SidTheKid87

@SidTheKid87 you did it!

Player Name: Sidney Crosby
VHL Team: Helsinki
Cash you have: $5,950,000
Purchase Name: TPA Recall
Cost of Purchase: $500,000
Cash Left:  $5,450,000

Player Name: Sidney Crosby
VHL Team: Helsinki
Cash you have: $7,450,000
Purchase Name: First gen doubles
Cost of Purchase: $1,500,000
Cash Left:  $5,950,000

This may have been the easiest pickem in a while. It’s easier to copy then type it out yourself. People copy every week and not that many people usually win. This just happened to be a seriously easy week

This may have been the easiest pickem in a while. It’s easier to copy then type it out yourself. People copy every week and not that many people usually win. This just happened to be a seriously easy week

Today I'll be redrafting the first three rounds of the season sixty-three draft class. I've been wanting to read an article like this for so long I've simply decided to write it myself, since I was being lazy and wanted to observe other peoples opinions. For this redraft the teams will remain where they picked, but the players will certainly change. I'm looking forward to hearing (or reading) your thoughts on this redraft. 

The S63 group of players was once argued as the most active group of first generations ever, in fact a lot of people give credit to the S63 draft class for re-energizing the VHL and redefining the leagues structure, but that isn't the case anymore. Two large recruitment drives saw more first generation players in the subsequent drafts than the S63 draft had, so the aforementioned title has quietly slipped away. Supported by a partially successful recruitment drive, this particular group of draftees was highly anticipated and numerous 'first-generation' players were selected; every GM will tell you that drafting a first generation is tricky, it's a gamble, and they're right.
 
FIRST ROUND

FIRST OVERALL 
RIGA REIGN
Originally: RYAN KASTELIC
Now: RYAN KASTELIC 
( @Enorama )

Kastelic remains the surefire first overall pick, and I'm quite sure Hedge would be more than happy to select Kastelic again if ever the need arose where he needed to, so this pick is quite cemented into VHL's history as an absolute. There is no other player that would be taken here, especially considering Enorama is widely considered a 'TPA Whore' which still applies today, even if he's slowed down some since his rookie days. Kastelic has been a point-per-game defender since he was drafted into the VHL, and that is a significant asset for Riga who've signed Kastelic nearly his entire career. He's proven to be a franchise defensemen, and earns his spot at the top of the list among other great players from this draft class. 

SECOND OVERALL 
NEW YORK AMERICANS
Originally: JOSEPH MCWOLF
Now: JULIAN BORWINN
( @Jubo07 )

Borwinn moves up to a spot where McWolf was originally drafted, and although New York needed a defender in this particular draft, this is a redraft based on best-player-available mentality and doesn't consider positional needs. Borwinn has done a remarkable job keeping up with Enorama's Kastelic in terms of attribute earnings, but Borwinn's TPA overall is slightly lower than Kastelic. Despite not quite climbing to first overall, Borwinn is currently the second best player available at the moment. A lot of people talk about builds playing a factor into a selection, and as both Jubo and I can attest, that's true even when considering VHLM picks. Jubo has a ton of TPA, no questions asked, but some of that TPA has been spent in places I wonder if some people question. 
 
THIRD OVERALL 
HELSINKI TITANS
Originally: JULIAN BORWINN
Now: DAN WILINSKY
( @oilmandan )

Here's a case where a first generation player slipped further than I personally anticipated. When I was observing how active OMD was with his player, I was truly impressed and honestly surprised so many people had him going lower in mock drafts than he should have. Was he a weaker prospect at the time than those above him? Absolutely, but now that we're mid-way through season sixty-six he's the third best player in the draft. Wilinsky was originally drafted seventh overall to the New York Americans, but I have him going third overall to a powerful Helsinki team through this re-draft. 

FORTH OVERALL 
HELSINKI TITANS
Originally: SIDNEY CROSBY
Now: ALEXANDER PEPPER
( @Sonnet )

If the draft was happening today, and every player retained the TPA they have now, Pepper would absolutely be a first round pick. Honestly though, I still see both Kastelic and Borwinn going 1/2 despite that thought. Right now, however, you can flip either or and be happy if you're Quik. Pepper at third, then Wilinski at fourth? It wouldn't have really mattered since they'd both arrive in Helsinki anyways. Pepper moves into the first round after being drafted by Helsinki in the second round, tenth overall. He'll be the Titan's franchise goalie as well, since Quik and Sonnet have agreed to keep Pepper in Europe with a NTC until S70. 

