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Zaitsev · 08-04-2015, 05:38 PM

As we are now looking forward towards the S25 SHL entry draft why not take a look back and peak at what was the S22 SHL entry draft. At this point of these players careers many of them have just finished their rookie seasons while some of them have been around for a while.

At the time of course it was much more difficult to make the selections than it would be know as hindsight is always 20/20 but it sure can be fun to glance back and see how this draft really should’ve unfolded. For the sake of this conversation we’ll keep most of the prospects within the first round of the draft because after that the draft can tend to turn into a bit of a crapshoot, particularly with this class.

1.

– Mariusz Kwik, Defense

With the first selection of the S22 entry draft the Los Angeles Panthers made Mariuz Kwik the 1st overall pick. What led them to make this selection? Let’s take a look at his S21 numbers to see what enticed them.

Kwik played a very good Kelowna Knights team in S21. So good in fact they managed to win the 4 Star Cup. In the 40 regular season games with Kelowna, Kwik scored 4 goals but also added 40 assists for a total of 44 points, quite impressive for a rookie defenseman. Kwik also managed to post a +14 rating with 44 hits and 47 blocked shots. He truly possessed a well-rounded game and this was just as a rookie in a strong SMJHL. Judging by what he had done in his rookie year it was no surprise that the Panthers went with Kwik as the first player off the board.

What has this young man done since then, however? Mariuz Kwik is now sitting at just 451 TPE and hasn’t been heard from since late March. As an inactive player Mariusz Kwik is still suiting up for his team, the Panthers. In this past season he played in all 52 games and assisted on 8 goals without scoring one of his own. Kwik finished +10 with 27 hits and 23 blocked shots. He’s still a serviceable player however when you take someone at 1st overall you certainly can’t imagine they’ll turn into an inactive at just 450 TPE. This was not the pick LA fans were dreaming of.

So where should he have gone? We’ll find out later on in the article.

2. Stars

– Pierre-Luc LaFlamme, Forward

Next up, we have the Toronto Northstars first pick of 3 that they had in the
1st round. They decided to take the high flying winger out of Vancouver in Pierre-Luc LaFlamme. Like Kwik, LaFlamme played on a very solid Vancouver Whalers team that had players such as Sterling Knight, Jaime Hill and fellow first rounders Drew Myers and AJ Willison to boot. Due to this he had a very nice rookie season. In 40 games the speedy Frenchman netted 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points. LaFlamme finished with a +8 rating and only took 3 minor penalties throughout the entire season showing us the type of sportsmanship he possesses. He scored his 12 goals on 74, which turns out to be a shooting percentage of about 16%. He wasn’t necessarily shooting the lights out but it showed us he might just have what it takes to be a prolific goal scorer at some point in his career.

With this type of performance it’s again no surprise that Toronto took Pierre-Luc LaFlamme when they had the choice but again what has he done since he’s been drafted? Well, for starters LaFlamme took the courageous step of going right from the SMJHL in S21 and went right into the fold in Toronto is S22. LaFlamme was a true rookie which is something I think we can all recognize as being an extremely difficult task. Joining the SHL with a very low stock pile of banked TPE is terrifying. Hell, it was terrifying enough when I did it with almost 200 banked. Catching up to your competition while playing with them takes guts and we can all tip our hats to LaFlamme for doing that.

So where is he now, you ask? Well, at last update Pierre-Luc LaFlamme was at 860 TPE. Almost double of what Mariusz Kwik’s is currently sitting at. He’s one of the most vocal and active members in all of the SHL community and he’s blossoming into a star in the SHL. Although he may not have the stats to support it quite yet he is well on his way. With 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points Pierre-Luc LaFlamme is quickly turning into a top line player on a Toronto Northstars team that finally seems to be headed into the right direction.

3. Jets

– Drew Myers, Defense

Coming off the board at #3 to the Winnipeg Jets was offensive defenseman Drew Myers. Myers was an absolute force in the S21 regular season. As far as rookie scoring leaders go he came 2nd and only behind the 1st overall selection in Mariusz Kwik. Scoring 14 goals and chipping in with 26 assists totaled the blue liner up to 40 points. An interesting point with this draft class was that the two leading point scorers were defenseman so it’s clearly no surprise to see that both of them went off the board very early. It is somewhat surprising however when you look at his defensive statistics and notice that even on a very solid Vancouver Whalers team he finished the season at a rating of -3. His physicality left a bit to be desired as well and he laid only 39 hits blocked 42 shots.

