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Tmoney6996 · 02-28-2025, 09:01 PM

As we approach the halfway point of the SHL season, scouting departments are cracking open their notepads and beginning the hard process of evaluating talent that they believe would bring their team to the next level. With a monstrous class on the way in S82, it stands to reason that many teams are going to start hitting the scouting hard to ensure that they can bring as much of this talented class as they can. An added layer to this, and something that puts more onus on teams to nail their picks, the impending SHL expansion draft. Teams will now not only need to draft for their own future and immediate needs, but will need to keep protection lists in mind when looking at potential entry additions.

While mock season will be in full swing in the next few weeks, I figure it would be a good time to start a draft primer. Covering all 20 SHL teams, looking at their current team structure, their recent draft picks, and where they may look come the S82 Entry Draft. I’m still a little green to the SHL, so my review of rosters in sure to biased towards thinking that probably makes more sense over in the ISFL, but I hope that this helps those out there looking to do mocks, as well as helping me get a better grip on the ins and outs here in the SHL.

Let’s dig in!

Atlanta Inferno Inferno

Average Age: S72, Total TPE: 26920, TPE/player: 1495

My initial reaction is that this team is in a pretty good spot! From the looks of things, this team should be just about entering the prime of their current core. All 1st liners are above 1700 TPE and there’s plenty of depth all the way down. Perhaps a little short on the left side of things with only 2 LWs and 1 LD rostered at the moment, but they make up for that with 5 RDs and 4 RWs (I imagine those can swap sides without much of a penalty). Atlanta also only has 3 Cs rostered, and none in the pipeline, which I think definitely puts C towards the top of their team's needs.

Looking at their current prospect pool, they clearly are looking to fill that gap at LW, with 2 currently down in the SMJHL, 1 at S79 and another from the most recent draft of S81. They also have a Goalie and RD from the most draft as well.

It feels as though Atlantas’ goals in the next draft are pretty clear. Add to the lack of defensive depth at the Juniors level, and continue to add to a C position that has no heir apparent. Like I mentioned earlier, I *think* LD and RD are interchangeable with minimal penalties, but it makes sense for them to target a LD early on in the draft.

Team Needs: LD, C

Baltimore Platoon Platoon

Average Age: S68, Total TPE: 19538, TPE/player: 1149

We go from a team that is looking to be in their prime to a team that appears to be just past their prime! The Platoon appear to have a decently old roster (shoutout to Slip McScruff who is aS45 player, although that feels like a mistake). Either way, and as we’ll discuss in a moment, Baltimore definitely looks to be in the middle of a retooling. Currently only 1 C on the Majors roster, it’s definitely a point of concern for the current team. However, aside from age, they’ve filled out the roster nicely, and don’t have any glaring capacity issues at the moment.
Their prospect page is LOADED. 11 players currently in the SMJHL, with 7 of those coming from this past draft. The Platoon currently have 3 C’s, sent down, and 2 of those from S81, so it seems likely they’ll actually end up looking elsewhere this coming draft. They’ve got a good amount of defenseman in the J as well, with 2 LDs and 3 RDs. However, they only have 2 wingers currently, and it seems likely that that will be their target in the upcoming draft. All that to say, BAL appears to have done the retooling that they needed to do last draft, and now just need to fill in pieces moving forward.

Team Needs: LW, RW, Goalie

Buffalo Stampede

Average Age: S73, Total TPE: 20154, TPE/player: 1185

I feel like we’ve seen 3 vastly different teams in our first 3 reviews. We went from a team that appears to be entering their peak, with tons of TPE, to a team that is nearing a reset and has a new core ready and waiting, to Buffalo. A team with the same average age as Atlanta, but 6000 less TPE. Positionally, they’ve got 4Cs, and they’re set at goalie with 2. There’s currently only 2 RDs on the roster, but again, since they appear to be interchangeable, they’re covered with the 4 LDs that they have rostered. Forward wise, they’ve got 2 and 2, which is adequate depth, but leaves a little to be desired.

