Where are they now?

[Stephen (League Admin)]

Where are they now is a new feature I will be doing each season that takes a brief look at a draft 5 seasons ago.

The Class of 2016

1st Overall Pick: Mathieu Charlebois
The Minnesota Wild were fortunate enough to get a boosted draft slot in 2016 and with the 1st overall pick selected a big Canadian Defencemen called Mathieu Charlebois. Charlebois was considered to be an excellent all round prospect who had already demonstrated his skills at both ends of the ice. His offensive play was considered to be his main strength but that by no means detracted from his defensive duties. He debued for the team in the 2016/17 season and notched up 33 points, but also came away with a +/- of -33. His following seasons were better with positicve +/- scores and a significant increase in offensive out put scoring 16, 15, 17 and 18 goals in each of the following seasons and had a career high of 60 points in both the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons. He has been nomited to the All Star Team for the last four seasons.

Charlebois still plays for the Minnesota Wild and was rated the 3rd best defensemen in the league going in to this season. He is currently scoring higher than a point per game in the 2020/21 play-offs.

Most Played Games: Mathieu Charlebois. 404 games.
Mathieu Charlebois has played in the GHL every season since being drafted and has missed just 6 regular season games and has played in 59 play-off games, so far.

Most Points: Michael Hoyal. 268 points.
Michael Hoyal was drafted 20th overall by the Ottawa Senators. A highly skilled player from America Hoyal has in no way let his lack of size be a hinderance to his game. Not only has he scored 268 points for the Senators since being drafted he is the only player from the 2016 draft to have registed more than a point a game, 128 of them coming in this season alone as he topped the regular season scoring charts. He also lead the league in assists and just just 3 goals behind the leagues leading goal scorer Alexander Ovechkin. He has speed and endurance and knows how to check. He is also known to rack up the penalty minutes with 404 so far.

5th Round Find: Tyler Benson, drafted 126th overall.
Tyler Benson was an early 5th round pick for the Carolina Hurricanes but he never played a game for them. Instead he was traded to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and spent the next efw season in Medicine Hat where he made a str0ng showing for himself knocking up over 140 points every season. His good hockey sense and excellent stick handling skills earned him a brief stint on the Anaheims 2018/19 roster where he failed to stand out, but a return to the following season saw his score 21 goals and make 25 assists and got him nominated to the All Star Rookie Team. He has played 163 GHL games and made 63 points since being drafted, far more than any other 5th round player.

1st Round Flops: Nikos Haller and Clayton Keller.
This dubious honour goes to two players, the only two from the first round picks who have yet to see any ice time in the GHL. Haller was drafted 9th overall by the Nashville Predators. Despite dowing well in the WHL he struggled in the AHL making only 26 points from 51 games. Although he has expressed his desire to play in the GHL, it doesn't look likely any time soon. Keller went 17th overall to the Atlanta Thrashers and is yet to break in to their side either. He has perhaps been unlucky due to the strength in depth of the Thrashers powerhouse team as he done well in the AHL with a 93, 109 and 90 point seasons. Atlanta appear to see him as a future Thrasher though as he yet to be traded and could be of use to some weaker teams.

#1 Goalie - Holy or Holey: Ivan Ryumin
Ivan Ryumin was the highest drafted goalie in 2016, going to Minnesota 54th overall. To date he has yet to play in the GHL and scouts suggest that he is unlikely to do so despite doing well in the Russian League. His one season in the AHL was not terrible, but neither did it stand out. Even if traded, Ryumin appears to be a career minor leaguer. This one is definately Holey.

Highest Ranked Boomer: Kyle Campbell
Dratfed 16th overall by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Kyle Campbell impressed at training camp and then went on to secure a regular spot in the GHL. His first post draft season was spent in the AHL but since then he has not missed a single game for the Ducks and has accumulated 216 points, making him the 3rd highest point scorer from the 2016 draft.
His current abilities are rated as: 84-72-80

Lowest Ranked Boomer: Ty Ronning
Drafted 139th by the Chicago Blackhawks Ty Ronning has become a regular on the team, playing 164 games, but he has not impressed with just 22 points and a +/- of -33. Had he not improved considerably in his first training camp, one wonders if he would have made it to the GHL at all.
His current abilities are rated as: 70-61-69.

