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Ason94 · 08-02-2019, 03:14 PM

Back at it yet again, the season has ended and we rush towards the Draft. It is a very exciting time of year both for fans and for the eligible players. For the season 49 SHL entry draft we have many exciting players that will be picked. We do not yet know which team will pick what player but I will review some of the eligables and make predictions as to where they will end up.

As a Colorado guy I will start off with some players from the Raptors, and first out we have the highly talented Bo Kane.

Bo Kane is a natural center with a nack for scoring goals. What sets him apart from some of the other top prospects is his work ethic, he does everything right off the ice to set himself up for success. On the ice he is competitor that never quits on a play and always gives it his all.

On ice performance:
Bo Kane played his rookie season for the Colorado Raptors in the SMJHL. As a rookie on a fairly weak team he clinched a spot on the 2nd line playing on Veteran center Ja'Aj Coitus-Waggs wing. Starting of strong he was on a .5 points per game pace showing his worth to the team. As the season went along be slowed down abd finished at a .36 points per game pace. He had 18 points total with 11 of then being goals and 7 assists, he shows a high potential when it comes to goal scoring and I expect him to put up 20 or nore goals in his next season with Colorado Raptors and maybe even compete for most goals in the league. With drafting Bo Kane you get a surefire top line center that will probably match up well with anyone on his wings. His playmaking is expected to improve and be on a high level once he gets the call to the SHL but as I have said above, you draft him for his ability to put the puck in the net.

Strengths:
The goal scoring, he is a sniper and it shows, with a 16.67 shooting percentage he is 2nd on Colorado just behind leading scorer Julio Tokolosh who out up 22 goals and a 17.19 shooting percentage. For a SHL comparison I would say that his game resembles that of Winnipeg Jets Veteran center Jason Visser who finished first in golas scoring this season with 28 goals. I'm not saying Bo Kane is Jason Visser but thet have the same style of play. Only time will tell if Bo Kane can reach that same level, he has the potential and it's up to him if he want to get there or not.

Endurance:
Bo Kane is a physical phenomenon, he is the most fit player in this draft and with a good margin. He has the physical body to make the jump to the SHL right away but at this point in his career I belive hi is better of getting top minutes in the Juniors to develope his all around game.
The exceptional thing about his endurence is that he can chase down puck and combined with good skating it's hard to get away from him, a very good trait to have as a penalty killer.

Defense:
Bo is good in his own zone, he can handel a penalty kill and understands the importance of being a good defender, he does prefer to be in the offensive zone though and can sometimes make questionable decisions. But for a rookie in the SMJHL he is doing really good and is clearly above average.

Knute Knurtsson, former Captain of the Colorado Raptors was quoted saying "Bo Kane is on another level, he has the best shot in this years draft and his work etchi reminds me of Nick Brain. Any team will be lucky to add him to their roster, a great all around guy for sure."

At 5ft 9in and 170lbs Bo Kane is a bit on the small side, but after a good rookie season with Colorado Raptors in the Smjhl the Canadian born center has shown that size doesn't matter. Kane is predicted by most people to be taken 2nd or 3rd over all in the upcoming draft, thise picks are currently held by Texas Renegades and San Francisco Pride.
Texas Renegade doesn't have a great prospect pool and could use all the talent they can get and Bo Kane would certainly be a great pick for them. If Texas chooses to go with a different player I have no doubt that that San Francisco Pride will be thrilled to Pick up Bo Kane at number 3.

Moving on to another entriguing prospect, a guy, just like Bo Kane, that spent his rookie season with Colorado Raptors in the Smjhl, Knox Booth.
Booth was drafted by Colorado in the 2nd round 20th overall, he spent his first season backing up Alexander Thorstrom. Next Season Knox Booth is expected to see his starts increase drastically after Colorado traded Thorstrom to Kelowna Knights during the offseason. Colorado had high expectations for Booth coming in to the season as they looked at him for their future starter. He sat on the bench for the first few games, as expected of a rookie but as the season went along he played more and more games finishing the season with 21 games played. While playing on a relativly weak Raptors team he only manged to pull out 4 wins but taking a closer look at his stats they are quite impressive. One thing is clear, there is no way you could blame Knox Booth for the poote season Colorado had, on a loosing team he put up a 89.1 save percentage and 2.60 goals against average. With great play when given the opportunity Knox Booth got the chanse to play in the Playoffs. Colorado got beat out in the first round in 6 games and Knox Booth showed his worth, a 90.7 save percentage and a 2.47 goals against average gave his team a fighting chanse, but in the end it was not enough.
In game 2 of the first round, Booth displayed his elite talent when he did everything he could to keep the puck out of the net. Halifax raiders shot 39 pucks at him, Booth got 37 of them and put up an impressive 94.9 save persantage, sadly for Colorado they could not get by Biz Nasty in the Halifax net who also had a fantastic showing with a 96.2 save percentage on 26 shots. Knox Booth earned the first star of thst game for his outstanding performance. For the next game Booth and Colorado where back with a vengace, on 26 shots Knox Booth only let in ine to give Colorado their first win of the series. A 96.2 save percentage matched that of Biz Nasty the previous game and earned him the third star of the game.
Booth is definetly the top goalie prospect for this draft and has the potential to be a long term star in the SHL. The question is where he will be picked? On raw talent he is a top 10 pick, but there is the goalie factor that they are hard to predict for future performance. With a pretty shallow draft I can see him being picked in the late first round to early secound round.

Booth is a Good all around prospect.
He has lighting quick reflexes combined with great rebound controll and a steadiness to his style of play that is unique. Hes big too at 6ft 5in and can fill out the net very well. Another Canada boy, Booth and Kane will be a great add to both their World Juniors squad and later on to their IIHF teams.

Colorado will have many young guys being picked in the SHL draft and some of them will go early, Most of them will be picked in the first round. There is a guy thoug, a speciall player that I don't think many has payed attention to, Heat Siecker, a defensman on Colorado whos and a bit of an up and down year, he very well could fall and become a late 2nd round steal for a lucky team. Only time will tell how all of there prospects will turn out but I can say that thos class of Colorado draftees is one I belive very highly in, many will go on to have great careers in the SHL but first they will be the back bone to carry Colorado to greatness.

Wc: 1454 2x draft media, Not a native speaker