Reflecting on the Minnesota Monarchs S76 Draft

Having come back from a long Simulation Hockey League (SHL) hiatus, I did not expect to be in a management role as quickly as I found myself in again. I had originally applied as a feeler to get my name out there and position myself for future Co-General Manager roles in the future. Eddie and I were able to discuss the SHL in detail as well as our opinions on team building and creating a strong future Minnesota organization. Those conversations and the work put in the last few weeks manifested itself into our first draft together, yesterday evening, as a part of the new Minnesota Monarchs regime. After various pre-draft trades, we had picks 32, 40 and 46 to make our mark. We understood heading into the draft that there were plenty of potential targets in that range and wanted players who will be a crucial component of our future, not only with their players but also culture wise.



With the 32nd overall pick, the Minnesota Monarchs selected Turtle Bob who is the latest player represented by the Cuffy agency. Cuffy is a long-time SHL user who actually recruited me to the SHL back in 2012. We also had various members of our organization who had multiple touchpoints with Cuffy, be it in the SMJHL or elsewhere who understood that not only could he be a key part of our defense in the future but also a massive part of our locker room. As a person, Cuffy is outgoing and fun and we knew that as we look to grow the organization, we continue to look to add members that are similar to our locker room. As a player, Turtle Bob is an undersized defenseman who is defensively sound and plays with a very high IQ. We would expect that when Turtle Bob enters the SHL that he will be a puck moving defenseman who blocks passing lanes and can lead our PP2 immediately after making the jump from the SMJHL.



With the 40th overall pick, the Minnesota Monarchs selected Jason Warwaha, who is the latest player created by the Boomcheck agency. Similar to Cuffy, Boomcheck is a long-time SHL user who I have a shared history with. Be it the SHL, or other leagues, Boomcheck is someone who I have known for a while and competed against. It will be fun to try to compete with Boomcheck now opposed to competing against. As a player, Jason Warwaha has shown flashes of elite offensive talent. A talented winger who is capable of getting open and scoring, nearly at will, who can be a core component of our top six moving forward if he is able to continue to develop. To make the jump from the SMJHL, we expect Warwaha to have to become more competent in the defensive end. Currently lacking outside of stick checking and defensive IQ, Warwaha will need to improve his defensive prowess in order to become an elite forward rather than just an elite scorer.



With the 46th overall pick, the Minnesota Monarchs selected Lee Harrison, a member of the zT Gamoja Tz agency. Harrison is a member of the Great Falls organization and similar to the prospects above will continue to see his development in the SMJHL in the near-future. Harrison is an extremely tall and positionally sound goalkeeper, attributes that will carry over well to the SHL level and are fairly projectable. What the organization will hope for is that with the support of two organizations, both teams can provide proper coaching at the goalie level to make sure that Harrison uses his height and positioning skills to his upmost capabilities and become the number one goalie that can be expected of someone with his athleticism and height.

When reflecting on the draft, I would call this current Minnesota Monarchs draft haul a success. We were able to grab a defenseman, winger and goalie, all of whom are projectable to the SHL. Coming into the draft, I was skeptical of what exactly we may end up with the picks that we had, however the ability to have a balanced draft with some very strong members and players in my opinion was a success. I would say that this draft process was exciting and now that it is over will allow myself to reflect and see how we can improve in future processes.

What is important is to not lose sight of the most important component of the draft process which is the development of the players above. The SHL draft is solely the beginning of the next journey of their careers and these players will need the proper backing from their organizations. While the day after the draft is always too early to create a final opinion of whether we were successful or not, I believe that we have positioned ourselves well to reflect in 5-10 seasons on what was hopefully a strong draft performance.