Detroit Falcons defensemen Oliver Cleary had a tumultuous start to his season to say the least. Projected to be one of the top picks in the S47 SMJHL draft, Cleary fell out of the top five and was drafted fourteenth overall by the Montreal Militia. Shortly after the draft, Montreal's general manager announced that he had signed Cleary to a contract with draft standouts such as Padraig Sarantez, drafted in the first round, and Ravyn Tedisko, drafted one pick after Cleary.

“It's still a day I look back on and wonder if I made the right decision. Obviously I was unhappy with the fall and less happy with the way the team handled my contract. That is now in the past though and I feel like it is not worth looking back on it.”

Shortly after the draft, Montreal traded Cleary to the Detroit Falcons for a 4th round pick in the next Reddit draft. Though Reddit draft picks are much more valuable than normal draft picks, it is still a bit of a stretch for a team that had spent a second on a player they assumed would be playing for them.

Since the trade, Cleary has been playing on the second line for the up and down Falcons. As the SMJHL is gearing up towards the playoffs, the Falcons are currently 22-22-4 in 48 games, good for 8th in the SMJHL. Montreal on the other-hand is currently second with 63 points. Cleary's season may not have been exactly what he expects with only one goal and six points overall.


Cleary rushing the puck up the ice. He ended up giving the puck away

“Yeah it's definitely not been exactly what I hoped for. I ended up missing training camp this season with my holdout. I think after that I never was able to get my bearings. It took awhile for me to be fully comfortable with limited time on the third pairing. Since moving up to the second it's been better. I still have a long way to go.”

Clearly was hyped to be a two-way defensemen who would eventually dominate at both ends of the ice. He was expected to provide more offence than he currently is. Overall, he's looked much more like an old-school defensemen who the analytics community would not like. The 6 foot 3, 215 point defensemen has used his size to the tune of 79 hits and 49 shots blocked.

“When you aren't producing on the scoresheet, you need to find other ways to show up each and every night. With the game moving more away from the old school game and more into speed, I felt like I might be able to use my own speed to bruise guys who aren't used to it a little more. Obviously it did work out and I'm hoping it got me noticed.”

While his on-ice contributions were not what may have been expected, his off-ice dedication has been impressive to his teammates. An early commit to the SMJHL draft, Cleary was able to get an early jump on his training efforts. As of last update, Cleary was one of the top TPE earners in this rookie class, possibly even the top TPE earner.

“I think when you end putting a negative taste in people's mouth with your actions, you really need to earn your way. From day one I made sure that I would be the first guy in the gym, the best teammate I could be. Obviously my off ice regiment was possibly the best in the SMJHL and its something I intend to keep up as a send down next season and eventually as a pro player in the SHL.”

With the SHL draft quickly approaching, it wouldn't be a stretch to see people predict that Cleary will be a top pick. Cleary isn't of the same opinion.


Cleary isn't good under pressure as evidenced by him giving the puck away.

“Obviously its tougher to predict. In theory based on my TPE count, bank account and other factors I should be considered a top prospect. But realistically how many GMs will end up wanting to take a risk on a player who has already turned his back on the team that has drafted him? I think with the amount of quality draft picks coming up this season it wouldn't be a stretch to see my stock drop from a potential first rounder to as low as a third rounder. It is tough to predict.”

In terms of where he might want to end up going, Cleary had no real preference. He worried that teams related to Montreal players and general managers may end up wanting to avoid him.

“It's definitely something I'm not too focused on in the end. Obviously I have teams I'd like to go to. I have a preference towards Manhattan and Buffalo because I have good relationships with their general managers and some player. I'd love to be drafted with my friend Freddie Sweeney unless he ends up being drafted before me. I'll definitely be more willing to update when the season ends and I start talking to teams. If teams want to contact the hold-out.”

