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A Preview of the 53rd SMJHL Season (2x Draft Media)
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boomSHL GM pure of heart, dumb of ass
[2967 words, ready for grading]
Now that the dust of callups and the chaos of the 53rd SMJHL Entry Draft has mostly come to a close, it’s time to dive into the new SMJHL season and analyze each team. What changes did teams make? Who’s coming in to restock the cupboards? How will teams fare in the first season of the new FHM era? Time to find out. I should note that while most of the call-ups have already happened, there are still some that have not - for example, players like Kaarlo Kekkonen and Andrey Barbashev II are expected to be called up for next season, but have not yet unbanked. I am leaving them on the rosters for now and you can use your own judgment on them. Rookies on the roster are underlined. Depth charts are arranged roughly in order of TPE, but are by no means definitive. Anaheim Outlaws Notable departures: C Ivan Maximus, C Kevin Robinson, RW Leonid Kofix, D Ursin Zimmermann, D Nicholas Owens Draft class: D Emilia Bergman 17th, D AJ Patella 35th, LW Etan Merauk 47th Offense C: C.T. Carragher, Taylor Johansson, Rikkard Hammarberg, Grant Thurber LW: Ziggy Tambo, Pooks Halloway, Etan Merauk RW: Rhys Pritchard, Bale, John Forfeit, Ethan Price Defense Alex Petrenko, Emilia Bergman, AJ Patella, Jacob Riley, Yompy Strearf, Andreas Stacks Goaltending Strom Chamberlain, Separa Borro The Outlaws experienced the joys of a Four Star Cup championship last season, rolling over their opponents easily on the way to victory with a 12-3 record. Unfortunately, with victory in the SMJHL often comes roster drain as veterans depart and players graduate to the major leagues. Adding to the difficulty was that Anaheim was stripped of their first-round pick at the beginning of last season as punishment for tampering. The Outlaws’ two best centres and two best defensemen both decamped for the SHL and their veteran right-winger Leonid Kofix aged out. They’ve done some work in the rookie class by grabbing a second-round defenseman in Emilia Bergman, a fourth-round defenseman in AJ Patella, and a project left-winger in Etan Merauk, but the Outlaws are likely to take a step back next season. Bergman is expected to step right into heavy minutes, with the options behind her on the roster being largely unproven. Anaheim’s best acquisition last season was signing Taylor Johansson as an undrafted free agent. The centre, who was recently selected in the second round of the SHL draft, will need to have a breakout season to help the Outlaws defend their title. In net, there are no issues, as Strom Chamberlain returns for what could be his final season. Anchorage Outlaws Notable departures: C Daniel Bischoff, D Augustus Wang, G Ian Venables Draft class: RD Matthew Sawful 2nd, G Scoochie Stratton 12th, LD Alexei Petrikov 22nd, RD Bork Lazer 32nd, RW Corey Rigler 42nd Offense C: Mitchell van der Heijden, Cyril Vyskoc, Danny White, Santtu Rasanen, Justin Womack LW: Ryan Cvitkovich, Chris de Siren, Braden Lowrie RW: Stan Hanson, Jay Reeves, Corey Rigler Defense Ulrik Bergstrom, Berry Blue, Lando Norris, Vladimir Khristorozhdestvensk, Matthew Sawful, Alexei Petrikov, Bork Lazer Goaltending Sergei Potvinov, Scoochie Stratton After a disappointing ninth-place finish and first-round exit last season only one campaign removed from winning it all, the Armada have retooled this season and look to have done well for themselves. One of the biggest issues last season was that Anchorage gave up far too many shots, forcing the two-goalie system of Ian Venables and Sergei Potvinov to face bigger workloads than the team would have liked. The team lost their best centre, defenseman and goaltender to the SHL, but have opted to rebuild from the back out in this draft, grabbing promising defenseman Matthew Sawful with the second overall pick. Potvinov, while a fine goalie, only has 290 TPE and isn’t extremely active, so the Armada drafted goaltender Scoochie Stratton with their second pick to push for a starting role. With their next two picks, Anchorage chose to fill out the back end some more with defensemen Alexei Petrikov and Bork Lazer, before taking a flyer on a winger in the fifth round with Corey Rigler. Anchorage appears to be patiently going about the rebuild the right way, and if their young defensemen stay active, Anchorage could be back to being a contender soon. Carolina Kraken Notable departures: C Tom Fiddler, C Michael Fitted, C Stirling MacTavish, LW Alexander