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***Acsolap*** · 06-06-2019, 11:03 AM

Anchorage rookies: Draft prospectus

Joe Kerr

The Latvian playmaker joined Anchorage at the end of last season for their playoff run and did enough to impress the top brass at the Armada. Despite all his hard work in the off season which put him far ahead of many of his draft class he was allowed to drop to 8th place in the first round where he was eagerly snapped up by Anchorage. Playing up and down the line up during a testing start to the season Kerr eventually found himself on the top line alongside two of the brightest sparks in the league in stalwart centrewoman Xena and the nimble Olivier Cloutier on the wing. A decent rookie campaign culminated in Kerr scoring 8 goals and serving up 16 assists for 24 total points which was good enough to put him second among rookies.

Over the off season Kerr has once again maintained his training level and comes into the upcoming SHL draft second in practice points earned behind only Oliver Cleary on the Detroit Falcons. Despite all of this there doesn’t seem to be as much hype around Kerr as a fair few of the other S48 rookies with many scouts having him fall to a similar area in the SHL rankings as he was in the SMJHL. Any team that drafts the Latvian can expect to get a player that should be SHL ready within two seasons. While Kerr definitely has a preference for the pass he isn’t afraid to shoot if the opportunity presents itself. Has some of the better hands in the junior league, skates very well and doesn’t shirk the defensive side of the game. Could work on his conditioning and you won’t catch him taking the body. Probably more suited for use on the powerplay than killing penalties but will do a job if called upon.

When asked for comment the Armada management said “Joe has been a great part of our locker room this season. He makes all the practices and is a good example to the other rookies and someone to look up to. Not the loudest in the team but can be relied upon to chip in from time to time.’
Overall we expect Joe Kerr to be selected somewhere in the mid to late first round by a team looking for a winger to fill out the offensive playmaking role in their top six and potentially even develop into a franchise player.

Gabriel Johnson

Johnson is the first player in his family to make it professionally in the North American game. Hailing from Montreal In Canada Johnson was perhaps considered a surprise selection at 17th by the Armada considering some of the high profile players still on the draft board. Ultimately Johnson has gone on to prove his worth and then some, taking on an important role in the Armada’s top four and eating up solid minutes on a nightly basis. Forming half of the famed ‘Baby Oil pair’ with fellow rookie Darnell Johnson the freshman defenseman put up thirteen points of which two were goals. He also lead the a team largely in the negatives with a +14 rating which while not a reliable stat shows that the team was much tighter with him on the ice.

A somewhat diminutive blueliner Johnsons tale of the tape puts him at 5’11 and only 170lbs, however he uses his excellent puck handling and skating ability to beat opponents with skill rather than brawn. Throughout the season and over the off season Johnson has improved at an elite level and will surely be on the radar of any SHL team looking for a future top pairing defenseman. More inclined to shoot rather than pass Johnson is projected to turn into a elite scoring threat from the point at both even strength and especially on the man advantage. He will be looking to use his sophomore season in the SMJHL to make a real push towards some of the defenseman scoring records.

A few areas of concern are Johnsons lack of strength which could result in him being easily pushed off of the puck once he makes the transition to the big leagues and will be coming up against larger and faster opponents. As well as this some scouts believe that Johnson focus’ too much on the offensive side of his game at the cost of some defensive reliability meaning that he could be caught out of position on turnover situations.

The Armada management had this to say about Johnson “we were absolutely delighted to pick Johnson late in the second round, some teams clearly didn’t do their due diligence looking at some of the players picked before him. Johnson has been an exemplary member of the team and despite being a rookie he has been extensively vocal in the locker room. Johnson would be perfect for just about any team in the league.”

We project Johnson to be snapped up very early in the draft, most likely inside the top five.

Victor Toeman

The final selection that the Anchorage Armada made in the S47 entry draft was defenseman Victor Toeman. From a family with pedigree within the league Toeman was left available until late in the fourth round. On paper this may have seemed like a confusing decision but as the season has progressed it has become obvious as to why.

