Renomitsu

Johnny Havenk Carlson = Jesus H. Christ, change my mind

1. Probably when @Tagger said I could go in the mid third round. I want to be taken seriously as a player in spite of my relative newness to the league, and I got a tremendous confidence boost when a relatively-reliable source like the VHL Scouting Center sends you some love. Another is when my agent was used as a source for a recent GustavMattias article on defensemen - always feels good for someone you hold in high esteem to be recognized by someone you respect.
 
2. 22. It's the number my uncle wore, and you bet I'm going to do him (and the rest of my family) proud within the next few seasons. It's a number that has a decent amount of history, and my agent and I both agreed pretty quickly on it. I wore a few different jersey numbers in college because I wasn't one of their high-priority scholarship players early on, so I don't have much of an established history in that respect.
 
3. Yeah! I'm pretty sure one guy jumped through the arena walls and onto the ice and tried to hug Nethila @nethi99 mid-way through our last game of the season. I mean, he was a big dude but I've never seen anyone just casually crash through the walls like that, maybe aside from the Kool-Aid Man.
 
4. Personally? I like it. It leaves a tiny bit of ambiguity as to what animal the 'wild' are supoposed to be, but communicates ferocity without too much edginess. I feel like it's pretty easy to make a team logo too edgy with black and red while trying to look 'cool,' and our logo is far from that.
 
5. Wet gear. Other players try to get me back for hard hits way too often to not wear a cup. It's not like they're aiming for the family jewels, but if I've hit them five or six times in a game they're definitely going to try to return every one. I remember falling in the pond once or twice when playing hockey in Ithaca, and yeah, wet gear is rough, but at least it doesn't sting days later like a player in pads going full force into your balls.

HALIFAX--The VHLM playoffs this season brought with them a wave of promise this season, as arguably the deepest-ever draft class and the most talented VHLM population of all time assembled with their respective teams in an all-out battle for supremacy. Though one side of the bracket saw the Yukon Rush winning the play-in round in two games and subsequently losing in 5 to the Minnesota Storm, the other side brought with it a far more interesting and well-fought matchup, one that had been anticipated all season long and was simply destined to be--the series between the Houston Bulls and the Halifax 21st. After falling behind by 2 games in the series, the Bulls rallied back to force a game 7, which, as all good game sevens must, went to overtime. What happened before that overtime period, however, left Houston coaches and management displeased with the ambience in Halifax. 
 
After the buzzer sounded to end the third period, all lights in the arena were shut off, save for a dim red glow around the whole ice surface. Halifax players formed a circle on the ice, whereupon a goat was brought into their midst and slaughtered. 
 
"The guy doing it didn't look much like a priest or a rabbi, either," said Finn Theismann, who contributed a goal and an assist for the Bulls during regulation. "That's the Church of Satan if I've ever seen it."
 
Afterward, a brief ad was run on the arena's large video scoreboard, advertising an "alternate lifestyle" in Guatemala, sponsored by the team. 
 
"Ye ken, Ah want tae stick it tae th' cheil an' graw mah hair it an' shower ance a month an' vote fur obscure third parties. But Ah awreddy dae 'at," said Callum MacElroy, the Bulls' token Scotsman. "Somethin' is wrang thaur an' they're nae tellin' us."
 
Halifax then proceeded to win the game in the overtime period on a goal by Nathan MacKinnon, but Houston's staff was less than satisfied. Almost immediately afterward, the team asked the league to review the game and determine whether Halifax's display constituted an unsportsmanlike attempt to gain an advantage. 
 
When contacted about the matter, league officials declined to comment. 

I'm sorry, did:
1) @GustavMattias just post an article where
2) I'm cited, and
3) He talks about defense?
 
Uh, marry me?

Some time ago, @Renomitsu released a long article detailing just about everything about the upcoming VHL draft's defensemen--not only the top-rated prospects but just about every single one (read that here). While much has changed with the league since, with some players having their draft stock rise quite a bit (going to casually mention Beau Buefordsson here) and others seeing a significant decline (noted semi-active, radically offensive built, mid-to-late-round prospects Srraxxarrakex II and DWin Championship haven't been on in a few weeks), the top three mentioned in this article are still, well, the top three (and the only ones above 200 TPE at the moment). And some distance has been put between them and the others, too: there's a 16-TPE difference between our lowest-TPE defensemen here and Codrick Past, the next-highest on the board. Anyway, though, since I don't think anyone likes to sit around here and listen to me talk, here we go with a closer look at our top three...
*Note: this board will use TPE numbers as of the end of last week, as not all of the below have done all they can this week although I certainly believe that they plan on it.
 
#1: Aron Nielsen, Minnesota Storm (@solas)--222 TPE (+56 since previous article)
Nielsen went through most of this league's run of mock drafts being picked to go later in the draft, with many putting him somewhere in the second round, somewhere below both of our next two. Though solas is a former great, having reached the Hall of Fame a couple times in the VHL, Nielsen was under a bit of speculation as a potential unsafe draft choice as, while he was taking advantage of welfare and getting by on about 10 TPE every week, he really hadn't been creating content to his full potential--welfare (though 6-point welfare) was the choice about half the time, while the other two players here have done everything possible to earn every last point available. With that being said, however, Nielsen's activity has gone up quite a bit lately--creating a biography during theme week earned our number-one player here an absurd 32 TPE for that week, and Nielsen finds himself comfortably on top of the TPE standings. 
 
Current build and stats:

While Nielsen is an offensive-type player, we can see that he's fairly balanced--a scoring rating of 76 is complemented by defense, skating, and puck handling all significantly upgraded, making Nielsen dangerous on both ends of the rink. 
 
While it's possible that solas' welfare-claiming may bother some GMs, this may be canceled by reputation alone--both of our other choices are rookies. Look for Nielsen to be a serious consideration for the first team to pick a defenseman. 
 
 
2. Jerry Garcia, Houston Bulls--206 TPE (+56 since previous article)
Garcia is my player, so I won't go on too long about what I've done. Last week, a lucky win of a doubles week in the monthly lottery enabled Garcia to overtake our #3, Charlie Paddywagon, in TPE, though only by a little bit. Lately, Garcia has been projected in a few mock drafts--Tagger's included--to be the first defenseman off the board, being picked by defense-hungry Davos around #7 (depending on where the Malmo pick falls). The same can be said about both Garcia and Paddywagon--they're both solid prospects who earn every possible point available, and there's nothing negative to be said against either in terms of activity. 
 
Current build and stats:

Garcia has a passing rating of 70, but beyond that he's purely defensive--he put up arguably the most impressive defensive numbers this year at 238 hits and 110 shots blocked, albeit running up 154 penalty minutes.
 
3. Charlie Paddywagon, Las Vegas Aces (@DMaximus) --204 TPE (+50 since previous article)
One could say that Garcia is the defensive version of Nielsen--definitely on the defensive side of things but with a nice offensive stat or two to even things out. Paddywagon, though, is more like the defensive version of nobody, unless you know someone who put everything they had in the VHL into scoring. Not that that's a bad thing--defense is one of the most important stats out there and it's easily the single most important stat there is for a defenseman. Paddywagon has a defense rating of 90 already, more than enough to do well in the VHL. Last season's first defenseman off the board, Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen, has topped 400 TPE and is below Paddywagon in this regard with a defense rating of 85. Paddywagon spent much of this past season leading the league in blocked shots, only losing the crown by one on the last game of the season. While a fairly unbalanced and concentrated build has put Paddywagon under Garcia in most mock drafts, most have him being picked a little bit farther back, with another Davos selection around #9. He's still a safe bet, though--not only has he been a consistent TPE machine, but he knows what he's doing stat-wise. DMaximus wrote a quite impressive script to analyze the stats of Team USA in the World Juniors, and was almost my AGM in Mississauga--though the decision made was eventually different than he would have hoped, it was certainly a tough one, and I recommended (and still recommend) him to any GM interested in taking him on. 
 
Current build and stats:

Defense, defense, defense--that's all Paddywagon is about. If you want someone purely for their ability to defend, Paddywagon is your guy in the draft.
 
Many have complained about the lack of a "franchise defenseman" in this upcoming draft, but these three (and more!) have done quite a bit to legitimize themselves as solid prospects. A case could be made for any of them as the draft's best, and this shouldn't be a topic to overlook when the draft rolls around. 

10. I like Netflex the most because of the name that is just funny stuff my friend.
9. Belongs to Shackleford of course, He's a tough guy on the ice but hes a big softie off of it.
8. I got the Ben Eager treatment in Sask once, a girl flashed me her tits.
6. If I am in the VHLM, I will always build from the net out, it is the most important position especially in the M with everyone having low TPE totals. In Malmo though, you take the best player you can get who you know will stay active throughout.
5. I would swap with Matt Thompson because he is just a beast.

I guess it had to end at some point.
 
Great series, hoping Halifax/Minnesota can be as back-and-forth as this one!

Thanks for following up. Glad to hear you're hitting all the stats, even if the R2 for SB is poor.
 
Great, great work - and super helpful for strategizing GMs!

As the VHL currently stands / was, everyone was either in the 1st or 2nd line so ice time is pretty close for everyone being just a few minutes off, but not enough that it would effect the data. I also ran this for points per 20 minutes to normalize for ice time, and the results were essentially the same for as points. Also, I deleted all bots and anyone who didn't play 70 or more games from this regression. 
 
And yes, my next article will cover hits, shots, PIMs, and other stats. Unfortunately the adjusted R squared for shots blocked is really low, meaning that the attributes don't really predict shots blocked, as that is more based on being on a sucky team with lots of shots against.

Awesome. I would have liked this post just for the 'defense matters' tag but I'm always glad to see statistics.
 
Was this data normalized for ice time? And also, would it be possible to do a similar analysis for hits and shots blocked?

3. Well, we don't. ?
4. So I walk out of the locker room, and I saw Brad Marchand. He saw my fight with Luc-Pierre, so he licked my face and said, "When you come to the NHL, fight me."
5. Well, I'm not much of a mentor. But I'm willing to teach them a few things and be a friend.

If you haven't already read my regression articles before, I suggest you check out my first article to understand what I'm talking about in regards to interpreting the tables, and also feel free to check out my 2nd article as well. I've also linked my data sheet here in case any of you nerds want to check out the excel spreadsheet I used for this data. If you don't care to read through all the detailed math and stuff, just scroll down to the summary of my findings. To quickly summarize how to interpret the tables, look at the probability column, and any attribute under 0.1 (10%) is statistically significant, and the coefficients with the highest number have the strongest correlation (positive or negative).
 
