With everything these days basically being considered part of the Internet of Things, having free WiFi may be added to the big three (food, shelter and clothing). 

Scouring the talent pool of players still looking to jump into the UHL, there was one very noticable candidate.  Not because of his physical size (6'4" and 230ish pounds), or his brash style of play, but more so because of his family's story and path.   Arber Xhekaj (dubbed WiFi by his teammates, because his name looks like the mashup of letters on the back of home internet routers) is a Canadian defenseman, who comes from the parents of two Canadian refugees.    His mother (Czechia) and father (Albania) fled from their homelands during the unrest happening in central Europe in the 1990s, meeting in Canada a few years later. Working at whatever jobs where available and living paycheck to paycheck they scraped up enough money to sign up their two boys to participate in Canada's national past time.

It was a no brainer to sign Xhekaj to a UFA deal.  His talent is one thing but his character is what sold the Bisons staff on inking the hulking defenseman.

So when you all come to visit Stuttgart for a game, or a holiday.  You're' welcome, there is now free WiFi.

GM Bachul was having a tough time after being caught in traffic on the way to the draft.  A well "timed" delay got him to the church on time, with expectations of a good draft based on where Chicago ws draft.  It didn't disappoint.

PICK 3 - David Jiricek.

"We weren't expecting pick 2 to go the way it did.  Gauthier is a great player but we were shocked.  So shocked that we didn't consider switching our pick to Logan Cooley who we had ranked in a dead heat almost with Jiricek.  We went with the guy we wanted and stuck to the plan."  

What Jiricek is doing in the AHL is truly historic. He just turned 19 in November. Counting the assist he collected Saturday night, he has a line of 5-16-21 in just 26 games.

Jiricek’s 0.81 points/game is tops in the AHL for rookie defensemen. Again he’s just 19 and having this kind of performance. U-20 players at this stage don’t just go into one of the best leagues in the world and impose himself like he is. This is a season for the ages and there’s still a lot of hockey left to be played.

PICK 13 - Jimmy Snuggerud.

"We honestly had Lane Hutson rated here as well, but sometimes it is a gamble.  Where will my guy go and can I wait and get better value.  

Scouts call Snuggerud’s shot a missile.

“It’s different; it’s just different,” One scout says. “We’ve got film of a couple of goals where, when you break it down, how he’s getting it, there’s no way it should be getting off that way.

“It’s how he shoots, and where he shoots from. He doesn’t have to have it in the right spot. It’s just an uncanny, high-level, different shot than you’re going to see from most hockey players.”

PICK 31 - VIA TRADE - Lane Hutson

"You start to get the feeling.  Where is my guy going to go?  It has been a while since 13 and you either make get bold or someone else will." Dan Vladar was moved out to the Black Frost to acquire pick 31 and a 5th with a couple other prospects.  "This is a player we are very happy to get."

It’s been quite the year for Montreal Canadiens prospect Lane Hutson, as his historic freshman year in the NCAA has been nothing short of impressive.

The transition to the NCAA could not have gone smoother for Hutson, who used all the scrutiny on his game and his lack of size as fuel to take his game up a notch.

He knew what was waiting for him in the NCAA this season with Boston University and worked incredibly hard over the summer to improve his explosiveness and speed of execution; but he didn’t stop there.

What’s made him much more effective this year has been identifying open space on the ice and aggressively attacking it, thus creating more time and space for himself to make plays.

“I’ve been able to transition pucks really quickly and generate a lot of my offence off the rush,” said Hutson regarding his historically impressive offensive production in his freshman year. “I’ve worked on finding and attacking pockets of open space. When I see open space, I attack it now and try to make a play. It’s worked well for my team so far.”

PICK 41- Reid Schafer

"Had a great opportunity at the WJC.  Excited to see a first round quality prospect fall to 41."

The Spruce Grove product is coming off his first full season in the WHL where he recorded 32 goals and 58 points in 66 regular-season games before posting an additional 21 points in 25 playoff games as the Thunderbirds were defeated in the WHL Final by the Edmonton Oil Kings.

