Seven Centers

by Dave Smith | October 17, 2025

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Pick	Player	Pos.
15	Braeden Cootes	C
135	Carter Klippenstein	C
144	Jimmy Lombardi	C
147	Aiden Foster	C
174	Alexander Weiermair	C
188	Kiril Yemelyanov	C
204	Ryan Rucinski	C

In the high-stakes world of the SiCHL hockey league, the Whitehorse Huskies were an enigma. With their first few picks in the 2025 Entry Draft, most teams sought to build a balanced roster—a forward, a defenseman, maybe a goalie. But the Huskies had other ideas.

The moment their first selection was announced, a low murmur rippled through the war room. With the 15th pick, Whitehorse selected Braeden Cootes, a promising center with a reputation for his elite faceoff skills and strong two-way play. Analysts scribbled notes, predicting how this top-tier center would anchor their first line one day. 

As the draft continued, other teams began to build out their forward lines, grabbing wingers to complement their existing centers. But when the Huskies’ next pick came up, they stunned the room again, taking Carter Klippenstein, another center. A confused silence fell over the live broadcast. "Two centers?" one pundit muttered. "A bold strategy."

"Bold" was an understatement. With their third pick, they took another center, Jimmy Lombardi. The room erupted in a mix of laughter and disbelief.

"Are they trolling?" one commentator exclaimed. "Do they know something we don't?"

The Huskies’ draft room, located in a remote Yukon cabin, was eerily silent. As GM DR Morrison just smirked, a mischievous glint in his eye. He was a veteran of the league, known for his eccentric but often sometimes successful tactics. He had a vision for his team, and it revolved around one simple, unproven idea: you can never have enough centers. 

The picks kept coming, each one more baffling than the last: Aiden Foster, Alexander Weiermair, Kiril Yemelyanov, and Ryan Rucinski. All were centers.

The internet exploded with a frenzy of speculation. Memes of the Huskies' "all-center" team circulated wildly, and analysts predicted a spectacular failure. The roster, on paper, was a catastrophe—no wingers, no defenders, just seven centers. The league commissioner called Morrison, demanding an explanation, but he just laughed. 

"There are no wingers on the board as good as my guys," he said. "So we took the best players available. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some practice drills to design."