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Ason94 · 04-19-2019, 07:29 AM

Taking a look at the Colorado Raptors rookies and where they went in the s47 SHL entry draft.

First of we have the Raptors top rookie, Julio Tokolosh. He was drafted 7th over all by Edmonton Blizzards. He is a small right winger at just 5ft 6in and weighs 185lbs. High skill and hockey IQ is making him a top prospect in the draft despite a small frame. In his rookie season with Colorado Raptors Tokolosh put up 6 goals and 2 assists for 8 points in 50 games avaraging 13.59 minutes of ice time per game. The numbers are not great but he played on a struggling Raptors team and showed hard work on and off the ice, never giving up. He is a dedicated player and if he can get his game going he can evolve in to a superstar for Edmonton in the SHL.
Julio Tokolosh is a smooth skater, one of his strenghts for sure and something his game revolves around. He is a natural playmaker having the ability to open up the ice for his teammates and read plays at an elite level. What he needs to work on is his shot, it is not the greatest but a good off season could change that, some puckhandling could also be good for Tokolosh as he sometimes gets himself in to wierd situations.
A great player comparison is his teammate Knute Knurtsson, despite Knute being a center they have the same kind of playstyle with both being playmakers and defensively responsible.

Julio Tokolosh is a fantastic pick for Edmonton, high high high potential and even being picked at 7, I don't know how to phrase what I want to say but I thought he would have gone sooner in the draft. A steal, Yes! A+ pick for Edmonton.

Moving on to pick 14, drafted by Tampa Bay Barracuda we have Akashi SixNine. A Defensive Defensman from Canada, 6ft 2in tall and weighing 280lbs. A big boy with big hits. That is what you get from Sixnine, big Hits, he is the typical stay at home defensman that has no desire to scor goals or make plays. He only comes on to the ice to knock the oponents down with huge hits at high speed. Speed is one of the upsides of Sixnines game, despite his large frame he moves like the wind and can defend against anyone in the league. With 11 assist and 3 goals you can see that there are alittle offens in him but there is doubt if that will translate to the SHL. With a +4 he is one of only four players on Colorado who finished with a positive +/- and that is a testament to his great defensive play.
For Tampa I think he will be a top four defender in the future, compensating a very offensive defensman on the 2nd pair maybe. A guy you want to have on the ice when protecting a lead and defending against the oponents first power play unit.
If he can develop a offensive game his value will only go up and just as Tokolosh he is a hard worker. In the off season I hope he works on hes passing and puckhandling and can contribute in a larger offense role for Colorado.
A Comparison for Akashi Sixnine is also a teammate on Colorado, Anastasia O'Koivu. A solid defensive defenswoman but with a little more of an offensive touch.
This is a solid pick at 14 for Tampa Bay, could he have fallen a couple of picks? Maybe, but with tampas next pick coming at 24 I'm confident in saying he would have been gone by then. Akashi Sixnine is a future fan favorit in Tampa Bay with his big hits and hebis also a great guy to have in the Locker room. The Tampa Bay Barracuda gets an A for this pick!

Next up is Juulius Smonk, picked by Winnipeg Jets 29th overall. The Jets picked Nick brain (11th) and Michael Scarn (27th) in last seasons draft, both played for Colorado (Scarn doesn't anymore) and now they pick yet another forward from Colorado. Smonk differs from the other two in that he is more of a playmaker and he would certainly be a great third piece for a Colorado line in Winipeg with a power forward in Brain and with Scarns great shot.
Juulius Smonk is 6ft 1in and weighs 200lbs, a good sized left winger with good potential. He is a good skater and a great passer, very similar to Julio Tokolosh. Why did he fall to pick 29? He is a overall good player, but is not considered an elite talent. You could say that he is a light version of Julio Tokolosh, the main difference being that Tokolosh is better in the defensive zone and Smonk is a better puck handler.
Juulius Smonk had a great rookie season, leding Colorados rookies in scoring with 9 goals and 8 assists for 17 points. Splitting the season between the 2nd and 3rd line. Playing with Michael Scarn and Nick Brain helped him for sure and maybe Winnipeg is hoping to bring that chemistry to the Jets. Coming in to the season Smonk was considered the Raptors top prospect and therefore I belive there is another level to him that we haven't seen yet and now it's up to Winnipeg to try and unlock the great potential with in.
For Winnipeg this is a great pick at 29, great scouting by them, they get an A for this pick.

At pick 43, Hamilton Steelhawks selected Jake Peralta, a 6ft 1in 210 lbs center from the united states. Much like the other Raptors forwards that was drafted before him Peralta is a playmaker, he has good defensive awareness and can skate well.
Playing most of the season on the forth or third line he didn't see very much ice time until Michael Scarn was traded to Halifax Raiders. He then had to fill the role as 2nd line center and did it well. Jake finished the season with 3 goals and 10 assists for 13 points, decent production for a rookie.
Even though he is a pass first player Peralta really needs to work on his shot duting the offseason as it is one of his weaknesses for sure. That will be a huge factor going in to next season with the Raptora as he most likely will be the 2nd line center and is expected to produce. Jake is a great guy to have in the locker room and the Steelhawks are lucky to have him. Selected 8th last in the draft Peralta can only go up from here on and I belive in him, A for this pick up by Hamilton.

Last we have center Ja'Aj Coitus-Wagg, drafted by Toronto North Stars, 60th overall after being passed on by 10 teams.
Coitus-Wagg definetly flew under the radar in this draft with only one player being drafted after him. Ja'Aj is 6ft 9in and weighs 240lbs, a big two way center from the States. He is your standard shutdown center on the 3rd or 4th line, he might not bring much offense but is solid in his own zone and a great pick up for Toronto. Ja'Aj only had 4 points in his rookie season, 1 goal and 3 assists but with a 3.57 shot percentage that is due for an improvement in his second season with the Raptors. Ja'Aj had the second highest faceoff percentage on the team with 51.38% on 506 draws which is good for a rookie.
Ja'Aj need to just keep working hard and progressing and things will be looking really good for this young man, maybe shoot some pucks during the offseason to improve his scoring ability.
Coitus-wagg may not he a superstar player but he sure is a reliable one, a fantastic pick for Toronto and I think many tems regret not picking him up looking back at the draft. I'm happy for Coitus-Wagg and I give this pick the A+.

Word count: 1364 no native speaker 2x draft media

***39alaska39*** · 04-19-2019, 11:41 AM

Great article Knute Knute

Alex Winters (retired)
Matej Winters (retired)
Dominik Winters
S45 Jesster Trophy Winner
Challenge Cup Winning Goal Club: S52

FourFour · 04-19-2019, 11:43 AM

Good article

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