The 18-year-old left-shot left-winger stands at 6-foot-3 and weighs 214 pounds.

Pick 115 - Noah Laba

"Noah we had much higher rated.  He was a guy we had in the 70-80 range. The Colorado College kid just gets better and better"

“The NCHC is the best league in college hockey, and the coaching staff here does everything they can to develop you and get you ready for the next level,” Laba said.

CC coach Kristofer Mayotte added, “We have this gorgeous rink; we have all this opportunity. We need people who are going to take advantage of these opportunities, and Noah’s a great example of that.”

Pick -125 Mathew Maggio

"He was just named OHL player of the week.  He is just ripping up the league and have high hopes for this kid."  

OHL RELEASE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Leading the Spitfires to a perfect 3-0 showing last week, Maggio got things started with a pair of goals and an assist as Windsor defeated the Soo Greyhounds 7-4 on Thursday. Maggio's success continued on Saturday with another three-point showing (2-1-3) in a 6-3 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs. Maggio extended his point streak to 12 games on Sunday, recording a goal and four assists as the Spitfires closed out the weekend with a high-scoring 8-1 win over the Owen Sound Attack. His performance on Sunday saw him reach the 100 career assist plateau, giving him 185 points (85-100-185) in 192 regular season games.

A 20-year-old native of Tecumseh, Ont., Maggio leads the OHL with 40 goals, 39 assists and 79 points (40-39-79) in 46 games this season. Helping Windsor win a Western Conference title, Maggio was a fifth round (142nd overall) pick of the New York Islanders this past summer following 38 goals, 47 assists and 85 points in 66 regular season games in 2021-22. The 6-foot, 185lb. forward was originally Ottawa's fifth round (86th overall) pick in the 2018 OHL Priority Selection from the Sun County Panthers U16 program.

PICK 146 - Dominic James

"American kid is on the Hobey Baker short list."

James is another overager forward, this time coming out of Minnesota-Duluth. He’s not known for his offensive production — he put up just 18 points (6 G, 12 A) in 39 NCAA games at the age of 20 — but he’s touted as having a strong work ethic and above-average defensive prowess. James is especially effective on the penalty kill and his ability to apply physicality in the defensive zone in a highly effective manner. It was his strong showing in his own end that likely earned him a surprise roster spot on Team USA at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship (that tournament was unfortunately cancelled). James will likely return to UMD for his sophomore season.

PICK 153 - Adam Gajan

"We weren't sure of the rule and got clarification.  This could be the steal of the draft.  He went from nobody to one of the best goalies at the WJC. "

Scouts I talked to at the World Junior Championship fell in love with Gajan, who many believed to be a diamond in the rough. Gajan went undrafted out of the Slovak league last year but made some noise in the NAHL and USHL before joining Slovakia as the team’s third goalie to begin. Before too long, he was the No. 1, giving fits to teams like Canada and USA. Gajan doesn’t have a major sample size, which probably knocks him down a bit, but he has great size, excellent athleticism and seems to only get better with more viewings.

PICK 181 Luke Mittlestadt

"Same as Gajan.  When we knew he was avaiable we had to take him."

What hockey fans can expect to see from Luke is a smooth-skating, two-way defender who excels at moving the puck or carrying it out of the defensive zone to start an offensive attack. He seems to be a composed young man who knows what he wants – the end goal being the UHL– and knows what it takes to get there.

---------------

"Overall we are absolutely ecstatic about how the draft panned out.  We got offense, size, two way play and a couple stud dman and a potential starting goalie.  It was an A+ in my books.  I guess I better take the scouting staff for beers." -GM George Bachul
 

One always has a perfect scenario in mind when approaching a situation, and when that comes to be, fabulous!   Hardly is it ever that way, so you have to be ready to recalculate, reassess and react accordingly.

Such was the 2022 Amateur Draft for the Stuttgart Bisons.  In my head, as Im sure many of us have done.  We plot out that we're going to take X at 1 and Y at 2 and so on.   It looks and feels great on paper.  Then, there's that inevitable smack of reality.   After a 4-5 year layoff, of not only Sim hockey, but literally any consumption of hockey at all, I was excited jumping back into the mix.   I did a little research, patted myself on the back for thinking yeah Im going to nab this guy in Round 1 and then sneak up on everyone in Round 2 earlier than he was picked, and it'll all be grand.