Highest Ranked Bustee: Patrick Laine
The Calgary Flames put a lot of time and effort in to scouting their number 1 pick of 2016 and they went with big Patrik Laine. The 6'4'' Fin was all set to be an offinsive power house in the league but a poor showing at training camp left the Flames with serious concerns and he seemed doomed to play out his career in the minor leagues. However, he got the call up in the 2018/19 season and posted 49 points showing some excellent offensive skills. Unfortunately his defensive game was lacking and after suffering injury this season he was a healthy scratch from then on in. Still, it looks likely he will find his way back in to favour if he can be paired with the right team mates.
His current abilities are rated as: 83-44-68

Lowest Ranked Bustee: Jesse Puljujarvi
Noone expects someone drafted 84th overall to light up the scoreboard but the Los Angeles Kings none the less would have been dissapointed by the initial efforts from Finnish Forward Jesse Puljujarvi. Despite a career in the minors however he is developing in to a player who could yet see ice time in the GHL after putting in a 108 point season with the Manchester Monarchs.
His current abilities are rated as: 74-68-75

[Stephen (League Admin)]

The Class of 2017

1st Overall Pick: Radomir Prochazka
It's hard to believe that just 5 seasons ago the Toronto Mapleleafs finished dead last in the league. That gave them the opportunity to draft Czech sensation Radomir Prochazka, a short, 5'9'' goalie with outstanding hands and hockey sense. At 17 he spent his first season in the AHL where he impressed with an 80 game season and a 2.75 gaa. He was also selected for teh Czech Junior Team where he won Silver at the Junior World Championships. The next season saw him on the bench as the Mapleleafs back up goaltender but he still iced for 43 games and posted a 2.93 gaa, one of the best in the league, which earnt him 1st spot on the Rookie All Star Team, an accolade that he would recieve again and again as he was voted starting All Star goalie for the World Team in the 19/20, 20/21 and 21/22 seasons. Radomir has been instrumental in Torontos rise up the standings and he has seen play-off action in the 19/20 and 20/21 campaigns. This season he has posted his best ever gaa at 2.51 over 65 games. He has played 239 GHL games, 38 play-off games and recorded 18 GHL Career shut outs.

At 22 there is a lot more to see from Radomir who will undoutedley go down as a GHL hall of famer and one of Torontos greatest ever players.

Most Played Games: Hank Adduci and Viktor Smetana
Hank Adduci was the number 2 overall pick for the Washington Capital and Viktor Smetana was the number 3 overall pick for the New York Rangers. Both still play for their drafting teams and both have played 246 GHL games. However, Hank Adduci has registered  229 points to Smetanas 68. Hank has been a stand out player in the league, winning Rookie of the Month 4 times, being nominated for the Rookie All Star Team, Winning the Rookie of the Year, winning the World Junior Championships with Team America. Smetana has not had such a great GHL career despite being a Rangers regular. His international career however is extensive and has represented the Czech team at both the Junior and Senior World Championships every season since 2017. He has won a silver and bronze at Junior level but nothing with the senior team.

Most Points: Hank Adduci. 229 points.
As previously mentioned Adduci has scored 229 points fron 246 games, almost a point a game. The big physical player has a great shot scoring 82 goals but it is his play making which he is best known for, avergaing 50 a season. He isn't known for fighting, but he is known for taking penalties averaging 111 a season, though this last season of 78 PiM is far better than his rookie season of 168 PiM.