Wachter, LW Joseph Weston, LW Ricky Bobby, RW Alexei Rykov, RW Joseph Weston Draft class: LW Dwight Knight 21st, LW Vitek Vitecek 30th, LW Panda Panico 39th, LW Stein Nilsen 49th, RW Ryan Hunt 59th, LW Joey Gabo 69th Offense C: Velveteen Dream, Buster Cherry LW: Rinako Yukikami, Dwight Knight, Vitek Vitecek, Panda Panico, Stein Nilsen, Panda Panico, Joey Gabo RW: Jimmy Wagner, Ryan Hunt Defense Ambacas Cuddles, Erik Johansson, Michael Lee, Ben van Dijk Goaltending Mike Hroch, Frans Eller One of the top contenders for the Four Star Cup last year was blown up in the offseason. A victim of their own success with veterans, the Kraken lost eight of their best forwards in one season to the SHL. In addition, Carolina lacked a pick in the first three rounds and traded veteran defender Zbygniew Pokrywka to the Falcons to get the 21st overall pick, which they used to draft Dwight Knight. The Kraken focused on using their limited picks to replenish the depleted forward core, using five of their selections to draft left-wingers Dwight Knight, Vitek Vitecek, Panda Panico, Stein Nilsen, and Joey Gabo with Ryan Hunt being added on the right side. While the defense returns mostly the same top-four unit as last year minus Pokrywka, and the goaltending situation is unchanged, the X-factor is whether the new-look offense with Velveteen Dream and Jimmy Wagner at the helm will be able to do enough for the Kraken to succeed. It may be a retooling season for Carolina. Colorado Raptors Notable departures: C First-Name Last-Name, LW Henrik Lekberg Osterman, D Denver Wolfe, D Daniel Kuster, D Heat Siecker Draft class: RD Aumy Jr. 6th, RW Randen Skog 28th, RD Sheen Beckett 38th, RW Kyle Browning 48th, C Jean-Uthred Ragnarsson-Tremblay 58th Offense C: Henrik Lundqvist Jr., Simothy Drunkebird, Chris Cerullo, Jean-Uthred Ragnarsson-Tremblay, Tomas Grygera LW: Sven Svenson, Carlos Brown, Noah Johns RW: Hariken Urawa, Hiroshi Ohira, Randen Skog, Kyle Browning, Ragnar Skallagrimsson, Matthew Anderson Defense Bradley Barkov, Bryce Turner, Aumy Jr., Sheen Beckett, Georgy Gorbachenko, Glen Anders Goaltending Samat Beibitzhanov, Jerry Huuveri The Raptors suffered a heartbreaking quarterfinal loss to St. Louis last year, but they’re still in decent shape for this upcoming season on offense and in net, as they only lost two of their veteran players up front and players like Chris Cerullo, Hiroshi Ohira and others will continue to develop. The issue is on defense, where Colorado lost their three best defensemen in Daniel Kuster, Denver Wolfe and Heat Siecker to age or SHL graduation. Led by sophomore Bradley Barkov, the Raps opted to retool the back end, taking Aumy Jr., in the first round, Sheen Beckett in the fourth, and signing Georgy Gorbachenko out of free agency to cover the losses. The Raptors had a very solid system this season that limited shots on their two stud goalies in Beibitzhanov and Huuveri, so a continuation of their system should suit them well. Detroit Falcons Notable departures: LW Khabib Nurmagomedov Draft class: D Joseph Fantobens 8th, C Anders Svendsen 40th, C Wang Liqin 41st Offense C: Luke McMaster, Edward Williams, Reid Sutherland, Anders Svendsen, Wang Liqin, James Manzi LW: Kaarlo Kekkonen, Zoltan Topalo, Cassidy Lhotsky, Jordan Biffis RW: Cal Labovitch, Jmac Ncheese, Burlok Sulfurgold, Paddy Kane-Reilly II Defense Zbigniew Pokrywka, Jack Kanoff, Magnus Liljestrom, Guy O’Shea, Toki Wartooth, Joseph Fantobens, Ttam Renkrac, James Brown Goaltending A Jobin, Oleg Igorevich Burov Even without the services of Kaarlo Kekkonen, Detroit remains the deepest team in the league. This team had over half a dozen rookies drafted in the first two rounds of the SHL draft, so they’ll be around for a little while longer. Their main deficiencies were on defense. Having a season of development will solve most of those issues, but the Falcons added a one-season rental in Zbigniew Pokrywka to provide a veteran presence on the back end and added strong rookie Joseph Fantobens to provide extra depth. A Jobin was shaky at times in net, but he’s firmly entrenched in the starting spot and continues to get better, while Burov returns as an okay backup option. This team will easily be a contender for at least the next two seasons. Kelowna Knights Notable departures: C Ryan Shepard, RW Nicklaus Engel, RW Oscar Cordero, RW Antti Antinen, G Luca Del Vecchio Draft class: RW Simon Takshak 4th, C Daniel Laforest 7th, RD Devin Williams 14th, LW Rotticus Scott 24th, RW Justin Keahi 34th, G Frankie Holtz 44th, D Robert von Wertz 54th Offense C: Morgan Forestier, Rocco Berni, Ethan