Myers is not only a strong player but he is a solid locker room presence. Obviously, having played on his junior team I can say with first hand experience that is a really good guy who is a pleasure to share a room with. This has to factor in to their draft stock and obviously his activity is right up there as well. When it comes down to it, heading into the draft it would’ve been foolish to have Myers ranked outside of your top 3 and perhaps ranked even higher.

So where is he at now though? Myers enjoyed his 2nd season in the big leagues in S24 and to say the least, he’s taken some serious steps forward. In 52 games Myers netted 3 goals and 22 assists for a very solid 25 points from the sophomore blueliner. Looking at that offensive output appears even more impressive when you factor in that PLL, taken at #2, finished this past year, his 3rd in the SHL, with 27 points. What’s even more interesting though is when you take a look at the way he has been able to change his game on the back end. We all knew he had the offensive potential but what he seemingly lacked was awareness in his own end and a physical style of play. Fear no more however as Drew Myers stepped it up with 133 hits and 60 blocked shots. That is a huge improvement and virtually a completely different game than he was playing back in the SMJHL. The only draw back when looking at Drew Myers current game is that his TPE production (604) falls quite short of many other draftees in this class and some who weren’t taken in the first round at all.

4. Steelhawks

– Bubba Nuck, Forward/Defense

The first rookie selected from the Eastern conference would be none other than Bubba Nuck from the Detroit Falcons. In S21 Nuck was a solid player for the Falcons and through his 40 games he scored 7 times while chipping in with 8 assists for 15 points. By no means are these extraordinary numbers but they aren’t anything to be laughed at for a rookie. His -5 rating wasn’t a point of pride but his 67 hits showed that he has some tenacity to his game. In a weaker draft class such as this it’s not overly surprising to see someone like Nuck taken in the first round but perhaps the selection based on his performance in S21 was a bit premature.

Nuck is a solid player and locker room presence however and this could have easily been something the Steelhawks picked up on and this could have led to a pretty serious jump in their rankings while sifting through the potential picks. If you look at his activity still, it’s quite nice. His TPE production has kept steady and he finds himself at 791 at the moment.

After a pretty nice rookie season, Nuck entered the league as a sophomore for the SHL’s 24 season. Liked you’d expect from a guy with a strong work ethic like Nuck, he’s continued to improve year after year. Playing in Hamilton obviously you aren’t going to hear any complaints from him, as they were lucky enough to win the Challenge Cup this year. Nuck was happy to contribute to the cause as during the regular season he netted 7 goals and 15 assists for a solid 22 points in 52 games. Nuck’s 116 hits and 57 blocked shots compliment his game very nicely however and improve his stock even more. He’s a proven commodity who should continue to grow and improve on a very good Hamilton team.

5. Steelhawks

– Nils Wahlstrom, Forward

Next up we have yet another Detroit Falcon who was made a Steelhawk. Since they were taken in back-to-back picks it doesn’t really matter who went first but if you look at the statistics from S21 it is a bit surprising to grasp that Nuck went before Nahlstrom. In 40 games, Wahlstrom scored 14 goals and had 15 assists for 29 points. He was responsible enough in his own end to end up with a +7 rating and had 43 hits as well which isn’t going to blow anyone away but it’s not a bad starting point for a young player.
Unfortunately, like the first overall pick, Wahlstrom has disappeared. I’ve heard although I can’t say 100% that he sustained an actual injury (not in the sim) and simply didn’t have the time to dedicate back to the game and therefore has become inactive and unfortunately isn’t of much use for an SHL team with his TPE count at just 362.

6. Stars

– Mark Harter, Goalie

At 6th Toronto took the first goalie of the draft when they selected Mark Harter from the Kelowna Knights. This was a no brainer for Toronto as they were looking for someone to solidify the future between the pipes and Harter was without a doubt the top prospect at his position. Harter did split some time in Kelowna that year with fellow rookie goaltender, Adam Demko. In Harter’s 28 starts in S21 he was able to rack up a record of 16-8-1 with an .870 save percentage and a 3.14 GAA. These stats put him near the top in a lot of categories, which for a rookie netminder in a high paced offensive league is a very nice feather in his cap.

Harter also has shown great activity and involvement on the forums. He’s been a very good collector of TPE, currently sitting at 811 TPE which puts him near the top for this draft class. He’s also been heavily involved in the IIHF with the Russian National team.

In S24 Harter was a massive reason as to why the Toronto North Stars were finally able to reach the play-offs once again. Harter carried the large bulk of the workload as he started 46 of 52 games this past season. In those games he was able to win 24 of them while losing 18 and 4 more in overtime/shootout games. He also possessed a solid .899 SVP and an even more impressive 2.63 GAA. Overal,, Mark Harter certainly hasn’t disappointed and looks to continue to move up the SHL’s ranks into the elite group of goaltenders.