How the Data Was Gathered
 
I looked at every players' season-end attributes and their total stats for each individual regular season, spanning seven seasons from S59 to S65. Because I can't keep track of how players upgrade their attributes throughout the entire season this isn't a perfect system, but it should still be relatively accurate. I deleted all entries from any computer players like CGY LW2 because every bot has the same stats, and I also deleted entries for players who only played like 40 games in a season versus 72. as the lack of games played could skew the results as well. The last time I ran my regression, I was only looking at S63 which was a small sample size of only 76 observations, versus the 570 observations I gathered from all seven seasons, so this regression should be much more accurate. 
 
Goals
 

 
Every statistically significant attribute is significant at the 1% level, with these attributes being defense, experience, faceoffs, passing, puck handling, penalty shot, and scoring.
 
As Expected
 
Scoring unsurprisingly has the strongest positive correlation to goals scored Defense has the 2nd strongest positive correlation, which makes sense as winning puck battles helps your team have more puck possession, resulting in more goals Passing has a negative correlation to goals scored, because you miss 100% of the shots you don't take - Wayne Gretzky - Michael Scott Puck handling has a positive correlation to goals scored because better dekes help you keep possession of the puck and get into high danger scoring areas Faceoffs has a positive correlation to goals scored because winning the faceoff helps your team possess the puck more, and players with high faceoffs most likely have high tpe in general  
Surprises
 
Experience has a decently strong positive correlation to goals scored, but I think this is because players with high experience have high tpe totals in general Penalty shots has a decently strong negative correlation to goals scored, and I have no idea why that would be To all my skating lovers out there, seven seasons of data shows it has minimal impact on goals scored  
Assists
 

 
Defense, discipline, and puck handling are significant at the 1% level. Experience, passing, and faceoffs are significant at the 5% level. Skating is significant at the 10% level.
 
As Expected
 
Faceoffs has a positive correlation to assists scored because winning the faceoff helps your team possess the puck more, and players with high faceoffs most likely have high tpe in general Skating has a positive correlation to assists because higher skating helps your player not get knocked off the puck, resulting in higher time on attack  
Surprises
 
Defense, not passing, has the strongest positive correlation to assists, which actually might make sense because your team overall having the puck more results in more assists (primary or secondary) Discipline has a decently strong negative correlation to assists, and I have no clue how discipline would impact anything other than taking less penalties, other than it just being a tpe waste? Passing only has a weak positive correlation to assists, which I would not expect due to it's impact in your player's decision making process (pass, shoot, or skate) Puck handling has the second strongest positive correlation to assists, proving once again it's one of the most important attributes Experience has about the same positive correlation to assists as passing, but that's likely just because players with the highest tpe have the most experience on average.  
Points
 

Defense, discipline, experience, faceoffs, puck handling, and scoring are significant are the 1% level. Penalty shots is significant at the 10% level.
 
As Expected
 
Defense has the strongest positive correlation to points, which actually might make sense because your team overall having the puck more results in more assists (primary or secondary) and more goals scored. Faceoffs has a decently strong positive correlation to points, because winning the faceoff helps your team possess the puck more, and players with high faceoffs most likely have high tpe in general Scoring has a strong positive correlation to points  
Surprises
 
Discipline has a decently strong negative correlation to points, and I have no clue how discipline would impact anything other than taking less penalties, other than it just being a tpe waste? Experience has a decently strong positive correlation to points, but I think this is because players with high experience have high tpe totals in general Puck Handling has the 2nd highest positive correlation to points after defense, once again showing how important of an attribute it is.  Penalty shots has a slight negative correlation to points for some unknown reason, I can't imagine why it would matter other than being a tpe waste All my skating lovers, it is not statistically significant in relation to points  
Summary
 
As a quik recap, in order of importance the following attributes have the greatest impact on these statistics. + means positive correlation, - means negative correlation, ? means I am unsure if totally correct.
 
Goals - Scoring (+), Penalty Shot (-), Passing (-), Faceoffs (+), Defense (+), Experience (+), Puck Handling (+)
Assists - Defense (+), Puck Handling (+), Discipline (-), Skating (+), Passing (+), Experience (+), Faceoffs (+)
Points - Defense (+), Puck Handling (+), Scoring (+), Discipline (-), Faceoffs (+), Experience (+), Penalty Shots (-)
 
Notice I didn't mention strength the entire time? I would think that it contributes towards points by helping your player not get bumped off the puck and by bumping other players off the puck with your checks, but it was not statistically significant in any of these categories. Also, it still looks like skating is not a very valuable attribute, even though a lot of hall of fame players who had tons of tpe in every attribute had lots of skating as well ? 
 

That's fair, maybe its not Houston in particular. It's just a bit annoying when some GMs care more about winning than inclusiveness to the point where they won't even offer for the 4th line because they don't want to have to play extra guys and ruin their cup hopes, I mean this is the VHLM, the idea is to get everyone involved. It's annoying to see that some players go for days without a contract offer whereas when Advantage created at the deadline, all of a sudden, everyone has room. All players should be treated the same. I'll admit, I've been guilty of this as well at times, but it was painful to have like zero roster spots and seeing a lot of teams who still had spots not bothering to offer. The teams that care more about the players, suffer as a result. Again, not saying Houston is the worst team for this, but something certainly needs to change to make sure teams don't hold out.

1. Although the spots have been filled, I did give our current AGM the link to the application process and would love to see him with his own team eventually as well. 

2. In my personal opinion... simming cost us two games when I had picture evidence that I 'sent' lines before the sim, they just weren't 'received' until after. 

3. DRAFT EVERRRRRRRRRRRRYONE! 
 
4. Jagr is the most likely candidate to have immediate success in the VHL, but both Hackett and Shackleford could see tons of important minutes on a VHL team as well. 

5. I'm actually content... but I'm a VHLer, I get to answer this questions because I'm your boss. 

6. Pass, can't give those pesky GMs any ideas! 

Don't know why you never applied to be GM but you're more informed on the expansion draft than I am. 
Gotta love expansion teams though ahem Mississauga

(Unofficial) VHLM Scouting AgencyTM, USA – We’ve got an expansion draft on our hands, and a few key players and picks are for sale. A huge S66 and burgeoning S67 draft class make the Entry and Dispersal drafts a pretty big event, but VHLM GMs have a monumental task on their hands: who do they protect, and who’s most likely to find themselves on a brand-new team come S66?
 
We’re going to take a quik look across the VHLM and see who (and what picks) GMs might want to keep under wraps, as well as who’s most likely to walk.
 
Halifax 21st

GM: McWolf
Most Likely Protectees:
(No Firsts to Protect)
(S65) Chase, Stand-up Goalie, 198 TPE*
(S66) Rhye Tyr, Offensive Defenseman, 177 TPE*
(S64) Anton Edvin, Two-Way Right Wing, 140 TPE
(S66) Nacho, All-Around Forward, 125 TPE
S67 HFX 2nd
*dependent on VHL trajectory
 
The 21st are in the thick of a playoff race that will see them face the Minnesota Storm in the finals – understandably, they’ve got a lot of players who are headed up to the VHL regardless of what happens. Basaraba Moose, Dimitri Volosenkov, Jet Jaguar, Julius Freeman, and Teagan Glover are players from the S64 draft through this season’s upcoming draft who must transition to the majors next season; they’ve got at least three or four that will make an immediate impact on the league. That leaves only a handful of players that they’re almost guaranteed to keep – and with no S66 firsts, they have to reach down pretty far and hope for a number of good signees after the draft. Several of their good S66 non-VHL players like Edward Vigneault will be headed into the dispersal and entry drafts. The question then is, who does that leave?
 
Rhye Tyr @Plate will probably be McWolf’s highest priority pick – Tyr’s agent just made a return and he’s effectively at the TPE cap. The player’s sudden improvement makes him a high-priority pick in the VHL Entry Draft – and you can expect Tyr to be a sure-fire pick by the early second round (possibly even the first). He’ll likely spend another season in the minors, crushing the competition before uncapping in the S67 offseason – or even being called up late in the season if his VHL team is making a playoff push. The same may apply to S65 prospect Chase, but he’s quite likely to head off to the pros next season since he’s at 198 TPE. This leaves Halifax with very few options next season, but some high-priority picks may be S66 forward Nacho, who will spend another season in theminors, and some older draftees like Anton Edvin. Nathan McKinnon may be headed to the waiver list, as he’s in his third season of his minor league rights contract.
 
The 21st are all-in on this season though, as they made a few trades with the Philadelphia Reapers and Yukon Rush that sent away a multitude of S66 and S67 picks. They only possess Philadelphia’s S66 third and sixth round picks, and while those will likely be at the top of each round, having two picks isn’t ideal in the league’s deepest draft in a long time. It's possible that they'll elect to protect their S67 2nd or the S66 PHI 3rd - or both, espcially if Chase and/or Rhye Tyr go pro. That, at best, leaves expansion teams with a S67 third-rounder.
 
Expansion Effect: Low/Medium
 
 
Houston Bulls

GM: Sonnet
Most Likely Protectees:
(No Firsts to Protect)
(S65) Milan Griffin, Sniper/Two-Way Left Wing, 161 TPE
(S65) Callum MacElroy, All-Around Right Wing, 158 TPE
(S65) Fylo GIbbles, Offensive Defenseman, 136 TPE
S66 HOU 3rd
S67 HOU 2nd
 
 
In spite of being a S65 Expansion Team, the Bulls have a decent selection of prior draft picks to save for later – especially since their rights don’t expire for the next couple of seasons. Off to the VHL are Jack Lynch, Jerry Garcia, Kari Jurri, Maximilian Kirbsson, Viktor Kozlov , Owen May, and Ludvig Sederstrom – six members of an incredible team that have aspirations of pulling off the impossible in the playoffs this season after forcing a game 7 against Halifax with an overtime thriller just a few hours ago. They’ll also be losing core members in Beau Buefordsson, Rhys Chism, and Samuel Sparrow – all of which will be entering the S66 Dispersal & Entry drafts. Frankly, that doesn’t leave them with very much – they have a few strong S65 minor leaguers that will form the basis of a decent Bulls team next season, but they’ll be scrambling for new players like Halifax come next season.
 
