The draft of Season 45 was the biggest draft this site has ever seen. 117 prospects were drafted in the SMJHL during this draft and the draft lasted for 15 rounds. In this deep dive I want to highlight the draft of one specific team: the Kelowna Knights. General Manager @Zoone16 was up to the big task of going through the endless list of prospects in this huge Reddit draft. Looking back at this draft Kelowna did exceptionally well drafting (and sign 1 free agent) 5 players that eventually reached over 2K TPE and go on to win a combined of 5 Challenge Cups. While this group was unsuccesful in winning a Four Star Cup in the SMJHL they made up for it in the SHL.

I was able to get a quote from General Manager Zoone: "Kelowna did not have a lot of active players, but the class was stupid big to scout completely. I ended up scouting maybe 30-ish prospects after being annoyed when losing the lottery for 1OA."

First I want to take a look at the 5 players that reached 2k from this draft class. I will talk about when they were picked and what their careers were like in the SHL.

Round 1
In the first round and with the second overall pick Kelowna selected Karlstraße Scholz (@karlsens). A solid pick and former General Manager of the Edmonton Blizzard. Karlstraße Scholz ended up to have a solid career being a corner stone defenseman with Edmonton and eventually win the Challenge Cup in season 49. Scholz won the Scott Stevens in season 55 (and was nominated in season 53) and was nominated for the Bojo Biscuit in season 55.

TPE: 2080
Challenge Cup: Season 49 - Edmonton Blizzard

Round 2
Looking for more depth in the defensive lines, Kelowna picked Guy Zheng with their 15OA pick. Guy Zheng played for the New England Wolfpack and Atlanta Inferno where he was also a co-GM. Zheng was nominated for the Ryan Jesster in season 47 and Scott Stevens in season 56.

TPE: 2134
Challenge Cup: -

Round 5
In the 5th round of the draft Kelowna selected Bobby Sharp, who at the time seemed like a good addition. He turned out to be a great addition to the team and to the SHL. Bobby Sharp has won 2 Challenge Cups with the Buffalo Stampede and was often in the top of the league in scoring and was nominated for the Ron Mexico in season 58.

TPE: 2104
Challenge Cup: Season 48 and season 55 - Buffalo Stampede

Round 7
In the 7th round of the draft every team was running out of options and were facing prospects they didn't scout at all. One of the advisors of Kelowna pointed towards Barry Batsbak who seemed to be active in the draft chat at the time. It ended up to be a big steal in this draft and in what turned out to be a stacked 7th round of the draft. Barry Batsbak ended up with one Challenge Cup win in season 50 scoring 2 goals in game 7 to reverse sweep the Tampa Bay Barracuda in the finals. Barry Batsbak ended up also to be a very loyal person to the franchise taking the co-GM position in season 50 and the GM position in season 52. He ended up GM-ing Kelowna for 8 full seasons with a 228-122-32 record. Winning several President's Trophy's, Best General Manager awards, but was left without a Four Star Cup win losing 3 finals in his GM career.

TPE: 2080
Challenge Cup: Season 50 - Calgary Dragons

Free agent signing
After the draft a few free agents registered on the site and Dick Clapper was one of them. He was a real life friend of Guy Zheng so it was naturally a good signing for the Knights. Dick Clapper ended up to have an amazing career (and is still active). He won the Challenge Cup in season 56 with the Hamilton Steelhawks. Dick Clapper was nominated for the Anton Rozov twice in season 56 and season 57.

TPE: 2105
Challenge Cup: Season 56 - Hamilton Steelhawks

Noteworthy players that were also drafted by Kelowna this draft:
- David Vent
- Zach Laliberté
- Big Fudge