7. Chiefs

– Chernika Banananov, Forward

In S21 Bananov netted 9 goals and 7 assists for 16 points. Playing alongside other strong players such as Bursyuk, Satan and Nikitin would’ve seemingly helped his offensive output but nevertheless as a rookie third liner more can’t really be expected. As I’ve mentioned a few times as well it’s not overly surprising to see someone with a slightly lower offensive output taken higher due to their level of activity especially in a draft like this one where the talent pool wasn’t quite as deep as say the year before or this draft coming up. The physicality in Chernika’s game however shows that there is definitely some work to go in that department with just 29 hits in the 40 games.
Chernika has continued to drive forward and actually comes in at 2nd in the class for TPE with 850 just 10 behind Pierre-Luc LaFlamme. As far as her production goes, Chernika experienced a really great season in S24. Scoring 18 goals and 15 assists for 33 points puts her far above the others in this draft class. On top of that, Chernika has stepped up the physicality in her game and was able to lay out 70 hits this past season as well. When you look at TPE production as well as on-ice production it’s nice to see that Bananov really made Minnesota’s 7th overall pick quite valuable.

8. Panthers

– Jigsaw McGraw, Forward

McGraw was a great looking prospect coming out of his rookie season with the Regina Force. 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points puts him right near the top in terms of rookie point production. His 50 PIMs and 55 hits also showed us that he has a certain truculence to his game and has what it takes to be a power forward with that scoring touch, similar to perhaps Todd Bertuzzi in his hay day with Vancouver of the NHL.

McGraw hasn’t lit up the SHL since coming aboard. He scored 9 goals and 8 assists in his rookie year and followed up that performance with a bit of a down year with just 5 goals and 9 assists. Don’t let this stagnation in point production fool you though because McGraw is still a very hard worker. He currently is sitting at 7th in TPE production for the S21 draft class with 684 as of last update. So far in the SHL we’ve seen that power forward side of McGraw but we just haven’t seen the goal scoring touch we were hoping to see. In his rookie season he laid 45 hits and this year he jumped that up to 148. The physicality is there and we hope that with the hard work the offense won’t be fair behind or at the Los Angeles Panthers do.

9. Stars

– AJ Willison (Andrey Barbashev), Forward

AJ Willison, now Andrey Barbashev was a bit of a surprise to go in the 1st round. It wasn’t his point production that surprised anyone because he scored 10 goals and 23 assists for 33 points. Rather it was his activity and involvement in the forums that perhaps didn’t have him jumping off the board at first for many teams. Toronto didn’t see it that way however and made him their 3rd 1st round pick in the S22 entry draft.

The great thing here is that Barbashev has completely turned that around. He is the GM of Russia and a very active person all over the forums in essentially every way. He was a bit of a quiet guy starting out but once he got the hang of things he’s a main stay and recognizable face all over the site. In terms of TPE production he’s been steady with 655 right now.

Barbashev just joined the SHL with the Toronto North Stars and helped them to a play off birth. Barbashev didn’t low anyone socks off but with limited ice time that is to be expected. His 4 goals all came later in the year while 12 assists totaled him at 16 points for his rookie campaign. A shot percentage of under 5% didn’t help his goal totals so we hope to see that improve as we watch him move through his career.

10. Riot

– Pavel Bursyuk, Forward

As move towards the end of round one, we find someone who has really played their way into deserving of a higher pick. Pavel Bursyuk found the net 10 times and added 9 assists in his rookie campaign with the St. Louis Scarecrows. He also finished at an even rating while only taking 8 minor penalties throughout the entire season. That’s somewhat impressive also when you factor in that although he wasn’t really physical he did still rack up 34 hits and managed to keep himself out of the box quite effectively. These numbers are pretty consistent with many of the players we’ve seen go here.

However since then he has really stepped things up. In his time since being selected by the Riot Bursyuk has moved his way up to 4th on the TPE production list with 800. This past season, his 2nd in the SHL, Bursyuk tallied 6 goals and 10 assists. He’s not quite at the level of player where he can light it up but he’s well on his way. Again, we see he has been able to virtually keep himself out of the box entirely but he hasn’t been able to keep any form of physical play going though as he only recorded 3 hits this entire season. His goal totals should increase if he can do anything about improving his shooting as well. Bursyuk registered 95 shots on net over the season and was only able to find the back of the net 6 times for a measily shooting percentage of 6.32% His hard work and dedications should see him vastly improve these numbers down the line in his career although.

11. FORFEITED

A forfeited pick is never a good pick.