5th Round Find: Jeremiah Addison, drafted 128th overall.
Jeremiah Addison was a 5th round pick for the San Jose Sharks and 5 years on it's looking to be a good one. Addison had an impressive junior career, racking up over 100 pts in each of his three seasons with the North Bay Centennals. His first season in the AHL was also a strong one with 78 points and a spot on the AHL All star team. His second and third seasons in the AHL saw him score over 100 goals and amass 191 points. he broke in to the San Jose side at 24 and immediately made an impression scoring 22 goals in his first season and 24 in his second season on what can be considered one of the weaker GHL teams. With excellent speed, endurance, positioning and shooting, it's suprising he hasn't been subject to more targetting from other teams. He still has a good number of years to play and San Jose could use him to build a powerful offensive line around, or they could look to trade him as part of a rebuild effort.

1st Round Flops: Grigori Varitsky.
A total of 12 players drafted in the 1st round have yet to see any ice time in the GHL so far. Of those, the highest ranked is defenecmen Grigori Varitsky. Drafted 9th overall by Toronto this Russian has only just made it in to the leafs AHL team and scouts generally agree his development is looking poor. Other than an average checking ability this kid has no redeeming features and it is unlikely we will see him break in to any GHL side.

#1 Goalie - Holy or Holey: Radomir Prochazka
Arguably the best goalie in the league right now. As Robin would say - Holy Goalie Batman. This kid has it all.

Highest Ranked Boomer: Hank Adduci
See above for Hanks achievments. Already a player with great potential the boost say his con score pushed to 84.
His current abilities are rated as: 81-99-80

Lowest Ranked Boomer: Morgan Geekie
Drafted 126th by the Philadelphia Flyers Geekie has had a reasonable career. The boost saw his potential increase from 69 to 79 and his con up to 80. It was noted at the time that this was probably the star boost of the season. He is a defensive minded center who had been a regular on the flyers side for the last two seasons but found himself riding the pine for much of this one making only 17 appearences. He is fast and checks well but that is the limit of his game.
His current abilities are rated as: 75-75-77.

Highest Ranked Bustee: Vavrinec Blachut
Minnesotas 4th overall pick took a hard hit from the scouting community when they declared him a bust before the season got under way. Maybe he just wasn't Wild about his parent club. He was traded to the Nashville Predatorts in 2019 and then to the Boston Bruins in 2020. He has played 17 GHL games and amassed just 3 points. He has demonstrated a slight ability to deliver hits and create turn overs but it is unlikely he will develop in to a worth while player in the future.
His current abilities are rated as: 63-71-71

Lowest Ranked Bustee: Matthew Allen
Drafted 63rd by the Dallas Stars his rights are still retained by his drafting team but he has yet to play a GHL game and it is unlikely he will do so. A mediocre AHL player he has played just 42 games for the Utah Grizzlies in three seasons and has registered just 11 points.
His current abilities are rated as: 60-49-61

[Stephen (League Admin)]

The Class of 2018

1st Overall Pick: Alexei Kirilev

Alexei Kirilev is a Russian Defencemen drafted by the New York Islanders and so far, aged 22, has not played a single game in the GHL. Does that mean he is a bust? Not necessarily. His development seems to have stalled at a level where he could be a reasonable third line defencemen and it looks as if next season he will get his chance to show what he can do in the big leagues as the Islanders will be looking for young players to offset the salary of some of their stars. And it is the stars that have kept him out so far, the likes of Kulak, Hamilton, Reinhart and co are not easily replaced or indeed bumped from their roster spots. Hopefully the Islanders have not left it to lat to get the best out of Kirilev.

Most Played Games: Ben Kurvers. 337

A defensive minded center from Canada, this 2nd round draft pick by the St Louis Blues has three solid seasons under his belt. His defensive nature means he has not racked up many points, just 70 overall, with just 38 goals, but he puts up impressive defensive stats, as much as 3 to 1 ratios for takeaways over giveaways (2.5 this season) and he does it all without conceeding too many penalties. His plus/minus has always been in the positive as well. A solid addition to any team.

Most Points: Scott Hagidiakow. 242
The 2nd overall pick of this years Draft the big Canadian winger is a power forward who has been smashing the puck in to the net every season so far and has put away 43 goals and made 44 assists so far this season (3 games left to go in the regular season). He is a player who gives it his all in every game and boasts an impressive 7.77 game rating average. He likes to throw big hits and his size and strength see him create a lot of turnovers for a goal scorer. He currently has 1 year remaining on his contract, plus a Team option that could see him playing with the Leafs in to the 2024/25 season, however, it is known he wishes to be moved to another team. Apparently he really wants to work for manager Stephen Hicks.

