(t). D Lord Farquaads Outlaws

– 264 TPE
8(t). RW Ricky Koivu Armada

– 264 TPE
8(t). D Pass Forfeit Kraken

– 264 TPE

The top end sees some familiar faces--@SDCore, @boom, @Ace, and @hhh81 are all SHL GMs, while Koivu and Kobo have max earner pedigree with past user’s players. 17 of the top 20 earners so far are recreates. The three first gen players, Luke Laraque, Hynek Heidinger, and Tom Taylor, stand 11th, 12th, and 16th, respectively. This is without a doubt the year of the recreate. Did that hold true in the SMJHL Draft?

S64 SMJHL Draft Recap

1:

St. Louis Scarecrows - Dan Baltisberger

There was a lot of hand wringing in the days leading up to this pick, and the quiet rumors that Baltisberger was going to be the man came true. His impact cannot be captured by TPE alone, though STL may have hoped for their top pick to be higher than 18th in the class (253 TPE). I have no concerns about this player continuing to develop into an elite player for the Scarecrows. He’ll likely steadily move up the class ranks as the season goes on.

2:

Anchorage Armada - Leon Lokitonov

Lokitonov is a known commodity to the Armada, so this pick made a ton of sense at the time. Ml was a longtime GM—while his last few players fell short of some past successes, much of that was tied to the needs of Toronto. Expect Leon to follow in his father’s footsteps as a top forward in this league. Right now, Lokitonov is tied with Baltisberger with 253 TPE. ML’s days as an elite max earner may be over (I doubt it). Even so, Anchorage is going to get a high quality forward for the next few seasons.

3:

Vancouver Whalers - Miroslav Ketil

The first of the first-gen players comes off the board! Going into the draft, the rebuilding Whalers needed literally everything—the roster had few, if any, active players on it. Seeing the high levels of activity from ArmTheSharks, Vancouver took a chance on the Czech defender. He’s played big minutes as a rookie so far. Off the ice, he isn’t earning at the same rate as some others in the class. His 233 TPE is tied with Isabelle Bouchard for 29th in the class. Only one player taken in the first round has less TPE so far. This is a marathon, not a race, and Vancouver doesn’t need him to be a max earner so much as an active, consistent one. In a class so filled with crazy recreates, Ketil will benefit from ignoring the outside noise and focusing on steadily improving each day. I have high expectations for this player to make big moves.

4:

Regina Elk - M'Baku Olubori

After rumors he was in the mix for 1st overall, the Nigerian winger found a home in Regina. After dominating the offseason as the top earner for a while, he sits comfortably in 6th place in the class, just 9 TPE back of first place. Trips has missed only a handful of TPE opportunities over the last 3.5 years, so it’s likely he’ll stick around among the class leaders especially now that he’s Baltimore’s GM. No surprise seeing him here.

5:

Colorado Raptors - Sébastien Dubois

With Olubori off the board, many thought Colorado would take Dubois. So far, he’s been a solid earner with 250 TPE, and likely will continue that trend. JR has usually earned well, even if his players were sacrificed for the good of the Platoon. Now that he’s no longer a GM, expect Dubois to have a long career.

6:

Carolina Kraken - Aleksi Kettu

The pick was not a surprise to anyone paying attention; Fuzz moved Montreal to Carolina when he took over GMing the team. What is surprising is to see Kettu as the lowest earner in the first round. Kettu’s 231 TPE is far from bad, landing at 32nd in this class. Still, I have to wonder if Carolina expected more from their 1st round pick. It’s likely he has some TPE unclaimed that will shoot him further up the rankings. And even if he doesn’t, as a GM player his future is secure in Los Angeles.

7:

Detroit Falcons - C Jobin

The youngest of the Jobin clan so far, C Jobin is making a decent name for himself. The Jobins aren’t known for max earning, and C plans to change that. So far, his 250 TPE are good for 22nd in the class, tied with Colorado draftee, Sebastien Dubois. Even if he doesn’t move up the rankings, standing pat will likely be good enough to turn into a very good player, both over the next 3.5 seasons for Detroit as well as in his future as a Seattle Argonaut.