Code:

846 words

Oliver Cleary || Defence || Seattle Argonauts
---------------------------------
Player Name: Oliver Cleary
SHL Team: Seattle Argonauts
SMJHL Team: Detroit Falcons
Position: Defence
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 215 lbs
Born: Toronto, Ontario
---------------------------------
SHL Regular Season Statistics:
S48: GP: 50 | G: 3 | A: 9 | P: 12 | -12 | PIM: 38 | H: 84 | SB: 61
S49: GP: 50 | G: 3 | A: 7 | P: 10 | 7 | PIM: 62 | H: 135 | SB: 68
S50: GP: 50 | G: 5 | A: 13 | P: 18 | -3 | PIM: 52 | H: 148 | SB: 81
S51: GP: 50 | G: 7 | A: 19 | P: 26 | 17 | PIM: 130 | H: 119 | SB: 67
S52: GP: 50 | G: 1 | A: 12 | P: 13 | -3 | PIM: 89 | H: 157 | SB: 61
S53: GP: 50 | G: 16 | A: 20 | P: 36 | 19 | PIM: 22 | H: 58 | SB: 53
S54: GP: 50 | G: 7 | A: 23 | P: 30 | 14 | PIM: 12 | H: 100 | SB: 64
S55: GP: 50 | G: 8 | A: 16 | P: 24 | -14 | PIM: 24 | H: 92 | SB: 96
---------------------------------
SHL Playoff Statistics:
S48: Did Not Qualify
[pbl]S49: GP: 6 | G: 0 | A: 1 | P: 1 | -3 | PIM: 11 | H: 13 | SB: 8
S50: GP: 5 | G: 1 | A: 1 | P: 2 | -5 | PIM: 17 | H: 15 | SB: 15
S51: GP: 15 | G: 3 | A: 8 | P: 11 | 8 | PIM: 33 | H: 40 | SB: 20
S52: GP: 7 | G: 0 | A: 5 | P: 5 | -3 | PIM: 26 | H: 25 | SB: 7
S53: GP: 11 | G: 1 | A: 2 | P: 3 | 0 | PIM: 0 | H: 19 | SB: 17
S54: GP: 12 | G: 0 | A: 7 | P: 7 | -1 | PIM: 4 | H: 24 | SB: 20
S55: Did Not Qualify
[pbl]---------------------------------
SMJHL Regular Season Statistics:
S46: Did Not Play
S47: GP: 50 | G: 1 | A: 5 | P: 6 | 0 | PIM: 48 | H: 81 | SB: 51
---------------------------------
SMJHL Playoff Statistics:
S46: GP: 9 | G: 0 | A: 0 | P: 0 | -2 | PIM: 6 | H: 4 | SB: 0
S47: GP: 10 | G: 2 | A: 3 | P: 5 | 7 | PIM: 8 | H: 14 | SB: 4
---------------------------------
Transactions:
S46: Signed as pre-draft free agent with Detroit Falcons
S47: Drafted 14th Overall by Montreal Militia
S47: Traded to Detroit Falcons
S48: Drafted 4th overall to the Los Angeles Panthers
S48: Signed 3 years/1M Contract with Los Angeles Panthers
S48: Called up from Detroit to Los Angeles
S51: Re-signed 3 years/3M with Los Angeles Panthers
S54: Re-signed 2 years/6M with Los Angeles Panthers
S56: Traded to Manhattan Rage
S56: Signed 4 years/6M with Manhattan Rage
————————————————
Awards
S47: Golden Aardvark Award for a contract holdout with the Montreal Militia  

KARI KEKKONEN | D | RETIRED
NAME: Kari Kekkonen
BIRTHPLACE: Oulu, Finland
HEIGHT: 6'1"
WEIGHT: 185 lbs
NUMBER: 33
------------------------------------------------------------
SMJHL CAREER STATS
S19 KEL: GP: 40, G: 10, A: 26, P: 36, +/-: 16, H: 42

SMJHL PLAYOFF STATS
S19 KEL: GP: 6, G: 0, A: 6, P: 6, +/-: 0, H: 6
------------------------------------------------------------