5th Round Find: Borek Weiss

An easy choice for 5th round find as he is the only player (other than a 1 game injury cover for goalie Igor Yigorovsky) who has played in the GHL. The Rangers winger played 25 games before being sent back to the AHL before being released to free agency at the end of his contract. He is currently without a team.

1st Round Flops: Jamie Lung

There are a lot of players drafted in the 1st round of 2018 that have not played a single game in the GHL. The aforementioned Alexei Kirilev being one but also Jyri Tapaninen, Kimmi Heinonen, Patrice Grondin, Patrick Stickels, Frederic Major, Sandy Kruse, and Derian Brocklehurst share that dubious honour. Some, like Kirilev, and probably Tapaninen and Heinonen, will make it to the GHL whilst others like Sandy Kruse will not. However, all those players are still retained by a GHL club whilst Jamie Lung has been released from his contract and is currently playing for the Dayton Bombers where he is a big fish in a small pond having score 84 goals this season added 48 assists. Jamie was drafted 30th overal by the Buffalo Sabres but only managed 6 games in the AHL before his release.

#1 Goalie - Holy or Holey: Mario Archambault

Tampa Bay drafted Mario 34th overall but he has yet to see time between the Lightning pipes. He played 63 games for the Detroit Vipers this year, recording 5 shutouts and having a 3.10 GAA but is unlikely to be good enough to see him move up a league. He still has a 3 year contract with Tampa Bay but he looks like a franchise AHL player to me.

Highest Ranked Boomer: Carl Finn
Drafted 11th by Columbus, Finn has turned in to a solid franchise youngster who has played 217 games and scored 138 goals so far and has just re-signed with the Blue Jackets for another 4 years. He is good in the face off circle with a 54% win rate but he is also a little weak in physical play and often gives up the puck when challenged. Despite a good amount of goals he has a low scoring rate of just 11%. His speed and endurance are a big assest allowing him to play at full pace for the entire game.
His current abilities are rated as: 83-70-81

Lowest Ranked Boomer: Kevin Ranford
Despit the boost, this 5th round draftee didn't make the grade in Chicago and was released from his contract without playing a single GHL or AHL games. After some time in the OHL he moved to Europe and is currently playing in Germany where he scored a modest point per game. At 5'8'' and 149 lbs, Kevin never had the skills to ofset his physical disadvantages.

His current abilities are rated as: 45-29-47

Highest Ranked Bust: Evgeni Leschev
Not really a bust, more of a recall. Scouts made a U Turn on the Vancouver Winger. Drafted by Atlanta 18th overall a big fuss was made that this would be the next Evgeni Malkin but very quickly that was declared as Fake News and he was again touted as a solid player, a little slow, but with good hands, unafraid of physical play, a smart shot, but voted most unlikely to make a pass to a team mate. Traded away to Vancouver as part of a deal for Jack Eichel (yeah I did that) he has managed to find a regular place on the team and is not without his uses.

His current abilities are rated as: 79-74-77

Lowest Ranked Bust: Geoff Hetfield
Never likely to be a GHL player Hetfield was never offered a contract by the Carolina Hurricanes and after leaving junior hockey ended up first in Germany and then in Scotland playing out of a crappy tin shed with a leaky roof that has a racist owner who wouldnt give me the General Managers position their because - and yes he said this - because I was English. FU buddy.
His current abilities are rated as: 56-45-56

[Stephen (League Admin)]

Class of 2019

1st Overall Pick: Slavomir Drulkak

The Toronto Mapleleafs picked up Drolkak in the 2019 Draft and signed him immediately to a rookie contract only to trade him away to Carolina the following season without playing a single game for the leafs. Carolina then sent him to the minor leagues for a season and called him up for just a single game. His opening GHL season was 20/21 where he knocked in 14 goals and made 14 assists but put up over 100 minutes in penalties and quickly established himself as a very physical player but with the potential to contribute to the offence. In 21/22 for more than triples his goals and assists, putting up 38 and 46 respectively and still put in over 100 minutes in penalties. This past season has been less productive but this has been a reflection of a rudderless Hurricanes team more than it is of the players individual perfromance.

