Login

*Pyro182* · 02-12-2024, 08:20 AM

The SMJHL season is about to start, after we all got a taste of juniors hockey with preseason. In the 7-game span of preseason, teams got a pretty good look into what to expect, and also who the key contributors are likely to be. How is your team looking ahead of this season, and who are gonna be the main pieces of your squads?

Written option: Talk about how your team is looking ahead of the coming season. Include at least 3 players who will be key to the success of the team, plus an explanation why they will be crucial. Must include 150 words.

Graphic option: Create a magazine cover style graphic with a headline for the team, plus a render for a key player on your team's squad. Make sure to identify which player the render is supposed to be in the graphic.

Secondary Option for Teamless Friends: Write about or make a graphic showing how your player can become a team's Key to Success.

Reward

3 TPE for doing the thing. (Just one, not both.)

Only S75 SMJHL Rookies (S76 SHL Draftees) are eligible for this PT.

Link PBE, ISFL, or SSL submissions here to get credit for affiliate claims.

Deadline: Sunday, February 18th @ 11:59pm PST

***cake307*** · 02-12-2024, 08:59 AM

The truth is, things look dire for Saint Louis. The team is in the full rebuilding mode, which means there’s not really that much in the way of expectations or key players, but there are a few players who, if they perform well, could bring the team to a better finish than many people’s early predictions of complete doom.

The first of these players is Wyatt King, the 6’1”, 195 lb center. One of the few returning players on the team, Wyatt King was the leading scorer for the Scarecrows in the pre-season. Mostly done through assists, the large center could be the key playmaker on the team, bringing teammates into the action and setting up goals. He’ll have to make sure to be a little more accurate in his shooting, though, as only two goals in 20 tries isn’t the best clip.

Next is a pair of players, the second line wingers of Alexa Johansen and Scar Bealey. Alexa only played in four games in the preseason, making the analysis a little harder, but what she showed was good, scoring two goals in those games with a shooting percentage of 25%. Scar Bealey, meanwhile, had three points, all assists. It seems like, with these two together, the team should be looking to feed a main scoring threat with a skilled passer. However, it would be nice to see Scar shoot more accurately, and Alexa pass more in general, and both of these players struggle on the defensive side, so if they’re not clicking, things will get rough for the Scarecrows and fast.

Finally, the last player to keep an eye on heading into the season is Jack Booth. A waiver claim, Booth is the team’s only bonafide defender, but still managed four points in seven games, off a goal and three assists. This is in addition to five takeaways, fifteen hits, and seven blocks, meaning Jack Booth was an all around threat on the ice, active and participating across the ice. With a history of injury, though, he’ll need to perfect his stamina, and there will be an almost impossible amount of pressure on his play at the back. Even a tiny slip from him could lead to extra challenges for the goalie, as he has no proper backup or support in most of the team.

Code:
Words: 389

Bfine · 02-12-2024, 10:53 AM

I think expectations are fairly low for Kelowna heading into this season, as they have a young team and are far from looking to compete for the 4-star cup this season. Instead, they are going to focus on prioritizing growth with their younger players and making sure they develop to push for a cup in 2 to 3 seasons. They have 3 key rookies who’s development will help push Kelowna towards a cup in the future. The first is Carter Stankoven. The 32nd pick in the draft, Stankoven is already paying dividends as he has shown great two way play early in his career getting top 6 minutes on the Knights. The second one is Savva Kirik. The 16th overall pick, Kirik is a top defensive prospect who’s shown the ability to shut down opposing forwards. The final player is Mark Jagerson, pick 30 in the draft. Jagerson has the ability to play both forward and defense, and is a Swiss army knife that will help Kelowna succeed in the future.

***Faelax*** · 02-12-2024, 10:56 AM

Many people around the league view the Quebec City Citadelles as the overall favrite to with the Four Star Cup, and with good reason. From top to bottom, the team is absolutely loaded with talent. Identifying three key players is difficult since the whole team is good, but one group really stands out, and that is the top line of the Citadelles, Celeste Desjardins and the Solberg Twins

Froya Solberg centers the top line, and at the time of this writing, is also the league leader in points. She is clearly one of the best players in the league, dominating in the neutral zone and in the offensive end.

