Login

Mika_Kandinsky · 07-29-2019, 05:23 PM

Code:
2x draft media, 1467 words.

Another season has come and gone, and the St. Louis Scarecrows set the league on fire with a historic regular season in S48. While they did not perform as well in the playoffs as they would have hoped, it cannot be argued that they weren't a dominant team in the regular season. This season saw record breaking seasons by forwards Mika Kandinsky and their captain Nicolaj Muller (@esilverm). So, now that the season is in the books and the S49 draft is upon us, what do the Scarecrows need going into this draft and where might they find that help in the new draftees. Let's take a look at the situation in St. Louis heading into draft day.

The first line in St. Louis of Kandinsky, Muller and Fleming was a power house. Muller and Kandinsky were first and second in the league in points. The line was a 5v5 nightmare for other teams. Now, going into S49 this line will find themselves without Fleming as he will no longer be eligible for play in the SMJHL. So, right away we see the Crows have a hole to fill on the top line. There is a good chance that Barrett Blackwood will make his way up to the top line and take the spot of Fleming. This would keep the top line incredibly strong. That also leaves some depth that needs to be filled and St. Louis will probably look to draft a forward who can slot in to the wings. There are a few right wing options available in the upcoming draft. Right wingers, Nathaniel Voltguin, Tommy Parker, and Larry Burns could be options to come in as rookies and help build the wing pipeline back up. They are all newcomers to the league and won't be sure things by any stretch.

Would St. Louis consider trading some picks for a veteran in the J that can help the team win now? St. Louis is still in their window of cup contention given the strength of their current roster thanks to the great drafting they've seen in recent years. Drafting being a huge strength, the GMs @Nictox and @TML99 might feel confident in their abilities to draft a newcomer and hope they turn into a stud, the same path that Mika Kandinsky took as a newcomer to the league. That being said, if the Crows decide to go all in to try and bolster the roster, there might be a few players around the league they could pick up with high TPE that could slot in and help them make a push for the cup before they lose their top guys in Muller, Kandinsky, and Blackwood on forward.

The St. Louis Scarecrows are also losing their star starting goaltender, Billy Sorokin to being called up to the big show. They have their goaltender of the future in Marques Brownlee, but they are going to have to restock the cupboard with a rookie goaltender who can slot in as the backup and eventually take over Brownlee's spot when he moves up. The Scarecrows have options here in prospects, Ian Venables, Jamal Anderson, Monty Montgomery, and Rob Blake. Everyone knows goalies are a crapshoot and develop at their own pace, but expect the Crows to use a 2nd or 3rd on a goalie prospect to develop behind Marques Brownlee. We also particularly like prospect Angle Vladimir out of Canada. He's a 6'0" 200lbs hybrid goalie with really quick reaction times. He could be a real diamond in the rough for St. Louis. He is also incredibly agile and does not get beat easily on first shots. He needs to work on rebound control, but his other fundamentals are looking very solid for a prospect player.

The Crows defense has been looking very strong with Lyle Odelein III and Izem Aboiye having strong second seasons with the Crows. Basil Magnicotta still has one more season with the team and so the Crows are probably going to have to draft a few defenseman to stay ahead of the curve of roster depletion. There are a plethora of young defenseman ready to be drafted into the SMJHL come Friday. Could the Crows pick up Rath Mcleod from the United States? Rath is a big two-way defenseman with an overall strong build. Nothing stands out about him, but he seems like he'd be a good guy to have on the blue line. Maybe they would go a different direction and draft Dick Trickle, an enforcer, a real brute that lacks discipline but will be there to protect the star players on the roster. He's strong on defense and also has a nice first pass out of the zone. He'd be a guy that could hold things down but you wouldn't expect too many points from. Also, he's probably got one of the best names in hockey. They could also try and go for a defensive defenseman that isn't an enforcer and try to pick up Samuel Michaud, a 5'10" 205lbs player out of the United States. Michaud wouldn't ever be putting up many points, but he could be a great player in his own zone and help to keep pucks out of the high danger areas. He's probably the best skater in his entire draft class and also has great defensive awareness. He is going to need to work on his passing though if we wants to make an impact.