Most Played Games: Adam Stalker. 380 Games

Dallas Stars drafted Stalker 22nd overall and has played in every season since the draft, though with a couple of short spells on the Utah Grizzlies ice as well. The right wing from the Bellevill Bulls has managed to put up some reasonable but not outstanding numbers over the seasons and looks set to be a solid contributer in the future.

Most Points: Mark Trubachev. 157 points.

Minnesota can claim the credit for this young winger. He is a physical player who can create turnovers and land hits but can also put in goals and rack up assists. He also likes to rack up penalties. 369 from his 317 game so far. Aside from a season with the Aero's, Trubachev has been a mainstay of the Wild side for their defensive line up. His stick handling and passing abilities have given him some solid offensive capabilities as well. He has an excellent rookie season and was nominated for Rookie of the Year. He is also a regular for the Latvian National Team.

5th Round Find: Albus Gordievsky.

By default, the only 5th round player to have played in the GHL is the New York Rangers defender. 12 games in 20/21 and nothing since. It looks like the whole 5th round was a bust this year and that Gordievsky will be consigned to the minor leagues.

1st Round Bust: Jaroslav Romadka

There are a number of players from the 1st round who have yet to play in the GHL, Brian Thompson of the Hurricanes and Carl Heerema of Tampa Bay for example, but some of them should not be called busts and could still make it to the big time, all be it on the fringes of their teams. Jaroslav Romadka however is the highest ranked, in fact the only ranked, 1st round pick, to have been released from his parent team and is currently playing outside of the the GHL and the minor leagues. Drafted by the Islanders he was traded to Boston early on but failed to develope and Boston didnt renew his contract. No one else wanted him and he returned to his home country to play in the national Czech league.

#1 Goalie, Holey or Holy: Larry Arios
Drafted by Florida he his now the Panthers number one choice and looks set to be a solid GHL keeper. WHilst not quite in the same class as Prochazka or even Crain for young star goalies he is none the less knocking on their doors and may well better with age. This season he has kept 5 clean sheets to go along with his 4 from last season, and a 2.81 gaa, which puts him 11th in the league. (Of goalies have played 60 games or more) This one is deffinately Holy.

Highest Ranked Boomer: Brian Thompson

Mentioned previously as a possible 1st round bust, Thompson has yet to play in the GHL but could do so in the future. he has struggled to break in to a very string Carolina line up but could get a chance as older players start to retire. He is unlikely to be more than a 7th position defender however.

Lowest Ranked Boomer: Lance Watson.

Drafted 144th by Buffalo the Sabres never signed him to a contract and he ended up in Great Britain playing in the EIHL for the Nottingham Panthers. That was until Anaheim signed him for Cincinnati where he has played 11 games and registed just a single point. Despite good stickhandling skills there is nothing much in Watson to suggest his spell in the minors with be anything other than minor.

Highest Ranked Bustee: Oscar Dackell
St Louis were disspointed to see their 13th overall pick slumping in pre-season and he has yet to see a GHL game. His 5'8'' frame doesn't help matters but he does have good hands. A couple of seasons with the ice cats saw him put up reasonable numbers and this year he has put away 50 goals and made 61 assists which may earn him a call up in the future. However, St louis is a stacked team right now and it may be nothing more than injury cover that gets him his shot. Will he be able to take it?

Lowest Ranked Bustee: Michael Baillarge
A goalie drafted by the Predators 56th overall Baillarge shows no signs of being GHL material. He remains with the Predators minor league team but has only played 6 games this season.

[BluesGM]

hey hey hey...Oscar Dackell just got the call up for the last game of the season, and was able to score in his debut! Sometimes you need a bit of patience.....