Ahhh, reality.   I was pretty pumped as it got within 3 picks of my first selection in Round 1.  It was pick #9, so in theory there's not a ton of work to do here.  A little comparison north and south, make sure someone doesn't suck and then if there's a tie, you go with the kind of player you like.   Kasper!   Love that all around game!  Sort of like Patrice Bergeron.  Not overly great but really good everywhere. He'll be a great entry back into the fray.   Yeah. He got picked #8, one pick prior to becoming the glorious return I had envisioned.   Fuuuuccccck!  (I swear a lot, so I apologize in advance).   I had penciled in three players at this slot, my guy got sniped one pick prior and my number three got picked before that.  Not fully researching every one, I guess I take the other dude.   Hey, welcome to Stuttgart Mr. Mintyukov.

First round sadness wanes as I think, all the while knowing the GMs I remember and interacted with are far more intuned to things than I am, Im soooooo stealing this dude in Round 2.   Though I had a might of scare, as I had passed along my draft just in case some crazy event forced me to be unavailable, and I saw of flurry of pick trade queries.  I knew in my head, there's no way Im stealing this dude from anyone, but stubborn is as stubborn is and I kept the dream alive. Six picks to do it ,five, Im so close!    That fear, waning, those trade queries were what my paranoia thought they were for.   Equally as awful as hearing that player's name announced you are craving, is the commissioner's voice tolling out "We have a trade to announce".   Double fuuccccck!    A few seconds later, the dream of snagging Lane Hutson was crushed, four picks before.   Being a half full person, it was one pick the last time, this one was four.  Life is getting better!

I honestly did little to no research other than those two players, and was totally dismayed.  I did like Josh Filmon whom went in Round 6 in the NHL, and I ended up picking him in Round 3 to ensure I got someone I put effort into.     It was super fun to be back in the fray, having that anticipation, and then having to scramble to make on the spot decisions.   On paper, I think the Bisons drated well, but I assure you I thought the same every time I picked for the Great Whites in the past and usually the picks sucked.   

For a recap.  Everyone's a gamble, they all score a bunch, that can't be bad.  Can it



 

The Chicago Crusaders made a major trade sending Dylan Larkin and a 2022 3rd round pick and receive Chandler Stephenson and a 2022 first round pick.

General manager Mickael Lajeunesse is very satisfied with this transaction Stephenson is a complete player in both directions of the rink. We also got our hands on a first round pick which will be excellent for our organization in the future.

We have also signed the coveted player Ondrej Palat as a free agent, he will be an important asset for our team.

It looks likes the playoff race in the Canadian Conference is shaping up to be an exciting one, with three teams fighting for the final two playoff spots.  Both the Rock (80 points)and Grinders (79 points) have been contesting to hold down the final playoff berth in the number 8 spot as the second wild card team.  With each team separated by a single point heading into their respective clubs next match-up, both teams are well aware of the importance of the upcoming head to head meeting in Ottawa on July 12th.  The Grinders and Rock have played a total of 5 games against each other this season, while the Rock hold the series advantage with 3 wins, one of which came after regulation.  Last off-season, the Grinders signed former Rock forward Nicklas Backstrom to a 3 year deal.  Backstrom and his new teammates will attempt to stop ex-line mate Alexander Ovechkin from getting one step closer to punching his ticket into the playoffs.  Oveckin enters his next game with 38 goals and 81 points in 78 games played.

The Consiton Titans currently sit in the 1st wild card spot (7th in the conference) with 81 points after 75 games played.  The Titans are 4 points back of the Average Joes (76 games played) and 6 points back of the Wolves (79 games plated) in the Canadian Division.  With 3 games in hand on both the Rock and Grinders they should feel confident to grab one of the final playoff berths and with a bit of luck look to avoid a tough matchup with one of the Division leaders in the first round (Mississauga or Regina).