Rikkert Biemans || #21 || S66  || Tampa Bay Barracuda || Katth#7745
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Drafted 8th overall by the Kelowna Knights
Drafted 6th overall by the Texas Renegades and traded to Montreal Patriotes
Traded to St. Louis Scarecrows
Traded to Tampa Bay Barracuda
S67 WJC Gold Medal - Dach
S70 IIHF Gold Medal - Germany
S72 IIHF Gold Medal - Germany
S73 All Star Game (1st appearance)
S74 IIHF Gold Medal - Germany
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SMJHL:
S65 || GP: 66 || G: 14 || A: 11 || P: 25 || SHT%: 13.6% || Hits: 85
S66 || GP: 66 || G: 19 || A: 20 || P: 39 || SHT%: 13.8% || Hits: 93
S67 || GP: 66 || G: 36 || A: 32 || P: 68 || SHT%: 18.6% || Hits: 129
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SHL:
S68 || GP: 66 || G: 29 || A: 25 || P: 54 || SHT%: 16.8% || GWG: 6 || Hits: 108
S69 || GP: 66 || G: 12 || A: 38 || P: 50 || SHT%: 08.4% || GWG: 3 || Hits: 72
S70 || GP: 66 || G: 22 || A: 32 || P: 54 || SHT%: 13.5% || GWG: 0 || Hits: 73
S71 || GP: 66 || G: 31 || A: 40 || P: 71 || SHT%: 14.8% || GWG: 2 || Hits: 100
S72 || GP: 66 || G: 38 || A: 31 || P: 69 || SHT%: 16.6% || GWG: 7 || Hits: 102
S73 || GP: 66 || G: 38 || A: 43 || P: 81 || SHT%: 13.0% || GWG: 6 || Hits: 94
S74 || GP: 66 || G: 42 || A: 57 || P: 99 || SHT%: 16.3% || GWG: 7 || Hits: 100


 



