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ec06aaj · 11-21-2023, 07:29 AM

OPINION: Players have too much power in modern hockey
Robert Mackay, Calgary Herald

According to the quote from Einstein, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. With the Dragons now hovering around .350 for the past three seasons, you can bet that I was absolutely ready for them to make some changes, try to swing for the fences and pull off some bold plays to halt the slide. I don't agree that the way to do it was necessarily to trade more draft picks but the buzz around the water cooler is that this draft class is shaping up to be among the deepest in a decade, so putting the chips in this year and gambling on next season being weaker is perhaps not the worst decision. Moving back into the first round and giving up a first and a second to the Buffalo Stampede I could live with.

What I really disagree with is how the picks shook out.

Landing the #1 pick is going to be a gigantic boost - that was already going to be the case regardless of which way the Dragons went with the top spot. In a vacuum and looking solely at their skillsets, Frøya Solberg, Céleste Desjardins and Will Tomlander are all completely viable first overall picks; two of them just had the bad luck to all drop at the same time as the third. Let me be clear that when I say what I'm about to say, this is not a reflection on Frøya Solberg as a player: a 30-goal season as a rookie centre is sparkling and soon Calgary can potentially look forward to having the 1C locked down for as long as they can get Solberg signed for.

But we don't play hockey in a vacuum. Tomlander and Desjardins may not have quite as high a ceiling as Frøya does, but they come with the benefit of only costing one pick to acquire; Frøya and Sonja Solberg made it clear to teams that they were a package deal and would not to play without one another meaning that, to keep Frøya happy, Calgary were forced to go all-in and move back into the first round to draft Sonja as well. And in my eyes, this is a potential trend that teams need to stamp out right now, because the Solbergs leveraged Frøya being a world-class talent to force the Dragons to wildly overpay Sonja, a player who tops out at third-line material. If you're content with players being allowed to dictate where they go in the draft, before they've done a single thing in the big leagues, you'll be talking on the other side of your face when its your team being strong-armed into making a bad decision at the behest of an 18-year-old.

You can argue about chemistry and about the natural bond siblings will have from years of being around one another, but where does it end? Five seasons from now, will Frøya start holding out because she's not playing on the same line as her sister? Are teams going to balk at one of them in free agency because they don't want - or can't afford - the other? When one chooses to hang them up, what about the other? No, this needs shutting down now. Players have enough agency - the absolute last thing the league needs is for teenagers to dictate a damn thing about the way franchises run themselves. They need to be concerned with what happens on the ice.

Robert writes for the Calgary Herald on the SHL and SMJHL. All opinions expressed here are his own.

[634 words, 2xDraft]

ThePyroAlpaca · 11-21-2023, 12:20 PM

Wow it looks like Robert has been taking a page out of Steve Simmons book of journalism. Imagine shitting on the ROTY (Celly) and also not only one of the best defensive forwards in the league but also a top rookie (Sonja). if you want to read more about her just type " !leadersj -r Sonja Solberg " in your bot channel.

Tsunny · 11-21-2023, 12:23 PM

Gotta love when dogs bark... People have been butting their heads into stuff they seem to have zero clue about since the dawn of men. So nothing is new on that front. Not like i have an issue with that though, all i've got to do now is prove the haters wrong. Though it certainly is funny to read articles like this, i figured others saying i would of gone much higher than 12th OA if it wasn't for my clear desire to play with my sister should indicate something. BTW 55 points which is 7th best among rookies and the most shots among rookies isn't half bad considering i spent most of the season improving on my defence. But sure "third-line material", that one made me laugh.

Oh and a little correction, neither me or my sister mentioned that we were a "package deal", all we did was make our desires clear that one day we wanna play together.

-Sonja Solberg

*NaomiMannequeen* · 11-21-2023, 01:49 PM

"According to many reports from various General Managers around the SHL and also a comment from both sisters themselves, they never told the general managers that they HAD to be picked together at the draft. They made it clear that their intentions were to play together at some point during their career in the SHL. Calgary was the team to decide to make a move to acquire Sonja and their move was calculated. Trading up to a couple spots under where most analysts had her put those teams in a tough position. Do they draft her with the chance that she walks in the off season some day? Do they take her anyways to force Calgary to spend to acquire her eventually in fear that Frøya walks from Calgary? It's a brilliant move from Calgary to realize Sonja's potential and make teams second guess their potential pick. Did it mean Sonja was drafted lower than she should have been? Yes, but it also means that Calgary has obtained a pair of franchise players that hopefully pan out to their maximum of their potential. Speaking of potential, stating that Sonja tops out at third line material at best is downright disrespectful to her as a player as she had actually put up more points in the Norwegian Youth Hockey League before coming into the SMJHL draft and was 7th in rookie scoring this season. It's clear that currently Frøya has a leg up compared to her sister, but with the amount of work that Sonja seems to be putting in, being one of the first at practices consistently and always being one of the last ones to leave, the one with the most untapped potential may be Sonja Solberg herself."

- Jean Prenote, TVA Sports, Official Québec City Citadelles Reporter.

***Seany148*** · 11-21-2023, 02:08 PM

Bold take that's even more bold when you just decide to disregard the current TPE of all 4 named players, which is very close, and when you factor in that both Solbergs are EASILY top 15 users in this draft. Dunno bout you but I'd be stoked to get both, especially Sonja at 12, having interacted with both in QCC. But hey, that's just my GM take, I probably know nothing Wink

Bfine · 11-21-2023, 03:03 PM

11-21-2023, 02:08 PMSeany148 Wrote: Bold take that's even more bold when you just decide to disregard the current TPE of all 4 named players, which is very close, and when you factor in that both Solbergs are EASILY top 15 users in this draft. Dunno bout you but I'd be stoked to get both, especially Sonja at 12, having interacted with both in QCC. But hey, that's just my GM take, I probably know nothing

"Probably"

spidey · 11-21-2023, 03:17 PM

Interesting take. I think Boom did her homework on players that are a best fit for her locker room to build the team she wants for success. After many seasons here I have seen SMJHL stars fizzle out and never live up to their hype and others who looked like mid tier players explode as they gain more of an understanding in the SHL. The important thing is finding those who are engaged and want to be here. Getting two players that will help one another grow is an extremely smart strategy and worth two early picks.

This league is a marathon not a sprint. 20 - 100 TPE behind the top in the class washes out as nothing long term.

***RAmenAmen*** · 11-21-2023, 03:40 PM

What a laughable hit piece on one of the best players in my war room.

skyrrhawk · 11-21-2023, 04:12 PM

froya and sonja said no damn ass thing they were perfectly happy to go to different teams and reunite later in their careers. absolutely goofy hit piece

DigDoug11 · 11-21-2023, 05:02 PM

Interesting take, I like it.

***Seany148*** · 11-21-2023, 06:39 PM

11-21-2023, 03:17 PMspidey Wrote: Interesting take. I think Boom did her homework on players that are a best fit for her locker room to build the team she wants for success. After many seasons here I have seen SMJHL stars fizzle out and never live up to their hype and others who looked like mid tier players explode as they gain more of an understanding in the SHL. The important thing is finding those who are engaged and want to be here. Getting two players that will help one another grow is an extremely smart strategy and worth two early picks.

This league is a marathon not a sprint. 20 - 100 TPE behind the top in the class washes out as nothing long term.