This seasons hidden gem I thought would be Taro Eichelele, but he is not that hidden anymore. So my hidden gem award will Tord Yvel.
This swedish based defenceman has had a heck of a lot to do all season long and has still managed to keep his statistics good and keep Colorado Mammoths from completely self destructing.
Playing almost 20 minutes every night Tord Yvel has managed to keep his plus minus statistics to only -4 which is tied for the best plus/minus by defenders in the Mammoths. He has also been a big contributor to the team in the form of assists, making 17 assists this season he's on fourth place in the team in that statistic. He has also managed to score 2 goals, where one of them was a Game Winning goal early on in the season.
Being on the top in plus/minus statistics at -4 speaks volumes of how bad Colorado Mammoths have been playing this year. But Tord always keeps a good mood in the Locker Room, and always finds a bright side to every situation. He's a thrill to have in the team and I know that any team who picks him in the upcoming SHL draft will be very glad that they did so.
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For myself, the term “hidden gem†implies a player who managed to shine through adversity. Sometimes, this adversity can be little hype and a lower draft spot. My hidden gem wasn't drafted anywhere near the top, but rather closer to the bottom. But with his play on the ice this season, looks to be a player who will dominate the SMJHL next season and the SHL in the future.
Winger Reed Laing proved that he is a versatile player on both ends of the ice. In the offensive zone, Reed used his elite scoring to pot 13 goals this season and his elite passing to assist on 15 more goals. This brings his point total to 28, which is great for a rookie. With more seasoning, he is showing the potential to be a 50 point and beyond player next season.
He also showed that he's no slouch on the physical end of the game. Reed tossed over 100 hits this season, pounding bodies night after night. He's a player who can both score and hit, making him so valuable in the dirty areas of the ice.
Reed Laing may have been drafted lower this season, but he's managed to make teams regret allowing him to drop like that by playing a solid game at both ends of the ice.
Who would be the hidden gem at Montreal? I would say that would have to be the other half of my goalie tandem and my partner in crime Jeff Kirkstone?
What can I say about Jeff Kirkstone? Well for starters he loud, really loud but that's a good thing, he's constantly shouting stuff at us when he's on the ice, or on the bench but in good way, telling everyone what to do, where to be, what's going wrong and what's going right. In the locker room he constantly motivating and when this guy speaks you listen as you know it’s either going to be a very insightful comment or it’s going to be hilarious.
The guy is also a great goalie as well, annoyingly so, he makes me work my arse off for the starting job as I know when I'm not working hard he's going to swoop in and take it and because he's so good and works hard with his training and there's a risk I could not get it back.
On the ice he's played less games than some of the other goalies but managed to keep up with them number wise with a save percentage of 0.877 and a goals against of 2.87 even recording a shutout as well. Plus as an added bonus he's a well disciplined player as well with no PIM given away in any game that he played in. He's also a brickwall in the shootout with a save percentage of 8.00 so if a game goes down to wire you know you are able to rely on him and his skills with the pressure being purely on the penalty taker.
While he may not be ready to start in the SHL immediately but given a little while to train in the minors and work hard he could be a real force to be reckoned with, so GMs if you have are looking for a goalie for the future and Kirkstone is there in the draft I would strongly suggest grabbing him before he goes.
Eduard Selich is my choice for THE hidden gem. While he hasn't been talked about much, he's quietly been racking up points as one of the best players overall on the Prince George firebirds, and definitely one of the top players on his team on special teams. For example he was 2nd on the team in power play minutes, and 1st by a wide margin in penalty killed minutes. This shows his versatility as both a defender and scorer and also is the only player with a penalty kill goal on the team, and he doesn't only have one, he has TWO. While his power play points total isn't as impressive, he still put up a solid 7 points, good for 6th on the team. Outside of special teams specifically, he's 5th on his team in points scored with 27 points and 2nd in goals scored with 15. This is especially impressive for a rookie skaters, as it isn't often easy to score goals in your rookie year. He did this while also having a very good shot percentage of around 15%, 5th best on his entire squad All in all he should continue scoring goals in the SMJHL, passing the puck well and playing solid defense. While also being able to do this at the SHL level in the near future. The future is bright for him.
