Yet another season has passed and for San Francisco Pride it was a step in the right direction. Clinching a playoff spot and managing to win at least one game against a strong Texas Renegades team is always something. With the loss to the Renegades and Manhattans fall to Chicago The Pride were given the 7th and 8th pick. The 7thova pick was acquired from Manhattan when trading away Luke Thomason.

So let's start off with that 7th over all pick.
Coming in to the draft the San Francisco front office was well determined to go with the best player available with their first pick, resulting in them picking Timmo Kyllonen out of Halifax Raiders. Kyllonen put up 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points after signing with Halifax after the season had already started, he only played in 36 games but made sure the scouts had their eyes on him. Despite only puting up 6 point he showed of tremendous skill while doing so. His dedication to improve is second to non and he proved it as the season went along.

Evaluation of of Timmo Kyllonen.
Timmo Kyllonen is a two way center with a great ability to make playes. He has elite vision and he is great at creating open ice for his teammates to score. Kyllonen is great at handling the puck and shows extreme control and confidence while he has the puck on his stick, this great skill combined with his vision helps him to find open lanes in the offensive zone and makes him a dangerous offensive threat.

Strengths:

Passing: A+
Kyllonen is a great passer, I would say it's the strongest part of his game right now. He is expected to be an assist machine in his second year in the Smjhl. Tape to tape passes and flipping pucks to his teammates is what he does best.

Puck Handling: A
Carrying the puck is a natural thing for Kyllonen. He can enter the offensive zone with ease and is very good at defending the puck down low. With good skating he can move the puck out of the defensive zone and create pressure on the opponent. He knows his limits of when to skate and when to pass the puck and very rarely looses it.

Defensive play: B+
Timmo takes pride in his defensive game and he should. He is a strong back checker and always gives his all. At the Smjhl level he is solid in the defensive zone but can loose his positioning at times. This is something he will learn with experience and with his will and determination. When he gets the call up the San Francisco I'm sure he will be ready to show of a great defensive side of his game.


The Finnish center will be a great add the the already young San Francisco Pride team, they are on the rise and with the help of another high draft pick they will be a force in the west for a long time.

As I said earlier San Francisco had back to back picks with the 7th and 8th pick. Manhattan finished the regular season with less points that the Pride did and this means that the 7th overall pick San Francisco used was Manhattans. With their own pick, the 8th, Management decided to move back. They made a deal with New Orleans Specters who owned the 12th over all pick, San Francisco recived the 12th and a s50 2nd rounder and New Orleans Specters recived the 8th overall and a s50 4th round pick.
So the 8th overall becomes 12th overall and with that pick San Francisco picks from Vancouver Whalers, Right Wing Bobby Bobcalf.

Bobby Bobcalf, 6ft 1in 180 lbs from Ireland. In his rookie season with Vancouver Whalers he put up 4 goals and 2 assists for 6 points playing in all 50 games. He only averaged 10.38 minutes per game but in those few minutes he manged to show off his canon of a shot to all the scouts, San Francisco definitely sees potential in Bobby, picking him at 12.
A knock on Bobby Bobcalf in his rookie season has been his skating and this is believed to be why many teams had him lower in their draft boards. In an interview with San Franciscos Skating coach he was asked about Bobcalfs skating and if he could do anything to fix it. He answered with an angry face " If it wasn't fixable we would never have drafted him at 12, first off I will show him how to tie them properly!"

Strenght:

Scoring: A+
Bobby Bobcalf has a nose for the net, he is a great goal scorer and has a powerful but yet deceiving shot. He is at his best when his team can slow the play down in the offensive zone and cycle the puck. A power play specialist that can slap pucks past the goalie from anywhere on the ice. With a good set up man I belive he can truly thrive and if he can improve his skating he will become a danger off the rush as well.

Endurance: A
Even though he isn't the quickest on his skates he can stay out on the ice for long stretches at a time without tiring. He is a tenacious player and always gives his all, great to have on the ice for last minute defense.

Defensive game: B
He has a good sense for what needs to be done in the defensive zone, he is reliable, good, but not great. Yet again it is his skating that we come back to. His understanding of what to do is above average but sometimes he is simply to slow. My belief in his ability to become a better skater is what justifys this pick for the Pride.

Bobby Bobcalf has the potential to become a great player for San Francisco, his booming shot will get the fans excited every time he enters the ice. Should be playing on the power play in a couple of seasons. Has a great locker room presence and might be a distant relative to current Pride winger Richard Metcalf Jr.


