Top Defensemen in S77 Draft Class

[tcookie 682]

The Riga Reign currently hold the #8 overall pick in the S77 Entry Draft. They're a team loaded with good prospects and have great organizational depth at most positions, but a quick look at the organizational depth chart reveals a team that might need to add another good defenseman or two with the pending retirements of Guy Sasakamoose and Oskar Lagesson. So let's take a look at the top candidates at the position for the Reign to consider with that #8 pick.

Reylynn Reinhart - Houston Bulls - 259 TPE @Ricer13
A solid all-around defenseman, Reinhart is the consensus best defenseman prospect in this year's draft. She's a fluid skater and puck handler with a fantastic shot and is quite good defensively as well. With 27 goals and 64 points in 72 games this season as a member of the Houston Bulls, she lived up to expectations and made a name for herself at the VHLM level. Reinhart is ranked 7th in the draft, and in all likelihood will even go higher than that, but if she were somehow available for Riga it'd be a dream come true for the team.

Zeedayno Chara - Miami Marauders - 227 TPE @Jubis
A touch better than Reinhart defensively but not quite as much of an offensive threat, he had 2 goals and 29 points in 36 games (and 55 hits) with Miami after joining mid-season. He's a good passer, a good shooter, a good skater and is strong defensively though he doesn't have anything that really stands out - besides his upside. Despite being a late entry to the draft class, Chara has been a steady riser ever since he joined Miami. His track record of improvement will likely have him the #2 defenseman off the board on draft day.

Rolf Fizzlebeef Jr - Las Vegas Aces - 223 TPE @TacticalHammer
Fizzlebeef plays a very similar game to Chara, and actually would have almost identical stats if you'd pro-rated Chara's numbers to 72 games. He had 7 goals, 57 points, and 101 hits with Las Vegas this season. While he hasn't improved quite as rapidly as Chara, he has definitely developed a lot as the season has progressed and should be close to ready to making the jump to the pros next year.

Aurelien Moreau - Mississauga Hounds - 236 TPE @Frank
Moreau plays the most specialized game of the four defensemen mentioned here - a hulking, 6'8 240 defenseman that is purely a stay-at-home guy. He managed to put up 14 goals and 60 points in Mississauga this year, mostly due to being an all-situations player on a team that only had four defensemen available. His style of play is truly reflected in the 307 hits and 172 blocked shots. Moreau takes care of business defensively and is likely to be the same style of player at the next level.

A defenseman the calibre of any of these guys could be a huge addition to the Reign in their rebuilding effort as they get ready to transition to being a perennial contender once again. It remains to be seen what the Reign will do with that pick - it's possible they even trade it for more immediate help - but there are clearly plenty of good options available.

[Bojovnik 487]

I'll prove why I should've been on this list.