BeanSobie

2

Wes Babie - Oslo

Babej - Oslo

2

Babiy- Oslo

Vikings 3-2

Titans
Wranglers
Meute
Wranglers

Brampton 3-2

Oslo
Brampton
Wild

Hit 100 TPE and posts in the last ten minutes #hype

Oslo Storm rookie, Wesley Babiy, has taken on a new mantle since joining the VHLM: Baby.  A name he has mixed feelings over.

"How do you feel about your new nickname?"

"Honestly, when I first heard what they were calling me I was a bit taken aback.  In the tough world of hockey the name Baby is not exactly up there in desirability.  When it started I don't even think I realized it though.  The Norwegian accent is odd so I thought they were just chanting my name, but we went on a road trip to North America and it became pretty clear to me when someone through a pacifier on the ice."

"The Dirty Dancing clip didn't tip you off?"

"I asked Coutzen about it and he said: 'why do you think they play that scene from Dirty Dancing in the third period whenever you take a big draw?'  To which I told him I had never seen the movie.  The room stopped and I feel like everyone was looking at me.  Even Nezy had seen the movie, and he is still mad at Patrick Swayze for Red Dawn." 

"Have you seen it yet?"

"We formed a movie night and all watched it at my place one night.  That movie is all about a botched abortion, I thought it was gonna be like Dancing With The Stars: The Film.  Boy was I wrong."

I'm a little disappointed to see Nezhmetdinov dropped to the second line, but Reuel has been killing it all season, so I can't complain. If we can both produce then maybe—just maybe—we can upset Saskatoon. I figure that unless there's a major surprise in the works, the final has to be us against the Wild.

We can be the Teen Line, cause we are both young and were drafted in the teens.  And we have bad tan lines, which sounds like teen line.

A Statistical Review of the S44 VHLM Dispersal Draft: Round Three

Third Rounders Wesley Babiy (left) and Evgeny Nezhmetdinov (right) of Oslo celebrating a goal

When a draft consists of just 27 names the list can certainly thin out before you even get to the 15th pick.  In this past season’s draft, picks 15 to 22 were a mixed bag of goods. With some solid scouting up front there good choices made early, but a late surprise may have been the steal of the draft. Here are the picks:

15th Overall

Evgeny Nezhmetdinov       
53 GP  20 G  23 A  43 P  +38  44 PIM  20 PIM5  6 SB  2 PPG  5 PPA  7 PPP  21:24 ATOI  3:04 PPATOI  0:01 PKATOI  6GW  1GT

Nezhmetdinov is looking to be the best choice in the third round.  Being picked first among his peers he clearly was the solid choice as his 20 goals and 43 points rank first among this group.  One question about his stats so far is his relatively low PPP despite leading this group in PP time with over 3 minutes a game.  Regardless he is still the best option.

16th Overall

Archie Wagner             
53 GP 8 G  28 A  36 P  +28  46 PIM  10 PIM5  43 SB  6 PPG  9 PPA  15 PPP  22:53 ATOI  2:48 PPATOI  2:03 PKATOI  1 GW  0 GT

Defenseman Archie Wagner has posted good numbers in the point department.  As an offensive defender he has proven himself to be a quality player in any situation, sporting a respectable +28 and the most PPA among the group.  His defensive ability isn’t a premium, but still good enough for a third rounder.

17th Overall

Wesley Babiy              
53 GP  10 G  23 A  33 P  +16  12 PIM  0 PIM5  7 SB  20:11 ATOI  3 PPG  5 PPA  8 PPP  2:54 PPATOI  0:52 PKATOI  2 GW  0 GT

Oslo continued their dominance in this round picking the first centre.  Babiy has played well for the Storm in all situations, being used primarily as the number two centre in all situations.  With 20 minutes a game he has done well for himself, tied with teammate Nezhmetdinov for assists by a forward, and posting the best PIM per minutes played.  He has played some PK time over the season, but not enough to make an impact.

18th Overall

Danger Van der Merwe      
52 GP  6 G  3 A  9 P  +1  7 PIM  5 PIM5  8 SB  1 PPG  1 PPA  2 PPP  10:51 ATOI  0:38 PPATOI  0:01 PKATOI  0 GW  0 GT

Danger is the first pick that is looking to have not panned out in the third.  At only 11 minutes a game there is nothing that Danger could really show with his opportunities given.  He has been given minimal special teams play and the only positive to his game seems to be his discipline (one minor penalty in 52 games) and defensive play (8 blocked shots).

19th Overall

M. Nocturne Shamalamalamalon 
53 GP  8 G  14 A  22 P  -22  79 PIM  15 PIM5  103 SB  4 PPG  5 PPA  9 PPP  21:60 ATOI  2:14 PPATOI  2:34 PKATOI  1 GW  1 GT

Defender Shamalamalamalon has not had the offensive year that Wagner has put up, but with over a hundred blocked shots you have to appreciate the effort.  Even if it has not helped him with a piss poor -22.