Barry Batsbak || #92 || S46 || Calgary Dragons || 2,080 TPE (peak) || Katth#7745
Alias: The Bird
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 204 lbs
Number: 92
Country: Austria
Render: Evgeny Kuznetsov
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SHL:
S48 || CGY || GP: 50 || G: 03 || A: 10 || P: 13 || +/- -10 || SHT%: 03.66% || FO%: 50.49%
S49 || CGY || GP: 50 || G: 10 || A: 11 || P: 21 || +/- -01 || SHT%: 13.33% || FO%: 49.89%
S50 || CGY || GP: 50 || G: 05 || A: 20 || P: 25 || +/- -05 || SHT%: 04.85% || FO%: 53.81%
S51 || CGY || GP: 50 || G: 12 || A: 17 || P: 29 || +/-  05 || SHT%: 09.45% || FO%: 54.32%
S52 || CGY || GP: 50 || G: 15 || A: 26 || P: 41 || +/-  11 || SHT%: 10.79% || FO%: 54.99%
S53 || CGY || GP: 50 || G: 17 || A: 38 || P: 55 || +/-  16 || SHT%: 10.37% || FO%: 56.70%
S54 || CGY || GP: 50 || G: 14 || A: 36 || P: 50 || +/- -06 || SHT%: 07.22% || FO%: 57.82%
S55 || CGY || GP: 50 || G: 14 || A: 42 || P: 56 || +/- -11 || SHT%: 08.86% || FO%: 57.82%
S56 || CGY || GP: 50 || G: 29 || A: 34 || P: 63 || +/-  39 || SHT%: 15.59% || FO%: 55.44%
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SHL Playoffs:
S48 || CGY || GP: 11 || G: 01 || A: 05 || P: 06 || +/- 00 || SHT%: 05.56% || FO%: 44.74%
S49 || CGY || GP: 07 || G: 02 || A: 03 || P: 05 || +/- 05 || SHT%: 15.38% || FO%: 51.67%
S50 || CGY || GP: 20 || G: 02 || A: 08 || P: 10 || +/- -01|| SHT%: 06.25% || FO%: 58.21%
S51 || CGY || GP: 07 || G: 01 || A: 03 || P: 04 || +/- 01 || SHT%: 05.88% || FO%: 47.93%
S52 || CGY || GP: 13 || G: 05 || A: 07 || P: 12 || +/- 09 || SHT%: 15.15% || FO%: 51.50%
S53 || CGY || GP: 07 || G: 02 || A: 01 || P: 03 || +/--02 || SHT%: 08.00% || FO%: 00.00%
S54 || CGY || GP: 05 || G: 01 || A: 04 || P: 05 || +/- 00 || SHT%: 07.14% || FO%: 00.00%
S55 || CGY || GP: 06 || G: 01 || A: 03 || P: 04 || +/--04 || SHT%: 05.88% || FO%: 00.00%
S56 || CGY || GP: 05 || G: 01 || A: 04 || P: 05 || +/- 00 || SHT%: 07.14% || FO%: 00.00%
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IIHF Round Robin:
S48 || AUT || GP: 12 || G: 00 || A: 01 || P: 01 || +/-  00 || SHT%: 00.00% || FO%: 50.00%
S49 || AUT || GP: 12 || G: 04 || A: 02 || P: 06 || +/- -01 || SHT%: 20.00% || FO%: 51.95%
S50 || AUT || GP: 12 || G: 00 || A: 03 || P: 03 || +/-  03 || SHT%: 00.00% || FO%: 53.18%
S51 || AUT || GP: 12 || G: 04 || A: 04 || P: 08 || +/- -01 || SHT%: 16.00% || FO%: 57.39%
S52 || AUT || GP: 12 || G: 06 || A: 04 || P: 10 || +/-  10 || SHT%: 23.08% || FO%: 61.13%
S53 || AUT || GP: 12 || G: 01 || A: 10 || P: 11 || +/- -02 || SHT%: 02.94% || FO%: 00.00%
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IIHF Medal Rounds:
S48 || AUT || GP: 01 || G: 01 || A: 00 || P: 01 || +/-  01 || SHT%: 50.00% || FO%: 100.00%
S50 || AUT || GP: 02 || G: 00 || A: 00 || P: 00 || +/- -01 || SHT%: 00.00% || FO%: 47.50%
S51 || AUT || GP: 01 || G: 00 || A: 00 || P: 00 || +/- -00 || SHT%: 00.00% || FO%: 00.00%
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SMJHL Regular Season:
S45 || KEL || GP: 50 || G: 08 || A: 05 || P: 13 || +/-  -04 || SHT%: 16.00% || FO%: 46.88%
S46 || KEL || GP: 50 || G: 11 || A: 25 || P: 36 || +/- +12 || SHT%: 10.68% || FO%: 46.10%
S47 || KEL || GP: 50 || G: 13 || A: 25 || P: 38 || +/-  -10 || SHT%: 10.08% || FO%: 48.30%
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SMJHL Playoffs:
S45 || KEL || GP: 04 || G: 02 || A: 00 || P: 02 || +/- +00 || SHT%: 50.00%
S46 || KEL || GP: 18 || G: 02 || A: 12 || P: 14 || +/- +10 || SHT%: 06.06%
S47 || KEL || GP: 10 || G: 05 || A: 07 || P: 12 || +/- +00 || SHT%: 15.63%
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Transactions & Awards:
S45: Drafted 61st overall by Kelowna Knights
S45: Silver medal WJC (CAN)
S46: Drafted 22nd overall by Calgary Dragons
S46: Laurifer Trophy (KEL - SMJHL)
S46: Riko Muerto Award (KEL - Most Underated Player)
S46: Bronze medal WJC (CAN)
S47: John McBride Award (KEL - Playoff MVP)
S47: Gold medal WJC (CAN)
S49: Appointed as Head Coach of the Kelowna Knights
S49: First career shorthanded goal (Thursday, August 15, 2019)
S49: First career hattrick (Saturday, August 17, 2019)
S49: President's Trophy (CGY)
S49: Appointed Federation Head for Austria
S49: Mike Izzy Award (CGY - Exemplary commitment to off-ice contributions to the team)
S50: Named Alternate Captain for S50 (CGY)
S50: Western Conference Champion (CGY)
S50: Challenge Cup Champion (CGY)
S51: Appointed co-GM for Kelowna Knights
S52: Appointed GM for Kelowna Knights
S53: Jesster Award (CGY - Most Valuable Player)
S53: Western Conference Champion (KEL)
S54: Named Alternate Captain for S54 & S55 (CGY)
S54: Laurifer Trophy (KEL)

 
S50 Challenge Cup Finals Game 7

@Katth APPROVED! +5 TPE