While we all define "gems" differently, the two that I think are poised to shine are Pietra Volkova and Maximilian Wehner. In the SMJHL Draft, both were touted as future stars and both came off the draft board early, but that would necessarily lead to glowing regular seasons.
While Volkova struggling to find her identity, she hasn't lacked in her leadership and perseverance. After the sluggish start, she was the first one to point out her short-comings, but as the season wore on she finally was able to find her legs and establish a foot hold in the production columns. She is one of the leaders in TPE and continues to push towards the cream of the crop. As she will cap out in S31, look for Volkova to become one of the points leaders and contributors to the production of the Raiders.
While Volkova struggled production wise, Wehner found himself entrenched in a goalie battle in Vancouver. While often having to play over his head because of teammates finding their lines yet, Max and Link continued to trade starts. With the team finding synergy on offense when Link was in net, Wehner found himself on the short end of the stick late in the season. Don't let this trick anyone though, with Link rating significantly greater it wasn't a surprise to see Link starting. Long term, the Whalers are in a good place with Wehner and should be excited to have him between the pipes on a full term in the near future. He shows an immense upside and very little risk.
Definitely rising stars in both of them, while Volkova may just have a couple more stars on the way.
Corey Bearss – LW
Ever since he joined the Vancouver Whalers shortly after the draft, two-way forward Corey Bearss has gone from strength to strength and impressed everybody associated with the Whalers organisation. He’s surpassed expectations by improving quickly and already has to be considered above a number of players drafted by SMJHL teams. Corey Bearss has brought balance to the forward line with selfless passing and the desire to get back and defend and the awareness to make a difference when doing so, and has even chipped in with an excellent 18 points in a season that saw him shifted between lines and line mates frequently. Predictably, most of his points came from assists but he managed to rack up an unforeseen eight goals alongside to prove he has one of the stronger all-round games of the prospects heading into the S31 SHL Draft.
But what’s caught the eye the most has been a consistency and work ethic that’s certainly going to be more attractive to General Managers more than just points production. Bearss has shown he has potential to stick at his craft and to be an absolute steal, as he has been all season for the Whalers. As an added bonus, Bearss is a constant figure in the locker room and has become one of the more vocal members within it.
For this season, the hidden gem of the Kelowna Knights has most definitely been Adriana Starosta. Drafted 32nd overall at the S30 SMJHL entry draft she has posted solid numbers for a rookie defensewoman with 2 goals and 20 assists with a team leading plus/minus differential of +14. More importantly, 11 of these assists came off the power play which shows that she can play comfortably in special situations. Another important stat to look at in this case are penalty minutes where even though she spent a total of 36 minutes in the box, none of those came from fights. As she progresses through her career, we hope to see those minor penalties taken drop.
Much like the rest of Kelowna, she isn’t very physical in her play, registering a mere 43 hits and only taking 22 herself. But one has to remember that she is still young and she will have plenty of time to become stronger over the next few seasons. With Cara Hohenberg, Ty Justice, Fedor Shirobokov and perhaps even Kornel Kasparek all potentially graduating to the SHL next season, there will be plenty of space for Adriana Starosta to lead the team from the blue line and eat up major minutes to continue perfecting her game.
Nathan Russett, you may just be wondering who that is. Not many have heard of the rookie left winger play for the Montreal Militia. He quietly collected 13 goals and 14 assists this season, good for 27 points. Russett led all rookies on the team in points and was tied for goals with Viktor Nerokov.
When watching the Portland, Oregon native, he may not seem like a flashy player. And flashy he is not. He plays a hard nosed two way game and isn't afraid to get to the dirty parts of the ice. He can dig in the corners, or make a beautiful tape to tape pass. If that's not enough he can snipe with the best of them. Russett can also lay a nice hit if the situation calls for it. Nathan can be effective in just about every part of the ice and has even been known to strap the pads on in practice.