Buffalo currently has a decent prospect pipeline with standout Goalie Claude L’Castor being their most recent pick back in the S81 draft. Outside of that, they’ve got all of their positions covered. 1 Center, 1 RD, 2 LD, and 2 LWs. The obvious missing piece there is RW, and compared to a team like Baltimore, they’re missing a ton of bodies. I think Buffalo could go anywhere this upcoming draft, really just need to get some talent infused back into the main roster. However, if they wanted to focus on a specific spot, I’d say it’s very likely they go forward early.

Team Needs: RW, RD

Calgary Dragons Dragons

Average Age: S74, Total TPE: 22900, TPE/player: 1347

Calgary was a fun team to review. The current Majors roster is pretty set. They’ve got earners at every position, sans, LD, but make up for that with a very strong set of RD. I’d say this team is probably close to being in their prime and should only be going up from here. They’re currently short of wingers, as some other teams are, but make up for that with a plethora of Cs, totaling 5 on the active roster.

Their prospect pool is interesting, namely because it doesn’t really exist. They have 2 players currently, both from S79. And while those players are earning well, it’s still only 2 players. However, with the team just about ready to compete, I think this makes some sense, similar to how Atlanta from earlier is built, this team doesn’t have a huge need for future prospects, and needs to get ready to win now. That being said, I think they’ll look RW or LD in this draft.

Team Needs: RW, LD

Chicago Syndicate

Average Age: S74, Total TPE: 23087, TPE/player: 1358

Chicago has quite a few things going for them. 1) Really unique branding, big fan 2) Crazy Center depth on the majors roster. Currently rostering 6 Cs, they’ve got the skaters there to deploy a healthy set of lines, even if out of position. One of those is a S63 player, so one has to imagine that list will shrink sometime in the next few seasons, but it’s always good to have a veteran presence on the team. Alongside those Cs, they currently have 3 LWs and only 1 RW rostered. Defensively, they’ve got the “correct” amount of Dman, with a slight edge towards LD with there being 4 and 2, respectively.

Taking a look at their prospect pool, I see what appears to be all of VANs Line 2 starters, shoutout Whalers! Currently sitting in a pool of 10 players, the Syndicate have their goalie of the future, 5 forwards (3LW/2RW), and 4 Defensemen (1LD/3RD). I don’t think they really have any holes, per se, they just need some time to continue to earn and get to their peak. From a draft perspective, they can go a number of directions, I *think* they’ll look C early since they don’t have one down in the Js, but that’s just personal preference I think. One of the more well built rosters from what I can see.

Team Needs: C

Edmonton Blizzard

Average Age: S74, Total TPE: 16898, TPE/player: 994

Edmonton's review of needs might be summed up in literally one word (or acronym): TPE. They’re just short of it right now. They sport a similarly aged roster compared to the other teams that we’ve reviewed so far, but have significantly less TPE than their counterparts. I am unsure as to what caused that, but that’s really the main driver of need here. They’ve got a perfect split of 3 and 3 at both winger positions and defenseman, with 4 Centers and 2 goalies as well. The issue isn’t positions, it’s just earning.

Their prospect pool is medium sized as well, sitting with 6 players. No offensive players down in the J though, and no players since the 79 draft it looks like (Maybe the portal is wrong and I’m missing something). Either way, I think it’s pretty clear cut what Edmonton needs here.

Team Needs: TPE, LW, RW

Hamilton Steelhawks

Average Age: S72, Total TPE: 17512, TPE/player: 1094

We’ve started a shift back towards older teams finally! For the first time in a few teams, we’ve got a team older than S74. That being said, Hamilton reads a lot like Edmonton, they just need TPE. However, one of the main differences here is that Edmonton, while on paper, reads as an older team, the core is definitely mid 70s, and is being dragged down, on average, by a few players from the late 60s and 1 player from the late 50s. Positionally, The right side of the ice is covered with 4 RD and 3 RWs, but they’re technically a player short on the left side, with only 2 LW and LD each.

Taking a gander at their prospect pool, it’s legit another full team down there. Currently have 18(!) players down in the minors, all from S79 onward, with most from 80 and 81. They have every position covered sans Left Defenseman, but wow, this is quite the collection of players ready to go for Hamilton in a few seasons.

