The Season 90 VHL Draft begins tonight at 4pm PST / 7pm EST
A quick note on the S90 draft it looks like there's a nice mix of all position players throughout the rounds so GM's will likely get a chance to choose between BPA or positional need. Yaboi Oven is the undisputed #1 ranked prospect in this draft with a 57 TPE lead on #2 ranked Axle Gunner. After that things will get interesting.
1st Overall - YaBoi Oven @Doomsday (381 TPE) Defense
Helsinki's primed new GM @samx wastes no time selecting a future partner for Kronchy Kardashian @Garsh the two will be able to anchor Helsinki's blueline for the foreseeable future. Oven projects as a franchise defensemen and will be the new face of a Helsinki team about to enter a competitive window. Fans in Helsinki have a lot to look forward to, especially after the off-season acquisition of Landon Wolanin @jacobcarson877
2nd Overall - Maxim Anisimov @McLovin (311 TPE) Right Wing
@Moon and @v.2 have been busy this off-season loading up for a playoff push in Season 90 and beyond. The team already boasts a ton of talent entering their prime (much like Helsinki). They have needs on the wing and on defense. Some on lookers may say Moon's player Fitzroy Jr. is the safe pick, simply put though Anisimov is the better earner and higher ceiling of the two players. @McLovin's player is a top 3 ranked prospect in the draft and fills a positional need for Toronto going forward. Defense can be addressed in future seasons. The new acquisitions of @Brandon and @Arce will be great mentors for Anisimov, Atlas and Jaks.
3rd Overall - Ryan Artyomov @Enorama (310 TPE) Goalie
Newly appointed GM @badcolethetitan will make the first selection of Chicago's rebuilding faze. Chicago takes the top ranked goalie in the draft, a team that needs everything after selling off Liv Slater @Subject056 to Vancouver in a blockbuster trade. In full rebuild mode Chicago starts off with a cornerstone in net and four 1st round picks in the next two drafts after this one. After seasons of trying to compete but coming up short, fans have fully embraced the rebuild and are loving the work Cole has done so far.
4th Overall - Axle Gunner @Steve (324 TPE) Center
D.C. quickly shakes off the disappointment of Eno's player going to Chicago and draft the 2nd ranked player in the draft and a positional need to boot. Axle Gunner is projected as a franchise center and will be anchoring a line with newly acquired Vincent Laroche-Gagnier @vincentlg2007. D.C. will need to sort out their goaltending in future seasons but for now they're absolutely ecstatic that Gunner fell to them.
5th Overall - Raimo Tuominen @SlapshotBear (290 TPE) Right Wing
Another team that needs everything. @N0HBDY selects the player from a known agency in @SlapshotBear. Leaving Xiver Zilla still on the board who ranks ahead of him in TPE but Tuominen's agency has a longer track record of success and is consider the safer pick at this stage. Raimo is the first big piece of Warsaw's rebuild an electric goal scorer who fits the mold of what Warsaw hockey has been for the past decade plus.
6th Overall - Xiver Zilla @jhatty8 (309 TPE) Center
Another team that takes the top ranked player and drafts for positional need. After GM @KaleebtheMighty acquired Probert and converted him to a center for Season 90 it's become a clear need going forward. Although the pick carries risk, Zilla has been a consistent earner throughout Season 89. Malmo hopes Zilla can be the future of their forward group. Zilla projects as a number one center with the potential to be a franchise player, consistency in earning will be key.
7th Overall - Walter Fitzroy Jr. @Moon (306 TPE) Defense
Drafting another GM's player is always a bit of a risk but Fitzroy Jr. is the best player available and does fill a positional need for Riga going forward with their defense beginning to age. Not to mention @hedgehog337 owns tow first rounders in this draft so taking a risk with one or both of them is a safe bet. As well as the fact that Riga is 3 million away from the cap ceiling and still needs one forward and two defensemen for a complete roster. Fitzroy would be a cheap call up for them in Season 90 as well.
8th Overall - Jarmo Ruutu @jRuutu (270 TPE) Center
Jarmo was a late create and has as much potential as any player in this draft. @Ricer13 selects a player he's familiar with and acquires some high end fire power for Calgary's re-tool. Ruutu could easily be the best center in this draft when things are all said and one. To the surprise of some Calgary passes on Catia Goncalves to select a player they feel is a safer bet.
9th Overall - Catia Goncalves @cLoWn (286 TPE) Right Wing
I'm curious to see what @Spartan will do with no real fallers. I feel like he'll take the player with the highest ceiling and to me that's Catia Goncalves. Their earning has been consisten all season and Moscow who sold off a ton of assets have needs at all positions. Catia will likely end up being the top first gen of this draft class.
10th Overall - King Kisslinger @Kisslinger (261 TPE) Center
After drafting a dman with their first pick @hedgehog337 opts to draft a center with their 2nd pick of the first round. King Kisslinger is another safe pick in this first round (a word I know I've over used throughout this mock) he will provide Riga with a future number one center and depth as he continues to develop and they continue to compete.
11th Overall - WWWWWWWWW... @rory (266 TPE) Goalie
@Banackock quickly snaps up the 2nd ranked goalie in the draft. Though he did pause for a second and consider taking his own player the relationship with Rory's agency was too good to pass up. Also Bana has shown no issues acquiring his player in the past so he probably feels confident in that possibility going forward. Rory could end up being the top goalie in the draft so I'd say he's a steal in this position.
12th Overall - Severus Targaryen @Banackock (288 TPE) Center
Severus could have gone earlier but GM player factor scared off teams. Not @Spartan who has no fear in taking the best player available. Whether he's a long term solution or not for Moscow it's an asset that can easily be flipped in future seasons, to say Seattle. Maybe even during the draft? Severus projects as a sure bet to be a number one center.
13th Overall - Martin Kemp @leafsman (264 TPE) Left Wing
With bigger needs on defense and goaltending NY opts to draft the best player on their board. It was a toss up between Kemp and Banner but without any knowledge of the situation @thadthrasher liked Kemp a little bit better and opted for the winger instead of the center.
14th Overall - Bruise Banner @ctots (268 TPE) Center
With the upcoming retirement of Perry Laperriere @KaleebtheMighty, Prague runs up to the podium to select the best center remaining on their board. @Acydburn finds his future number one center who can be mentored by Jameson until he's ready (the player not the drink)
15th Overall - Jebediah Big Ol Doinks in Amish @hylands (241 TPE) Defense
@N0HBDY opts to take the defensemen after selecting a forward with their first pick of the first round. Hylands has a history in the VHL GMing rival Malmo. So Warsaw ownership had a mandate of selecting his player if available in the draft. After trading away Payne and Girts the past two seasons, they may have quickly replaced them in one draft. Amish projects as a number one defensemen in what is proving to be a very deep draft.
16th Overall - Obuz Schneider Canet du Bocage @Grape (219 TPE) Defense
@samx opts to select another dman who has really picked up their earning in recent weeks and has shown potential for a higher ceiling. We've seen a premium on cheap defense in recent seasons due to the salary cap crunch. Helsinki will now be able to add 2 to their roster who have high upside. Look out.
Good luck to all the draftees!
If you got this far thanks for the read, the opinions are my own.
1401 words claiming 2 weeks.
.png.ed69a7260a477fcf4feead7a0e4b7506.png)