KAAPO KEKKONEN | C | RETIRED
NAME: Kaapo Kekkonen
BIRTHPLACE: Helsinki, Finland
HEIGHT: 6'3"
WEIGHT: 210 lbs
NUMBER: 19
------------------------------------------------------------
SHL CAREER STATS
S25 LAP: GP: 50, G: 2, A: 3, P: 5, +/-: -4, H: 75
S26 LAP: GP: 50, G: 4, A: 5, P: 9, +/-: -13, H: 94
S27 LAP: GP: 50, G: 6, A: 9, P: 15, +/-: -2, H: 35
S28 LAP: GP: 50, G: 7, A: 10, P: 17, +/-: -2, H: 96
S29 LAP: GP: 50, G: 13, A: 21, P: 34, +/-: -15, H: 85
S30 LAP: GP: 50, G: 23, A: 22, P: 45, +/-: 4, H: 130
S31 LAP: GP: 50, G: 20, A: 18, P: 38, +/-: 5, H: 162
S32 LAP: GP: 50, G: 18, A: 28, P: 46, +/-: 27, H: 183
S33 LAP: GP: 50, G: 17, A: 22, P: 39, +/-: 20, H: 210
S34 LAP: GP: 50, G: 12, A: 25, P: 37, +/-: -2, H: 131
S35 LAP: GP: 50, G: 10, A: 22, P: 32, +/-: -3, H: 115
S36 LAP: GP: 50, G: 11, A: 20, P: 31, +/-: 10, H: 138
S37 LAP: GP: 36, G: 9, A: 17, P: 26, +/-: -1, H: 72
S37 WKP: GP: 14, G: 1, A: 0, P: 1, +/-: -4, H: 19
TOT : GP: 650, G: 153, A: 222, P: 375, +/-: 20, H: 1545
------------------------------------------------------------
SHL PLAYOFF STATS
S25 LAP: DNQ
S26 LAP: DNQ
S27 LAP: DNQ
S28 LAP: DNQ
S29 LAP: DNQ
S30 LAP: DNQ
S31 LAP: DNQ
S32 LAP: GP: 5, G: 1, A: 3, P: 4, +/-: -2, H: 15
S33 LAP: GP: 12, G: 2, A: 3, P: 5, +/-: 0, H: 38
S34 LAP: GP: 7, G: 1, A: 3, P: 4, +/-: 3, H: 23
S35 LAP: GP: 5, G: 1, A: 1, P: 2, +/-: -4, H: 4
S36 LAP: DNQ
S37 WKP: GP: 12, G: 0, A: 2, P: 2, +/-: -2, H: 35
TOT : GP: 41, G: 5, A: 12, P: 17, +/-: -5, H: 115
------------------------------------------------------------