FIFTH OVERALL 
TORONTO LEGION
Originally: TZUYU
Now: SIDNEY CROSBY 
( @SidTheKid87 ) 

Crosby moves past McWolf on this chart simply because Sid is maintaining a respectable development, where as McWolf has taken a step back from the league and consequentially his player has ceased developing as well. The disappearance of McWolf seems him drop quite a bit, and even though this draft is 'best player available', you still have to factor in how that player will be in a few seasons if a redraft happened today. Crosby lands at this spot simply because he's been consistent, but he's in danger of being overran. 

SIXTH OVERALL 
NEW YORK AMERICANS
Originally: SCOTT SHAWIGANEN
Now: RYLAN PEACE

I put myself here since I'll shortly be over Randoms, who's earning ten TPE compared to my capped earnings every week, and while I understand some people might look at this and disagree it's just an opinion piece. I've refocused my build from a 'power-forward' as Hedge would have claimed and turned him into a more offensive player. If Spade had to take part in a S63 redraft, I'm honestly confident he'd select Peace here, as he's been shown to give first-generations the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately this lead to a major disappointment with Shawninganen, but he struck gold with McWolf and Wilinsky.

SEVENTH OVERALL 
NEW YORK AMERICANS
Originally: DAN WILINSKY
Now: RANDOMS
( @hedgehog337 )

Randoms arrives in New York, after climbing from the depths of the second round, and overcoming a lot of players above him. If recently retired Vaydar Odinsson hadn't retired, I'd put him here and Randoms down to eighth, but he did retire and won't be featured on this list consequentially. Randoms has gone through some changes as well, originally a high checking forward with surprising offensive results to a more offensive player overall. I'm sure Spade would have no problem adding Randoms to his club, especially considering he now has Peace and Borwinn as well.
 
EIGHT OVERALL
VANCOUVER WOLVES
Originally: JOSE GONZALEZ
Now: TZUYU 
( @tfong )

McWolf keeps dropping, and despite Tzuyu being a hundred TPA less, TFong is known as king of welfare for a reason. I was questioning whether or not to add McWolf here simply because he does have far more attribute points, but if McWolf's absence continues Tzuyu will only be behind for a short while. Obviously I've decided to choose Tzuyu over McWolf here, but that doesn't mean McWolf's player is bad - it just means his absence allows for GMs to redraft players above him. Take this as a either or, however, as McWolf can comfortably slot here and remain one of the best defenders in the league still. 


Claiming for next two weeks.

If you haven't already checked out my previous article on ELO, introducing the concept and taking a look at last year's VHL, be sure to do so here.
 
For anyone who's been following the VHL standings so far this season (S66), you've probably noticed some trends just on the surface level. Primarily that Helsinki has been relatively strong all year, but really come into their own around game 15, Moscow isn't nearly as bad as last season, and Malmo has a nice arc to their trajectory, probably peaking around the same time Helsinki separated themselves from the pack.
 
Well, I'm here to tell you those same things, but in chart form.
 
First of all, I've charted the cumulative winrate for each VHL team to see kind of a blanket absolute marker of how they've done so far this season. Apologies for the colours, I can't be bothered to fix them here (they'll be fixed on the ELO chart).

 
You can see Moscow started off abysmally, but climbed past Seattle as the latter fell harshly later on. Then there's Helsinki with a degree of separation from an absolutely crowded pack right in the middle of the league. 
 
Now here's the same timeframe represented in ELO form:

You can see that because Moscow has been beating such strong opponents lately, they actually deserve to be right up in the middle pack with the rest of them and they also passed Seattle slightly earlier than on the winrate chart. You can also see a very poignant drop from Malmo starting at the ~25 game mark, it's in the jumble of the pack, but you can pick out the mid-blue line peaking around game 15, briefly in first place, before zig zagging around a bit and eventually falling to just above Moscow.
 
So far, these ELO rankings have been done with a K value of 32, which is a moderate number. Next week, I'll be kicking the K value up to 64, which will bring out some harsher fluctuations and show something more akin to power rankings.
 
343 words.

@Sonnet

8 goals and I end up -1

A very casual 6 point game ! Thanks !

Review: I like the color scheme, the explosion as he steps out onto the ice is really cool. The only thing I would possibly change is the text looks boring but that's totally a preference thing. Good job!

Review 
I like the colours and the bg all black and white. Helps make the render pop. The text is definitely the weaker part of this sig. Too big and too 'fancy' so to speak. Keep it simple. I would like to see the last name about the same size that you have and then the first name either gone or very small. The outline of the text is also a cheezy effect unless used right. Keep it up!

Defense on point

Nice team win and a great game for the Kid

Looks like the boys were full of piss and vinegar today!

I am a fan of this

Just some high quality content here
 

I think it's the first time you, @Quik, and I were all involved in a single goal.

Except for the multitude of fans and admirers around the VHL. 

@Motzaburger

@Motzaburger

@Motzaburger