While he may never be your star player, Russet can be counted on as a legit top 6 forward and can be effective in all situations, wether its even strength, on the powerplay or killing a penalty. His skill set allows him to be versatile and fill in whereever his coach will need him.
Ryan Vas is my choice for the most underrated hidden gem in the league. His stat line has him at 2 goals and 15 assists, which makes him an adequate blue line addition no doubt, he has a -7 +/- rating but has blocked 25 shots.
A recent draft article had Ryan Vas rated as 37th of the top 50 choices in the draft, placing several other defensemen above the young Montreal player. The issue I take with this is that with Vas playing on the bottom defensive pair he hasn't seen the most icetime and therefore has drifted under a lot of radars. Montreal has a strong defensive core with players like Illmari Maatta, Viatcheslav Orlov, and newcomer vet Matthew Shea rounding out the top. Defenseman projected to go higher in this draft frankly do not sit behind this kind of depth.
Ryan Vas is an absolute leader in the locker room and I would argue is a future C on the Militia and hopefully one day on an SHL team. He is constantly providing constructive criticism, analysis, and pep talks before and after games. He is smart on the ice and is improving rapidly as one of the most active rookies on the Militia. His leadership amongst rookies and season vets will be paramount in achieving success in the current playoff picture.
A hidden gem?
The Montreal Militia is full of those. We might not be the loudest names in the draft. We might not have the hottest stats. But sometimes not having a pressure on you helps.
Today I’m talking about Ryan Vas. The defenseman from Finland was drafted late, with the 67th pick in the SMJHL draft, but I can tell you already- he is a steal.
Although his stats aren’t very shiny, they are pretty respectable for a rookie defenseman who usually spends time on the 3rd defensive pairing- he’s got 2 goals and 15 assists. He’s a good all around player who has a decent defensive game as well- he ended the season with 41 hits and 25 blocked shots while he didn’t go to the penalty box often, racking up only 14 penalty minutes.
There’s always room for improvement. He played only on third line this season. I’m excited to see what he will do with an upgraded role.
But while I’m praising his stats, there’s one thing that’s even more important- attitude in the locker room. Vas is one of a thousand, he is still a rook but has taken important responsibilities. If you ever see Montreal getting together before the game starts, there is a high chance that Vas is in the middle speaking the most motivating speech ever. He even tries to analyze game by himself and suggest something to Randleman and Girard.
Conclusion: A great locker room guy with big room for improvement since he only played in the third line. Will be an excellent steal in the draft and a future captain.
Things move fast in the SMJHL, and this past week is no different. When this PT came out, I initially thought about how one of our best players has been an almost too quiet force force throughout the season. But at this point I have to admit, if you don't know about Tord now you've already missed the boat. I could go into the stats, but Svensson has already done the honors.
Other than Yvel, almost every freshman in Colorado has gone through some growing pains and with a plethora (Would you say I have a plethora of pinatas?) of inactives, scoring has been at a premium. So let's consider the "underperforming" rookies.
As our top pick this year, I know myself and many of our draft picks have looked up to Martin Svensson as a clubhouse leader. And he's never failed to be that. Looking at Svensson is sometimes like looking into a slightly taller mirror. We're both able to play C and on the left wing, we both would rather set up a play than finish it, and we both wish like hell that the Mammoths had a few more snipers. Except I got the benefit of playing on the man advantage all year while Martin has played far tougher even strength minutes. And through it all, he's never stepped away from the plate and has kept pushing himself to be the best player he can be. In a few seasons, Volkova and Svensson will look back from their leadership roles on their SHL teams and laugh at the Sim gods for what they hath wrought in their rookie years.
And then there's Colton Hagan, the Unicorn Mammoth. Seriously, he gives us checking lessons every day (whether we ask for them or not). As far as power forward studs in this draft, I see Llewellyn and Hagan and 14 SHL teams that are looking for one of them. The Mammoths have been completely justified in trading up in their draft to snag him.