Team Needs: Time, LD

Los Angeles Panthers

Average Age: S70, Total TPE: 23898, TPE/player: 1405

This team is primed and ready to win. Their majors roster has a ton of TPE, 90% of their players are in what I think is their peak, and they have all of their positions covered. Although, it would stand to reason that they could use another LW, but they also have 5 RWs ready to step in and play out of position. This team really is loaded, there’s not much to nitpick at the majors level.

But as with teams in any sport that are at this point, their coffers are probably on the empty side of things. That’s no different here. LA currently has 2(!) players in the J, a LW and a LD. It kind of opens the door to go any direction in the upcoming draft. They’ll need to start stocking up players again eventually, but for right now, they really can go with best player available and be just fine. Ideally, they’ll look at G and C as those positions are a little long in the tooth at the moment. Not the most in-depth analysis is needed here, so we’ll move on.

Team Needs: LW, G, C

Manhattan Rage Rage

Average Age: S72, Total TPE: 21649, TPE/player: 1353

Manhattan is another team that seems ready and poised to strike in a short amount of league time. Team is still relatively young, has a good amount of TPE and has all of their major positional needs filled. They’re short 1 LD, but make up for it with an extra RD, and then are short 1 RW with no apparent backup (probably playing 1 of their 4 Centers out at winger).

Their prospect pool leaves a bit to be desired. No S81 players, but they do have good positional coverage. 3 Dmen, 2 forwards, and for a team in their current position, this makes some sense. Based on the age of their current roster, at least at an individual level, I’d expect them to probably look at the right side of the ice, targeting RW and RD specifically. As those players seem to be the oldest on the team at the moment.

Team Needs: RW, RD, LW

Minnesota Monarchs

Average Age: S72, Total TPE: 14134, TPE/player: 831

I’m not sure what to make of Minnesota just looking at their roster page. Probably a team that’s just in a rebuild and is waiting for reinforcements to come up. They have good positional coverage, minus RW where they could use a body or two, but I think the real issue here is the lack of TPE.

As expected though, their prospect pool is stocked with talent. 15 players down in the minors, with 8 of them coming from the most recent draft. It’s probably better, and honestly, more genuine to evaluate team needs based on the prospect pool for Minnesota than it is to actually look at their majors roster. They’ve got 4 Centers, 2 goalies, 4 LWs, 1 RW, and 4 RD. That is a healthy smattering of talent all across the ice. Outside of BPA, I have to imagine they’ll continue to look at D depth. After all, defense wins championships.

Team Needs: LD, RW

Montreal Patriotes

Average Age: S74, Total TPE: 25394, TPE/player: 1493

This looks like a very strong team on paper with very few holes to fill. Still not at their absolute peak yet (of course, that’s if my understanding of regression and such is correct here), and a ton of solid earners up and down the board. Good positional coverage on defense, with a ton of defenders (6) on the majors roster. They do lack a little depth in the wingers department, BUT the number of centers probably offsets that enough. I wouldn’t say the majors team has any major holes that need to be filled.

As with other teams in similar situations, their prospect pool is pretty barren. Current 4 players; 2 RD, 1 LW, and 1 C. Montreal can probably go with best player available as they have good positional coverage for their next age related needs in their prospect pool. However, my money would be on them going for RW specially as that’s the oldest position on the roster.

Team Needs: RW, RD (maybe)

New England Wolfpack

Average Age: S72, Total TPE: 24857, TPE/player: 1462

Another strong team up for review! I do see some immediate holes on their majors roster though, which makes this task a bit easier. They have good defensive depth with 6 total D rostered, but only 1 of them is LD. They do only have 2 Centers at the moment, but 3 LWs and 4 RWs. So enough to field 3 lines and have some player center as needed, or could have Center double up on multiple lines. All in all, a well constructed team

Their prospect pool, quantity-wise, is a little on the small side. The Wolfpack currently have only 6 players in the minors, but great coverage on positions. 2 RDs, 2 RWs, 1 Goalie, and 1 Center. I might argue that they’re still a little thin at winger, so could see that being a position of interest for them. The same goes for Center, but the 2 they have on the main roster should be okay for a bit.

