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UncleLeosKomrade · 05-16-2018, 09:53 AM

x2 Draft Media Bonus

As the dust from the S41 SMJHL draft has now had time to settle, ELCs have been signed and the preseason officially underway, Iâ€™m going to take this moment to look back on the draft and look ahead to season in front of us. With the draft being as deep as it was, there are bound to be some stellar players that emerge, even beginning this very season. However, the biggest impact could be seen in where individual players ended up.

Colorado Raptors (Mammoths) : Raptors

Draft Picks: Sachimo Zoidberg Jr., Maui, Scottey Crawfling, Nico Wallner, Mason Brown, William Nylanderthal

Analysis: Picking up 3 defensemen, 2 forwards, and a goalie, Colorado was looking to restock all around. After losing a slew of veteran players that lead them to their deep post-season run, Colorado needed to load up on skilled and committed players; which it appears they did. All 6 draft picks have seen playing time and 4 of the 6 have seen success. Nylanderthal and Crawfling have seen early preseason struggles but it is still early. Goalies tend to take a little bit of playing time to develop and find their groove so Crawflingâ€™s early struggles should be nothing to be concerned about. Nylanderthal on the other hand has not shown the drive to make the team and his ice time reflects that. Coloradoâ€™s coaches and GMs will be looking for him to shift his attitude before giving him more freedom on the ice.

Detroit Falcons Falcons

Draft Picks: Justin Siddals, Teuvo Nurmi, Pingy Pingu, Aadu Hero

Analysis: Detroit went all forwards, all offence this draft. After having two of their top forwards drafted early in the first round of the SHL draft last Monday, Detroit needed to try to get a head start on finding their replacements. Using their fourth overall pick, Detroit took relative newcomer Justin Siddals. While some may have seen this as a reach, Detroit seemed to know what they were doing. Siddals has come in with the right attitude and put up 7 points through 17 games. Detroit used their next pick to grab Nurmi who joined the league last year and could develop and showcase his skills prior to entering the draft. With 10 points through 17 games, Nurmi looks to build on his experience from last season; and Detroit seems to have grabbed another promising forward.

Halifax Raiders raiders

Draft Picks: Geezus Kryyst, Roly Rollerson, Andrew Sayle, Trav Lizard, Tim Murda

Analysis: Without a first round pick, Halifax didnâ€™t make their first selection until 13th overall. With this selection the Raiders took Geezus Kryyst. A surprising pick to take a goalie this early in the draft, but Kryyst has a strong agent behind him and could turn into one of the most elite goalies the SHL has seen in recent memory. The Raiders then took a defenseman and a slew of forwards. Rollerson appears that he could be a solid offensive threat from the blueline, putting up 7 points so far through 17 preseason games, and Sayle could develop into a strong power forward in the motivation is there. The biggest surprise for the Raiders has been Tim Murda. The Swedish enforcer is looking to preserve the enforcer position and has been doing a great job thus far; 36 hits, 23 penalty minutes including a fight, and heâ€™s also chipped in a couple points.

Kelowna Knights Knights

Draft Picks: Darren McCarthy, Andrew Mitchell

Analysis: The reigning champs entered the draft with only 2 draft picks, so they were looking to make them really count. While there is not way to put this lightly, they may have missed. Mitchell is absent from the locker room more times than not, and is beginning to look like a flop. McCarthy on the other hand so show signs of promise. He has shown up to training camp and looks to continue to develop his skills. Averaging 15.5 minutes, McCarthy has been giving to chance to succeed. He now must just continue to hone his skills.

Montreal Militia Militia

Draft Picks: Charlie Schieck, Rafe Ulrich, Vlastimil Volf, Ryan Peters, Harvey Danger, Julien Treadway, Joey Treadway

Analysis: With the first and third overall picks, Montreal drafted two canâ€™t miss prospects in Schieck and Ulrich. They then drafted a healthy crop of new forwards, including the Treadway twins. While none of their rookies have shown flashes on brilliance early in he preseason, they have been putting in their work training to prepare themselves for the beginning of the season. Schieck and Ulrich can be found together getting their reps in the gym and on the ice, and could develop into the anchors of this Militia squad for a few seasons to come.

Prince George Firebirds

Draft Picks: Karl Von Wittlesbach, Jordan von Matt, Cameron Carter III, Matthew Buffon, Geno Natostado, Neil Quade

Analysis: Prince George is coming off a terrible season, and with a plethora of draft picks they had the opportunity to restock. Using their first two picks on defensemen, Von Wittelsbach and von Matt, the Firebirds then grabbed forward Cameron Carter III in the second round. All three of these picks have shown tons of promise, giving their all in training camp and putting in a ton of effort to prove their worth through the start of the preseason. The big surprise so far for the Firebirds has been Natostado who has 7 points so far and has been taking every opportunity to prove all the teams that passed on him wrong. If Natostado can continue to put in the effort on and off the ice, he could turn into quite the steal for Prince George.

St. Louis Scarecrows

Draft Picks: Nicholas Falk, Rowdy Smithers, Johannes Bauer, Lukas Toran

Analysis: The Scarecrows entered the draft after a disappointing exit from the playoffs. They were looking to fill out the roster with the final pieces to make another run to the finals next season. They were off to a great start when high flying forward Nicholas Falk fell to them at pick 6. Falk has been a huge addition so far for St. Louis as he continues to quickly develop into an elite sniper. Smithers has also turned out to be a great pick for the Scarecrows. He has shown flashes of excellence as a two way forward, drawing early comparisons to Drew Doughty. These two main additions have poised St. Louis for another run.

Vancouver Whalers Whalers

Draft Picks: Buck Maverick, Herb Robert, Geoff Moore, Tokek Takshak, Noah Nowes, Soren Kierkegaard, Gary Groen, David Kastrba

Analysis: The Whalers came to the SMJHL draft trying to get over their late season elimination from the playoffs, and preparing to pick both 2nd and 3rd. However, a last-minute trade saw them deal the 3rd overall pick to Detroit. This trade allowed the Whalers to grab an extra first for next seasonâ€™s draft and did not seem to compromise their draft plan. With 8 draft picks, the Whalers were bound to find some promising prospects and it appears they have. Their second overall selection Buck Maverick has continued to develop into the player they were hoping he would be. They have also found success with a few of their draft picks: Robert, Moore, and Takshak. With the potential to be losing some key players to SHL callups, the Whalers appear to have done a great job at preparing themselves for these loses.

There you have it, the S41 SMJHL draft recap. All the reports of this being a deep draft class appear to be coming true, and should be a strong indication to SHL GMs to get their scouting in full force as there are going to be some tough decisions to be made. Each SMJHL team appears to have put themselves in a position to find success once the regular season begins, yet only time will tell who truly was the winner of this past draft.

Word Count: 1306

Mavfatha · 05-16-2018, 11:25 AM

Nice article! Good job on finding something to talk about other than just the individual draftees that a lot of people have covered already

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