12. Platoon

– Ales Smirnov, Forward

Before being selected by the West Kendall Platoon Smirnov spent his junior time with the Kelowna Knights. His S21 stats added up to 8 goals and 12 assists for a solid 20-point campaign as a rookie. His +12 rating is nice to see as well but of course playing on a really really talented team like Kelowna’s S21 roster isn’t going to hurt you there.

As the 12th overall pick, but realistically the 11th, Smirnov’s TPE production has been really nice to see as he ranks at 6th for the S21 draft class. Most people know him around the forums and it’s a pretty solid expectation that his growth will continue at a solid rate and WKP could be headed in the right direction with a nice piece like Smirnov.

Playing on a fairly underwhelming roster (sorry, guys) Smirnov was still able to contribute at a nice rate this season with 7 goals and 18 assists for 25 points. I would expect his goal totals to begin to rise dramatically however because his shooting percentage didn’t even eclipse 5% this past year. As he begins to grow and polish up his offensive game however these stats should just shoot up.

First Round by TPE Production

1. Pierre-Luc LaFlamme
2. Chernika Banananov
3. Mark Harter
4. Pavel Bursyuk
5. Bubba Nuck
6. Ales Smirnov
7. Valdemorts Karlensons
8. Jigsaw McGraw
9. Alex Mack
10. Rembrandt Q. Einsten/Andrey Barbashev
11. David Webb
12. Vuro Vlaters

Now obviously redrafting for the teams is difficult. For instance, we have Kwik taken at one but Pierre-Luc LaFlamme could’ve been a first overall selection, it just is so heavily based on need. So without further adieu, let’s take a shot at this.

Reviewed S21 Draft:

1. Drew Myers
2. Pierre-Luc Laflamme
3. Bubba Nuck
4. Chernika Banananov
5. Pavel Bursyuk
6. Mark Harter
7. Ales Smirnov
8. Jigsaw McGraw
9. Alex Mack
10. Andrey Barbashev
11. FORFEITED
12. David Webb

My reasoning behind these are simple. At 1, the LA Panthers were hoping to grab an All-Star defenseman. They missed with Mariusz Kwik but they would have hit the nail on the head with Drew Myers.

At 3, with Drew Myers already off the board Winnipeg would have to go to their next option on the back end. Bubba Nuck showed us he was able to play defensively in the SMJHL and has been playing some time on the blueline since making the move to the pros. For that reason, we believe he would be the most logical option to fill in for Drew Myers.

Chernika Banananov could’ve gone at 3, but Like him at 4 to the Steelhawks. Her offensive flair and TPE production jumps him up in these revamped rankings.

Pavel Bursyuk has done nothing but impress everyone since his junior days and because of that the Steelhawks would have loved to snag him at #5.

Mark Harter like Pierre-Luc LaFlamme stays put and this isn’t to toot the horn of my own team. This picks were simply just hits.

Next up I believe Smirnov would slide up the rankings because we would see Jigsaw McGraw stay put at the #8 spot.

Alex Mack squeezes himself into the first round due to his high TPE production and edges out Andrey Barbashev who seems himself drop just one spot to the #10 position.

Of course, 11 would have still been forfeited and at #12 there are a couple different options who you could go with but I selected David Webb for the West Kendall Platoon. Some honorable mentions who could been seen as part of the top of the draft class also include Valdemorts Karlensons, Zach Morgan, Luka Zaitsev, Big Manious and a huge jumper in Vuro Vlaters who was drafted at 25 and has since worked his way to #11 in terms of TPE production.

Well if nothing I provided you guys with some information to make your own opinions as well as an update on these fellas here. Who would you have taken if you had been given the reigns of an SHL team?

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Gifter of Bikes · 08-04-2015, 05:57 PM

Another draft day steal for Seattle

JNH · 08-04-2015, 06:08 PM

Big parts of Toronto's core here. PLL, Harts, Barbs and Zaits!

Muerto · 08-04-2015, 06:36 PM

Really in-depth article! Nice one!

Steelhawks made good picks

Mac · 08-04-2015, 06:42 PM

Wow, what a bust for 1st and a loaded first round otherwise.

ORIGINSZ · 08-04-2015, 07:53 PM

Well TPE wise I'm behind alot of guys I think I've showed that means little in build terms. Despite playing two years I believe I'm the highest scorer in this draft minus Einstein. Who has a year on me, this was a rather good draft despite critics, atleast in terms of 2 rounds of good actives.

Kwik is interesting, he was certainly a good choice at the time. Based on alot of peoples opinions. But I had a feeling about him, the whole time and he kinda proved me right. I felt he was the type that burned himself out quickly(much like Pentebust). Since the start, and well as we see unless he comes back I got the nail in the head.