Victor

With seven selections in the S66 VHL Entry Draft, the Moscow Menace have a vested interest in what may be the deepest draft in the league's long history. However, what to they need in the draft and which positions will be prioritised? We've asked GM Victor Alfredsson to run us through his thoughts about the upcoming draft. Goaltenders There are four currently active S66 goalies, of whom 2 or 3 will graduate to the VHL instantly after being drafted. That's quite an interesting dynamic given that most of the league does not currently need a goalie. Malmo will naturally be in the market for one, but the team with the oldest starter – Vancouver – has already addressed their future in net with the surprise pick of Joe Nixon in S65. The next likeliest team to start planning ahead, Seattle, as well as the most unpredictable team in Toronto both have very few picks in the draft therefore there really are more prospects than spaces at the moment. There appears to be an expectation that we will be drafting a goalie in Moscow. We just missed out on Nixon last year but picked up a capable substitute in Justin Cole, who requested to go up straight to the VHL for our inaugural season. Sadly, the trials and tribulations of an expansion team's first season seem to have taken their toll on Cole and he is increasingly unlikely to be our future starter, however this has already been addressed by the trade for Chase @Chase Klein midseason, another S65 netminder. Will the Menace be looking to draft a goalie nonetheless? Maybe, depending on circumstances, as competition is always good but right now our faith is firmly with the Chase and Cole tandem. Defencemen It has been well documented by now that this draft is very forward-heavy, but there's still quite a few interesting defencemen on the board, a few of which will be instant VHL players. However, I would not call defence a position of immediate need in Moscow. We currently have a solid stay-at-home duo of Evgeni Komarov @Gooningitup and Lew Bronstein @troy, with our first ever draft pick Mitch Matthews @Antone10 developing well in the VHLM. This will likely be sufficient for the time being, as the VHL is a very offense-focused league, although we are sure to be on the lookout for some of the lower ranked defensemen draftees available, who might require more time in the minors. Forwards The lottery pick owned by Moscow this draft is guaranteed to be a top 2 selection and that will certainly be one of the superb forward prospects leading the way in S66. I wouldn't say that Moscow's forwards are below where we'd expect them to be at this stage of the process, but there have been a few hiccups with the retirements of Ryan Zabby and Nathan N, and losing Kyson Blake to inactivity. Currently the trio we expect to rely on going forward are Mark Gebauer @Sova, Dan Baillie @wcats, and the recently acquired Matteo @tunedtorock, with Vladimir Pavlov joining us in S57. That leaves two slots to fill with some of the superb talent available this draft so that will be the focus for sure. I wouldn't want to give rise to speculation by naming a ton of names right now which may or may not be available at our selections, but naturally HHH and Shane Mars are on the radar for our first picks. Other players who have signalled positively at Moscow are Dimitri Volosenkov, Edgar Tannahill, and Codrick Past, but no formal discussions have been had so media speculation holds about as much weight as what I have just said. Nonetheless, should be an exciting process!

Another one for the Castelic collection.

Nope

USA apparently.

Sensual stuff.

Good stuff.

Hot streaks and cold streaks, what a concept. Almost like you have a pretty unbalance squad which while one of the best in the league isn’t exactly one of the greatest ever.

The promised one

What a collapse.

#DEPTH

Jesus.

1. Chilled and relaxed, visiting some beautiful Spanish lands. Shame need to go back to work on Thursday. 2. Unless it's a surefire recreate, of which there aren't many left, first gens - just more enthusiasm and upside. 3. Toronto, again, not sure why they're doing so well, especially without Stopko now. Arroyo for MVP I guess. 4. Yeah, I did basically as soon as it became clear I'd get a goalie one way or another. Don't care about defence, and center is most important forward position. 5. Eh? We need some divide otherwise it's all a bit pointless. Most countries don't have enough players to have a regular place, except maybe Sweden/Russia. 6. Not anymore haha... Still, three seasons to turn it around and no one will be ahead in TPE so reckon its 50/50 ATM. 7. Felt kinda bad when everyone remembered he should have bad the first expansion team so well deserved. Always nice to see a familiar face and someone I dealt with as a GM before. 8. Yeah its cool and I agree with bringing back green. Not sure it fits the name exactly but it's still good. 9. I don't think they've ever been cup favourites on paper but they certainly have underperformed for three seasons now. This collapse makes no sense and is a bit sad to see. But it has made things more interesting to end the season - I still think they'll make the playoffs, otherwise I have lots of their draft picks to make use of. 10. Haha, maybe, too early to tell who goes where.

Joined in season 10, still haven’t won a Founder’s Cup, might as well give myself the best chance when I have some choice. Hello Minnesota! Philly and Saskatoon, see you at the draft.

Yis.

Oof.

There's no need to fight over me x

Player Information Username: Victor Player Name: Vladimir Pavlov Recruited From: Member (Victor) Age: 18 Position: C Height: 74 in. Weight: 200 lbs. Birthplace: Russia Player Page @VHLM GM

Were there any other Riga players on the ice??

Yeah it was brought in despite most GMs voting against it for a trial run but fair to say it wasn't a clear improvement.

And we keep on rolling. As does the Castelic love affair x @Enorama

Back on track.

Cole with a massive performance to steal the point.

The league needed a villain.

Your scouting is too good.

I don’t know what to say.