Team Needs: C, LW

New Orleans Specters

Average Age: S71, Total TPE: 22255, TPE/player: 1309

NOLA was a fun team to review! Their majors roster looks very solid and does not have a lot of misaligned players or positional need. They’ve got 6 defensemen, split by 3 and 3 on each side. 7 wingers, with 3 on the left and 4 on the right. However, they do currently only have 2 Centers rostered, and a very old backup goalie, so if there were spots that needed to be shored up, I’d say it’s those two.

For a team of this age, and TPE level, NOLAs prospect pool is incredible. 12 players down in the J (soon to be 11), 3 of those are Centers, 1 goalie, 3 Defensemen, and 5 wingers. There’s not a spot that they do not have covered. However, I’d lean more towards defensemen for them as that number is about to go down to 2, and only having 2 in the pipeline is a bit concerning. Goalie could also be a need, but that might be a luxury given their current roster construction.

Team Needs: RD/LD, Goalie

Philadelphia Forge Forge

Average Age: S70, Total TPE: 24461, TPE/player: 1438

The Forge boast another impressive majors roster with very few positional holes, and a ton of TPE-ready players poised to make a run. Their left side is a “weak”, having only 1 each of LW and LD, BUT, they have 5 RD and 4 RWs to compensate for that. They additionally have 3 Centers, so no concern there. This roster is in great shape!

They have a medium sized prospect pool of 6 players, all in differing positions. 1 Center, 1 each of LW, LD, and RW, and then 2 RD. I think this makes LW and LD prime targets for this team moving forward, as they’ll need the depth in seasons to come. They also came out of last season with 3 players, which seems to be above average for the S81 draft. The Forge should be a strong spot regardless of what position they choose to attack in the S82 draft.

Team Needs: LW, LD

San Francisco Pride pride

Average Age: S70, Total TPE: 25899, TPE/player: 1523

The Pride don’t need much of an introduction. Current champions, 3rd most TPE in the league, 2nd highest average TPE in the league (barely behind Tampa Bay). The roster does not have many holes3 Cs, 2 Goalies, 3 LDs, 3 RDs, 5 LWs, and only 1 RW. Not really a hole to be found. RW is maybe in contention for a pick if only due to quantity, but they make up for it positionally in other Forward spots. Looking at the majors roster though, I could see an argument for Center as 2 of their 3 Centers are S68, and likewise, 2 of their 3 LDs are S68 as well. Could stand to reason they’ll need to get younger there sooner rather than later.

Not much to speak of in their pipeline. They currently have 1 player, a center from S81. I’d have to imagine they’ll try to fill some gaps in this coming draft. Going to list out a few positions of need for the Pride, which itself is hilarious because imagine telling the champs what they need. But they’re getting up their in age and they have no future prospects.

Team Needs: LD, C, RW, Goalie

Seattle Argonauts

Average Age: S75, Total TPE: 24361, TPE/player: 1433

Wow! Youngest team in the league and already climbing the TPE charts. Seattle is well on their way to becoming a force within the SHL. Looking at their roster, there’s not a lot of holes needing to be filled. Plenty of Dmen (6 total) 3 Centers, 6 wingers (although 5 of them are LW), and 2 younger goalies. This team is going places provided everyone continues to earn.

Looking at their prospect pool, it’s small, but mighty. They have a LD from S80, as well as a Goalie from that class. Additionally, they have a Center waiting in the wings from S79. The lack of prospects here makes pinpointing a positional need easy, but the TPE levels obviously tell a different story. This team is gearing up to compete and prospects are probably far from a concern for them.

Team Needs: RW, patience

Tampa Bay Barracuda

Average Age: S71, Total TPE: 26074, TPE/player: 1533

Tampa Bay seems primed and ready to take on the Pride as the top dawgs in the league. 2nd highest total TPE, highest average TPE per player, and lots of confidence in the core of this team. Not a lot of positional need for the Barracuda at the moment. Right Defenseman and Right Wing stand out as they only have 1 of each and both are from the late S60s.

