SPNHL Season 29 Preview:
Top 5 Free Agents Per Position
By: Dirty-Dietrich & Kozmo.
As we approach Season 29 of the SPNHL, we have a brand-new draft pool. There are some returning vets, some strong players being let into free agency, and some promising rookies. Along with a fresh batch of players, we also have a fresh batch of GM’s who will be entering their first draft. Will these GM’s draft strong and develop good teams, or will the veterans drain the pool of all the hidden talent?
With that in mind, my dear friend Kozmo and I have compiled the following list. We have sorted through the names and we have selected what we feel are the top 5 free agents at each position. This is based on what players registered for their primary position, so it may not be reflective of their performance at other positions. There are still some great utility forwards, so do some research! Gosh! Did you expect us to do all the work for you?
We’ll start off this list with the top 5 free agent centers in the SPNHL, move through the wingers, defensemen (and women, I think?), and then goaltenders. For skaters, the sorting will be based on a combination of game, goals, assists, points, and plus minus. For defence, it will be based on games played, plus minus, hits, giveaways, and takeaways. For goalies, it will be based on games played, wins, save percentage, goals against average, and shutouts. Let’s get started!

 
A top center will be a heavily sought-after commodity in this draft. The most obvious choice here is Stamkos, who played on a very strong team in Colorado and produced very good numbers. Hypey had a great season and is a great pick for that value, while Benner had a stellar season for a mediocre team. Arrow enjoyed a decent season playing with two stellar wingers, and Servnspike had a similar situation with similar numbers.

 
Mclub and Shot are returning players this season, so we used career stats for the table. Both are great wingers who teams should be interested in. Kinglyme was a shocker to see in the draft after a 50 goal season, so expect him to go early. Toslick was a monster in the regular season and the playoffs, and Snapshot had a respectable season, so expect these players to be taken in the top 2 rounds.

 
Mjvoel44 won the Art Ross, Selke, and Hart trophies last season. He seems to be a lock for first overall. Grammyhands was the highest scoring rookie last season and seems to be destined for a first round pick. Smashngrab returns to SP with decent career totals thus far, while Caper and Clown are both looking to go to decent teams after having decent campaigns yet missing the playoffs due to the rest of their team.

 
Execution is a solid pick for a starting D man, proven by his solid numbers in Vegas. BigBear and Haunted both had decent numbers on mediocre teams, while Ush enjoyed a short but successful season over in Dallas. Raja hasn’t played SP in a couple seasons (so we couldn’t find giveaways and takeaways), but put up solid defensive numbers in his 30 career games at the blue line.

 
Chicks-n-whips is a very versatile player, and after playing on an inconsistent Nashville squad last season, is looking to have a bounce back season. M1Keal’s stats are from season 27, where he performed very well on a solid Ducks squad. Canedian had a solid season over in Chicago, while kc and Murphy are both looking to step up and establish themselves as reliable defenders this season.

 
One of the winningest goalies in SP history returns this season, but Vezzy’s stats against the rest of this goalie class seem average. Rancher is coming off of a Stanley Cup victory, and Kamakaz proved last season that even in a limited time, he is still an elite netminder. Chad is still one of the premier goaltenders in the league, and Shadow emerged from backup to starting goalie last season, so expect big things from him.
Well, there you have it. A bit of an in-depth look at this season’s draft board. There are some positions that have a great selection of players, and other which are harder to come by. GM’s will have to draft smart and know their priorities in order to succeed in this upcoming season. They will need to have backup plans and be ready to change those plans at the snap of a finger, or in the case, the clicking of fingers against a keyboard.
Good luck to all the GM’s in the upcoming draft!
-DD and Koz.