TATU MÄKELÄ | D | RETIRED
NAME: Tatu Mäkelä
BIRTHPLACE: Tampere, Finland
HEIGHT: 5'11"
WEIGHT: 180 lbs
NUMBER: 65
------------------------------------------------------------
SHL CAREER STATS
S40 BUF: GP: 50, G: 5, A: 17, P: 22, +/-: -28, H: 14, SB: 86
S41 BUF: GP: 50, G: 10, A: 21, P: 31, +/-: -3, H: 9, SB: 78
S42 BUF: GP: 50, G: 9, A: 21, P: 30, +/-: 2, H: 13, SB: 65
S43 BUF: GP: 50, G: 6, A: 24, P: 30, +/-: 1, H: 8, SB: 51
S44 BUF: GP: 50, G: 6, A: 28, P: 34, +/-: -6, H: 10, SB: 63
S45 BUF: GP: 50, G: 4, A: 37, P: 41, +/-: 10, H: 130, SB: 71
S46 BUF: GP: 50, G: 6, A: 36, P: 42, +/-: 25, H: 139, SB: 73
S47 BUF: GP: 50, G: 5, A: 23, P: 28, +/-: -4, H: 137, SB: 76
S48 BUF: GP: 50, G: 7, A: 25, P: 32, +/-: 9, H: 151, SB: 70
S49 BUF: GP: 50, G: 6, A: 22, P: 28, +/-: 5, H: 159, SB: 66
S50 BUF: GP: 50, G: 6, A: 20, P: 26, +/-: 14, H: 152, SB: 72
S51 BUF: GP: 50, G: 3, A: 23, P: 26, +/-: 8, H: 143, SB: 50
S52 BUF: GP: 50, G: 9, A: 21, P: 30, +/-: -3, H: 141, SB: 71
S53 BUF: GP: 50, G: 5, A: 14, P: 19, +/-: 23, H: 50, SB: 98
TOT : GP: 700, G: 87, A: 332, P: 419, +/-: 53, H: 1256, SB: 990
------------------------------------------------------------
SHL PLAYOFF STATS
S40 BUF: DNQ
S41 BUF: GP: 7, G: 3, A: 2, P: 5, +/-: -3, H: 0, SB: 10
S42 BUF: GP: 5, G: 0, A: 1, P: 1, +/-: -9, H: 2, SB: 10
S43 BUF: GP: 9, G: 0, A: 5, P: 5, +/-: -1, H: 1, SB: 8
S44 BUF: DNQ
S45 BUF: DNQ
S46 BUF: GP: 17, G: 0, A: 12, P: 12, +/-: 11, H: 59, SB: 28
S47 BUF: GP: 13, G: 0, A: 5, P: 5, +/-: 2, H: 32, SB: 18
S48 BUF: GP: 22, G: 2, A: 10, P: 12, +/-: 2, H: 64, SB: 32
S49 BUF: GP: 5, G: 0, A: 5, P: 5, +/-: 5, H: 15, SB: 8
S50 BUF: GP: 6, G: 0, A: 5, P: 5, +/-: -2, H: 18, SB: 12
S51 BUF: GP: 8, G: 2, A: 5, P: 7, +/-: -3, H: 15, SB: 11
S52 BUF: GP: 15, G: 4, A: 5, P: 9, +/-: 4, H: 47, SB: 26
S53 BUF: GP: 4, G: 0, A: 0, P: 0, +/-: 0, H: 6, SB: 13
TOT : GP: 111, G: 11, A: 55, P: 66, +/-: 6, H: 159, SB: 176
------------------------------------------------------------

KOLJA KEKKONEN | D | RETIRED
NAME: Kolja Kekkonen
BIRTHPLACE: Lappeenranta, Finland
HEIGHT: 6'3"
WEIGHT: 225 lbs
NUMBER: 8
------------------------------------------------------------
SMJHL CAREER STATS
S53 DET: GP: 3, G: 0, A: 1, P: 1, +/-: -1, H: 2, SB: 0
S54 DET: GP: 50, G: 2, A: 8, P: 10, +/-: -6, H: 15, SB: 37
S55 DET: GP: 50, G: 4, A: 12, P: 16, +/-: -24, H: 32, SB: 24
S56 DET: GP: 50, G: 4, A: 17, P: 21, +/-: -20, H: 52, SB: 71
S57 ANA: GP: 66, G: 6, A: 20, P: 26, +/-: 14, H: 52, SB: 70
TOT : GP: 219, G: 16, A: 58, P: 74, +/-: -37, H: 153, SB: 202
SMJHL PLAYOFF STATS
S53 DET: DNP
S54 DET: GP: 7, G: 0, A: 0, P: 0, +/-: 0, H: 2, SB: 3
S55 DET: GP: 4, G: 0, A: 1, P: 1, +/-: -2, H: 3, SB: 0
S56 DET: GP: 5, G: 2, A: 2, P: 4, +/-: 0, H: 3, SB: 7
S57 ANA: GP: 21, G: 2, A: 13, P: 15, +/-: 5, H: 13, SB: 34
TOT : GP: 37, G: 4, A: 16, P: 20, +/-: 3, H: 22, SB: 44
------------------------------------------------------------