Moving on the San Franciscos next pick which is their 2nd rounder, 24th overall.
They selected from Anchorage Armada, Left Wing Jonas Larsen. Larsen, 6ft 3in 200 pounds comes from the Fjords of Norway. He is a sniper with a touch of playmaking, puting up 5 goals and 7 assists in a full rookie season of 50 games. A comparison to a current Pride player would be Vince Reaper, also a big player at 6ft 3in but slightly heavyer at 236 lbs. There are clear similarities between them besides the size in that they both are great at finding space to put pucks in the net. If Larsen could develope his defensive game and his skating he could definetly be seen as a younger version of Reaper.

Larsens strong points:

Scoring: A+
At the Junior level Jonas Larsen has one of the best shots in the league, it's hard, accurate and he has a fast release. With a couple of seasons in the Smjhl he can build confidence and work on other areas of his game, such as his defensive play and skating. His shot is ready for the big league and if he puts in the work he may be a earlier than expected call up.

Passing: B+
With scoring being the elite skill that Larsen possesses his playmaking is often overlooked. The great thing about Jonas is that he can read the play in a way that he knows when to take the shot and when to pass. His 15.63% shooting percentage is a great indicator of that.

Jonas Larsen is at this point of his career a purely offensive player, he is lackluster in the defensive zone and you rarely see him leading the back check, he is below average in his defensive positioning and not really showing too much effort in his own zone. Prone to staying down on the ice if he gets hit/looses the puck in the offensive zone. He isn't the greatest of puck handlers either and as said earlier he has to improve his skating. With reading all of this it is clear he has flaws in his game, and that is to he expected from someone picked outside of the top 10 or even the top 5. Larsens positives hevily out weighs his negatives and he is what some may call a Swing for the fences. With his highly offensive talent he can turn out to be a steal for the San Francisco organization. It is rumored that Larsen will travel to San Francisco to spend his offseason working out and training with the teams coaches and some of their players. San Franciscos video coach says he has made some tremendous improvements in his understanding of the defensive zone already.

With their last pick of the S48 SHL entry draft San Francisco Pride selected from Colorado Raptors, right wing Richard Rocket. The 40th overall pick has steal potential, Hamilton Steelhawks passed twice on picking a player in the 3rd round and I'm sure Richard Rocket will make them regret that.
Richard Rocket is an American born forward, at 6ft 4in he is the tallest of the Prides picks, but he could use some more muscle since he only weigh 187lbs. Richard signed with Colorado Raptors just before the trade deadline and only played 12 games with the team but because he signed befir the dedline and not after he was eligible for this seasons Shl draft. In those 12 game Rocket put up one goal and 2 assists for 3 point, not to bad for a late signing. With an early exit in the playoffs for the Raptors the viewings on Richard Rocket has been somewhat limited which I belive factors in to why he was drafted as late as 40.

Rockets upsides:

Defense: A
Richard Rocket showed good defensive play in his 12 regular seasons games and 4 playoff games, good positioning and stick work. He has a good motor, always taking away time and space from the oponent.

Well rounded game, that is what you can say about Rocket. The only part he showed off elite potential was in the defensive zone but that might also be a factor of him being new to the team. His second season in the SMJHL will be crucial for his development abd for him to show San Francisco that he has a offensive upside as well. With a good offseason he shoild come in to next season with more confidence and be more familiar around the locker room and hopefully that will spark is point production. He showed some flashes of brilliance but need to do it on a more consistent basis. I'm a big believer in Richard Rocket and I think he can be a star in this league.


All of these picks will need some more seasons down in the SMJHL. Bobby Bobcalf, Jonas Larsen and Richard Rocket has some hard work to do, having to improve their skating which is a crucial part of the game cause when they take the step up to SHL they will have to be able to keep up. As for Timmo Kyllonen, I think he is on the right path. He just have to keep working hard and he will be in the shl sooner rather than later!

This concludeds my rundown of the San Francisco Prides Draft, in my opinion it was a good draft for the organization. They managred to get an elite talent in Timmo Kyllonen and generally guys with good potential. All of them are character guys and adds to a already great locker room. The Prides future is looking bright and it is inly a matter of time until the Challenge Cup comes to San Francisco.



Wc: 2002 not a native speaker 2x draft media.