Houston’s draft is more promising than Halifax’s, with third and fifth-through-seventh round picks for S66 – but that still means they’ll be looking at primarily 100-130 TPE players (optimistically) for their first couple of picks. Like Halifax, they have pretty slim current player pickings after their protected players: expansion teams will probably have to take 30-50 TPE players if they want anything from the Bulls. What's far more likely is teams opt for Houston's S67 3rd - or if they're desperate for immediate success, maybe their S66 5th.
 
Expansion Effect: Very Low
 
 
Las Vegas Aces

GM: Jubo07 (S65) => oilmandan (S66)
Most Likely Protectees:
(No Firsts to Protect)
(S66) Jordan Joshua Tonn, Offensive Center, 156 TPE
(S64) Rocky LaGarza, All-Around Right Wing, 175 TPE
(S66) Luke Derion, Butterfly Goalie, 112 TPE
S66 OTT 3rd
(S65) Benson Van Roosen, Offensive Defenseman, 90 TPE
 
Las Vegas is another playoff team that has relatively few resources left after their protection list, particularly because they’re losing at least seven players to the Entry Draft – Charlie Paddywagon, David Harrison, Josh Harris, Kyle Sabertooth, Mikko Aaltonen, Mitch Matthews, and Tyler Barabash Jr.. The Aces had their season end just four days ago after a crushing double-overtime loss against Yukon, where they had a 3-1 lead after the first period and saw it slowly slip away over the next two in spite of a 58-39 shot imbalance in their favor. Many of their S65 players that provided them depth – or a starter in the case of netminder Kolur Bjoernsson and defenseman Duncan Jeffers– will be headed to the Dispersal and Entry Drafts – but thankfully the Aces have enough depth to retain five solid players, as shown above.
 
Like the 21st and Bulls, the Aces are limited in their draft picks, with a few other teams’ 3rd-5th round picks in S66 (OTT 3rd, SSK 4th, and PHI 5th), so while they’re able to retain some acceptable players, they’ll be largely reliant on new signees for next season too. Some of the more desperate expansion teams may try to claim 50-70 TPE wingers Willy memelander or Micheal Rasmussen, but it’s more likely that they try to take Vegas’s 3rd or 4th rounders in S66 or S67 before that.
 
Expansion Effect: Low/Medium
 
 
Minnesota Storm

GM: Eudaldkp
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 LVA 1st
(Automatic) S67 MIN 1st
(S66) Andreas Sundell, Playmaking Defenseman, 128 TPE
(S65) Donat Szita, Offensive Defenseman, 110 TPE
(S65) Dorian Mason, Passing Center, 92 TPE
(S66) Wendy Kandee Cain, Butterfly (?) Goalie, 152 TPE
(S64) Divaani Sohva, Butterfly (?) Goalie, 125 TPE // S66 MIN 3rd
 
The Storm are the favorites to win the title this year – though the winner of the 21st/Bulls series will give them a run for their money – and they will lose a whole host of players to the VHL this season, among them Aron Nielsen, Bert Meyers, Chico Smeb, Denver Wolfe, Matteo, Matthew Kai, Orion Slade, Shane Mars, and Sven Hitz – more than any other team in the league. In fact, they’ve enough talent to easily field two lines of capped (or nearly-capped) forwards and defensemen, a claim that can’t be said even by other playoff teams. They’ll be losing Codrick Past and Mat Tocco, two key depth pieces, to the Dispersal/Entry Drafts, but even after all of these players go, they still may not have enough protection slots to hit all of their 80-120 TPE players.
 
They may consider keeping two goalies in Wendy ‘Kandee’ Cain and Divaani Sohva, but Minnesota is in a uniquely unfortunate situation with these two: Cain may be called up even before hitting 200 TPE next season if there’s a lack of quality keepers in the majors (especially with the Nighthawks entering the fray). Further, Sohva’s junior rights only last one more season – so the Storm will have to look for another answer at goalie if they want a long-term acceptable answer. They’ll likely draft a one-and-done player with Las Vegas’s first-rounder – possibly taking Codrick Past if he plans on staying down in the minors next season – but the incredible depth they had this season won’t be around for the next one. We'll most likely see the S66 3rd rounder or Divaani Sohva leave, depending on if GM Eudaldkp wants to try to turn Sohva into trade bait.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: Low/Medium
 
 
Ottawa Lynx

GM: Esso2264
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 OTT 1st
(Automatic) S67 HOU 1st 
S67 OTT 1st 
(S65) Don Draper, All-Around Right Wing, 163 TPE
(S65) Pekka Pouta, Hybrid Goalie, 147 TPE
(S66) Hunter Wagner, All-Around Left Wing, 138 TPE
S66 HOU 2nd // S66 OTT 2nd // (S66) Blake Laughton, Scoring Left Wing, 113 TPE
 
The Lynx found themselves prioritizing future seasons over this one, as a late slide in the last third of the season put them at home during the playoffs. It’s actually unlikely that this team sees any of their players leave for the pros with this upcoming draft, as they sent away Codrick Past and Jack Lynch for depth players and picks. Sadly, they’ll lose a starter in Aleksander Rodriguez to the Dispersal Draft – but they retain Hunter Wagner and a pair of high-quality S65 prospects in Pekka Pouta and Don Draper. They have the option of retaining the second of their two second-rounders or S66 winger Blake Laughton – and that ends up being a matter of whether they are looking for a likely one-and-done or seeing if Laughton will be called up in the middle of next season.
 
The Lynx are in a good position draft-wise, as they have five picks in the first four rounds (including two seconds and a first this season) over the next two drafts. They'll most likely end up having one of their second-rounders taken from them, unless they want to lose a 130+ TPE veteran.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: Medium-High
 
 
Philadelphia Reapers

GM: BladeMaiden
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 PHI 1st
(Automatic) S66 HFX 1st
S67 PHI 1st
S67 SSK 1st
S67 HFX 1st
S67 LVA 1st
S66 PHI 2nd // (S66) Sunny Burst, Stand-Up Goalie, 87 TPE
 
Well, the Philadelphia Reapers are slated for an incredible S66 draft following a miserable Season 65. They might protect picks with all five of their selections, but I’ve listed netminder Sunny Burst as an option depending on how he’s communicated to his GM about activity. The Reapers may possibly lose a 2nd round pick to Expansion – but since they can only lose one asset, that’s the worst damage they can take. Philly is the only team that has a draft pick list that you might actually have to scroll through to get all the way down, and with plenty of 100ish TPE prospects, they’re likely to have a deep, deep team next season. You can probably rest easy, current Reapers – new GMs will probably hazard a 2nd round draft pick rather than taking <100 TPE players – but that gives you a chance to grow on what should be an promising S66/S67 team.
 
In spite of being an expansion team, the Reapers have a trade list that runs as long as any current expansion team – and that shouldn’t be a surprise with their list of picks. BladeMaiden has the most work to do out of any GM this upcoming draft, with a whopping eleven picks in the first four rounds in BOTH S66 and S67. She’ll have to carefully navigate around current active players and draftees, however. The main Expansion Draft question BladeMaiden has to answer is if she wants to keep Burst or not - after that, she has to do her homework on our S66 Dispersal draftees.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: High
 
 
Saskatoon Wild

GM: Peace
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 SSK 1st
(Automatic) S66 HOU 1st
S66 MIN 1st
S66 SSK 2nd
(S65) Brian Strong, All-Around Right Wing, 155 TPE
(S66) John Perdue, Two-Way Left Wing, 135 TPE // Hans Gruber* // Rusty Shackleford* // Nethila Dissanayake*
*dependent on VHL trajectory
 
The Wild are probably in the roughest position of any team facing the Expansion Draft, as their combination of draft picks – six picks in the first three rounds – and previously-drafted talent like those listed above is the deepest. It’s entirely likely that Saskatoon loses a second-rounder or (depending on who goes pro), maybe even Hans Gruber, Rusty Shackleford, or Nethila Dissanayake, each 170 TPE players in their own right. The worst-case scenario is Gruber, Shackleford, and Dissanayake both stay down, in which case John Perdue and Brian Strong are up for grabs and Peace has to make a decision on whether to keep a potential early call-up or a longer-term player. In the best case, one or none of his high-tier prospects leave for the VHL and Peace gets to keep all of his top picks AND prospects without a fuss.
 
Having several starters and depth players like Anthony Amberback, Apollo Hackett, Cody Parkey, Edgar Tannahill, and Emil Passerelli lost to the draft will be sad for the Wild – but they’re in prime position to re-draft some of these up-and-coming players, and Peace will have plenty of inside information about their professional league plans. But Peace’s job with his protection list and draft will be nearly as difficult – if not more difficult – than Philly GM BladeMaiden’s. It's entirely likely they send off a high second round pick in favor of firsts and a few high-quality, mid-100 TPE players.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: High
 
 
Yukon Rush

GM: Josh.
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 YUK 1st
(Automatic) S67 YUK 1st
(S66) Valeri Morozov, Scoring Defenseman, 184 TPE*
(S66) Clayton Park, Butterfly Goalie, 166 TPE
(S66) Richard Hejtsel, Defensive Defenseman, 123 TPE
S66 YUK 3rd
S67 YUK 2nd
*dependent on VHL trajectory
 
After a heart-breaking, series-ending loss to Minnesota, the Rush are back to the drawing board. Like the other playoff teams, they have a host of players heading off to the pros – among them Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Anthony Matthews, and Arnor Sigurdsson. It’s also entirely possible that they lose winger Valeri Morozov and Clayton Park, with the former more likely than the latter because of his 183 TPE. However, as with Wendy Cain, Clayton Park may be forced to ascend to the professional league early because of a mixture of expansion/lack of goalie depth. This leaves GM Josh with a pretty clear-cut set of players to retain, as there isn’t a whole lot of depth on the Yukon squad after their sure-fire major leaguers.
 
Yukon may end up giving up the Halifax third-rounder in order to retain Richard Hejtsel – but if Morozov is definitely going pro the Rush might just give up their 4th-rounder or prospect Titus Stone. The Rush are in a decent spot draft-wise, but they'll probably have to give up an S66 or S67 3rd-rounder to the expansion.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: Medium
 
(Uh... when I claim this, I'll let you know? 2,500+ words)

The S66 Draft is full of right wing talent. Here’s the top five RWs in this massive (and deep) draft class.
 
