Jump to content

S43 Entry Draft Preview [Final 6/6]

sterling

By sterling
in Archived Career Tasks

 Share

Recommended Posts

sterling

sterling 1,990

Posted
Posted

S43 VHL Entry Draft Preview

 

Although the Season 43 VHL Entry Draft has yet to take place, I feel it is proper to start drumming up some excitement for the cause. Mr. Kendrick does a fabulous job with the weekly entry draft rankings for which I will surely use to steal a lot of content for this piece. The ranking can be found over here:

 

http://www.vhlforum.com/index.php?/forum/237-vhl-entry-draft-rankings/

 

This draft is said to be weaker than previous drafts over the past five seasons, though there are certainly some excellent depth picks to be had. Notably, the top-end talent all come with question marks compared with the usual drafts with at least one homerun player. With the space below I’m going to go through what I expect to happen on Saturday. I’m most certain to be incorrect, but it’s still fun to look at while we can. Feel free to leave your commentary, if desired.

 

 

The Draft is tentatively set for Saturday at 8:30 EST. The order of the draft is expected to be the following:

 

Round One

1. Yp5RCrq.png NEW YORK AMERICANS: (from Davos via Stockholm):

I fully expect New York General Manager Chris Miller to pick one of the two powerful forwards at the top of the class. With the recent addition of Jericho from Stockholm, they have their goalie of the next generation in tow. Therefore, I wouldn’t be surprised to see New York take Bronson Faux first overall as Faux is seen as a more secure first overall selection than Delicious. Faux is represented by re-create player agent Jamie who recently put together her first Hall of Fame player in power forward McQueen.

 

 

2. tSI9DqU.png   RIGA REIGN: 

The Reign may be the barest cupboard in the entire VHL and it’s no secret that GM Jim Gow has a lot of work cut out for him in Latvia. The only active player on the team is goalie Bernie Gow. Therefore, I’d expect Riga to select the best player available, which at this time would be Muffins’ E’Twaun Delicious. You can't deny Muffins' ability to create excellent players in the league, though activity has been questionable in the past few years compared to his heyday. Who knows where Gow will go here though. I could see them picking one of the elite defenders also.

 

 

3. YTzfe5K.pngCALGARY WRANGLERS:

The other, likely more annoying Gow, picks third overall. Calgary is also a fairly bad team at this point, but they do have some piece to play around with. Of note, they seem to be compromised of some middling talent from Season 40. Another Gow namesake stands as the GM recreate, this time a centre TebowGow. I would be surprised if Austin didn’t take the best player available here which happens to be goalie Hans Wingate. He does have goalie prospect Coca Cola, but his activity is questionable at best (not to mention he loves cats).

 

 

4. qA3LVOO.pngSEATTLE BEARS:

If I were Bears General Manager Bushito, I’d likely select the best defenseman available. I see the Bears as an above average team entering Season 43. They have a really solid core of members on the team and what looks to be a make or break season. The team has their goalie; they have their forward core for the most part. That’s why I’d suggest the Bears pick former Ottawa Lynx defenseman Francis York Morgan with the fourth pick. I think he’ll be a solid all-around player for the organization.

 

 

5. HPp8LLs.pngSTOCKHOLM VIKINGS:

I’d be surprised to see Stockholm use this draft pick as opposed to trading it, but if they do keep the pick they’ve got to take the next best player. In this instance, that player would be Pablo Escabar who would nicely round out the Vikings’ defensive core. Another former Ottawa Lynx player, he seems intent on playing another season down in the VHLM, though this may be out of reach. If the Vikings do trade the pick, I’d expect Seattle, Quebec or Helsinki to be the likely destinations for a swap.

 

 

6. StPYNLI.pngTORONTO LEGION:

Mostly inactive General Manager Edgar comes up to pick next. I’d expect the Legion to select the next best player here which to me would be Jorma Ruutu from the Ottawa Lynx. Jorma is a power forward who will most certainly need another season down in the VHLM, but he appears to be a good member with a lot of potential to learn and move quickly. Toronto would be a good environment for the youngster.