The Crows are in a good spot right now with how their roster is built going into S49. A good draft this year can set them up for success in the future once Kandinsky and Muller get their call ups. It is expected this will be Muller's last season with the crows. Kandinsky probably has one or two season and then he'll be called up as well. In that same window they may lose Lyle Odelein, Izem Aboiye and Barrett Blackwood. So, this draft can really be seen as a draft to get some start players that will fill roles of players that aren't leaving just quite yet. An entire line's worth of players in the next two years could be gone, and they are some of the top scoring players on the team. The GMs will definitely have this in mind as they head into the S49 draft and pick up their new prospects to bring them onto the team. Don't be surprised if they decide to pick up a center with their first round pick in order to solidify a replacement for Kandinsky so that this year's prospect will be ready to take over the first line when Kandinsky steps up to the SHL. This would be a smart move for the future.

I want to circle back to a thought earlier in the article regarding trading picks for a player around the league that could help them win now. The locker room in St. Louis wants a cup and they want it bad. Are the GMs feeling pressure to get their current stars a cup before they make their move up? Honestly, we don't think this is a scenario that St. Louis will realistically look toward. Given their history of building championship teams from the draft and then picking up unsigned free agents right before the season starts, we don't see St. Louis trading picks to get a veteran one year rental to help them win. The GMs have all of their confidence in their current crop of veterans and are sure that they will be able to lead the team on a deep playoff run and hopefully secure a cup for themselves. There is a strong leadership core in St. Louis and perhaps the GMs there feel good about bringing in new rookies and let the captains show them the ropes to aid in their development. It's been a winning formula for them so far and why deviate from that formula when it allows you to compete now, and into the future as well. If they keep nailing their drafts and hitting on players that other teams skip on, they will be set up to be competing indefinitely and never have to go into rebuild mode. They are an example of the importance of solid drafting in this league.

So, as the draft approaches and waters only get murkier with who will be picked and when, St. Louis, we expect, will be using their picks to keep their current pipeline strong to make sure that they are competitive for years to come. The GMs there are doing something right and we expect for that trend to continue.

Huck24 · 07-29-2019, 05:30 PM

Great read! Looking forward to see who we pick up in this draft. Going to be a great season to join the Crows!!

Scarecrows

**esilverm** · 07-29-2019, 05:36 PM

Awesome read!! Excited to play another season with the bois

Pass Forfeit (D) ● Player Profile
Kraken

Special thanks to Blitz, jhockey, Ragnarr, and sulo for the gorgeous sigs <3

[Image: DG0jZcS.png]

**JaytheGreat** · 07-29-2019, 07:28 PM

Should be an interesting draft for us.

Rest In Peace Dangel

1st SHL Goal - S52 Game 1 vs Tampa 3. New England Wolfpack , Jakub Bruchevski 1 (Eko Van Otter 1, Delver Fudgeson 2) at 8:10

Scarecrows

Budgie · 07-30-2019, 08:28 AM

I'm new here so I don't know how well edit requests are taken. Should be goalie prospect Ian Venables with an 'a' if you can.

Looks great though! As a newcomer these kind of articles are super helpful to get the lay of the land!

Nictox · 07-30-2019, 08:36 AM

Gold as always Mika! I’m excited to see what you do next season.

RIP Dangel #AD26 | RIP TDZ

Mika_Kandinsky · 07-30-2019, 08:58 AM

07-30-2019, 08:28 AMtoirekari Wrote: I'm new here so I don't know how well edit requests are taken. Should be goalie prospect Ian Venables with an 'a' if you can.

Looks great though! As a newcomer these kind of articles are super helpful to get the lay of the land!

Fixed it. Thanks for the heads up.

Navigation

Extra Menu

About us