Sonja Solberg is a very well rounded player and an elite two way presence. Imagine having a third defender on the ice, but one that can also score at a point per game clip.

Celeste Desjardins could be described as the polar opposite of Sonja, they are all offense all the time, an absolutely lethal weapon when you need to tie the game up or put it out of reach in the third.

*Keven* · 02-12-2024, 12:39 PM

The Malamutes are looking to have a successful season in S75 with plenty of important and experienced players from the S74 roster coming back to return for another season. The top three trio of Langston Hardison-Laurent, Squidwardo Tentacles, and Bobby Tkachuky are all still on the team for S75 and are looking to play important roles for the team.

Langston Hardison-Laurent was the team's leading scorer last season while only being capped at 350 TPE. This season, they'll be critical for the success of the team if they can improve their scoring capacity with the additional 125 TPE being added to their build.

Similarly, Squidwardo Tentacles was also capped at 350 TPE last season and found a lot of success. They were the most important special teams player last season, playing the second most time on both the power play and penalty kill units. It'll be important for them to translate that special teams experience from last season into more success on the PP and PK this season.

Finally, Bobby Tkachuky will play an important role this season as the experienced 1C of the team. They were able to elevate the games of LHL and Tentacles last season despite those two teammates not being at their cap, so if Tkachuky will be crucial to the team in setting those two teammates up for success at a higher level this season.

*ZootTX* · 02-12-2024, 12:49 PM

ISFL affiliate

Mack · 02-13-2024, 01:16 PM

For the Great Falls Grizzlies there is lots of hype around this season. We are trying to win it all and grow individually and as a team. We have been going extra hard in practice and after we are hanging out together forming strong bonds. We want to win for each other as brothers in battle.

To start we are led by an amazing goalie Lee Harrison. If you can't get saves you can't win in this league. Harrison is a rookie who is playing out of his mind. Our forwards can barely get a goal in practice against him. He gives it 100% all the time and is internally motivated to be the best he can be. He is empowering our defenders to play with lots of confidence.

Gordon-William Gibbles is one a pure leader on this team. He has a heart of gold and knows that to find personal happiness he needs his friends to succeed with him. He plays with so much passion it is infectious for the whole team.

To round it out we have a defender named John Peanut on the team that is built like a brick shit house. He is short but solid muscle and his body is built like a mighty peanut. Teams need to keep their head up when he is on the ice. Always willing to battle and stand up for his team.

It should be a great year in Grizzly Country.

steveoiscool · 02-13-2024, 03:10 PM

Robo Sven has had an excellent start to the season statwise, but the team has hit a rocky patch as of late. GM's Son and Lily Jin Morrow will be instrumental to the success of the team and determining whether they will be able to pull themselves out of the tailspin they're currently in, as they're on the receiving end of Robo Sven's setups lately (he has 19 assists in 20 games, can't complain about too much there!). When we're talking about winning and losing, a lot of the weight gets put on the shoulders of the goalies. Vancouver is employing a roughly 50/50 split between Masked Stanger and Joulu Kuusi, and both have yet to find their footing with neither above a .900 save percentage yet. Everyone knows how rough the Vancouver Whalers schedule has been so far though, so let's hope we can see this team grow before our eyes.

***Ohtaay*** · 02-13-2024, 05:52 PM

On paper the Elks look real good, real strong, real fast. Lots of great players, and for the most part a lot of experience outside of a couple of rookies. But the question always is, will the paper numbers translate to on ice success. That is one issue the elks have struggled with, getting the on ice product to a match the off ice product. The Elk will lean on what may be the best defence core in the league, with many players that would be top pairing on another team such as TROY MCCLURE IIII and GUY INCOGNITO. The questions will be if the team can compete offensively, as they have had trouble finding chemistry with each other. They will lean heavily on Red Panda up front and hope they can lead the team. If the preseason is an indicator of anything, then it should shape up well for the Elk as they looked real good in preseason. But taking on the regular season is a complete difference beast. Every team will take a step forward and the Elk are in a competitive division. So it will not be easy for them.

170+

Navigation

Extra Menu

About us