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(GRADED) [Deep Dive #1] - The S61 Baby Falcons
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FourFourRegistered S20, S21, S51, S53 Challenge Cup Champion
As we turn the clock to a brand new season of the SMJHL, each team brings in a fresh new crop of players to compete for positions within their teams, create everlasting friendships (or rivalries), and ultimately work together throughout their careers to hopefully bring home a Four Star Cup to their respective cities. Taking a deeper dive into the baby Falcons that were drafted in S61, we can analyze how these individuals can help the Falcons return back to their championship winning days.
Starting with their first round pick this season, the Falcons selected Vasily Arkhangelsky to help lead the way for this young crop of rookies. A sensational talent on the backend, Vasily has already amassed 207 TPE, providing very strong defense for the Falcons this season. However, Vasily has not had the best start through the first two preseason games, as against the Carolina Kraken he was a measly -2 and only had 2 SOG. Game two brought no further improvement as he again finished a -2, but development is just starting for this young rookie so we should see rapid advancement soon The next two players, both taken in the second round are Dirty Boots and Rodrigo Rivic. Boots another defenseman is poised to solidify the backend for years to come alongside Vasily, while Rodrigo is a shutdown centreman that other teams will fear to face. Boots and Rivic had a quiet first game against the Kraken, and both were a poor -3 through the second game of the preseason. We do expect both these players to advance quite rapidly and we see a key theme of the preseason may be less than rapid development, but time will show these are elite players in the SMJHL. In the fourth round this year, the Falcons took Hugh Jass, maybe not so much for his name but for his on-ice play...or for his name. Hugh Jass a goalie could be playing a backup role this season behind Podan Podanovic or Monster the Doctor, but for the preseason the team decided to try him out and see how he would fair. He was 0-2 through the first two games, but was peppered with shots in the second game against the Great Falls Grizzlies. As a young player in this league, and especially as a goalie coming out big in those lopsided games can only be a confidence booster for him moving forward. While his tenure in net may be a few seasons away, he has tremendous potential. And finally with their last few meaningful picks the Falcons took Akashi SixNine Jr. and Oskar Von Walther with back to back picks in the 5th round. SixNine Jr. is a RW that comes from fresh blood in the league (Akashi SixNine cup winning defenseman), and is poised to make a strong impact on the SMJHL. Unfortunately through his first two games he was virtually nonexistent on the ice and has chalked this up to the fact he is unfamiliar with playing on the ice after such a long time off, which only makes sense for why he fell so much in the draft. Von Walther, another RW has been training hard day in and day out since being drafted to the team and wants to take over the top line duties someday with this team. His first game was not the best, but in game two he was flying around the ice and led the team in shot on goal, but unfortunately was also present on the ice during many of the GFG goals, leading him to finish the game a -3. While the Falcons rookies have had a tough time out of the nest, we believe they have a bright future ahead of them and will be able to turn this team into a contender in no time. (641 words)
Opera_PhantomRegistered Senior Member |
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