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Ason94 · 08-03-2019, 03:26 AM

The draft is now over and while the dust settles we have an interview with Knute Knurtsson of the San Francisco Pride and former captain of Colorado Raptors of the Smjhl. We will be going over some of the picks of the draft covering the draftees from Colorado and looking at San Francisco Prides draft.

Lars Berghagen: I want to start of by asking you about what you felt like before the draft, did you know who San Francisco were targeting for their pick? They picked at third, eleventh and twenty seven.

Knute Knurtsson: Well I did some scouting of my own, I'm in no way involved in what management does but I enjoy the draft. To me it's a really exciting time of year and I remember when I was drafted in to the SHL. I am extremely happy with where I ended up. So going in to the draft management made a trade with Texas Rangers switching the 2nd and the 3rd pick of the draft, San Francisco ended up with the 3rd ova and gained a 2nd round pick down the road. Befor the trade happened I was fairly sertain Noah Brusky was the intended pick, at least it seemed to be the word around the league, Teaxas Renegade ended up picking him at No.2 so I would say it makes sens to think he was the intended target. Anyways the price Texas payed to move up one spot was just to good to not accept and clearly the San Francisco managemnet felt the same way. As an organization I would say that San Francisco Pride does a good job of scouting prospects and they made the assessment that they could get a great player at No.3 which in my opinion they surley did. So going in to the draft we had picks No.3 No.11 and pick No.27. The 3rd overall pick I think was a lock for San Francisco management, the rumors around the League had Elijah Jones going at number 1 to Los Angels Panthers and Texas Renegades picking Noah Brusky at number 2. Anything can happen during the draft but if the draft were to go down like this I atlest had Bo Kane to the San Francisco Pride at No. 3 and as we now know it went down like that and Grapehead and Tweedledunn made the choice to pick up Bo Kane at No.3.
For the 11th pick it is alway harder to predict what is going to happen, rumour around the league had Mikas Bieksa going to us but when you get down to 11 you never know who is going to be available. I was unsure of this pick, there were many good choices here for sure, I personally really Liked Denver Wolfe, a Colorado biased opinion ofcourse. Having played with him in Colorado for a season I knew the guy and got a sense of where I belive his potental is. I knew we looked at defense for our 11th pick and out side of Denver Wolfe and Mikas Bieksa I really like Finn Rhys but he ended up going 4th to Edmonton Blizzard and that's the thing with drafts, no one knows how it will go and I think very few saw that pick coming. Another Colorado guy I personally consider as an option for the 11th pick Was Derek Bohne Jr. I know him and he's a great guy and he has the potential to be a real stud in the SHL, there was concerns about him wantig to stay down with the Raptors for 5 season which would mean that the team drsfing him would loose his right if he went down the the 5th season. But colse to the draft Derek announced that he retracted his request and wiuld only stay down for 4 season. This was a but of a game changer in the draft I think. I want to preface that it was only my opinion that Bohne would be a good pick for San Francisco at 11th I have no idea if the management ever thought about it.
So for the 11th pick going in to the draft I went against the stream and predicted that San Francisco was picking Denver Wolfe at No 11. I was wrong, the pick ended up being Mikas Bieksa, as everyone else predicted. I think it is a great pick, it was truly a toss up between a couple of defensmen in my opinion and the San Francisco Pride management went with the one they liked the most. I think Bieksa has a great future in the Pride organization.
So now on to our last pick, the 27th, I really had no idea here, it's deep in to the draft and as said before anything can happen. I predicted we would pick Raquel Castillo Gutierrez but I knew San Francisco had a preference for Defenders. I only made this prediction out of past connections to the club and yet again I ended up being wrong. San Francisco ended up picking Heat Siecker a defensman that played with me in Colorado this past season, I honestly didn't think he would fall this far and that's why I didn't think San Francisco would be able to pick him up.

Lars Berghagen: tell us your thoughts on the players that San Francisco picked up. How do they look right now and what do they bring to the team?

Knute Knurtsson: I will start of with the first pick then, Bo Kane. I consider this a slam dunk pick, at No.3. In my opinion he was the clear choice at 3 and I'm happy management felt the same way. Playing with him in Colorado I know he's a very talented guy. His shot is out standing and he works hard, we are a couple of guys that stay abit after practice and he's been with us all season. He's a physically developed player even though he is 5ft9in and 170lbs, and I think he could make the jump sooner rather than later if he wants too. I stayed down In Colorado for 3 seasons after I was drafted but I could see Bo Kane just playing one more season down in the SMJHL and then come up to San Francisco of that is what he wants. He's that talented. So what does he bring to the team? He's a great guy to have in the locker room, talkative and friendly. He's also a hard worker and he expects people around him to work hard, I think that he is great at bringing people up with him to his standard and work ethic. He also gives San Francisco a great player, he will be a top line player for the Pride in the future and that's very valuable to have and specially now when San Francisco is in its window to win challenge for the Cup he can both help now and to extend that window when the current players start to regress.

For the 11 th pick San Francisco went with Mikas Bieksa, I like the pick, there were many good player we could have picked here and I trust the management that this was the right one. I have only played against Bieksa, and that only a couple of times, he's a standout guy though. He has great vision of the ice and is a foce in the offensive zone, if everything goes right we got a really good player with this pick. He can pretty much do it all, score pass hit and defend, he is tough to get around and is good at handeling the puck. I haven't really gotten to talk to him much yet but from what I've heard he is a great guy and brings enthusiasm to the locker room.

