Roman Augustus is one of the top D men in the SMJHL today. Standing at a hulking 6'6 and 235 lbs his two way game is superb.
Strengths:
Defense: Man can this kid defend. his body positioning and stick checking are very well used and his huge frame makes it easy for him to corner players off against the boards.
Skating: For someone sitting at 235 lbs, you would think his skating would be average at best but this isn’t the case. Augustus looks light on his feet on the ice and is one of the better skaters in the league. He uses this skill to his advantage as he was a force at each end of the ice last season.
Weakness:
Checking: This one surprises me quite a bit. A player with a frame like Augustus’ would be thought to absolutely punish people but this isn’t the case. Augustus only had 32 hits last season in 50 games. This puts him 6th on his team and definitely not where he would like to be.
Strength: Now this is a something that can be improved upon for sure. His strength obviously hasn’t hampered him with the way he played last season, but there was time on this ice where he was losing battles against the boards and is something he will definitely look to improve on this as he makes his way to the SHL next season.
For his first week in the S37 SMJHL season, Éric Pelletier already made 2 goals and 4 assists with a differential of +4, which shows his promises as a center playmaker for the Halifax Raiders. He was drafted in the SHL for the Minnesota Chiefs and this will mostly be his last season in the SMJHL. When you analyze Éric Pelletier, his three greatest strengths are passing at 75, face offs at 75 and puckhandling at 72. If you look at the game records, that’s what he does. He wins most of his face offs and assure the puck control to his team. While being not that bad at scoring with a 62, he can make strong passes to his winger team mates who then can shoot and score goals. People will have a hard time taking the puck away from Éric Pelletier, since he’s a fast skater and he knows how to handle the puck. His weakness is mostly checking, limited at 40. He’s not a really physical player and even though he’s quite strong at 67 strength, he won’t be the one who fight on the ice to take the disk from the other team. A good team mate to have and a good rival, that’s who Éric Pelletier is.
Durh Hur is the next big star out of the Czech Republic. He is nothing special in terms of skating and puck handling, but he can check like a true enforcer and score like a sniper. He is an excellent role player, with great IQ and rarely makes mistakes. He has great potential and could become one of the top LW’s in the league in just a few years. He brings a great attitude with his burning passion for the game. He is off to a slow start this year but there is no doubt that he will pick up the pace and work his way up through the lines and become a star in the SMJHL. Although being on the third line he brings great versatility to the team, by being a solid defender and having the ability to score. Hur draws comparisons to other Czech legends early on and is eager to make an impact already demanding the GM of Kelowna “Samee†to be on the first line. Although Samee declines he still keeps a high morale and is highly disciplined always staying in line. He is always looking up to veterans to constantly improve. He is truly one of the game brightest stars and we can’t wait to see what comes from him.
Hinga Dinga Durgen is a goalie from Kristiansand, Norway. At 6’8 and weighing 234 LBS, Hinga is an undrafted S38 prospect that was signed a few days after the draft by the Colorado Mammoths.
Still waiting to start his first game, Hinga has been switching back and forth with Alexei Vasiliev for the backup role to Aleksandr Aleksandrov, one of the hottest goalies in the SMJHL. Hinga, like many other goalies, uses the modern butterfly style of goaltending to keep the puck out of the net. Overall, Hinga has balanced attributes across the board, not one attribute is really high or low. His strengths when playing are his rebound control, hand speed, and reaction time. Those 3 are major and important attributes for many up and coming goalies. His highest attribute is his hand speed at 68. That is very good for a rookie SMJHL goalie, and will most likely become one of his strong suits in the SHL. His second highest attribute is skating, at a 67. Though skating isn’t as important compared to other goalie stats, it is still very useful. Hings is not afraid to skate to get the puck behind the net, which might be a pro for many scouts, but can also be a con. One thing Hinga must approve on is his size. With a rating of 61, Hinga is showing many holes in the net for snipers to aim at. Hinga Dinga Durgen is a steal signing for Colorado and will show other teams why they should've signed him when they had the chance.
When Samee Iqbal’s career began in S31 he was a center playmaker and showed great promise as he achieved 3 awards in his rookie season including the “Laurifer Trophy”, the “Four Star Cup Champion” and the “Saku Perhonen Award for most Exciting Player”. He would go on to achieve many more great achievements and soon after came into the Major leagues in S33. Quickly training on his passing and defense he soon began a very good team player, while at the same time winning many faceoffs.
Strengths:
Passing
With this skill Samee Iqbal was able to lead his team to success by executing many successful passes for his linemates. He soon began recognized by his team that they could count on him to be a great all around player.
Defense
Samee Iqbal soon became liked by his Defense by working on his defensive plays. Every time the offense of the other team would go on a rush, Samee Iqbal would always back check hard to make the job of his defense easier.