8:

Quebec City Citadelles - Sophie Bordeleau

A fourth SHL GM player comes off the board at 8th. Bordeleau wasted no time putting up the points, both as a DFA and now as a rookie. She’s also been a very strong earner, sitting at 4th in the class (268 TPE). She has a little time to hone her game before she’ll have to carry the offense for the Blizzard a few years down the line. Will she wilt under the pressure of the other high earners around her, pushing for class position? Time will tell.

9:

Anaheim Outlaws - Lord Farquaads

Ace is back again, this time with a diminutive defenseman. Farquaads is one of 3 Outlaws in the top 10 earners, sitting in a three-way-tie for 8th in the class. Ace has been a high earner for a very long time, and as another GM-player, Farquaads will feature for the Aurora sooner rather than later.

10:

Nevada Battleborn - Luke Laraque

The second first-gen player off the board is also the highest earning first-gen! Laraque has been effective early for the Battleborn and the user jumped right in as a simmer for the site. I think we’ve not yet seen the best from this player—he’ll certainly turn some heads heading into the SHL draft.

11:

Kelowna Knights - Aleksandr Iskandrov

The first truly surprising pick for many, Kelowna took Iskandrov. This is a recreate that does not come with the Hall of Fame pedigree of other top earners/draft picks; since creating in S34, dmuda had 5 other players. None have broken 500 career TPE (though the first Aleksandr Aleksandrov is one of the greatest goalies in Colorado Raptors history). So far, Iskandrov and dmuda are proving the detractors wrong. His 265 TPE so far ranks 6th in the class, tied with 4th overall pick, M’Baku Olubori. If this trend keeps up, Iskandrov could be a very high pick in the SHL Draft.

12:

Anchorage Armada (via MET) - Ricky Koivu

Anchorage drafts another former team GM in Gabe. With the misfortune of Gabriel Johnson’s career behind him, hopes are high that Ricky Koivu can continue the family’s run through the SHL. Older brothers Paul and Binko has cemented themselves as solid J players, while Ricky and classmates Jolmi and Wide Peepo Happy 3 wish to make their names known. I feel sorry for their poor mother. Jokes aside, Ricky Koivu is at top 10 earner this year. That likely will continue.

13:

Quebec City Citadelles (via GFG) - Faust Faker

The site’s co-commissioner decided the era of Patric Twist was over and the start of Faust Faker would begin. Twist was emblematic of the “marathon, not sprint” aspect of the SHL, and in the end had a solid career. Faker hopes to build off that as a strong scorer for QCC. He’s gotten off to a good start and is 17th in the S65 draft class with 254 TPE. If he stays on this track, it’s hard to imagine Faker falling outside the 1st round of the upcoming SHL draft.

14:

Newfoundland Berserkers - Matsmith Söderberg-Tremblay

And finally, the class leader in TPE falls right where he wanted to be, getting to play for the franchise he helped create. Many knew that this where Corey wanted to end up, and it looks like a brilliant pick for the defending champs. Not much more you can say; he’s an SHL GM on a contending Chicago team, so he’ll max earn and likely stay down the maximum amount of time. QCC’s somewhat surprising pick of Faker one pick earlier made this choice a little easier. In the end, I still think MST was going to be the pick here. He has some of the strongest SHL pedigree of any player in the draft—his adoptive parents were both very good SHL players, and his godfather is an elite SHL goalie currently. It’s a matter of time before he, too, stars for the Syndicate.

In the end, draft position doesn’t matter as much as consistent earning. So far, so good, as all the 1st round picks have continued to earn at a moderate to high level. Their GMs hope this continues.

Opera_Phantom · 04-05-2022, 04:38 AM

@hhh81 APPROVED! +5 TPE

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