Olson Stuart was a late addition to the S31 class and the Mammoths and one of the key pieces coming back in the Stamkos deal. And like a quick game of beach volleyball he has already doubled the grit in our speedos and scored a few crucial goals.
I think Matty Leetch chimes in enough that everybody knows who he is. At least, he does in our LR and I see him in every thread I lurk onto. The lad is in it to win it and he's got eyes and ears all over the league. He's our best up and coming blue line marksman, has been doing all his point tasks and contributing constantly. So why is not among the league leaders in TPE?The damn miser was too cheap to spend money on training! Hey, we all come from different backgrounds and apparently he wanted to make sure his family was well taken care of. Suffice it to say, we've got him in the weight room now and you're not going to even recognize Leetchy-baby next season.
Where Yvel and Leetch are our pass-first and shoot-first blueliners, Trev Legend is the lone rookie defenseman that would rather hit a player than jump into the offense. He also sacrifices his body every game and is among the team leaders in blocked shots.
Jacob Renninger is our lone rookie RW. He currently is tied for the team lead in playoff points (with his linemate Hagan) which puts them in a tie for 10th place in the league. It's only 4 games, but it stands to show that the S30 SMJHL regular season is in our rear view mirror. That fact that Renny is lighting it up in the playoffs is actually not surprising, given that he tallied 21 points in the regular season. He's a super gifted offensive talent that, like Svensson, will shine even brighter with a true sniper on the end of his passes.
Ok, so I didn't limit it to one. To quote one of the more loquacious goalies in this draft, "Fight me." Actually no, fight Hagan.
Ok, one. The most under-rated gem going into this draft?
It's our goalie. In a draft with more top flight rookie goaltenders than maybe any before, where do you have Ekaterina Rudnikova ranked?
If you didn't say top 5 pick, you're wrong. Here's why.
Kat played every meaningful minute in goal for the Mammoths this season.
Every player above had some off shifts, off games, even off weeks. And someone else was there to pick up the slack. We got to learn on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th line. Not Kat.
And even then, her regular season save % was better than Hocolate and McSieve and only 1/1000ths of a point behind Aittokallio.
And her game has only elevated in the playoffs. Against #1 seed Kelowna, Rudnikova has the second highest save % at 0.922 and has already faced 166 shots. (the next closest keepers have faced 116). I think every Kelowna player would agree that Kat is the main reason the series is even at 2 and 2.
Hell, in game 3, the Mammoths in a massive 0-2 series hole, Kelowna went up by a goal with 13 minutes left in the 2nd period. They wouldn't score again, although we played another 106 minutes in that game.
Her build reflects constant TPE improvement, but that wasn't enough. Mid season with some inner reflection, Kat rebuilt herself to be a better goalie. And it shows. But then, much like Bruce Wayne, she could afford to.
Which brings me to her off-ice contributions. She's got the best 1-2 in the game, with strong and consistent media pieces balanced by some truly great graphics work. She's supplied sigs for a good number of the class. I don't want to be crass and say she's loaded, but her account looks like a recreate and if she ever starts liquidating her assets, she could devalue the SMJHL dollar faster than you can say David Cameron.
Anyhow, there's your top 5 pick. If you need a graphic to go with this, hit up Mel.
Quote:Originally posted by Eichelele@Aug 30 2016, 10:58 PM Things move fast in the SMJHL, and this past week is no different. When this PT came out, I initially thought about how one of our best players has been an almost too quiet force force throughout the season. But at this point I have to admit, if you don't know about Tord now you've already missed the boat. I could go into the stats, but Svensson has already done the honors.
Other than Yvel, almost every freshman in Colorado has gone through some growing pains and with a plethora (Would you say I have a plethora of pinatas?) of inactives, scoring has been at a premium. So let's consider the "underperforming" rookies.