The big blueliner out of Finland came into training camp with a lot of promise but hasn’t managed to kick on from there. Even though he was a staple on Anchorage’s bottom pairing he was not used at all on the special teams and was only relied upon sparingly. He logged a single goal and five points for the season but it would not be a surprise if the Armada decided to let him go should an alternative become available through the draft or free agency.

When asked for comment the Armada management had this to say “we had high hopes for Victor coming into the season but he just wasn’t able to elevate his game to the next level which is what is required once you make it into the junior leagues and especially if you want to get picked up by an SHL franchise. Overall he seemed disinterested and was never really involved with the rest of the team. We have no ill will towards him but the reality is this is a results business and we will be looking elsewhere to fill out our roster this season.”

It would be a great surprise if Toeman were to get picked up by any of the SHL teams and in all likelihood he will return to play in the European lower leagues or transition into civilian life elsewhere.

Patrick Perry Jr.

With still a good number of empty roster spots to fill Anchorage was forced to be aggressive in free agency to make sure that their team would remain competitive for the season. The first player to sign was Canadian two way winger Patrick Perry Jr.

Initial signs were good with Perry Jr who moved up and down in a bottom six role teaming up with a number of the other Armada rookies. However his progression started to stagnate towards the middle of the season and he increasingly found himself with a reduced role in the team while those around him were given more responsibility. In the end Perry Jr. finished the season with an underwhelming 3 goals and 4 assists in 450 minutes of ice time. The poor performance combined with his stalled development means it would be unsurprising to see Perry cut from the roster this off season.

Armada management on Perry Jr “We had high hopes for Patrick and in the beginning our pursuit of him looked like an astute bit of business. Over time though it became apparent that he didn’t have the temperament or commitment required to make it at this level. We wish him all the best in the future.”

Perry Jr is very likely to be the second Armada prospect that goes undrafted in the S48 SHL draft.

Jonas Larsen

Another Scandinavian was the focus of the Armada’s pursuit of their second free agent signing of the Season. Larsen not to be confused with Armada Goalie Peter Larson is the first in his family to make it in the professional game and has taken to North American ice with aplomb. Tall and strong the Norwegian describes himself as a sniper and has probably one of the nastiest wrist shots in the league.

Used primarily on the third line Larsen’s major strength is clearly his shooting ability. His point totals weren’t much to get excited about this season but as is the case with many rookies in the SMJHL just because they struggle in their first season is no indication of how they will do in the seasons succeeding that. Scoring five goals and adding seven more points through assists the young winger has been working heavily on his puck handling and positioning throughout the off season and will be hoping to challenge the leader boards this season with a more defined role in the top six and with power play minutes. The Armada is shaping up to be a top team this season and Larsen will need to be a big part of that success if Anchorage is looking to break their recent drought.

A few things that Larsen could work on is his strength and conditioning. Wingers need to be able to get to the outside and battle for the pucks in deep and at the moment his strength is a major weakness and with his endurance levels he tends to look gassed towards the end of the period. As well as this with his prevalence for shooting he sometimes is guilty of not getting his head up to find the open man who is in a better shooting spot than he is.

When asked for comment the Armada management said “Jonas is a top quality member of this squad. He is not the most vocal but he is involved and well liked by the rest of the team. We look forward to what he can bring to us over the next few seasons and think that anyone that drafts him will be getting themselves a real bargain.”

We think considering his later start to the league and the strength of the draft means that Larsen is likely to be picked up later in the second round.

Darnell Johnson

With the prospect that Toeman wouldn’t live up to the Armada’s needs the moment Johnson became available Anchorage were in to present an offer. Johnson agreed and went on the form the second half of the ‘baby oil pairing’ with fellow rookie blueliner Gabriel Johnson. The big American acts as a great foil to the smaller Canadian due to his tendency to stay at home and use the body to separate opponents from the puck.

