That links you to all the topic replies that Jason has made in the trade forum on this site. Anyone who wants to look, you can go ahead and see that Kendrick just made that up about Jason.
Almost a month ago, Mike ranted to all of you about how the Season 40 VHL Entry Draft class could be the strongest to come around, ever. He also conservatively estimated the class to reach 3,800 TPE. Well, it turns out that Mike’s projections were too conservative.
This class continues to shatter all expectations, logging in an impressive 4,269 total TPE as of this board. There are 16 total prospects in the pool that currently top 100 TPE, a former benchmark reserved for only the top few prospects in a class. Pre-expansion, that would have given the league two full rounds of 100 TPE prospects, although a round and a half for the modern draft isn’t exactly a bad thing either. There are also 19 total prospects in this draft that have passed 90 TPE by now; the Season 18 draft, in comparison, had 17 such prospects, with 15 players crossing 100 TPE before draft day. With all that stated, let’s get on with the mock draft.
1st – Cologne – Mason Richardson
Easily put, Mason Richardson is the most impressive prospect in this strong draft class. Handled by lauded agent Kendrick, Richardson is a defenseman entering this draft with 346 TPE, breaking Tom Slaughter’s draftee record of 300 TPE set in the S37 draft. Not only is Richardson the richest TPE man in this draft, his 70 TPE earned since the last update of this listing puts him as the most active prospect of late as well. With Cologne housing Ron World Peace and Dimothenis Vlasis, along with General Manager RomanesEuntDomus’ player Nicolas Caprivi, the Express could have the strongest core of defensemen in the VHL once those three and Richardson develop more.
2nd – Cologne (from Quebec City) – Thomas O’Malley
It’s just impossible to put anyone other than O’Malley in this spot. Had Richardson not been around, O’Malley would be the guy wowing everyone, as his total of 322 TPE would’ve also broken that of Slaughter. O’Malley’s presence allows the team to move Kez Kincaid to the second center spot, a spot he’d perform much stronger in.
3rd – Toronto – Tyler Cote
With the overall lack of talent in Toronto’s organization, the team has to employ the best-player-available strategy and pick Cote. Coming in with a healthy 263 practice hours, he’s been a sensational prospect and immediately gives Toronto a strong organizational talent (he finished with 101 points in the VHLM this past year).
4th – Helsinki – Lloyd Light
By my count, Helsinki has three elite prospects at defense and four wingers that either have bright futures or are already at a top level. Light is handled by prolific TPE-earner Streetlight, who is coming off a player that felt the effects of his declining activity in Keiji Toriyama. However, only Richardson and O’Malley have earned more TPE than Light since the last update of the big board. Helsinki needs a center, but they can find a solid one in the next round.
5th – Vasteras (via Calgary) – Jerrick Poole
Vasteras, much like Toronto, should address their lack of talent rather than focusing on one specific position. Poole has been a top prospect with 235 TPE, but his activity has slowed a tad (8th in TPE since the last big board update). He still represents a coup for Vasteras, as the team is getting a prospect that would be considered a top overall pick contender in any other draft despite picking 5th.
6th – Vasteras – Sachimo Zoidberg
Vasteras still has Eggly Bagelface and Niklas Lindberg to sell off to begin their rebuild, so these two picks may not even be the only two that Vasteras makes in the first round. Regardless, adding Zoidberg with Jerrick Poole gives Vasteras a fantastic base to build off of, especially considering the team was a buyer at last year’s deadline. The only reason I went with Zoidberg over Komorov here is because Vasteras already added a defenseman with the last pick.
7th – Seattle – Vladamir Komorov
Seattle just needs talent in general. Entering a rebuild with questions at the GM spot and ultimately losing a ton of quality from a year ago, the Bears add a prospect in Komorov who is a hot commodity and should be in the VHL from the start of next season. Komorov is 4th in TPE earned since the last big board update, and would be a steal for Seattle at this point in the draft.
8th – Davos (from Calgary via Riga) – Oskars Harumpf
Davos looks to be entering a rebuild, leading me to believe they’ll select the best player available. Harumpf has quietly impressed scouts, and has been one of the most active prospects of late as well. He gives the new age of Davos a solid base to begin building upon.
9th – Davos – Christoph Klose
Davos missed out on most of the top defensemen prospects, but adding Klose along with Harumpf gives the team a solid basis of forwards to rebuild upon. Klose has quietly been a solid prospect, and has been very active of late as well. Overall it’s the move that makes the most sense for a team starting from scratch.
10th – New York – Shadhu Rathod Jr.
The surprise of the draft, for sure, Rathod hasn’t even reached 100 TPE yet. But believe me when I say he’s a hot commodity. His agent, Mr. Baller, has been extremely active around the league of late, and Rathod Jr. is 5th in practice hours since the last big board update. New York is a team that needs defensemen and wingers; all the good defenders have been off the board for a little while now (a trend that leads me to believe that NY could trade up to 4th overall), so the team picks the top winger on the board.
It's not terrible seeing as the top two guys in S40 are 350+ in tpe already. I doubt any of those picks Quebec got will be players like that but give frank assets to work with moving forward.
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Frank got a reaction from Will in Eggy Bagelface retires
Frank reacted to scoop in DAV/CGY ; S39 off-season
Frank got a reaction from Kendrick in Season 40 Hall of Fame Tournament
Frank got a reaction from Kesler in Eggy Bagelface retires