20th Overall

Matej Križ               
53 GP  6 G  3 A  9 P  +13  18 PIM  0 PIM5  7 SB  0 PPG  0 PPA  0 PPP  14:09 ATOI  0:01 PPATOI  0:00 PKATOI  3 GW  0 GT

Križ is the third Storm skater picked in the third round.  With no special teams time Križ is far behind his teammates Babiy and Nezhmetdinov in terms of points, but his defensive play and secondary role on the team have made him a decent addition to the team.  Clearly there were better options however.

21st Overall

Lee Sang-Hyeok            
52 GP  19 G  15 A  34 P  -4  47 PIM  15 PIM5  13 SB  6 PPG  5 PPA  11 PPP  26:55 ATOI  2:57 PPATOI  2:40 PKATOI  3 GW  2 GT

Sang-Hyeok is that better option.  On the cusp of 20 goals the sniper has had a memorable year.  With a ton of ice time and responsibility on a weaker team Lee Sang-Hyeok’s numbers may be a bit inflated but the results cannot be argued with.  He has excelled in the Power Play (11 points) and the Penalty Kill (13 shots blocked) and should look to carry those accolades with him as he enters the VHL draft looking to get drafted at a much higher spot than 21st overall.

Wesley Babiy

Forward

Face-Offs Won

Points

Is this uncapped?

The Oslo GAAAAAAAATOOOOOORRRRRAAAAIIIIIDDDDDD chants are premium, but not as great as when Babiy comes out for a big third period face-off and they play this on the jumbotron:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28A9Jgo92GQ

Babiy- Storm

Oslo 3-2

Saskatoon
Bern
Yukon

3-2 Riga

Cologne

Stockholm

Bears

Davos

Are you including the attributes in your word count? You're over 450 anyway so doesn't matter but don't think that should count.

That's fair.  I was really just trying to grind out an article at the end of the week.  If I lose points for content that's totally understandable.

Lucas Galeano Scouting Report

Bio

Name: Lucas Galeano

Team: Oslo Storm

Player Type: Power Play Specialist

Position:  Right Wing

Shoots: Right

Height: 6’0

Weight: 180 lbs

Birthplace: St. Petersburg, FL, USA

Build

CK = Checking: 40
FG = Fighting: 40
DI = Discipline: 40
SK = Skating: 40
ST = Strength: 40
PH = Puck Handling: 65
FO = Face Offs: 40
PA = Passing: 40
SC = Scoring: 66
DF = Defense: 40
PS = Penalty Shot: 40
EX = Experience: 40
LD = Leadership: 40

Grades (2-8)

Shooting:  5

Playmaking: 3

Skating: 3

Physicality: 2

Defending: 2

Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities

Strengths

1: Shooting:  Galeano is similar to many Americans that have come before him: Kessel, Modano, Tkachuk.  He is the back end of the old hockey adage: Pass, Shoot, Score.  When the puck is on his stick there is no one better.  He can hold onto the puck and make some pretty solid dekes, but it is his ability to finish that sets him apart and will make him valuable to the VHL.

2: Experience: Being able to say you've done it before is something that not everyone can say.  Galeano has a pedigree to his name and has one at multiple levels in the past.  He has done this before and should continue to grow so long as he has the desire to be an All-Star in the league.

Weaknesses

1: One Dimensional:  Galeano can shoot that is no question.  And with the puck on his stick he can do some pretty mesmerizing stuff.  But once the puck is away from him he has a scared look in his eyes.  All he knows how to do is shoot, and when he can't do that he turtles and becomes quite frankly a very bad hockey player.  Take advice from a stock broker and diversify your accounts.

2: Content: The issue with experience is that is can lead to becoming too relaxed which is the enemy of success.  Knowing that you can and have done this before takes away that edge of proving something to yourself.  And while I am far from calling Galeano lazy, there is something to be said about skipping out on an entire week of training.

Opportunity of Improvement

Blank Slate:  At the moment the only plus sides to Galeano's game are his offensive abilities, specifically when the puck is on his stick.  However, a player can always get better.  What Galeano has done so far is put himself in a unique position where he can get drafted by a VHL team and go in whatever direction the team needs him to go.  He will always be a shooter first, but he could work on his skating and become an elite sniper, his passing and become an all around offensive force, or his defense and become a real 200 foot player.

Putting It All Together

The three S's are the pillars of successful hockey career: Skating, Shooting, and Strength.  Galeano does not proscribe to that, and it should not be held against him.  He is a very good player who has a lot of room to grow.  If he looks at the holes in his games as opportunities he will go very far.

Projected Round: Early Second

NHL Comparison:  Nikolai Zherdev

Word Count: 547

Oh hell yeah.  Never listened to your podcast before, high quality.  I enjoy the opening, very professional.  You got the name right, which is impressive because when my RL family moved to America no one could pronounce Babiy and it had to get changed to something else.  And to answer your question I was drafted third round, seventieth overall.

Wranglers
Americans
Meute
Vikings 

3-2 Davos