Darnell joined the Alaskan outfit right before the regular season began and almost immediately started contributing to the team. Moving between the second and third pairing depending on circumstance the defensive defenseman was primarily deployed on the penalty kill where he helped to lead the Armada to the best short handed unit in the league with an impressive 85.06% kill rate. Johnson wasn’t just a pilon in his own zone though and still managed to put up decent points for a rookie with two goals and ten assists throughout the season. Being on the defensive side of things Johnson is unlikely to drive the play and will probably need to be used in conjunction with a puck moving defenseman to get the best out of the unit. Complements his good positioning with decent puck handling, passing and skating and overall plays a good all round game outside of a lack of a scoring touch. Look forward to seeing Darnell hold down big minutes over the next few seasons as older vets move out and he moves up the line up. A very reliable defenseman.

Armada management comment “Darnell was a big piece for us. We lost Lockhart and really needed to fill some holes in our defensive corps. To be able to get him as a free agent feels like daylight robbery and we think that he can be big for us in the future. Well liked in the locker room and any team that picks him will be happy.”

Due to his later introduction to the league its doubtful that Johnson will be picked too early so we estimate that he will be snapped up in the mid to late second round.

Colt Beckett

Introduced to the Armada management by former Prince George Firebird legend Patty Kane-Reilly there was much hype around the free agent goaltender. He justified this by getting off to a flying start in practice and it felt like they may have found the successor to Peter Larson who is due to age out after the upcoming season.

However after a few less than stellar performances as a back up Beckett’s attention and diligence in practice started to wane and he eventually tailed off completely. Going 1-4-1 in his 6 starts and managing a paltry 0.868 save percentage really seemed to dent Colt’s enthusiasm for the league and it seems more and more likely that the Armada will have to dip back into the goaltender market if they are to find that long term replacement netminder.

From the Armada management “There was a lot of excitement around Beckett’s arrival. We were aware that we needed to find another permanent netminder and he seemed like the perfect fit. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be and at this stage there are considerable doubts about whether he will be around to don the Anchorage colours next season.”

Beckett is most likely the third Armada prospect looking at the likelihood of being left hanging at the conclusion of the SHL draft. A real disappointment for both him and Anchorage.

Raphael d’Alcott

The last free agent acquired by the Armada. D’Alcott was brought to the attention of the management by former player Dean Colt III who had associations with him outside of the game. Although quietly reserved Raphael quickly established himself within the team and took a leading role in the media, conducting a slew of interviews throughout the season.

A well balanced winger with a slight preference to shoot d’Alcott started out moving up and down in a bottom six role. Towards the end of the season though he had shown enough promise in practice to move up onto the second line where he thrived under the wing of Eko Van Otter and Spencer MacLean. Putting up six points with three goals in 39 games played d’Alcott didn’t light the lamp as much as he would have liked but there was plenty of good play to admire and there is a feeling that he is on the cusp of a breakout season next year when he will be consistently deployed in the top six and on the powerplay. Safe at both ends of the ice with good all round decision making skills the only part of d’Alcotts attributes that need serious work is his conditioning. With an increase in minutes and workload he will need to work on his fitness if he is to be getting 18 to 20 minutes of ice time night in night out in the SMJHL. Has a good eye for the pass but should mainly be used as the finisher and will perhaps need a more defensively minded forward on his line to allow him to get in the best scoring positions.

Armada management praised d’Alcotts dedication “he arrived late to the team which can be hard for any player but too be fair to him he got stuck in and was slowly rewarded for that commitment. Not always the loudest in the locker room but has plenty to say in the media and we expect that he will go on to big things later in his career and are ecstatic to have picked him up for free after the draft.”

Despite coming in later than many of his draft class we think that due to his exposure in the media it is possible that he will be taken off the board in the late first or early second round of the draft.

2x media bonus.
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Ready for grading.