https://simulationhockey.com/showthread....pid3459667

Milestones for 2 TPE (100 words).

12. On the Radar (600 words, 12 TPE)
Herman Ståhl. A 6'2" 185 lbs Goalie from Uppsala, Sweden. Herman started his journey at a local Uppsala team, before moving slightly up north to Falun for continuiation of this journey. A few seasons there with steady improvements had him wanting to try his luck over in North America. He missed the SMJHL draft cutoff by about 2 weeks, so when he declared himself available teams were already filled for the most part. Only two teams came to bat, and one of them pulled the longest straw.

The St. Louis Scarecrows have had a lot of movement around the place. From winning the 4-star cup a couple of seasons back, they have changed their General Manager twice. One of them resigned after the cup win, the other went on sickleave and would not returned. Ahead of this season, a new GM pair stepped forward who were looking to right the ship and slightly nudge the team in the right direction.
The team would not look competitive, and would not have any of their draft picks in the coming draft. A consequence of winning the cup years prior. Herman however, likes a challenge.

Despite joining the St. Louis Scarecrows later in the season, he still managed to put up 35 games for the crows. Sadly, the 7 wins on record wasn't anything to be happy about. A measly 0.884 sv% and a 5.18 GAA really should turn the scouts away from this prospect. But there is something about him. His mental game and his recovery from difficult situations shows a strength not many of his peers possess. Add in his development over the season, where he started out even further in the bottom before working himself up to be an average goalie in what most stats would suggest. The fact is this was a fine rookie season playing on the worst team in the league. His steady improvement, his mental game and his easy going nature in the locker room really should turn heads towards him.

But there are still some weaknesses to his game. His play on the puck, whilst ever improving, is simply poor. His skating is the same, where he can never really challenge a skater or help the team out behind the goal line. This lack of skill will see him drop slightly in the draft, but probably not by much. Herman is aware of this weakness, and will look to improve over the course of the off season.

So what you have is a fully grown goalie with great mental strength and average to good goalie skills for his age, coupled with poor skating and puck handling. He came in late on the worst team in the league and improved himself over the course of a season in a really solid way. 7 wins is low for a goalie, but that was also 7 out of 16. his GAA was at 5.18, but that was actually below the teams average at 5.32. He let in only 127 goals out of 351. Sadly for him, those stats are very likely to become worse.

Now, is Herman Ståhl a 1st round pick? No. There are other, more impressive rookie goalies in the pipe. Throw in the fact that goalies are usually rater lower than skaters, and you have a situation where he can become a really good pickup in the late 2nd or early 3rd. There's also a chance he isn't being picked up at all, because of the goalie logjam that currently persists in the league. I would expect Herman to go around the 35th overall pick.


14. R&R (100 words, 2 TPE)
The season ended before it started. 16 wins and 32 points for the Scarecrows pegged them last place in the league. The SMJHL season might be over, but Herman has other things to look forward to. Namely, the WJC. Herman was named to the Team Rhine as an extra pickup, where he will be a starter. A lot of preparation has been going towards that, trying to get back into match shape while improving his weaknesses on the puck. The rookie goalie is spending most of his off-season time on the ice this time around, realy trying to find his groove.