As our top pick this year, I know myself and many of our draft picks have looked up to Martin Svensson as a clubhouse leader. And he's never failed to be that. Looking at Svensson is sometimes like looking into a slightly taller mirror. We're both able to play C and on the left wing, we both would rather set up a play than finish it, and we both wish like hell that the Mammoths had a few more snipers. Except I got the benefit of playing on the man advantage all year while Martin has played far tougher even strength minutes. And through it all, he's never stepped away from the plate and has kept pushing himself to be the best player he can be. In a few seasons, Volkova and Svensson will look back from their leadership roles on their SHL teams and laugh at the Sim gods for what they hath wrought in their rookie years.
And then there's Colton Hagan, the Unicorn Mammoth. Seriously, he gives us checking lessons every day (whether we ask for them or not). As far as power forward studs in this draft, I see Llewellyn and Hagan and 14 SHL teams that are looking for one of them. The Mammoths have been completely justified in trading up in their draft to snag him.
Olson Stuart was a late addition to the S31 class and the Mammoths and one of the key pieces coming back in the Stamkos deal. And like a quick game of beach volleyball he has already doubled the grit in our speedos and scored a few crucial goals.
I think Matty Leetch chimes in enough that everybody knows who he is. At least, he does in our LR and I see him in every thread I lurk onto. The lad is in it to win it and he's got eyes and ears all over the league. He's our best up and coming blue line marksman, has been doing all his point tasks and contributing constantly. So why is not among the league leaders in TPE?The damn miser was too cheap to spend money on training! Hey, we all come from different backgrounds and apparently he wanted to make sure his family was well taken care of. Suffice it to say, we've got him in the weight room now and you're not going to even recognize Leetchy-baby next season.
Where Yvel and Leetch are our pass-first and shoot-first blueliners, Trev Legend is the lone rookie defenseman that would rather hit a player than jump into the offense. He also sacrifices his body every game and is among the team leaders in blocked shots.
Jacob Renninger is our lone rookie RW. He currently is tied for the team lead in playoff points (with his linemate Hagan) which puts them in a tie for 10th place in the league. It's only 4 games, but it stands to show that the S30 SMJHL regular season is in our rear view mirror. That fact that Renny is lighting it up in the playoffs is actually not surprising, given that he tallied 21 points in the regular season. He's a super gifted offensive talent that, like Svensson, will shine even brighter with a true sniper on the end of his passes.
Ok, so I didn't limit it to one. To quote one of the more loquacious goalies in this draft, "Fight me." Actually no, fight Hagan.
Ok, one. The most under-rated gem going into this draft?
It's our goalie. In a draft with more top flight rookie goaltenders than maybe any before, where do you have Ekaterina Rudnikova ranked?
If you didn't say top 5 pick, you're wrong. Here's why.
Kat played every meaningful minute in goal for the Mammoths this season.
Every player above had some off shifts, off games, even off weeks. And someone else was there to pick up the slack. We got to learn on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th line. Not Kat.
And even then, her regular season save % was better than Hocolate and McSieve and only 1/1000ths of a point behind Aittokallio.
And her game has only elevated in the playoffs. Against #1 seed Kelowna, Rudnikova has the second highest save % at 0.922 and has already faced 166 shots. (the next closest keepers have faced 116). I think every Kelowna player would agree that Kat is the main reason the series is even at 2 and 2.
Hell, in game 3, the Mammoths in a massive 0-2 series hole, Kelowna went up by a goal with 13 minutes left in the 2nd period. They wouldn't score again, [b]although we played another 106 minutes in that game.
Her build reflects constant TPE improvement, but that wasn't enough. Mid season with some inner reflection, Kat rebuilt herself to be a better goalie. And it shows. But then, much like Bruce Wayne, she could afford to.
Which brings me to her off-ice contributions. She's got the best 1-2 in the game, with strong and consistent media pieces balanced by some truly great graphics work. She's supplied sigs for a good number of the class. I don't want to be crass and say she's loaded, but her account looks like a recreate and if she ever starts liquidating her assets, she could devalue the SMJHL dollar faster than you can say David Cameron.
Anyhow, there's your top 5 pick. If you need a graphic to go with this, hit up Mel.[/b]
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