Mikko Aaltonen
TPE: 241
Nationality: Finland
Team: Las Vegas Aces
 
One of the top prospects from the beginning of the season was Finnish winger Mikko Aaltonen and he’s lived up to that billing. Mikko has scored 82 points in 62 games split between Las Vegas and the team that drafted him in Philadelphia. Aaltonen is a sniper, plain and simple. He’s got 80 scoring and 79 skating to go along with 70 puck handling, but can also defend well (75). Mikko is a no-doubt first rounder who’ll be a star for whatever team he goes to. 
 
Verdict: Aaltonen is a top scorer with first-line potential (elite at his peak). He’s a lock for going in the top 5. 
 
Arnor Sigurdsson 
TPE: 209
Nationality: Icelandic
Team: Yukon Rush
 
Sigurdsson has been a riser in mocks as of late, going from missing out on the first round to being a sure fire late first round to early second round pick. His production has ramped up in recent weeks, as Arnor recently hit a point per game average with 58 points in 57 games for the Rush (35 goals, 33 assists). Sigurdsson’s what you would call a total power forward. His main strengths are scoring (74), skating (70), strength (70), and puck handling (70). There have been questions about his build, and whether he’d stay at power forward or move to becoming an all-round player (or becoming a defenseman since he has good stats for one), but there’s no doubt that the kid’s got talent. 
 
Verdict: Sigurdsson has top 6 potential. I see him going in the 8-12 range during the draft. 
 
Shawnomir Jagr
TPE: 205
Nationality: Czech
Team: Saskatoon Wild
 
Another play who’s risen as of late is Shawnomir Jagr. Jagr was stolen by Saskatoon at 18th Overall in the last VHLM draft and has been one of their best players, with an astounding 95 points. When looking at his build, you can tell that he’s built to score. Jagr has 83 scoring, 70 skating, and 70 puck handling. However, Jagr is strong (70 strength) and a solid defender (72). This is a top scorer who might fly under the radar, so keep an eye out for him. 
 
Verdict: Like Sigurdsson, expect him to go in the 8-12 range. He’s got top 6 potential as a scorer. 
 
Nethila Dissanayake
TPE: 166
Nationality: Sri Lankan
Team: Saskatoon Wild
 
Another Saskatoon Wild player makes the list as Nethila Dissanayake has proven himself to be a steal in the VHLM Draft after going at 32nd Overall. Dissanayake has had a great season to date with 72 points. It looks like Nethila is an offensive machine, with 78 scoring and 70 passing. He’s also got the finesse skills on lock with 71 skating and 70 puck handling, but there could be concerns about his lack of strength (43) for his massive 6’8” frame. 
 
Verdict: Dissanayake will be a steal wherever he goes, most likely in the second round. He’s got real good potential (top 6). 
 

John Frostbeard
TPE: 154
Nationality: Latvian
Team: Yukon Rush
 
Everyone knows that Philadelphia sold their team hard to tank this season and one of the players they traded was John Frostbeard. The Latvian has been solid for both Philadelphia and Yukon (his new team), with 64 points (a shade under a point per game). Frostbeard is a playmaker, with 70 passing, 69 puckhandling (nice) and 70 skating, and as such has tacked up 45 assists so far. However, he can also defend (70) as well. Frostbeard, like Dissanayake before him, needs to work on his strength, as the 6’4” man only has 45 strength. His scoring (60) could also be an issue, but with his production, I wouldn’t sweat it. 
 
Verdict: Frostbeard will most likely go in either the late second or early third round where he’ll be a massive steal. He’s got potential to be a nice top 9 forward, but with hard work and dedication I can see him cracking a top 6 role. 
 
This is a deep class, but before I end this, I wanna give a shoutout to Mat Tocco, Emil Passerelli, and Aleksander Rodriguez, three promising RWs who recently broke 100 TPE and could be some really nice pieces for their VHL teams. We’ve got a really nice class this year and I really can’t wait to see everyone get drafted (I know I’ve said this a lot, and it’s because I’m really looking forward to the draft). Good luck to you all!

(Unofficial) VHLM Scouting AgencyTM, USA – We’ve got an expansion draft on our hands, and a few key players and picks are for sale. A huge S66 and burgeoning S67 draft class make the Entry and Dispersal drafts a pretty big event, but VHLM GMs have a monumental task on their hands: who do they protect, and who’s most likely to find themselves on a brand-new team come S66?
 
We’re going to take a quik look across the VHLM and see who (and what picks) GMs might want to keep under wraps, as well as who’s most likely to walk.
 
Halifax 21st

GM: McWolf
Most Likely Protectees:
(No Firsts to Protect)
(S65) Chase, Stand-up Goalie, 198 TPE*
(S66) Rhye Tyr, Offensive Defenseman, 177 TPE*
(S64) Anton Edvin, Two-Way Right Wing, 140 TPE
(S66) Nacho, All-Around Forward, 125 TPE
S67 HFX 2nd
*dependent on VHL trajectory
 
The 21st are in the thick of a playoff race that will see them face the Minnesota Storm in the finals – understandably, they’ve got a lot of players who are headed up to the VHL regardless of what happens. Basaraba Moose, Dimitri Volosenkov, Jet Jaguar, Julius Freeman, and Teagan Glover are players from the S64 draft through this season’s upcoming draft who must transition to the majors next season; they’ve got at least three or four that will make an immediate impact on the league. That leaves only a handful of players that they’re almost guaranteed to keep – and with no S66 firsts, they have to reach down pretty far and hope for a number of good signees after the draft. Several of their good S66 non-VHL players like Edward Vigneault will be headed into the dispersal and entry drafts. The question then is, who does that leave?
 
Rhye Tyr @Plate will probably be McWolf’s highest priority pick – Tyr’s agent just made a return and he’s effectively at the TPE cap. The player’s sudden improvement makes him a high-priority pick in the VHL Entry Draft – and you can expect Tyr to be a sure-fire pick by the early second round (possibly even the first). He’ll likely spend another season in the minors, crushing the competition before uncapping in the S67 offseason – or even being called up late in the season if his VHL team is making a playoff push. The same may apply to S65 prospect Chase, but he’s quite likely to head off to the pros next season since he’s at 198 TPE. This leaves Halifax with very few options next season, but some high-priority picks may be S66 forward Nacho, who will spend another season in theminors, and some older draftees like Anton Edvin. Nathan McKinnon may be headed to the waiver list, as he’s in his third season of his minor league rights contract.
 
The 21st are all-in on this season though, as they made a few trades with the Philadelphia Reapers and Yukon Rush that sent away a multitude of S66 and S67 picks. They only possess Philadelphia’s S66 third and sixth round picks, and while those will likely be at the top of each round, having two picks isn’t ideal in the league’s deepest draft in a long time. It's possible that they'll elect to protect their S67 2nd or the S66 PHI 3rd - or both, espcially if Chase and/or Rhye Tyr go pro. That, at best, leaves expansion teams with a S67 third-rounder.
 
Expansion Effect: Low/Medium
 
 
Houston Bulls

GM: Sonnet
Most Likely Protectees:
(No Firsts to Protect)
(S65) Milan Griffin, Sniper/Two-Way Left Wing, 161 TPE
(S65) Callum MacElroy, All-Around Right Wing, 158 TPE
(S65) Fylo GIbbles, Offensive Defenseman, 136 TPE
S66 HOU 3rd
S67 HOU 2nd
 
 
In spite of being a S65 Expansion Team, the Bulls have a decent selection of prior draft picks to save for later – especially since their rights don’t expire for the next couple of seasons. Off to the VHL are Jack Lynch, Jerry Garcia, Kari Jurri, Maximilian Kirbsson, Viktor Kozlov , Owen May, and Ludvig Sederstrom – six members of an incredible team that have aspirations of pulling off the impossible in the playoffs this season after forcing a game 7 against Halifax with an overtime thriller just a few hours ago. They’ll also be losing core members in Beau Buefordsson, Rhys Chism, and Samuel Sparrow – all of which will be entering the S66 Dispersal & Entry drafts. Frankly, that doesn’t leave them with very much – they have a few strong S65 minor leaguers that will form the basis of a decent Bulls team next season, but they’ll be scrambling for new players like Halifax come next season.
 
Houston’s draft is more promising than Halifax’s, with third and fifth-through-seventh round picks for S66 – but that still means they’ll be looking at primarily 100-130 TPE players (optimistically) for their first couple of picks. Like Halifax, they have pretty slim current player pickings after their protected players: expansion teams will probably have to take 30-50 TPE players if they want anything from the Bulls. What's far more likely is teams opt for Houston's S67 3rd - or if they're desperate for immediate success, maybe their S66 5th.
 
Expansion Effect: Very Low
 
 
Las Vegas Aces

GM: Jubo07 (S65) => oilmandan (S66)
Most Likely Protectees:
(No Firsts to Protect)
(S66) Jordan Joshua Tonn, Offensive Center, 156 TPE
(S64) Rocky LaGarza, All-Around Right Wing, 175 TPE
(S66) Luke Derion, Butterfly Goalie, 112 TPE
S66 OTT 3rd
(S65) Benson Van Roosen, Offensive Defenseman, 90 TPE
 
Las Vegas is another playoff team that has relatively few resources left after their protection list, particularly because they’re losing at least seven players to the Entry Draft – Charlie Paddywagon, David Harrison, Josh Harris, Kyle Sabertooth, Mikko Aaltonen, Mitch Matthews, and Tyler Barabash Jr.. The Aces had their season end just four days ago after a crushing double-overtime loss against Yukon, where they had a 3-1 lead after the first period and saw it slowly slip away over the next two in spite of a 58-39 shot imbalance in their favor. Many of their S65 players that provided them depth – or a starter in the case of netminder Kolur Bjoernsson and defenseman Duncan Jeffers– will be headed to the Dispersal and Entry Drafts – but thankfully the Aces have enough depth to retain five solid players, as shown above.
 
Like the 21st and Bulls, the Aces are limited in their draft picks, with a few other teams’ 3rd-5th round picks in S66 (OTT 3rd, SSK 4th, and PHI 5th), so while they’re able to retain some acceptable players, they’ll be largely reliant on new signees for next season too. Some of the more desperate expansion teams may try to claim 50-70 TPE wingers Willy memelander or Micheal Rasmussen, but it’s more likely that they try to take Vegas’s 3rd or 4th rounders in S66 or S67 before that.
 