Duncan, Daniel Laforest, Ebenezer Virtanen LW: Andrey Barbashev II, Gylfi Eriksson, Jaska Seppala, Theo Golury, Rotticus Scott RW: Kalevolaripaavo Käspertommevisnapuu, Simon Takshak, Justin Keahi Defense Danila Zhernov, Luciano Vessot, Adam Scianna, Noah Nystrom, Michael Preeb, Devin Williams, Robert von Wertz Goaltending Cillian Kavanagh Frankie Holtz Kelowna had a somewhat normal offseason, with Ryan Shepard and Luca del Vecchio graduating to the SHL, Nicklaus Engel aging out, and oddly enough, both Oscar Cordero and Antti Antinen retiring. They did a fairly good job with what they had for draft picks, though, as they took a promising recreate RW in Simon Takshak with the fourth pick and snagged enterprising centre Daniel Laforest at seventh overall to supplement their offense. From there it was filling out various positions, with Devin Williams on defense, Justin Keahi on right wing, and a contender for “best name in the draft” in Rotticus Scott on the left side. Frankie Holtz was a flyer in the fifth round, and Robert von Wertz was a depth pick in the sixth. After pushing Carolina to seven games last season, the Knights will be back as a contender next year. Hopefully they figured out how to win at home in the playoffs. Maine Timber Notable departures: D Abel Skinner Draft class: D Mikkel Asmus Sondergard 1st, C Konrad Danke 11th, C Patrick Shepherd 18th, G Leo Bloomfield 19th, D Will Windsor 29th, RW Kyle Sutton 37th Offense C: Julien Villeneuve, Bjornoson Bjornosonson, Alexander Roach, Konrad Danke, Patrick Shepherd, PeaKay Soupcan LW: Thicc Cheezy, Marty Sertich, Luke Niemi RW: Al Kayhall, Indigo Trevino, Lucas Hellquist, Kyle Sutton, Partario Scarangella, Rapid Eagle, Jim E. Russell Defense Valentin Kalashnikov, Blake Feaux, Simon Moreau, Joakim Ohlund, Mikkel Asmus Sondergard, Jack von Arx, Will Windsor, Izzy Dudemiester Goaltending Olli Saarinen Jr., Leo Bloomfield A team in the midst of a hard rebuild went into this draft with a fair bit of capital in the first four rounds and came away with a solid group of prospects. Their first selection was a no-brainer, taking the consensus #1 pick in Mikkel Asmus Sondergard to shore up their defense with stalwart Abel Skinner graduating. They focused on their weak centre group next, snagging Konrad Danke and Patrick Shepherd with two of their three second-round picks before drafting Leo Bloomfield to eventually succeed Olli Saarinen Jr. in the pipes when he’s called up to the SHL. Their remaining picks were used on depth adds in defenseman Will Windsor, who got a brief SMJHL audition last season with Newfounland, and right-winger Kyle Sutton. With a legitimate one-two punch at centre to supplement their strong wingers, Maine’s rookie-heavy roster should be fun to watch next season, especially for the fans enjoying the first season of Maine hockey. Newfoundland Berserkers Notable departures: C Rintarou Okabe, RW Cody, D Akira Ren, D Disisde Dayudie, D Jakob Hamr Draft class: D PBJ Souppan 3rd, G Cale Amundsen 13th, D Tinke Jutila 20th, C Gavin Wallace 23rd, D Jack Klompus 27th, RW Red Arrow 31st, LW Niccolo Livius 33rd, G Matvei Stevlaco 43rd, D Mike Rotchburns 53rd, C Dumpstr Chukstr 63rd Offense C: Johnny Patey, Lucifer Morningstar, Riley Kuse, Gavin Wallace, Dumpstr Chukstr, Gregory Stiemsma LW: Steve Harrington, Niccolo Livius RW: Slatt Potts, Ryuuji Minamino, Patric Twist, Mattias Birdstrom, Red Arrow Defense Jukka Timonen, Vince Chalut, PBJ Souppan, Tinke Jutila, Jack Klompus, Mike Rotchburns Goaltending Steven Vassallo, Cale Amundsen, Ryan Aaron, Matvei Stevlaco Newfoundland suffered a similar fate as Colorado and Vancouver in which they lost most of their defense in one offseason. Jukka Timonen is the new number one, but he’s more than capable of stepping up to the task. He’s joined by some new faces in PBJ Souppan, Tinke Jutila, Jack Klompus, and Mike Rotchburns. On offense, Steve Harrington, Ryuuji Minamino and Slatt Potts will continue to lead the way with new additions such as Gavin Wallace, Red Allow, Niccolo Livius and Dumpstr Chukstr hopefully developing into core players. The goaltending is also being overhauled, with recreate Cale Amundsen and rookie Matvei Stevlaco likely taking over in net. The main issue for the Berserkers is at centre. While Newfoundland already has some decent-TPE pieces down the middle, almost all of them are inactive. Gavin Wallace will be a nice add and should seize that #1 centre role soon enough, but this may be an area for the Berserkers to keep improving on next draft. St. Louis Scarecrows Notable departures: LW Aron Hernadivic, RW James