Puck Handling
With his smooth hands Samee Iqbal quickly blew the competition away by dangling through all the players on the other team and creating wonderful plays and opportunities for his team to get goals. With this skill the other players watched in awe in how Samee Iqbal made an NHL star Patrick Kane look like John Scott compared to him.
Hunter Jones quickly made a name for himself in the league and ended up getting drafted 6th overall to the Kelowna Knights in what was a deep draft. #39 for the Kelowna Knights is a 6'2", 200 lb Right Winger with gifted offensive abilities and work ethic.
Three Quotes from the Scouts
1. Hunter has absurd 63 strength for a rookie, close to the highest of any drafted player. His strength will allow him to easily enter his rookie campaign and keep up along the boards and in the corners. Defense will have a hard time stopping this guy when he gets accustomed to the league.
2. Being 6'2", 200 lbs and strong as a bull, you would think he would toss his weight around more in the league. The guy is a offensive winger so only has 40 checking and is considered his only weakness. Blessed with size and strength, he could be feared, but he tends to shy away from body contact. If he can combine his skill with his checking ability he could be a superstar.
3. His endurance 62 and skating 63 could be a bit better, but his defense 62 is right where it should be for a rookie winger. Defense can often be ignored by rookies, but Hunter has worked on it so that he contribute a 200ft game for the Knights. Defense will allow his team to win more games while he is still putting the puck in the net.
Quote:Originally posted by GreyGooseVodka@Oct 16 2017, 01:56 PM Hunter Jones quickly made a name for himself in the league and ended up getting drafted 6th overall to the Kelowna Knights in what was a deep draft. #39 for the Kelowna Knights is a 6'2", 200 lb Right Winger with gifted offensive abilities and work ethic.
Three Quotes from the Scouts
1. Hunter has absurd 63 strength for a rookie, close to the highest of any drafted player. His strength will allow him to easily enter his rookie campaign and keep up along the boards and in the corners. Defense will have a hard time stopping this guy when he gets accustomed to the league.
2. Being 6'2", 200 lbs and strong as a bull, you would think he would toss his weight around more in the league. The guy is a offensive winger so only has 40 checking and is considered his only weakness. Blessed with size and strength, he could be feared, but he tends to shy away from body contact. If he can combine his skill with his checking ability he could be a superstar.
3. His endurance 62 and skating 63 could be a bit better, but his defense 62 is right where it should be for a rookie winger. Defense can often be ignored by rookies, but Hunter has worked on it so that he contribute a 200ft game for the Knights. Defense will allow his team to win more games while he is still putting the puck in the net.
When we start to talk about outstanding rookies in the SMJHL, you have to first talk about Paddy Kane-Reilly. At 5’10 and 180 pounds, this small feisty Irishmen, seemed to fall under the radar as most scouts argued about his size, and if he could really make a lasting impact in this league and above.
As an offensive forward, with a great release, you’d expect him near the top of scoring, well 10 games into the season, and the Prince George Firebirds stand out rookie, is trending at almost a point per game pace towards some possible hardware in the coming off-season.
Even on a very offensive talented team like the Prince George Firebirds, with Vyskoc, Bananerstrom, and Barbashev all over a point per game pace right now, Paddy Kane-Reilly falls right into that role on the team as the number one center with what seem to be years of experience fitting in perfectly with his line mates.
There are some very talented players in this years SHL draft class, and while those questions still seem to be about Paddy’s size, I think he, and whatever team ends up picking him can rest assure that they are getting a quality player, able to step into whatever role the team puts on him.
Connor Blackwell, the centre from the Detroit Falcons was the 2nd overall pick in the S37 SMJHL Entry Draft and is seen by many as a player to keep an eye on in the seasons to come as a future SHL superstar. Here's three key points about Connor you need to know;
1: Connor is an excellent two way forward. Scouts believe his defensive abilities match up to his offensive capability in many ways and so he can be seen as a very useful player for any team to have.
2: Connor is very good puck handler. Able to pull off many dekes and tricks with the puck on his stick, Connor is a guy who can make the kind of moves that teams will not see coming and burn the defense without even trying too hard.
3: Connor's physical strength is very impressive. Blessed with a big frame that he can use in a meaningful way, Connor is able to overpower many of the players he comes up against and muscle his way in front of the net. Despite this strength Connor is not however the most physical, something he may want to work on in the future.
When looking at players from Season 37 in the SMJHL it is hard not to notice Connor Blackwell. He came in and was one of the highly touted players pre-draft. He didn't disappoint when he was drafted 2nd overall by the Detroit Falcons who also had the 1st overall pick. So in the blink of an eye, the Falcons have changed to fortunes of their franchise it seems.
Strengths
Blackwell is great on the defensive end as his work rate is second to none in his own zone and neutral zone. He should be one of the better forwards on the defensive side for a long time.