Expansion Effect: Low/Medium
 
 
Minnesota Storm

GM: Eudaldkp
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 LVA 1st
(Automatic) S67 MIN 1st
(S66) Andreas Sundell, Playmaking Defenseman, 128 TPE
(S65) Donat Szita, Offensive Defenseman, 110 TPE
(S65) Dorian Mason, Passing Center, 92 TPE
(S66) Wendy Kandee Cain, Butterfly (?) Goalie, 152 TPE
(S64) Divaani Sohva, Butterfly (?) Goalie, 125 TPE // S66 MIN 3rd
 
The Storm are the favorites to win the title this year – though the winner of the 21st/Bulls series will give them a run for their money – and they will lose a whole host of players to the VHL this season, among them Aron Nielsen, Bert Meyers, Chico Smeb, Denver Wolfe, Matteo, Matthew Kai, Orion Slade, Shane Mars, and Sven Hitz – more than any other team in the league. In fact, they’ve enough talent to easily field two lines of capped (or nearly-capped) forwards and defensemen, a claim that can’t be said even by other playoff teams. They’ll be losing Codrick Past and Mat Tocco, two key depth pieces, to the Dispersal/Entry Drafts, but even after all of these players go, they still may not have enough protection slots to hit all of their 80-120 TPE players.
 
They may consider keeping two goalies in Wendy ‘Kandee’ Cain and Divaani Sohva, but Minnesota is in a uniquely unfortunate situation with these two: Cain may be called up even before hitting 200 TPE next season if there’s a lack of quality keepers in the majors (especially with the Nighthawks entering the fray). Further, Sohva’s junior rights only last one more season – so the Storm will have to look for another answer at goalie if they want a long-term acceptable answer. They’ll likely draft a one-and-done player with Las Vegas’s first-rounder – possibly taking Codrick Past if he plans on staying down in the minors next season – but the incredible depth they had this season won’t be around for the next one. We'll most likely see the S66 3rd rounder or Divaani Sohva leave, depending on if GM Eudaldkp wants to try to turn Sohva into trade bait.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: Low/Medium
 
 
Ottawa Lynx

GM: Esso2264
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 OTT 1st
(Automatic) S67 HOU 1st 
S67 OTT 1st 
(S65) Don Draper, All-Around Right Wing, 163 TPE
(S65) Pekka Pouta, Hybrid Goalie, 147 TPE
(S66) Hunter Wagner, All-Around Left Wing, 138 TPE
S66 HOU 2nd // S66 OTT 2nd // (S66) Blake Laughton, Scoring Left Wing, 113 TPE
 
The Lynx found themselves prioritizing future seasons over this one, as a late slide in the last third of the season put them at home during the playoffs. It’s actually unlikely that this team sees any of their players leave for the pros with this upcoming draft, as they sent away Codrick Past and Jack Lynch for depth players and picks. Sadly, they’ll lose a starter in Aleksander Rodriguez to the Dispersal Draft – but they retain Hunter Wagner and a pair of high-quality S65 prospects in Pekka Pouta and Don Draper. They have the option of retaining the second of their two second-rounders or S66 winger Blake Laughton – and that ends up being a matter of whether they are looking for a likely one-and-done or seeing if Laughton will be called up in the middle of next season.
 
The Lynx are in a good position draft-wise, as they have five picks in the first four rounds (including two seconds and a first this season) over the next two drafts. They'll most likely end up having one of their second-rounders taken from them, unless they want to lose a 130+ TPE veteran.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: Medium-High
 
 
Philadelphia Reapers

GM: BladeMaiden
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 PHI 1st
(Automatic) S66 HFX 1st
S67 PHI 1st
S67 SSK 1st
S67 HFX 1st
S67 LVA 1st
S66 PHI 2nd // (S66) Sunny Burst, Stand-Up Goalie, 87 TPE
 
Well, the Philadelphia Reapers are slated for an incredible S66 draft following a miserable Season 65. They might protect picks with all five of their selections, but I’ve listed netminder Sunny Burst as an option depending on how he’s communicated to his GM about activity. The Reapers may possibly lose a 2nd round pick to Expansion – but since they can only lose one asset, that’s the worst damage they can take. Philly is the only team that has a draft pick list that you might actually have to scroll through to get all the way down, and with plenty of 100ish TPE prospects, they’re likely to have a deep, deep team next season. You can probably rest easy, current Reapers – new GMs will probably hazard a 2nd round draft pick rather than taking <100 TPE players – but that gives you a chance to grow on what should be an promising S66/S67 team.
 
In spite of being an expansion team, the Reapers have a trade list that runs as long as any current expansion team – and that shouldn’t be a surprise with their list of picks. BladeMaiden has the most work to do out of any GM this upcoming draft, with a whopping eleven picks in the first four rounds in BOTH S66 and S67. She’ll have to carefully navigate around current active players and draftees, however. The main Expansion Draft question BladeMaiden has to answer is if she wants to keep Burst or not - after that, she has to do her homework on our S66 Dispersal draftees.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: High
 
 
Saskatoon Wild

GM: Peace
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 SSK 1st
(Automatic) S66 HOU 1st
S66 MIN 1st
S66 SSK 2nd
(S65) Brian Strong, All-Around Right Wing, 155 TPE
(S66) John Perdue, Two-Way Left Wing, 135 TPE // Hans Gruber* // Rusty Shackleford* // Nethila Dissanayake*
*dependent on VHL trajectory
 
The Wild are probably in the roughest position of any team facing the Expansion Draft, as their combination of draft picks – six picks in the first three rounds – and previously-drafted talent like those listed above is the deepest. It’s entirely likely that Saskatoon loses a second-rounder or (depending on who goes pro), maybe even Hans Gruber, Rusty Shackleford, or Nethila Dissanayake, each 170 TPE players in their own right. The worst-case scenario is Gruber, Shackleford, and Dissanayake both stay down, in which case John Perdue and Brian Strong are up for grabs and Peace has to make a decision on whether to keep a potential early call-up or a longer-term player. In the best case, one or none of his high-tier prospects leave for the VHL and Peace gets to keep all of his top picks AND prospects without a fuss.
 
Having several starters and depth players like Anthony Amberback, Apollo Hackett, Cody Parkey, Edgar Tannahill, and Emil Passerelli lost to the draft will be sad for the Wild – but they’re in prime position to re-draft some of these up-and-coming players, and Peace will have plenty of inside information about their professional league plans. But Peace’s job with his protection list and draft will be nearly as difficult – if not more difficult – than Philly GM BladeMaiden’s. It's entirely likely they send off a high second round pick in favor of firsts and a few high-quality, mid-100 TPE players.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: High
 
 
Yukon Rush

GM: Josh.
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 YUK 1st
(Automatic) S67 YUK 1st
(S66) Valeri Morozov, Scoring Defenseman, 184 TPE*
(S66) Clayton Park, Butterfly Goalie, 166 TPE
(S66) Richard Hejtsel, Defensive Defenseman, 123 TPE
S66 YUK 3rd
S67 YUK 2nd
*dependent on VHL trajectory
 
After a heart-breaking, series-ending loss to Minnesota, the Rush are back to the drawing board. Like the other playoff teams, they have a host of players heading off to the pros – among them Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Anthony Matthews, and Arnor Sigurdsson. It’s also entirely possible that they lose winger Valeri Morozov and Clayton Park, with the former more likely than the latter because of his 183 TPE. However, as with Wendy Cain, Clayton Park may be forced to ascend to the professional league early because of a mixture of expansion/lack of goalie depth. This leaves GM Josh with a pretty clear-cut set of players to retain, as there isn’t a whole lot of depth on the Yukon squad after their sure-fire major leaguers.
 
Yukon may end up giving up the Halifax third-rounder in order to retain Richard Hejtsel – but if Morozov is definitely going pro the Rush might just give up their 4th-rounder or prospect Titus Stone. The Rush are in a decent spot draft-wise, but they'll probably have to give up an S66 or S67 3rd-rounder to the expansion.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: Medium
 
(Uh... when I claim this, I'll let you know? 2,500+ words)

(Unofficial) VHLM Scouting AgencyTM, USA – We’ve got an expansion draft on our hands, and a few key players and picks are for sale. A huge S66 and burgeoning S67 draft class make the Entry and Dispersal drafts a pretty big event, but VHLM GMs have a monumental task on their hands: who do they protect, and who’s most likely to find themselves on a brand-new team come S66?
 
We’re going to take a quik look across the VHLM and see who (and what picks) GMs might want to keep under wraps, as well as who’s most likely to walk.
 
Halifax 21st

GM: McWolf
Most Likely Protectees:
(No Firsts to Protect)
(S65) Chase, Stand-up Goalie, 198 TPE*
(S66) Rhye Tyr, Offensive Defenseman, 177 TPE*
(S64) Anton Edvin, Two-Way Right Wing, 140 TPE
(S66) Nacho, All-Around Forward, 125 TPE
S67 HFX 2nd
*dependent on VHL trajectory
 
The 21st are in the thick of a playoff race that will see them face the Minnesota Storm in the finals – understandably, they’ve got a lot of players who are headed up to the VHL regardless of what happens. Basaraba Moose, Dimitri Volosenkov, Jet Jaguar, Julius Freeman, and Teagan Glover are players from the S64 draft through this season’s upcoming draft who must transition to the majors next season; they’ve got at least three or four that will make an immediate impact on the league. That leaves only a handful of players that they’re almost guaranteed to keep – and with no S66 firsts, they have to reach down pretty far and hope for a number of good signees after the draft. Several of their good S66 non-VHL players like Edward Vigneault will be headed into the dispersal and entry drafts. The question then is, who does that leave?
 
Rhye Tyr @Plate will probably be McWolf’s highest priority pick – Tyr’s agent just made a return and he’s effectively at the TPE cap. The player’s sudden improvement makes him a high-priority pick in the VHL Entry Draft – and you can expect Tyr to be a sure-fire pick by the early second round (possibly even the first). He’ll likely spend another season in the minors, crushing the competition before uncapping in the S67 offseason – or even being called up late in the season if his VHL team is making a playoff push. The same may apply to S65 prospect Chase, but he’s quite likely to head off to the pros next season since he’s at 198 TPE. This leaves Halifax with very few options next season, but some high-priority picks may be S66 forward Nacho, who will spend another season in theminors, and some older draftees like Anton Edvin. Nathan McKinnon may be headed to the waiver list, as he’s in his third season of his minor league rights contract.
 