KEKW KEKKONEN | C | RETIRED
NAME: Karl-Erik-Karl2-Wojtek Kekkonen
BIRTHPLACE: Lohja, Finland
HEIGHT: 6'4"
WEIGHT: 220 lbs
NUMBER: 69
------------------------------------------------------------
SHL CAREER STATS
S61 BUF: GP: 66, G: 10, A: 28, P: 38, +/-: 21, H: 59, SH: 134
S62 BUF: GP: 66, G: 19, A: 36, P: 55, +/-: 9, H: 84, SH: 194
S63 BUF: GP: 66, G: 17, A: 14, P: 31, +/-: -13, H: 91, SH: 148
S64 BUF: GP: 66, G: 16, A: 51, P: 67, +/-: 36, H: 82, SH: 212
S65 BUF: GP: 66, G: 25, A: 41, P: 66, +/-: 33, H: 136, SH: 230
S66 BUF: GP: 66, G: 38, A: 43, P: 81, +/-: 18, H: 64, SH: 222
S67 BUF: GP: 66, G: 40, A: 45, P: 85, +/-: -6, H: 76, SH: 224
S68 BUF: GP: 66, G: 47, A: 46, P: 93, +/-: 45, H: 51, SH: 326
S69 BUF: GP: 66, G: 35, A: 31, P: 66, +/-: 22, H: 43, SH: 269
S70 BUF: GP: 66, G: 33, A: 48, P: 81, +/-: 18, H: 66, SH: 297
S71 BUF: GP: 66, G: 36, A: 41, P: 77, +/-: 37, H: 55, SH: 257
S72 BUF: GP: 66, G: 25, A: 35, P: 60, +/-: -1, H: 58, SH: 281
S73 BUF: GP: 66, G: 31, A: 41, P: 72, +/-: 23, H: 48, SH: 305
S74 BUF/WPG: GP: 66, G: 17, A: 47, P: 64, +/-: 33, H: 101, SH: 164
TOT : GP: 924, G: 389, A: 547, P: 936, +/-: 275, H: 1014, SH: 3263
SHL PLAYOFF STATS
S61 BUF: GP: 9, G: 2, A: 6, P: 8, +/-: 4, H: 11, SH: 24
S62 BUF: GP: 9, G: 3, A: 1, P: 4, +/-: 2, H: 5, SH: 25
S63 BUF: GP: 12, G: 1, A: 2, P: 3, +/-: -1, H: 32, SH: 33
S64 BUF: GP: 11, G: 2, A: 2, P: 4, +/-: -6, H: 12, SH: 41
S65 BUF: GP: 18, G: 4, A: 7, P: 11, +/-: 8, H: 34, SH: 62
S66 BUF: GP: 16, G: 11, A: 9, P: 20, +/-: 3, H: 13, SH: 49
S67 BUF: GP: 4, G: 2, A: 2, P: 4, +/-: -3, H: 3, SH: 20
S68 BUF: GP: 17, G: 6, A: 8, P: 14, +/-: -4, H: 11, SH: 75
S69 BUF: GP: 4, G: 1, A: 0, P: 1, +/-: -5, H: 2, SH: 13
S70 BUF: GP: 7, G: 1, A: 3, P: 4, +/-: -8, H: 2, SH: 25
S71 BUF: GP: 21, G: 12, A: 9, P: 21, +/-: 6, H: 24, SH: 97
S72 BUF: GP: 5, G: 0, A: 2, P: 2, +/-: -4, H: 7, SH: 25
S73 BUF: GP: 6, G: 3, A: 0, P: 3, +/-: -3, H: 11, SH: 33
S74 WPG: GP: 22, G: 3, A: 4, P: 7, +/-: -2, H: 15, SH: 37
TOT : GP: 161, G: 51, A: 55, P: 106, +/-: -11, H: 182, SH: 559
------------------------------------------------------------

KAL ÅKAR KEKKONEN | D | DETROIT FALCONS
NAME: Kal Åkar Kekkonen
BIRTHPLACE: The Wilderness, Gielinor
HEIGHT: 6'6"
WEIGHT: 240 lbs
NUMBER: 75
------------------------------------------------------------
SMJHL CAREER STATS
S74 DET: GP: 66, G: 6, A: 14, P: 20, +/-: 3, SH: 83, H: 76, SB: 29
S75 DET: GP: 66, G: 8, A: 22, P: 30, +/-: 31, SH: 129, H: 123, SB: 114

SMJHL PLAYOFF STATS
S74 DET: GP: 17, G: 3, A: 7, P: 10, +/-: 8, SH: 18, H: 16, SB: 5
S75 DET: GP: 14, G: 5, A: 6, P: 11, +/-: 2, SH: 40, H: 26, SB: 27
------------------------------------------------------------