Ottawa Lynx S66 VHLM Draft Recap [2/2]

[Sullvino 289]

S65 Ottawa Lynx Draft

The S65 draft just concluded and the Ottawa Lynx added 10 new prospects to their team. The Lynx draft class consisted of 4 defensemen, 2 centers and 4 wingers. In this article we dig a little deeper into each of the players recently selected.

[Word Count: 1130]

 

 

 

 

 

[1.11] – Brendan James Lawn - D

 With their first selection in the S66 VHLM draft, the Ottawa Lynx targeted the blue-line and selected defenseman Brendan James Lawn. The American born defenseman projects as a defensive style defenseman, but also does have highly competent offensive ability. Lawn previously played for the FAU Owls in the NCAA, where he was arguably one of the best players to ever come out of the program. He possesses a very interesting mix of skills as he likes to play a physical game, but also loves to move the puck. These types of defenseman are usually not very easy to find.   Lawn will be on the top pairing when the Lynx open their S66 season.

 

[2.14] – Aston Martin – C

In the second round the Lynx selected dynamic centerman Aston Martin originally from Great Britain. Martin played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League for the Barrie Colts before declaring for the VHLM draft and was one of the most prolific goal scorer’s in the league. Drafting a center was clearly a priority for the Lynx as Martin is currently one of only two the only true centers on the roster. Martin only declared for the draft a couple weeks ago, but has been opening eyes around the league since he joined. Some scouts think he may have the highest offensive upside of all centers in this draft. Expect Martin to have a presence on the top line for the Lynx and add a much-needed offensive spark to the roster.  

 

[4.41] – David Lindberg – D

To continue to bolster the blueline, the Lynx picked Swedish defenseman David Lindberg with their first pick in the fourth round. Lindberg has an interesting body-type at 5’10 and 230 pounds, but he can skate and move the puck very well. Lindberg projects as an offensive, puck moving type of defenseman which fills a big hole on the Lynx roster. He signed a deal during S65 with the Philadelphia Reapers and played 13 games, registering 1 goal and 0 assists. Lindberg will likely slot into the second pairing next season, but has high upside if he continues to progress.

 

[4.43] – ACL TEAR – RW

The next pick in the fourth round for the Lynx was one of the most intriguing prospects ever to declare for the VHLM draft, ACL TEAR. The 50-year old right-winger is an old-school enforcer with little to no offensive abilities. He is a one-trick pony, with that one trick being a mean, physical style of play. He is a menacing presence on the ice standing tall at 6’8 and weighing anywhere between 250-275 pounds depending on if it is #bulkingseason. TEAR signed a deal during the season with Las Vegas and played 12 games with the club. Surprising no one, he registered zero goals and zero assists in those 12 games. There is no doubt that TEAR will be a bully on this ice and be the first to protect his teammates, but time will tell if this style of player warrants a fourth round pick with more talent still on the board. Overall, Ottawa adds a player that will immediately become a fan-favorite.

 

[4.46] – Doug Forsyth – RW

The third and last pick of the fourth round for Ottawa was Doug Forsyth, a right-winger from Canada. Forsyth is still a very raw prospect, but has considerable upside. He projects as a well-rounded winger, with his best attribute being his skating ability and edgework. Similar to the first fourth round pick, David Lindberg, Forsyth has a stocky build at 5’7 and 200 pounds. He uses his girth to protect the puck along the boards and is not afraid to throw around his girthy body.

 

[5.48] – Cody Parkey  - D

In the fifth round, the Lynx took another defenseman in Cody Parkey. Of all the Lynx draft picks, Parkey has the most VHLM experience and may be the most talented player at the moment. He played 64 games last season for Saskatoon and registered 4 goals and 22 assists. There are some question marks surrounding Parkey; some scouts do not believe his heart is truly in it and his work ethic has been questioned heavily. Regardless, the Lynx added a potential Top-2 defenseman who can skate well and chip in offensively. Look for Parkey to also quarterback their powerplay in the coming season.

 

[6.59] – Thomas Kennedy – C

The Lynx added another center here in the 6th round with Australian-born Thomas Kennedy. As we previously mentioned, the center position was clearly a priority to build out in this draft for the Lynx. Kennedy has been up and down in terms of practice hours since joining the VHLM, but the team is familiar with Kenendy as last season he played 31 games and tallied 5 total points after signing a temporary S65 deal with Ottawa. While Kennedy may not have high upside, he fills a big need for Lynx headed into Season 65. We project him to slide in to the second or third line as the centerman.

 

[6.66] – Vilnis Balcers – D

The next defenseman drafted by the Lynx was Vilnis Balcers, a defensive defenseman out of Latvia. Balcers was the captain of the Latvian national junior team at a recent U-18 tournament and he showed scouts some strong defensive ability. He has great size and loves to play a physical game, which is something the Lynx management wanted to add more of.  There isn’t much of a book on Balcers at this point, but over time he has the potential to develop into a nice piece for Ottawa.  

 

[7.69] – Jean ClaudePaul – LW

As his name suggests, ClaudePaul is a French-born winger who played 38 games for Houston in S65. He totaled one goal and one assist in those 28 games.  In this draft class, there were not many true left-wingers so adding ClaudePaul is a nice move for Ottawa. At this point in the draft, teams are just trying to strike gold with a sleeper pick. ClaudPaul’s commitment to developing his game and his attitude on and off the ice are two things that teams have questioned throughout the draft process, but its worth a shot at this point in the draft.

 

[8.81] – Daniel Phantom – LW

Ottawa ends their draft with another true left-wing prospect in Daniel Phantom, who just declared for the draft eight days ago. There isn’t a lot of tape available on Phantom, but Ottawa decided to roll the dice on Phantom. Phantom will likely slot into the bottom six for the Lynx.

Edited April 29, 2019 by Sullvino

[Sullvino 289]

Posting again to claim this for second week (over 1,000 words) 

[Mr_Hatter 1,608]

Review: Very well structured article, the use of bold and italics helped to clearly delineate and flavor the different sections. I really liked how in-depth and professional all the descriptions were. Picture added to the article as well. Great job!

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

Review

Nice article talking about the Lynx and their draft. Picture was added, bold and italics were used. It looks nice and I didn't notice anything wrong grammar wise. Good stuff