The 21st are all-in on this season though, as they made a few trades with the Philadelphia Reapers and Yukon Rush that sent away a multitude of S66 and S67 picks. They only possess Philadelphia’s S66 third and sixth round picks, and while those will likely be at the top of each round, having two picks isn’t ideal in the league’s deepest draft in a long time. It's possible that they'll elect to protect their S67 2nd or the S66 PHI 3rd - or both, espcially if Chase and/or Rhye Tyr go pro. That, at best, leaves expansion teams with a S67 third-rounder.
 
Expansion Effect: Low/Medium
 
 
Houston Bulls

GM: Sonnet
Most Likely Protectees:
(No Firsts to Protect)
(S65) Milan Griffin, Sniper/Two-Way Left Wing, 161 TPE
(S65) Callum MacElroy, All-Around Right Wing, 158 TPE
(S65) Fylo GIbbles, Offensive Defenseman, 136 TPE
S66 HOU 3rd
S67 HOU 2nd
 
 
In spite of being a S65 Expansion Team, the Bulls have a decent selection of prior draft picks to save for later – especially since their rights don’t expire for the next couple of seasons. Off to the VHL are Jack Lynch, Jerry Garcia, Kari Jurri, Maximilian Kirbsson, Viktor Kozlov , Owen May, and Ludvig Sederstrom – six members of an incredible team that have aspirations of pulling off the impossible in the playoffs this season after forcing a game 7 against Halifax with an overtime thriller just a few hours ago. They’ll also be losing core members in Beau Buefordsson, Rhys Chism, and Samuel Sparrow – all of which will be entering the S66 Dispersal & Entry drafts. Frankly, that doesn’t leave them with very much – they have a few strong S65 minor leaguers that will form the basis of a decent Bulls team next season, but they’ll be scrambling for new players like Halifax come next season.
 
Houston’s draft is more promising than Halifax’s, with third and fifth-through-seventh round picks for S66 – but that still means they’ll be looking at primarily 100-130 TPE players (optimistically) for their first couple of picks. Like Halifax, they have pretty slim current player pickings after their protected players: expansion teams will probably have to take 30-50 TPE players if they want anything from the Bulls. What's far more likely is teams opt for Houston's S67 3rd - or if they're desperate for immediate success, maybe their S66 5th.
 
Expansion Effect: Very Low
 
 
Las Vegas Aces

GM: Jubo07 (S65) => oilmandan (S66)
Most Likely Protectees:
(No Firsts to Protect)
(S66) Jordan Joshua Tonn, Offensive Center, 156 TPE
(S64) Rocky LaGarza, All-Around Right Wing, 175 TPE
(S66) Luke Derion, Butterfly Goalie, 112 TPE
S66 OTT 3rd
(S65) Benson Van Roosen, Offensive Defenseman, 90 TPE
 
Las Vegas is another playoff team that has relatively few resources left after their protection list, particularly because they’re losing at least seven players to the Entry Draft – Charlie Paddywagon, David Harrison, Josh Harris, Kyle Sabertooth, Mikko Aaltonen, Mitch Matthews, and Tyler Barabash Jr.. The Aces had their season end just four days ago after a crushing double-overtime loss against Yukon, where they had a 3-1 lead after the first period and saw it slowly slip away over the next two in spite of a 58-39 shot imbalance in their favor. Many of their S65 players that provided them depth – or a starter in the case of netminder Kolur Bjoernsson and defenseman Duncan Jeffers– will be headed to the Dispersal and Entry Drafts – but thankfully the Aces have enough depth to retain five solid players, as shown above.
 
Like the 21st and Bulls, the Aces are limited in their draft picks, with a few other teams’ 3rd-5th round picks in S66 (OTT 3rd, SSK 4th, and PHI 5th), so while they’re able to retain some acceptable players, they’ll be largely reliant on new signees for next season too. Some of the more desperate expansion teams may try to claim 50-70 TPE wingers Willy memelander or Micheal Rasmussen, but it’s more likely that they try to take Vegas’s 3rd or 4th rounders in S66 or S67 before that.
 
Expansion Effect: Low/Medium
 
 
Minnesota Storm

GM: Eudaldkp
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 LVA 1st
(Automatic) S67 MIN 1st
(S66) Andreas Sundell, Playmaking Defenseman, 128 TPE
(S65) Donat Szita, Offensive Defenseman, 110 TPE
(S65) Dorian Mason, Passing Center, 92 TPE
(S66) Wendy Kandee Cain, Butterfly (?) Goalie, 152 TPE
(S64) Divaani Sohva, Butterfly (?) Goalie, 125 TPE // S66 MIN 3rd
 
The Storm are the favorites to win the title this year – though the winner of the 21st/Bulls series will give them a run for their money – and they will lose a whole host of players to the VHL this season, among them Aron Nielsen, Bert Meyers, Chico Smeb, Denver Wolfe, Matteo, Matthew Kai, Orion Slade, Shane Mars, and Sven Hitz – more than any other team in the league. In fact, they’ve enough talent to easily field two lines of capped (or nearly-capped) forwards and defensemen, a claim that can’t be said even by other playoff teams. They’ll be losing Codrick Past and Mat Tocco, two key depth pieces, to the Dispersal/Entry Drafts, but even after all of these players go, they still may not have enough protection slots to hit all of their 80-120 TPE players.
 
They may consider keeping two goalies in Wendy ‘Kandee’ Cain and Divaani Sohva, but Minnesota is in a uniquely unfortunate situation with these two: Cain may be called up even before hitting 200 TPE next season if there’s a lack of quality keepers in the majors (especially with the Nighthawks entering the fray). Further, Sohva’s junior rights only last one more season – so the Storm will have to look for another answer at goalie if they want a long-term acceptable answer. They’ll likely draft a one-and-done player with Las Vegas’s first-rounder – possibly taking Codrick Past if he plans on staying down in the minors next season – but the incredible depth they had this season won’t be around for the next one. We'll most likely see the S66 3rd rounder or Divaani Sohva leave, depending on if GM Eudaldkp wants to try to turn Sohva into trade bait.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: Low/Medium
 
 
Ottawa Lynx

GM: Esso2264
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 OTT 1st
(Automatic) S67 HOU 1st 
S67 OTT 1st 
(S65) Don Draper, All-Around Right Wing, 163 TPE
(S65) Pekka Pouta, Hybrid Goalie, 147 TPE
(S66) Hunter Wagner, All-Around Left Wing, 138 TPE
S66 HOU 2nd // S66 OTT 2nd // (S66) Blake Laughton, Scoring Left Wing, 113 TPE
 
The Lynx found themselves prioritizing future seasons over this one, as a late slide in the last third of the season put them at home during the playoffs. It’s actually unlikely that this team sees any of their players leave for the pros with this upcoming draft, as they sent away Codrick Past and Jack Lynch for depth players and picks. Sadly, they’ll lose a starter in Aleksander Rodriguez to the Dispersal Draft – but they retain Hunter Wagner and a pair of high-quality S65 prospects in Pekka Pouta and Don Draper. They have the option of retaining the second of their two second-rounders or S66 winger Blake Laughton – and that ends up being a matter of whether they are looking for a likely one-and-done or seeing if Laughton will be called up in the middle of next season.
 
The Lynx are in a good position draft-wise, as they have five picks in the first four rounds (including two seconds and a first this season) over the next two drafts. They'll most likely end up having one of their second-rounders taken from them, unless they want to lose a 130+ TPE veteran.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: Medium-High
 
 
Philadelphia Reapers

GM: BladeMaiden
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 PHI 1st
(Automatic) S66 HFX 1st
S67 PHI 1st
S67 SSK 1st
S67 HFX 1st
S67 LVA 1st
S66 PHI 2nd // (S66) Sunny Burst, Stand-Up Goalie, 87 TPE
 
Well, the Philadelphia Reapers are slated for an incredible S66 draft following a miserable Season 65. They might protect picks with all five of their selections, but I’ve listed netminder Sunny Burst as an option depending on how he’s communicated to his GM about activity. The Reapers may possibly lose a 2nd round pick to Expansion – but since they can only lose one asset, that’s the worst damage they can take. Philly is the only team that has a draft pick list that you might actually have to scroll through to get all the way down, and with plenty of 100ish TPE prospects, they’re likely to have a deep, deep team next season. You can probably rest easy, current Reapers – new GMs will probably hazard a 2nd round draft pick rather than taking <100 TPE players – but that gives you a chance to grow on what should be an promising S66/S67 team.
 
In spite of being an expansion team, the Reapers have a trade list that runs as long as any current expansion team – and that shouldn’t be a surprise with their list of picks. BladeMaiden has the most work to do out of any GM this upcoming draft, with a whopping eleven picks in the first four rounds in BOTH S66 and S67. She’ll have to carefully navigate around current active players and draftees, however. The main Expansion Draft question BladeMaiden has to answer is if she wants to keep Burst or not - after that, she has to do her homework on our S66 Dispersal draftees.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: High
 
 
Saskatoon Wild

GM: Peace
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 SSK 1st
(Automatic) S66 HOU 1st
S66 MIN 1st
S66 SSK 2nd
(S65) Brian Strong, All-Around Right Wing, 155 TPE
(S66) John Perdue, Two-Way Left Wing, 135 TPE // Hans Gruber* // Rusty Shackleford* // Nethila Dissanayake*
*dependent on VHL trajectory
 
The Wild are probably in the roughest position of any team facing the Expansion Draft, as their combination of draft picks – six picks in the first three rounds – and previously-drafted talent like those listed above is the deepest. It’s entirely likely that Saskatoon loses a second-rounder or (depending on who goes pro), maybe even Hans Gruber, Rusty Shackleford, or Nethila Dissanayake, each 170 TPE players in their own right. The worst-case scenario is Gruber, Shackleford, and Dissanayake both stay down, in which case John Perdue and Brian Strong are up for grabs and Peace has to make a decision on whether to keep a potential early call-up or a longer-term player. In the best case, one or none of his high-tier prospects leave for the VHL and Peace gets to keep all of his top picks AND prospects without a fuss.
 
