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Ferdy · 10-26-2018, 08:53 PM

[Image: passe-para-as-atra-es-de-montreal-in-mon...340281.jpg]

Montreal, Quebec - Home of the SMJHL's Militia, and new hockey haven for four very talented young players

It has been little more than twenty four hours since the hockey world has witnessed the Season 44 SMJHL draft and, with it, an influx of young talent making their way to the most prestigious junior league in North America, brimming with excitement and hope for a prolific life in the world's most exciting sport.

Montreal started its display early, picking world class winger Andreas Kvalheim at the third spot and making some noise in the Montreal hockey community as fans spread through town look forward to watching the Norwegian wonderkid develop right before their eyes. There's good reason to be excited, as the two-way scorer accustomed to seeing ice time on the left flank comes as a complete package who will take little to no time to become a cornerstone of the Militia franchise and a familiar face to SMJHL fans everywhere.

Another pleasant pick was due for Militia management as, at the nineteenth selection, Japanese right wing Hiro Fujikawa was still up for grabs. There's little to explain how this came to be possible, and the delight was very much evident on the face of the Montreal General Manager as he stepped up to make his pick. Fujikawa comes to North America from his native Japan under the guidance of a very experienced agent and possesses one of the most dangerous shots in the entirety of the Season 44 draft class. Not only was this selection a no-brainer for Montreal, it will certainly be reason for regret to the others teams that passed on Hiro in the near future.

After having these two astonishing players loaded up and ready to board a plane to Montreal, the Militia also acquired the rights to British right wing Griffith Cadwalader. Watching the draft from his home in Aberystwyth, Wales rather than being present in the building as most other prospects were, Griffith was glad to learn he was selected at all. "I think it's fair to say the main reason why I didn't even leave my native Wales to watch the draft in person is because I feared I wouldn't be selected at all", he states. "It'd be too frustrating to go undrafted and just... stand there. I opted for spending the week here, with my family".

While Cadwalader's insecurity seems to have gotten the best of him, it appears the scrutiny he puts on himself hasn't come as harsh from the SMJHL GMs, as he was indeed selected in the draft. More specifically, all the way down to the twenty-seventh spot. It's easy to see why he hadn't gone earlier. In a draft class filled with shining wonderkids represented by dedicated and well known agents, it seemed the young Brit just did not have what it takes to swim with the big fish: his shot is atrocious and will put him side-to-side with brute defensive defensemen when it comes to goalscoring rankings, his physicality leaves a lot to be desired and will prove to be an obstacle to his offensive productivity, and while his defensive IQ is above average and makes him a capable two-way forward, he does not know how to use his (slim) body to throw around some checks and may have a difficult time stopping the opposition's advances in a league where the kids are, even at an early age, so bulky already. It's safe to say the lack of promotion of his image from his agent didn't help, either, and may be to blame for the lack of appreciation he received from scouting teams.

Liabilities aside, however, the hours since the draft have somewhat lifted the image of Griffith before the North American media. While he's not seen as much of a steal as new teammate Hiro Fujikawa, who has been time and again been listed as the best late selection of the draft, Griffith has been perceived as an "okay" selection, too. The scouts in Montreal are certainly hoping his game will translate better to the new environment than the tapes from the British Junior League would suggest, and there are reasons to believe it will. One of them is the renewed interest his agent has shown in supporting him since the draft, with reports that there has been significant money made available for him to equip himself with high quality gear and be assisted by veteran trainers of the Quebec area.

Time will tell if Griffith Cadwalader will be able to overcome the stones currently standing on the way of his hockey career and make the Militia proud, but hockey fans in Montreal shouldn't be too worried. Should their latter round selections fail to make an impact, they can surely rely on Kvalheim and Fujikawa to make some noise in Quebec.

[804 words, double media week!]

Mack · 10-26-2018, 09:35 PM

Great article man! Montreal did great this draft!

King · 10-26-2018, 10:15 PM

Great stuff man. They made a great pick with you.

bana · 10-26-2018, 10:34 PM

Good read. Smile

raymond3000 · 10-26-2018, 10:36 PM

Steal of the draft

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