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Alexi Piastri Reaches a New Level in Breakout Season (2x draft?)
#1
(This post was last modified: 01-10-2023, 04:23 AM by vbottas17. Edited 5 times in total.)

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Nevada Battleborn center Alexi Piastri



Heading into S68, there's no way that anybody could have predicted the incredible scoring numbers that third year Nevada Battleborn forward Alexi Piastri would put up. Sure, Piastri had proven that he could be a solid contributor on good teams, he was arguably one of the most dangerous forwards on the Battleborn teams that reached the Four Star Cup Finals in back to back seasons, including a top 6 role on Nevada's S66 championship winning squad during his rookie season, but Piastri established himself as one of the most electric players, if not the most electric player in the SMJHL.

Coming off of a couple of deep playoff runs, many people thought that the Battleborn would take a step back in S68. Four of the teams top seven leading scorers from the previous season were moving on, key players such as Din Djardin, Luke Laraque, Mason Graves, & Steven Connors. Sure, there were players returning such as Paul Peterson, Ragnar Lothbrok, John Brown, Dominik Froste, and Piastri, but the four graduating players accounted for 95 goals the previous season. Throw in Seamus O'Slapahan and the total climbs to over 100, it would be no small feat to make up for the lost scoring output.

After scoring 26 goals in his rookie season, Piastri raised his goal total to 30 in S67. Piastri's 30 goals tied Paul Peterson for the most on the Battleborn. Piastri matched the 56 points that he had recorded as a rookie. Overall it was a solid season. Perhaps some people had higher expectations for Piastri after his scoring output as a rookie the season prior. The team was winning games and featured an extremely balanced scoring attack, Piastri filled his role well, but there were flashes of brilliance that led you to believe that he was capable of more. There were a lot of rumors about Piastri's dedication off of the ice following the championship run. He spent a lot of time in Mexico celebrating the victory. At one point, it was thought that he had lost the Four Star Cup while floating on an air mattress in the Gulf of Baja California. Luckily the team didn't actually give his drunk ass the real throphy. Maybe there was something to these rumors as Piastri failed to take a real leap forward in his sophomore campaign.

Enter S68. With the aforementioned players having left the team, Piastri wasted little time establishing himself as an offensive force, scoring at a torid pace. Alexi centered Nevada's top line alongside wingers Dominik Froste and Boom Stick. Both Froste and Boom Stick play a physical brand of hockey which created a lot of open ice. Piastri certainly made the most of the opportunities that this created. The three players clicked right off the bat with Piastri leading the way. It was apparent early on in training camp that Alexi had been working hard all off-season. He showed up looking a step quicker on the ice, buzzing around the offensive zone and making quick decisions with the puck on his stick. Piastri was scoring at over a goal per game pace for a majority of the season. Ultimately the Melbourne native would set SMJHL single season records with 60 goals and 103 points. Piastri's offensive output helped Nevada win 42 games on the season and keep their spot among the leagues top teams.

So what changed?

"I don't think anything necessarily changed. I trained hard all off-season and I put in 100% effort day in, night out. Every practice, every game, I want to make sure that I'm able to help out the team and I think that the hard work paid off last season as far as finding the back of the net goes and helping the team win games. Obviously we came up short of achieving our utimate goal which is winning the Four Star Cup. As far as my individual statistics and breaking the league records, I owe a lot to my teammates, Froste and Boom Stick are monsters on the ice and make my job pretty easy most of the time. The coaching staff is unbelievable and puts me in a lot of great situations to succeed. Overall it's a complete team effort that led to me putting up the numbers that I did. I'm incredibly fortunate to be in the situation that I'm in and honored to represent the team with the individual records. Maybe I'll appreciate the individual numbers more after I've moved on, but right now I'm still focused on winning another championship with Nevada."

While it's apparent that Piastri rather deflect the credit for his individual performance to the efforts of his teammates, Piastri's offensive output in S68 was at a level that has never been seen in the SMJHL before. Nobody had even scored 50 goals in a season, the dimminutive forwards 60 goals shattered the leagues previous record of 47 goals, set by former Quebec City Ramparts star Greyson Cooper back in S61. Piastri doubled his previous career high of 30 goals, scoring 4 more goals during S68 than he had scored in his entire SMJHL career beforehand. Piastri became the first player in SMJHL history to crack the century mark in points, a number that some people doubted would be reached. There's no arguing that Piastri's season was among the most impressive individual seasons in the leagues history and certainly has his name being brought up in award discussions.

So what's next for Alexi? Despite the record setting season, it appears that the star forward will be returning to the Nevada Battleborn next season. Piastri was the 17th overall selection, the final of four first round picks for the Minnesota Monarchs in the S67 SHL Draft. The Monarchs have been going through a major rebuilding process. The team has been extremely patient with their prospects as of late to assure that the players have an opportunity to develop properly in a good environment and are ready to make an immediate impact when they arrive in the SHL. While the argument could be made that Piastri could help the Monarchs next season, the teams competitive window is just now starting to crack open as some top prospects begin to join the team. Piastri's Battleborn linemate Dominik Froste will be joining the Monarchs this season, you have to believe that the team as well as Froste and Piastri are excited about the idea of the dynamic duo in juniors doing the same in Minnesota. With another season of development, Piastri will have to be considered as one of the favorites to win the Jesster Award in S70.

The SMJHL's all time scoring records very well may be in reach for Piastri. Emeril Lagasse holds the SMJHL career records for goals with 136 and points with 281. Alexi enters S69 with 113 goals and 215 points, 23 goals and 66 points shy of the all time marks. If Piastri can come anywhere close to replicating his offensive production from S68, he could cruise past the goals tally and should have a great shot at the points mark as well. That may be easier said than done. Piastri's season was unlike anything that had been seen before and won't be easy to match. Alexi began to come down to earth a bit in the second half of the season. A number of talented prospects on the stacked Detroit Falcons team started to creep towards him on the SMJHL leading scorers lists. Was Piastri going through a "slump" or was his second half pace a more accurate representation of his normal scoring output?

Once again, Nevada has lost key players, namely Paul Peterson and Piastri's linemate Dominik Froste are graduating to the SHL. The coaching staff has done a great job of finding the right combinations in the past and should be given the benefit of the doubt to get the most out of the team. Perhaps the Battleborn will look to add forward help in the draft? The SMJHL Draft is approaching fast and Nevada could definitely use sone help up front. Piastri, Froste, and Boom Stick all had breakout seasons in S68 and there will likely be more of the same among the Battleborn forward group this season. Maybe the Battleborn will add a player that will eventually go on to break Alexi's team records? Nevada will be a fun team to follow next season. Pre-season projections are sure to be all over the place. Have they finally lost too many key players to remain competitive, or will they add the right pieces to the team to keep them on top of the Western Conference? A place that they've become accustomed to as of late. The upcoming draft could definitely play a big part in deciding the teams S69 fate.


1500+ words (x2draft media)

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#2

I would simp for Alexi

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Signatures by myself and Ragnar

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#3

01-10-2023, 06:40 AMFroste39 Wrote: I would simp for Alexi

I *simp* for Alexi

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#4

look at our boy go :')

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#5

You know that's not all too bad

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thanks @slothfacekilla for the sig <3
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Ireland
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