Having several starters and depth players like Anthony Amberback, Apollo Hackett, Cody Parkey, Edgar Tannahill, and Emil Passerelli lost to the draft will be sad for the Wild – but they’re in prime position to re-draft some of these up-and-coming players, and Peace will have plenty of inside information about their professional league plans. But Peace’s job with his protection list and draft will be nearly as difficult – if not more difficult – than Philly GM BladeMaiden’s. It's entirely likely they send off a high second round pick in favor of firsts and a few high-quality, mid-100 TPE players.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: High
 
 
Yukon Rush

GM: Josh.
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 YUK 1st
(Automatic) S67 YUK 1st
(S66) Valeri Morozov, Scoring Defenseman, 184 TPE*
(S66) Clayton Park, Butterfly Goalie, 166 TPE
(S66) Richard Hejtsel, Defensive Defenseman, 123 TPE
S66 YUK 3rd
S67 YUK 2nd
*dependent on VHL trajectory
 
After a heart-breaking, series-ending loss to Minnesota, the Rush are back to the drawing board. Like the other playoff teams, they have a host of players heading off to the pros – among them Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Anthony Matthews, and Arnor Sigurdsson. It’s also entirely possible that they lose winger Valeri Morozov and Clayton Park, with the former more likely than the latter because of his 183 TPE. However, as with Wendy Cain, Clayton Park may be forced to ascend to the professional league early because of a mixture of expansion/lack of goalie depth. This leaves GM Josh with a pretty clear-cut set of players to retain, as there isn’t a whole lot of depth on the Yukon squad after their sure-fire major leaguers.
 
Yukon may end up giving up the Halifax third-rounder in order to retain Richard Hejtsel – but if Morozov is definitely going pro the Rush might just give up their 4th-rounder or prospect Titus Stone. The Rush are in a decent spot draft-wise, but they'll probably have to give up an S66 or S67 3rd-rounder to the expansion.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: Medium
 
(Uh... when I claim this, I'll let you know? 2,500+ words)

(Unofficial) VHLM Scouting AgencyTM, USA – We’ve got an expansion draft on our hands, and a few key players and picks are for sale. A huge S66 and burgeoning S67 draft class make the Entry and Dispersal drafts a pretty big event, but VHLM GMs have a monumental task on their hands: who do they protect, and who’s most likely to find themselves on a brand-new team come S66?
 
We’re going to take a quik look across the VHLM and see who (and what picks) GMs might want to keep under wraps, as well as who’s most likely to walk.
 
Halifax 21st

GM: McWolf
Most Likely Protectees:
(No Firsts to Protect)
(S65) Chase, Stand-up Goalie, 198 TPE*
(S66) Rhye Tyr, Offensive Defenseman, 177 TPE*
(S64) Anton Edvin, Two-Way Right Wing, 140 TPE
(S66) Nacho, All-Around Forward, 125 TPE
S67 HFX 2nd
*dependent on VHL trajectory
 
The 21st are in the thick of a playoff race that will see them face the Minnesota Storm in the finals – understandably, they’ve got a lot of players who are headed up to the VHL regardless of what happens. Basaraba Moose, Dimitri Volosenkov, Jet Jaguar, Julius Freeman, and Teagan Glover are players from the S64 draft through this season’s upcoming draft who must transition to the majors next season; they’ve got at least three or four that will make an immediate impact on the league. That leaves only a handful of players that they’re almost guaranteed to keep – and with no S66 firsts, they have to reach down pretty far and hope for a number of good signees after the draft. Several of their good S66 non-VHL players like Edward Vigneault will be headed into the dispersal and entry drafts. The question then is, who does that leave?
 
Rhye Tyr @Plate will probably be McWolf’s highest priority pick – Tyr’s agent just made a return and he’s effectively at the TPE cap. The player’s sudden improvement makes him a high-priority pick in the VHL Entry Draft – and you can expect Tyr to be a sure-fire pick by the early second round (possibly even the first). He’ll likely spend another season in the minors, crushing the competition before uncapping in the S67 offseason – or even being called up late in the season if his VHL team is making a playoff push. The same may apply to S65 prospect Chase, but he’s quite likely to head off to the pros next season since he’s at 198 TPE. This leaves Halifax with very few options next season, but some high-priority picks may be S66 forward Nacho, who will spend another season in theminors, and some older draftees like Anton Edvin. Nathan McKinnon may be headed to the waiver list, as he’s in his third season of his minor league rights contract.
 
The 21st are all-in on this season though, as they made a few trades with the Philadelphia Reapers and Yukon Rush that sent away a multitude of S66 and S67 picks. They only possess Philadelphia’s S66 third and sixth round picks, and while those will likely be at the top of each round, having two picks isn’t ideal in the league’s deepest draft in a long time. It's possible that they'll elect to protect their S67 2nd or the S66 PHI 3rd - or both, espcially if Chase and/or Rhye Tyr go pro. That, at best, leaves expansion teams with a S67 third-rounder.
 
Expansion Effect: Low/Medium
 
 
Houston Bulls

GM: Sonnet
Most Likely Protectees:
(No Firsts to Protect)
(S65) Milan Griffin, Sniper/Two-Way Left Wing, 161 TPE
(S65) Callum MacElroy, All-Around Right Wing, 158 TPE
(S65) Fylo GIbbles, Offensive Defenseman, 136 TPE
S66 HOU 3rd
S67 HOU 2nd
 
 
In spite of being a S65 Expansion Team, the Bulls have a decent selection of prior draft picks to save for later – especially since their rights don’t expire for the next couple of seasons. Off to the VHL are Jack Lynch, Jerry Garcia, Kari Jurri, Maximilian Kirbsson, Viktor Kozlov , Owen May, and Ludvig Sederstrom – six members of an incredible team that have aspirations of pulling off the impossible in the playoffs this season after forcing a game 7 against Halifax with an overtime thriller just a few hours ago. They’ll also be losing core members in Beau Buefordsson, Rhys Chism, and Samuel Sparrow – all of which will be entering the S66 Dispersal & Entry drafts. Frankly, that doesn’t leave them with very much – they have a few strong S65 minor leaguers that will form the basis of a decent Bulls team next season, but they’ll be scrambling for new players like Halifax come next season.
 
Houston’s draft is more promising than Halifax’s, with third and fifth-through-seventh round picks for S66 – but that still means they’ll be looking at primarily 100-130 TPE players (optimistically) for their first couple of picks. Like Halifax, they have pretty slim current player pickings after their protected players: expansion teams will probably have to take 30-50 TPE players if they want anything from the Bulls. What's far more likely is teams opt for Houston's S67 3rd - or if they're desperate for immediate success, maybe their S66 5th.
 
Expansion Effect: Very Low
 
 
Las Vegas Aces

GM: Jubo07 (S65) => oilmandan (S66)
Most Likely Protectees:
(No Firsts to Protect)
(S66) Jordan Joshua Tonn, Offensive Center, 156 TPE
(S64) Rocky LaGarza, All-Around Right Wing, 175 TPE
(S66) Luke Derion, Butterfly Goalie, 112 TPE
S66 OTT 3rd
(S65) Benson Van Roosen, Offensive Defenseman, 90 TPE
 
Las Vegas is another playoff team that has relatively few resources left after their protection list, particularly because they’re losing at least seven players to the Entry Draft – Charlie Paddywagon, David Harrison, Josh Harris, Kyle Sabertooth, Mikko Aaltonen, Mitch Matthews, and Tyler Barabash Jr.. The Aces had their season end just four days ago after a crushing double-overtime loss against Yukon, where they had a 3-1 lead after the first period and saw it slowly slip away over the next two in spite of a 58-39 shot imbalance in their favor. Many of their S65 players that provided them depth – or a starter in the case of netminder Kolur Bjoernsson and defenseman Duncan Jeffers– will be headed to the Dispersal and Entry Drafts – but thankfully the Aces have enough depth to retain five solid players, as shown above.
 
Like the 21st and Bulls, the Aces are limited in their draft picks, with a few other teams’ 3rd-5th round picks in S66 (OTT 3rd, SSK 4th, and PHI 5th), so while they’re able to retain some acceptable players, they’ll be largely reliant on new signees for next season too. Some of the more desperate expansion teams may try to claim 50-70 TPE wingers Willy memelander or Micheal Rasmussen, but it’s more likely that they try to take Vegas’s 3rd or 4th rounders in S66 or S67 before that.
 
Expansion Effect: Low/Medium
 
 
Minnesota Storm

GM: Eudaldkp
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 LVA 1st
(Automatic) S67 MIN 1st
(S66) Andreas Sundell, Playmaking Defenseman, 128 TPE
(S65) Donat Szita, Offensive Defenseman, 110 TPE
(S65) Dorian Mason, Passing Center, 92 TPE
(S66) Wendy Kandee Cain, Butterfly (?) Goalie, 152 TPE
(S64) Divaani Sohva, Butterfly (?) Goalie, 125 TPE // S66 MIN 3rd
 
The Storm are the favorites to win the title this year – though the winner of the 21st/Bulls series will give them a run for their money – and they will lose a whole host of players to the VHL this season, among them Aron Nielsen, Bert Meyers, Chico Smeb, Denver Wolfe, Matteo, Matthew Kai, Orion Slade, Shane Mars, and Sven Hitz – more than any other team in the league. In fact, they’ve enough talent to easily field two lines of capped (or nearly-capped) forwards and defensemen, a claim that can’t be said even by other playoff teams. They’ll be losing Codrick Past and Mat Tocco, two key depth pieces, to the Dispersal/Entry Drafts, but even after all of these players go, they still may not have enough protection slots to hit all of their 80-120 TPE players.
 