Blackwell as a centerman, is also a great passer and models his game after say a Nicklas Backstrom in terms of being pass first. He should make anyone of the ice better as long as they get open because he will find them with a nice tape to tape pass.
His Skating is also top notch for this level and he will only get better. Sure it needs a little touch up but for this level he is fine.
Weakness
Checking is not a strength despite his work ethic on defense so that is odd but he needs to get this up to get the really big and strong players off the puck to make his life a little easier.
Face offs are also a bit of a weakness for the center man but for this level it is adequate. Not the worst but not the best. If he wants to play center at the next level he needs to get this up some more.
His last weakness is his Endurance. He might get tired a little bit out there and he needs to work on this to play better later in games and longer into the season.
Overall, Blackwell is still young and will be a star in the SHL one day. Shawn Gretzky doesn't look forward to lining up with him at the face off dot now nor in the future.
Wongy Registered
S27, S29, S32 Challenge Cup Champion
Posts:3,636 Threads: 186 Joined: Jan 2012 Reputation:8
Pronouns: Undisclosed
Connor Blackwell drafted second overall to the Detroit Falcons will be the player in focus today. A 6’1â€, 209 pound center from British Columbia, Connor Blackwell has all the tools to be a successful SMJHL career and lots of potential to do well when he gets drafted to the SHL.
Blackwell’s strength comes to him in his defence, being his highest attribute currently at 70. He knows what he needs to do to keep the puck out of the net. He is great positionally in the defensive zone. Adding to that would be his 60 rating in faceoffs. While not outstanding, there is still lots of time for him to improve. But, he can still handle faceoffs and can win key draws to help his team. The last attribute we will talk about is his passing. While being a below average scorer, he is a much better passer. Being above average at a 68 rating, he is your typical two way center. He would need his wingers to score majority of the goals for his line, but they can count on him to provide them with constant passes.
All in all, Blackwell is a good two way forward who prefer is a pass first player in the offensive zone.
Code:
1. Team Canada , Benjamin Wong 1 (Jay McDonald) at 8:49
Tatu Mäkelä was taken first in the SMJHL draft this year, and it's not too hard to see why. His strong puck handling skills, and keen defensive instincts combine with an eye for a pass to make him a solid two-way defenseman. The Finn is notable for his solid skating ability, and doesn't tire easily, meaning he doesn't need to be restricted for on-ice minutes. This in turn allows him to contribute heavily for the Detroit Falcons -- which he does, featuring on their second line as a rookie. In addition to solid technical ability, Mäkelä is a formidable point scorer out of defense, ranking second in the league among rookie defensemen for points scored so far, with a twenty percent shot conversion rate; the best on the Falcons among players with at least ten shots. It is this ability, presumably, which sets him apart from his contemporaries in this year's draft class.
However, for all his strengths, Mäkelä is not a large player. He's more comparable in size to some wingers, built perhaps more for speed and agility than for delivering hits. Despite his strong skating ability, it's likely that bigger, stronger skaters will dispossess Mäkelä frequently, and his frame does not lend itself well to bulking up significantly. Though, with his tactical awareness, speed and agility, Mäkelä probably doesn't need to rely on physical attributes so much. He currently leads the Falcons in shots blocked, and is top five in the league in the same stat. Clearly he is doing something right.
Mack![[Image: vK9fAPt.png]](https://i.imgur.com/vK9fAPt.png)
![[Image: dVy6XWn.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/dVy6XWn.jpg)
![[Image: 9POiosr.png]](https://i.imgur.com/9POiosr.png)
![[Image: cgv4vCv.png]](https://i.imgur.com/cgv4vCv.png)
![[Image: 95lCCDx.png]](https://i.imgur.com/95lCCDx.png)
![[Image: T8nB5Dn.png]](http://i.imgur.com/T8nB5Dn.png)
![[Image: KXZ8h4k.png]](http://i.imgur.com/KXZ8h4k.png)
![[Image: duderino.gif]](http://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/duderino.gif)
![[Image: vKrOFwy.png]](http://i.imgur.com/vKrOFwy.png)
![[Image: VbtOVyg.png]](http://i.imgur.com/VbtOVyg.png)
![[Image: b3ZF9kT.png]](https://i.imgur.com/b3ZF9kT.png)
![[Image: UfkmgX3.png]](https://i.imgur.com/UfkmgX3.png)
![[Image: PuANRuu.png]](https://i.imgur.com/PuANRuu.png)
![[Image: WtrC9qy.png]](https://i.imgur.com/WtrC9qy.png)
![[Image: 53381_s.gif]](http://signavatar.com/53381_s.gif)
![[Image: 49370_s.gif]](http://signavatar.com/49370_s.gif)
![[Image: uKp7Piy.png]](https://i.imgur.com/uKp7Piy.png)