 

 

7. tSI9DqU.png  RIGA REIGN (from Helsinki):

Riga comes back again here being the first team with their second selection in the draft. Again, they’ve got to take the best player available, which would be Thomas Duddy, a winger from Ottawa (again). Duddy is an interesting newer member who has come out of the gates strong. I think Gow would be fortunate to latch onto this guy who I could see as being an excellent first gen talent in the VHL. Perhaps Riga will also look at drafting a defenseman here.

 

 

8. Yp5RCrq.png NEW YORK AMERICANS:

New York comes back with another pick and this time I’ve got to think General Manager Chris Miller will take a defenseman. With Michael Clardy just recently coming back, he could be a potential steal or a huge gamble for the Americans, but if you look at it from a perspective of the team already having one sure-fire top prospect out of the draft, you’re probably far more inclined toward the risk/reward that McClardy could provide as he showed impressive activity before disappearing for some time.

 

 

9. YTzfe5K.pngCALGARY WRANGLERS (from Quebec):

The other Gow comes back and again this time I think a defenseman will come off the board. A good defenseman being leftover to the 9th pick is somewhat of a rarity these days. I’d pick defenseman Golden Jedtsson here and hope he returns to the form of his previous players in the league. He could certainly become a star for the Wranglers down the line, which isn’t bad for a 9th overall selection. After all, the Wranglers did pick one of their most notable defenseman ever toward the end of the first round of the draft.

 

 

10. StPYNLI.pngTORONTO LEGION (from Cologne via Calgary):

 Toronto comes up again with what could be a decision pick. Do you take a promising looking first gen player or do you go with a long-time veteran? In this instance, I think we may just see Josh Merica end up in Toronto. The player agent was a former General Manager of the Legion during the first era of the league. His activity has never been superb, but he offers a lot of experience no doubt. The winger was previously higher up the board, which may be some cause for concern.

 

 

Round Two

 

 

11. HPp8LLs.png   STOCKHOLM VIKINGS (from Riga):

To Stockholm I see former Ottawa Lynx player Souryuu Kaminogi here. The Japanese winger has thus far kept a fairly low profile. Though of note, he has had a previous player in the league, though he wouldn’t qualify for welfare. This young man will hopefully become a solid role player for the Vikings, but I can’t see future star potential here. He’d be a solid pick none the less for a team that can afford to develop some raw prospects in the system.

 

 

12. YTzfe5K.pngCALGARY WRANGLERS:

The annoying Gow comes up again here to pick for the third time hoping to re-stock his cupboard a tad. Here I’d take defenseman MC Hammer who has shown some good activity from a first gen member thus far. He’s another raw prospect who will require some more development time, but Calgary is practically the best place for a raw member to land. The younger Gow will inspire the best out of his younger prospects. This is a guy who could definitely be a steal for the Wranglers.

 

 

13. ewqJmFW.png  COLOGNE EXPRESS (from Davos):

I see General Manager Ryan Power picking fairly new member Chuck Goody here. This is another guy who will require development time and the contending Express can likely afford it for the next few seasons. Here’s a guy who could also become a real steal as not much is known about him so far. He’s shown good spurts of activity thus far, but who knows how he’ll pan out. The Express should be seen as a desirable destination for any first gen member.

 

 

14. tSI9DqU.png   RIGA REIGN (from Seattle):

Lucky for Riga, there’s one more good, promising defenseman at the backend of this draft. If I were Riga, and this guy still available, I’d take Theo Matsikas who is represented by first gen member Individual. Individual is new to the league (in theory), but he’s shown great promise so far (jumping up the draft board in no time. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this individual prospect move up a few slots come Saturday. And like before, he’ll require some maturation time in the VHLM in Season 43.

 

 

15. HPp8LLs.png  STOCKHOLM VIKINGS:

Perhaps the Vikings can get lucky here and select defenseman Erik Hedman who has so far shown some raw promise. Landing with the Vikings would be a good fit for the defenseman as the team could use some prospects in the system to make up for their recent blockbuster to acquire aging veterans. We don’t know much about the guy right now, but he could certainly become a real steal in the middle of the second round of the draft.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kylrad

Kylrad 178

Posted
Posted (edited)

Content 3/3 That kaminogi guy is pretty awesome i hear  :ph34r: also don't the NYA have 11th oa now

 

Grammar 2/2 Looks good couldn't find anything 

 

Appearance 1/1 Yup looks good

 

Overall 6/6

Edited by Kylrad
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...