They may consider keeping two goalies in Wendy ‘Kandee’ Cain and Divaani Sohva, but Minnesota is in a uniquely unfortunate situation with these two: Cain may be called up even before hitting 200 TPE next season if there’s a lack of quality keepers in the majors (especially with the Nighthawks entering the fray). Further, Sohva’s junior rights only last one more season – so the Storm will have to look for another answer at goalie if they want a long-term acceptable answer. They’ll likely draft a one-and-done player with Las Vegas’s first-rounder – possibly taking Codrick Past if he plans on staying down in the minors next season – but the incredible depth they had this season won’t be around for the next one. We'll most likely see the S66 3rd rounder or Divaani Sohva leave, depending on if GM Eudaldkp wants to try to turn Sohva into trade bait.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: Low/Medium
 
 
Ottawa Lynx

GM: Esso2264
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 OTT 1st
(Automatic) S67 HOU 1st 
S67 OTT 1st 
(S65) Don Draper, All-Around Right Wing, 163 TPE
(S65) Pekka Pouta, Hybrid Goalie, 147 TPE
(S66) Hunter Wagner, All-Around Left Wing, 138 TPE
S66 HOU 2nd // S66 OTT 2nd // (S66) Blake Laughton, Scoring Left Wing, 113 TPE
 
The Lynx found themselves prioritizing future seasons over this one, as a late slide in the last third of the season put them at home during the playoffs. It’s actually unlikely that this team sees any of their players leave for the pros with this upcoming draft, as they sent away Codrick Past and Jack Lynch for depth players and picks. Sadly, they’ll lose a starter in Aleksander Rodriguez to the Dispersal Draft – but they retain Hunter Wagner and a pair of high-quality S65 prospects in Pekka Pouta and Don Draper. They have the option of retaining the second of their two second-rounders or S66 winger Blake Laughton – and that ends up being a matter of whether they are looking for a likely one-and-done or seeing if Laughton will be called up in the middle of next season.
 
The Lynx are in a good position draft-wise, as they have five picks in the first four rounds (including two seconds and a first this season) over the next two drafts. They'll most likely end up having one of their second-rounders taken from them, unless they want to lose a 130+ TPE veteran.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: Medium-High
 
 
Philadelphia Reapers

GM: BladeMaiden
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 PHI 1st
(Automatic) S66 HFX 1st
S67 PHI 1st
S67 SSK 1st
S67 HFX 1st
S67 LVA 1st
S66 PHI 2nd // (S66) Sunny Burst, Stand-Up Goalie, 87 TPE
 
Well, the Philadelphia Reapers are slated for an incredible S66 draft following a miserable Season 65. They might protect picks with all five of their selections, but I’ve listed netminder Sunny Burst as an option depending on how he’s communicated to his GM about activity. The Reapers may possibly lose a 2nd round pick to Expansion – but since they can only lose one asset, that’s the worst damage they can take. Philly is the only team that has a draft pick list that you might actually have to scroll through to get all the way down, and with plenty of 100ish TPE prospects, they’re likely to have a deep, deep team next season. You can probably rest easy, current Reapers – new GMs will probably hazard a 2nd round draft pick rather than taking <100 TPE players – but that gives you a chance to grow on what should be an promising S66/S67 team.
 
In spite of being an expansion team, the Reapers have a trade list that runs as long as any current expansion team – and that shouldn’t be a surprise with their list of picks. BladeMaiden has the most work to do out of any GM this upcoming draft, with a whopping eleven picks in the first four rounds in BOTH S66 and S67. She’ll have to carefully navigate around current active players and draftees, however. The main Expansion Draft question BladeMaiden has to answer is if she wants to keep Burst or not - after that, she has to do her homework on our S66 Dispersal draftees.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: High
 
 
Saskatoon Wild

GM: Peace
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 SSK 1st
(Automatic) S66 HOU 1st
S66 MIN 1st
S66 SSK 2nd
(S65) Brian Strong, All-Around Right Wing, 155 TPE
(S66) John Perdue, Two-Way Left Wing, 135 TPE // Hans Gruber* // Rusty Shackleford* // Nethila Dissanayake*
*dependent on VHL trajectory
 
The Wild are probably in the roughest position of any team facing the Expansion Draft, as their combination of draft picks – six picks in the first three rounds – and previously-drafted talent like those listed above is the deepest. It’s entirely likely that Saskatoon loses a second-rounder or (depending on who goes pro), maybe even Hans Gruber, Rusty Shackleford, or Nethila Dissanayake, each 170 TPE players in their own right. The worst-case scenario is Gruber, Shackleford, and Dissanayake both stay down, in which case John Perdue and Brian Strong are up for grabs and Peace has to make a decision on whether to keep a potential early call-up or a longer-term player. In the best case, one or none of his high-tier prospects leave for the VHL and Peace gets to keep all of his top picks AND prospects without a fuss.
 
Having several starters and depth players like Anthony Amberback, Apollo Hackett, Cody Parkey, Edgar Tannahill, and Emil Passerelli lost to the draft will be sad for the Wild – but they’re in prime position to re-draft some of these up-and-coming players, and Peace will have plenty of inside information about their professional league plans. But Peace’s job with his protection list and draft will be nearly as difficult – if not more difficult – than Philly GM BladeMaiden’s. It's entirely likely they send off a high second round pick in favor of firsts and a few high-quality, mid-100 TPE players.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: High
 
 
Yukon Rush

GM: Josh.
Most Likely Protectees:
(Automatic) S66 YUK 1st
(Automatic) S67 YUK 1st
(S66) Valeri Morozov, Scoring Defenseman, 184 TPE*
(S66) Clayton Park, Butterfly Goalie, 166 TPE
(S66) Richard Hejtsel, Defensive Defenseman, 123 TPE
S66 YUK 3rd
S67 YUK 2nd
*dependent on VHL trajectory
 
After a heart-breaking, series-ending loss to Minnesota, the Rush are back to the drawing board. Like the other playoff teams, they have a host of players heading off to the pros – among them Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Anthony Matthews, and Arnor Sigurdsson. It’s also entirely possible that they lose winger Valeri Morozov and Clayton Park, with the former more likely than the latter because of his 183 TPE. However, as with Wendy Cain, Clayton Park may be forced to ascend to the professional league early because of a mixture of expansion/lack of goalie depth. This leaves GM Josh with a pretty clear-cut set of players to retain, as there isn’t a whole lot of depth on the Yukon squad after their sure-fire major leaguers.
 
Yukon may end up giving up the Halifax third-rounder in order to retain Richard Hejtsel – but if Morozov is definitely going pro the Rush might just give up their 4th-rounder or prospect Titus Stone. The Rush are in a decent spot draft-wise, but they'll probably have to give up an S66 or S67 3rd-rounder to the expansion.
 
Expansion Draft Effect: Medium
 
(Uh... when I claim this, I'll let you know? 2,500+ words)

Around two months ago, Matthew Materazo had a child with his wife Karen, and named him Xander. But Karen wasn't happy with the lack of committment that Matt was showing in the relationship.
 
"One time she said that she was going out, so I had to watch the kid. I had a game for the Americans that night, so I just brought him to the game. She wasn't very happy." Materazo told us in an interview.
 
What we believe was the turning point with the relationship was during Game 2 of the Wild Card series between the Americans and the Titans. It happened to be Karen and Matts anniversary night, and Karen did not want him to play in the game. Matt insisted on playing and did in fact play in game 2, where he scored the Americans only goal in the loss. 
 
"That was it for me" Karen told us. "I was so pissed, years of frustration finally boiled up and I just decided to leave him."
 
She also took Xander with her, who now takes his mothers last name. Matt was unhappy with this. "Yeah, its bullshit. How will he play hockey if Karen doesn't know the difference between a hockey stick and a chainsaw!?" Xander Hughes had started to play hockey already, but just around the house. Matt told us that he enjoyed slamming his toys against the walls, as if he was checking someone. He also has grown to 2'7, seven inches above the average baby. His future in the VHL may take a hit with this news, but he still looks strong as a potential season 73 draft candidate.

Great games from Buefordsson and Lynch. This series is going to go the distance I think!

2) The Wild narrowly missed making the playoffs this season, with results being decided by the very last day of games. What happened?
 
It seemed like a classic case of puck luck. If we played  the way we did the second half of the season in the first half, I think the Wild would be in a much different spot.
 
3a) (If you're drafted by the Wild already) Who's one player not currently on your team you'd like to see drafted by Saskatoon?
 
Andrei Mikhailov looks like a promising prospect, he'd be a great addition to the team.
 
4) Which one of our forwards is most likely to have success in the majors? What about our defensemen?
 
Nethila is going to do great things, he'll have no troubles as a forward in the VHL. Shackleford is an awesome D-man too, I'm looking forward to see him continue his career past the VHLM.
 
6) Suppose you're a GM of Malmo or one of the new VHLM teams. Who do you plan to build your team around? Any thoughts about who to take from current VHL/VHLM teams?
 
I think when you're a team starting out, the important thing is to know that there aren't any expectations for you to win. I would use that to my advantage and gain that 'underdog' kind of momentum and build my team around players who are young and hungry.
 
7) Since moving to Saskatoon, what have you done to make your house/apartment feel like home?
 
I got myself a good setup for my record player. I like to lay back and listen to some tunes when I'm not at the rink.
 
9) We found a Hello Kitty keychain on the locker room floor. Who does it belong to, and how can you tell?
 
That's gotta be Peace's. He is a stern manager, but I always knew he had a soft side to him (haha!).

2) The Wild narrowly missed making the playoffs this season, with results being decided by the very last day of games. What happened?
We gave away too many games early and couldn't dig ourselves out of the hole at the end. I went through a big slump in the middle of the season as well. No one is blameless. 
 
3b) (If you haven't been part of the VHLM draft yet) Suppose you can't return to Saskatoon. Where do you think you'd fit in best?
It's hard to say before the draft with so much up in the air. I'd like to think my style of play will fit in anywhere and I'll do my best to be a benefit of the ice as well.
 
4) Which one of our forwards is most likely to have success in the majors? What about our defensemen?
I think Jagr has a jump start on the rest of them and is going to have a really successful career. And I think Hackett is going to prove very potent on the back end at the next level, along with Rusty.
 
7) Since moving to Saskatoon, what have you done to make your house/apartment feel like home?
Not too much. I hooked up my PlayStation but I haven't even played it that much. Just talked to some buddies back home every once in a while. I want sure how long my stay would be here so I haven't had a chance to settle in fully.
 
9) We found a Hello Kitty keychain on the locker room floor. Who does it belong to, and how can you tell?
I think one of the boys got it for Shackleford as a joke and just put it on his keys during practice. He's such a straight-shooter I think they thought it'd be funny but he took it in stride. It's been passed around a bit now so I'm not sure who had it last. 
 
10) Which of the eight VHL-supported brands are you most a fan of?
I'd say haterade. It's probably the one I use the most often. I'm a big fan of the blue one. It's my favorite. 

Ill apply