Their prospect pool certainly has a theme: Centers. Of the 4 players currently down in the Minors for them, 3 are Centers with the 4th being a Goalie. Combining this with the lack of Right side skaters on the Majors roster, we have a pretty clear idea of where Tampa may look to add for S82.

Team Needs: RW, RD

Texas Renegades

Average Age: S72, Total TPE: 19945, TPE/player: 1173

I’m not quite sure what to make of the Renegades roster to be completely honest. It’s not necessarily bad by an stretch of the imagination, but it doesn’t really excite me? Unsure of how to word that. Positionally though, Texas has all of their bases covered. Plenty of forwards, with only 1 being a RW. 7 defenseman, so plenty of coverage there and 2 goalies, one about to reach their peak and the other approaching season 16(?). I think they’d probably do well to look goalie next, or even LW as both are older positions and could use an infusion of youth.

Their prospect pool is pretty exciting though, just from a TPE standpoint. 3 from 81 and 2 from 79, with 1 LD, 1 LW, and 3 Centers. It stands to reason that a goalie on the horizon for the Renegades, and probably some more wingers. I think they’ve covered on defense for another season or two.

Team Needs: Goalie, RW, RD

Toronto North Stars Stars

Average Age: S74, Total TPE: 17390, TPE/player: 1086

Toronto is a tough roster for me to read. I think they’re in the middle of some roster turnover, moving between an older core and transitioning into a younger one. The downside of that is low TPE levels, but with one of the youngest rosters in the league. They have an abundance of Centers (5), 6 DMen (with only one being on the left side), and 4 wingers. There is a clear need for forwards on the Majors roster, which would allow all of those Centers to go back to playing their natural position.

The prospect pool confirms exactly what I said above. They’re in the middle of some roster turnover, and they appear to have gone all in on the S81 draft. Currently holding the rights to 8 players from the S81 draft and 3 from S80, it’s only a matter of time before a new look Toronto is on the ice. They currently have 5 Centers in the J and only 2 wingers, so it seems again likely that that will be a point of emphasis for the North Stars. I could also see them going after some defense as they only have 2 of them down in the Juniors

Team Needs: LW, Defense, definitely not C

Winnipeg Aurora Aurora

Average Age: S74, Total TPE: 19885, TPE/player: 1242

WIN strikes me as another team that is in the middle of a roster turnover, just like the North Stars above. Similar ages, slightly more TPE in total and on average, but I still feel the same about each of their rosters; help is needed. They have 5 Centers at the moment, and all of them are relatively young. 2 older goalies, so a replacement is probably going to be needed sooner rather than later. They have 6 D, with 3 on each side; with the Left side being MUCH younger than the Right. They only have 3 wingers currently, all being LW, as their only RW is currently marked as retired. I think it’s very clear what this majors team needs to get back to being competitive.

This theme continues when looking at their prospect pool. 2 Centers, 1 Goalie, 4 defenseman, and only 2 wingers. These are spread out between the 79-81 classes, but it’s a good mix of positional depth and talent. I still would argue that more forwards are needed (not Centers), but they seem to be in decent shape moving forward. Definitely did not go all in like Toronto did.

Team Needs: RW, LW

With the hard part out of the way, let’s get to the fun part! Let’s mock the first round of the draft. I’ll be using current standing for draft order, and will try to give a small note on each pick. Additionally, I’m sure there are trades that will effect the order of the first round, but for more own sanity, I'm not going to track those down:

Minnesota Monarchs - Pasta the Turtle II - @visceralpotamus - RD
Minnesota needs a bit of everything, but I pointed out earlier that D is a likely target here. Current TPE leader for the class, and outstanding DMan Turtle seems the obvious pick here.
Hamilton Steelheads - Kristaps Skalsberg - @Ashes - LD
Hamilton legit has a full team down in the Minors, and they just need good earners. It helps that Ashes is a max earning defensemen and should help continue to add stability to the future of the team.
Manhattan Rage - Toivo Jokinen - @Toaster - RW
Thee first forward of the draft is off the board. Manhattan continues to build the team, focusing on the right side and adding some scoring depth to the core.
Toronato North Stars - Gappy Hillmore - @dude_man - LD
Toronto has both of their GMs in the draft and both of them play winger. So Toronto should go D and continue to fill out the new core.
Tampa Bay Barracuda - Kelly McMahon - @MN_Moosey - RW
Why is Tampa picking 5th currently? I feel like I missed something. Either way, they go with one of the top RW in the draft in McMahon.
Winnipeg Aurora - Patrick Rail - @Pray107 - LW
Winnipeg goes with one of the highest wingers on the board and help build the core of their team. Obviously, I figured they’d probably stick with the right side of things, but at a certain point, you have to go best player available.
Edmonton Blizzard - Thomas Passarelli - @Tmoney6996 - LW
Edmonton, as expected, go offense with their first pick. I am also surprised they are picking this late currently? No what I would have expected. Shoutout to the Blizzard for being better than I thought they’d be.
Buffalo Stampede - Ryan Dino-Nugget Hopkins - @RLG91 - LW
Buffalo does in fact go forward with their first pick. They could have gone Center here, but I tried to stick to what I had stated above.
New England Wolfpack - Koen Boekbinder - @DELIRIVM - C
New England takes the first Center of the board and ecstatic to see this guy fall into their lap.
Los Angeles Panthers - Wilhelm Seider - @LordBirdman - C
Two Centers back to back. Great pick by the Panthers, who are another team I was not expecting to be picking this early.
Seattle Argonauts - Maximus Decimus Meridius - @Bubba Tree - RW
Seattle has their pick of the litter in this spot. They could go BPA or they could target a specific spot. I have them taking their thinnest position in RW with Meridius now sporting the Argonauts logo.
Calgary Dragons - Benevolent Kaiju - @Vulfzilla
Calgary slams home the pick to bring the next highest rated defenseman left and continues to solidify their team. Calgary appears to be playing very well this season!
Chicago Syndicate - Sethastierikko Goslavechnaaliemiooketkov - @pboomg - C
CHI goes with a C here, but at this point in the draft, I think they could’ve gone with BPA and been more than happy about the pick, Still an excellent choice here.
Baltimore Platoon - George Dankse - @LanceAlexGoogoo- G
Baltimore goes with a Goalie here and opts to hold off on getting more forward depth later in the draft.
Texas Renegades - Yuri Satoshi - @Zamrael - G
Texas will be getting a Center later in this draft when they select Cooper with their GM pick, so going goalie here is okay. They could also opt for a forward.
Philadelphia Forge - Johan Lodewyk - @anywheresoundsnice - RD
The Forge grab a defenseman earlier, who is coincidentally BPA at this point in the round.
New Orleans Specters - Pierre LeBlanc - @kilopeter - RD
NOLA goes defense with their first pick, and continues to add to their remarkable pool of prospects.
Atlanta Inferno - David O’Connor - @Matty7478 - RD
Atlanta continues to run on defense with the selection of O’Connor here. I think they could also lean towards Center, but at this point in the round it depends on who stands out in scouting.
Montreal Patriotes - Chinweike H.I. Valentine-Okoli - @ProjectSaint - RW
Montreal stick to the wingers and goes with who they feel is BPA at this spot.
San Francisco Pride - Saku-Oliver Niemi - @LarryTheMVP - RD
SF is back at the top spot and goes with one of the highest rated defenders left. The Pride are unstoppable, aren’t they?

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for coming along for the ride! This originally started as a Deep Dive, and gradually turned into a much longer form media piece. Hopefully we all learned a little bit and set ourselves up for some draft day expectations!

Prayl07 · 02-28-2025, 09:11 PM

Man I'm tired for you on all that research! Great article!

hhh81 · 02-28-2025, 09:14 PM

Great work! One note is that Baltimore really doesn't need another goalie--we have a very young starter who looks good and a strong s81 goalie prospect marinating in the minors! We have bigger needs elsewhere

Beavie · 02-28-2025, 09:15 PM

Really solid write up. It gives a good brush over each team and potentially gets the ball rolling on what to consider for early mock drafts or even the teams themselves by taking a stab at round one and mentioning some quality names. Good job Smile