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***hockeyfan*** · 02-15-2023, 01:21 PM

There are twenty teams in the Simulation Hockey League, but all teams are not created equally. Some are very top heavy, relying on offense to mask their defensive liabilities, while others play a more structured game but can't put the puck in the net. Some have players in their prime, close to that retirement age, while others have reached into the draft well recently, but are still a few years away from contention. As a draft eligible player, it's hard not to look at every team and see where you would fit in the best, and where you would find playing time the soonest.

Let's take a look at the top 5 SHL teams that could draft an offensive defenseman like Ace Lightning in the S70 Entry Draft.

5. Tampa Bay Barracuda

Although there is not a lot of younger defensemen on the main roster, the team is rich in defensive prospects. The Barracuda make the list only because they have two of Ace Lightning's teammates in their prospect pool - Jølñgüštrâädæviñçh DuBølk and John Brown - and why wouldn't they want to dip back into Nevada and take another one of their defenseman for the third straight draft? They'd be unstoppable.

4. Calgary Dragons Dragons

The Dragons do have two young defensemen in their prospect pipeline in David Doug and Shea O'Connall, but the youngest players on their backend are a trio from S59 and then they have a few older guys who may be retired by the time the new generation arrives. Spots will be available, and perhaps if they take a chance and draft a defenseman like Ace Lightning in the upcoming draft, he could fill one of those spots.

3. Edmonton Blizzard

Although the Blizzard have a strong blueline this season, it doesn't appear that they have any defensive prospects in their system. Emil Egli and Patches the III have recently graduated from the SMJHL to join the big club, but they have a few older guys who may be on their last legs once Ace Lightning is ready to make the big jump. Could be the perfect situation for a prospect to play meaningful minutes for a perennial contender.

2. Baltimore Platoon Platoon

It makes sense that the team at the bottom of the standings could use all the help that they could get. On the S69 roster, their youngest defenseman is Jamal Nightingale, a player who was drafted in S61, but they also have two of the oldest defenseman in the league, in Slip McScruff and Pojo Biscuit. Spots will be up for grabs on that blueline soon. They do have quite a few defensemen in the pipeline coming up, but they could always use one more franchise guy like Lightning.

1. Toronto North Stars Stars

The North Stars are a team with a fairly barren prospect cupboard and a relatively thin blueline, meaning that any high picks they may accumulate this draft season should be going to fix the defense. Their highest scorer from the backend is Ben Der, but he's not getting any younger. Is Ace Lightning the saving grace in Toronto?

After taking a look through the rosters of the 20 SHL teams, it looks like there will be a lot of intriguing options for a defenseman to get drafted into. This will be a deep draft for high end defensive prospects, so whether it is in the first, second or third round, teams are going to reap the rewards.

(581 words)

*Eggcracker* · 02-17-2023, 10:02 PM

Great deep dive! I'm not even a D man and found this very interesting

*CptSquall* · 02-18-2023, 01:53 PM

Approved, +5 TPE to @hockeyfan

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