Ronlain, G Elizabeth Doyle Draft class: RW William Lockwood 9th, G Richard Majors 15th, RD Elwulf Jericson 25th, C Grapefruit Lizard 26th Offense C: Danny Marston, Trey Nets, Alex Reyer, Grapefruit Lizard LW: Ruslan Zaporozhets, Eric Hudson, Borys Franciszek RW: Yamamoto Mitsuharu, Sasha Dangelchek, Mega Tron, Kriss Darzins, William Lockwood Defense Luc-Pierre Lespineau-Lebrunette, Flash Gordon, Erben Kasius, Axel Meszaros, Trevor Johnson, Marian Elsner, Elwulf Jericson Goaltending Richard Majors, Jason Voorhees The Scarecrows went all the way to the Four Star Cup finals this past season before falling to Anaheim in the championship round. They might be losing some of their top players to the SHL, but they’re still in good shape with their skaters. The top four defensemen project to be mostly staying together, with Elwulf Jericson being a nice add. Most of the offense from last season that played so well is back, and media machine William Lockwood was also a nice add at 9th overall to help shore up that right side should Mitsuharu and/or Dangelchek graduate, while Grapefruit Lizard is a developmental piece down the middle. The big question for next season was goaltending, with Elizabeth Doyle most likely headed for Buffalo. Richard Majors was picked up in the second round following a run on goalies as the heir apparent, and will likely start immediately. Inactive Jason Voorhees will likely return as the backup. Vancouver Whalers Notable departures: LW The stingray that Killed steve irwin, D Zlatan Ibrahimovic Jr., D Sabo Tage, D Mikas Bieksa, G White Goodman Draft class: G Cal Covid 5th, D Ryosuke Sato 16th, D Slimey Snail 36th, LW Luffy Richard 46th, RW Sean Clark 56th Offense C: Stracimir Petrovic, Lligma Broomstick, Austin Powers LW: Francois Breton, Marcus Ohlsson, Miro Slapskinnenen, Luffy Richard RW: William Hartmann, Nicholas Corrigan, Dario Medici, Jacob Rizzo, Sean Clark, Lucas Leclerc Defense Sven Yxskaft, Ryosuke Sato, Slimey Snail, Tommy Outlaw, Tiberius Maximus Goaltending Cal Covid, Joe Simpson The offseason was not kind to the Whalers. First, their starting goalie and MVP candidate White Goodman was called up to the SHL for Texas. Then three of their top four defensemen either graduated or aged out, including former first overall pick Sabo Tage after only two seasons. And to top it all off, a decent middle-six winger in The stingray that Killed steve irwin retired on the day of the draft. Nevertheless, the Whalers immediately got to work retooling. Their first selection was an immediate move to make sure they got their guy in net, selecting the topically named Cal Covid fifth overall to be their netminder of the future. With that sorted, Vancouver added to their depleted defensive core with Ryosuke Sato at sixteenth overall and Slimey Snail with the 36th pick. The Whalers rounded out their draft class by taking flyers on a pair of wingers in Luffy Richard and Sean Clark. The offense also got an extra boost with S52 fourth-round pick Jacob Rizzo appearing to return to activity this season. The Whalers offense is mostly back from last season, so if Sato and Snail can become immediate contributors along with an elite Sven Yxskaft and help Covid develop into a legitimate starter without dealing with a barrage of shots on a nightly basis, Vancouver can play a defensively responsible, puck-controlling game and win some hockey games. When analyzing the draft classes, I think Maine and Kelowna probably came out of this the best. Maine used their picks well to fill in roster holes and had lots of draft capital to get the rookies they wanted, and got a possible future top defensive pairing in Mikkel Asmus Sondergard and Will Windsor as well as two top-flight centres in Konrad Danke and Patrick Shepherd. On the flip side, Anaheim definitely came away with the least from this draft with only one player in the first three rounds and three players overall, although as they just won a Four Star Cup they will surely take fewer picks every time. I’m not going to get too into predictions right now, because the SMJHL is always a really competitive league, and with the move to FHM this season it’ll be tough to know what to expect. That said, I think for next season all eyes are probably on Detroit. The Falcons are insanely stacked, and most of the other teams in the league seem to be retooling right now. The chance is there for Detroit to become a champion and this might be the best shot they have to bring the Four Star Cup back to the Motor City for the first time in sixteen seasons. 
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