With the 27th pick San Francisco Pride took another of my teammates from Colorado, Heat Siecker. He is a defensman that I really like and that I belive in. I think there is a untapped level to his game and I hope we get to see it next season in Colorado. He had a good rookie season with us, 2 goals and 13 assists with an average of 18.57 minutes per game. I think San Francisco have a player here, I was shocked he fell to us at 27, I was sure he would go earlier. I had Raquel Castillo Gutierrez for our 27th pick just becaus of past connections but I'm really happy with this pick. I think Siecker is going to turn up his development speed just a little but most likely stay down in the SMJHL with Colorado Raptos for 3 more seasons, both to get him ready and as good as possible but San Francisco has a bit of a logg jam at the Defens position. With Jack Tanner, Isak Odegard, Charlie Schieck, Ray Bork, Leopold Lockhart and Dominic Montgomery we are very good. Heat is just like the other two picked befor him, a great guy I have had some talkes with him over the season and it convinced me that he is worth taking a chance on and so I talked to GrapeHead about it and obviously I was able to convince him.

Lars Beeghagen: Now your time with the Colorado Raptors are over and you are moving on to San Francisco. Sharing the locker room with some of the guys that got drafted today, is there anyone that stands out besides the players San Francisco picked?

Knute Knurtsson: correct, I will now be moving to San Francisco during the offseason and yes there are some stand out guys. I think everyone from Colorado were great guys and the team that got them are really lucky to have them. I will start of with Derek Bohne Jr. Then. Derek is one of the greatest guys from this draft class, both on and off the ice he has tremendous skill, top 10 talent in my opinion. He declared before the draft that he wanted to stay down for the 5th and final season with Colorado which would mean that what ever team drsfts him will loose his right and he will have to pass through waivers. I think that thad turn many teams away and I am sure that was the case with San Francisco too. Then just before the draft started he held a press conference declaring that he will not require the 5th season in the smjhl but he will play for 4. So this means that the team drafting him will not loos his right. I think he would have gone higher if he had retracted his request for the 5th season earlier but he did go pretty high anyway when Toronto made the pick with the 13th over all selection. Toronto scouted good and got a great player and person in Derek Bohne Jr.
So, Toronto has back to back picks and with the 14th pick they selected Knox Booth, they seem to like Colorado prospects this year. Although picking him innthe first round and making a trade to acquire that pick from New Orleans Specters they decided to trade Knox Booth to the Los Angeles Panthers for a season 50 2nd rounder. The general manager of Toronto has spoken very fondly of Knox but made the trade anyways. Toronto do have a young and talented goalie prospect in Herry Carpet. I don't totally get the trades Toronto made but then again I haven't really looked in to it. Well, Knox Booth ended up with Los Angeles Panthers even though they drafted another goalie prospect, Nolan McMahon, 18th overall. Booth is a great guy and a very talented goalie so I can see why Los Angeles made the trade even though the picked a goalie. In my mind it's only a question of time until Toronto starts regretting giving up Booth. I would have been thrilled to have Knox with us in San Francisco but we are set for the future in net with Patrice Nadeau and Chris Partridge. So now we only have one Raptor left, it is the guy I belived San Francisco would pick at No 11. Denver Wolfe. He joined the Colorado Raptors 6 games in to the season as a free agent and he has been a cheerful and all around grest person to have in the locker room since. He is a great player with a huge upside, I believe he will go on to be one of the greatest picks in this draft class once it's all said and done, he has that determination and hunger to be the best. I would like to wish all of these guys good luck with their new SHL teams and I would definitely recommend them if they ever hit free agency. And ofcourse good luck for those of then who stays dow in Colorado which I actually believe all of them are.

Lars Berghagen: Now that we stand here, the s49 Smjhl entry draft is about to finish up. Any opinions on that? Do you know of any of the players that got drafted, to Colorado or to any other team perhaps?

Knute Knurtsson: oh well.. I did some light scouting for Colorado, Actually found a guy I really liked and we were even able to pick him up. So that's great!

Lars Berghagen: I know we got you to do this interview to talk about the SHL, San Francisco Pride and the Colorado Raptors player that got drafted tonight but could you just talk to us real quick about the Raptos draft tonight?

Knute Knurtsson: hmm I got to be honste with you, I only know of one guy we got, Henrik Lekberg Osterman, a left winger from Sweden. I believe that he can be a huge get for us in Colorado, I was picked 72 or 73rd overall in my draft class and I turned out pretty good. Just like me he played in Sweden in his draft year and I think that certain team sleep a little on the talent that comes out of Sweden. Hippo Passamus was drafted in the s42 smjh entry draft, pick No.36 and now he is a super star in the SHL. I have to admit that it can be kind of shooting in the dark for the smjhl draft but Henrik is a guy I strongly believe in. He is a well rounded player, responsible in the defensive zone and great at making plays I think he will find a top 6 spot on the team very quickly and I'm going to say he will compete for the rookie of the year title. We have many guys that are leaving Colorado and the SMJHL for their respective SHL team which will open up spots for the rookies.

Lars Berghagen: Well, I guss that's it for our interview tonight, thank for your time Knute and we appreciate the little extra add about the Smjhl Draft.

Knute Knurtsson: I'm always happy to chat with you Lars, you are the best!

Wc: 2553 2x draft not a native speaker