JeffD

I read all the ecn articles

Draft Interview
 

 
ECN is returning this season with another round of Pre-draft interviews with highly valued prospects. Season 68 VHL Entry draft is showing great promise for many teams willing to stack up on players in the draft. Expansion teams and everyone else, get ready for one of the true curveballs in the draft as we are featuring an interview with a player who clearly should be taken off the board because of his amazing personality and ability to show why he deserves to be in the spotlight - Mr.Finnegan Macburn.
 
ECN approached F.MacBurn after his last game just outside the arena
 
- Huge thanks for freeing up some time for an interview. To start off, how would you rank this season for your player?
- No thank you for taking the time. Really I feel like I owe you a favour. How about dinner? Do you like steak? I know a place, we can head over after this.
My season thus far? Well my adjustment to the VHLM is exactly on the track I wanted it to be. I have really improved my defensive game with the advice I received from my GM Acydburn. I still have some work to do on my passing, I would like to stay out of the box so I can play on special teams, and I like most of us at this level need to get stronger.
- What do you believe is the best part of you as a community member and LR presence?
- We should get some drinks. Do you want a drink? Two shots of maple syrup please! Have you tried this? It's all the rage here, especially after a Lynx win. Pretty good right?
Well, I embrace the community wherever I find myself and you only have to look at my small track record to see that. I like to joke around with the folks in the locker room pretty often. It's mostly of the remember that scene in that show when so and so said this variety. We have a good time and I'm very nervous about how that may change after the draft.
- Now to the current draft. Which are the teams that you would like to join in VHL with the help of the draft?
-  Well, I'm supposed to say anywhere and just be grateful for a selection, but as I already alluded to, team chemistry is really important to me.
- What is more important for you - success no matter what or building a legacy with one team?
- Those two are not necessarily exclusive. Well, success as a team is always nice. I wouldn't be where I am without my teammates. I think I'm the only VHLMer in the top 10 in assists without a single game played in season 66. That's not possible without being able to feed the puck to my boy Thorny Underyew. As a defenceman, my legacy most likely won't show up on a points chart. My job is to make sure the opposition doesn't make the scoresheet so overall team success means I'm doing my job well. If I'm fortunate enough to find myself on a team I'm comfortable with I would hope to be able to spend my entire career there.
- In the end, what do you believe will future bring for you and what is that you want to say to GM's looking at you as a potential draft pick?
- I'm a role player looking to be a solid and dependable two-way defenseman who you can pencil into the lineup without worry. A penalty killer you can rely on. I don't light the lamp often but I make my teammates better with my breakout and stretch passing skills. My company can sometimes mean my attention is split but I feel I can juggle both fairly well. I can surprise you in that regard, just ask my former GM Matt_O a great guy. I can promise you this though. If you invest in me you can expect me to invest in our team in return.
- Thanks for the quik interview Mr.MacBurn, good luck for the rest of the season!
- The pleasure was all mine, thanks!
 
We at ECN believe that his dedication to raising his draft stock by coming and talking about the chance to be interviewed by ECN is a great plus and shows that he will not disappoint any of the teams that will think about drafting him. Not to mention that his performance on the ice, considering his development is truly remarkable.
 
Everyone on the staff of ECN wishes Finnegan MacBurn to enjoy the upcoming draft and bring the best possible qualities to VHL!
 
People mentioned @DizzyWithLogic

Thanks for the interview! Hopefully some GMs take notice.

Draft Interview
 

 
ECN is returning this season with another round of Pre-draft interviews with highly valued prospects. Season 68 VHL Entry draft is showing great promise for many teams willing to stack up on players in the draft. Expansion teams and everyone else, get ready for one of the most physically dominant defencemen in VHLM this season. Jeff Downey has been a remarkable powerhouse when it comes to shots blocked and hits after the trade that sent him to Houston.
 
ECN had a pleasure talking with Jeff Downey after his plane landed back in Houston after a game away from home.
 
- Huge thanks for freeing up some time for an interview. To start off, how would you rank this season for your player?
- If I'm being honest I would say this year has been a bit of a disappointment for me. All through my coming up in hockey I have had a dominating presence and ever since making it to the VHLM, I have kind of just been an alright player. It started out rough with the Mississauga Hounds and while it has gotten better for the Houston Bulls, and we are winning more, the personal stats just aren't where I expected them to be.
- What do you believe is the best part of you as a community member and LR presence?
- Probably my activity. I have gotten to know many people around the league at this point and have kept very active in both the social and practice sides of the community. It has been a great experience and I hope to continue to make more friends around here and continue to meet new people.
- Now to the current draft. Which are the teams that you would like to join in VHL with the help of the draft?
-  The only team I really hold any connection to is the Helsinki Titans. My grandfather was their first-ever team captain and was taken by them third overall in the S1 VHL Entry Draft. If I could play for them that would be amazing. Other than them I have no true preference and would play for any team that would have me.
- What is more important for you - success no matter what or building a legacy with one team?
- I would love to build a legacy with a team and I really hope that can be combined with success as well. The whole point of playing around here is to experience success and bring home championships. I'd prefer to do that with one team in a long career but success does take some sacrifices.
- In the end, what do you believe will future bring for you and what is that you want to say to GM's looking at you as a potential draft pick?
- I think my future in the Victory Hockey League is going to be a great one. Although I have gone through some early struggles in my VHLM career I have no doubt in my mind I will be able to turn it around and make a huge impact for the team that is willing to invest in me. Any general manager who is looking at me should know that although I may not be as talented as some of the other picks in the draft I will put in all of the effort to make up for that going forward.
- Thanks for the quik interview Mr.Downey, good luck for the rest of the season!
- See you around!
 
ECN believes that even though this upcoming VHL draft will be strong when it comes to defencemen prospects, it should be stated that Jeff Downey is a player that an expansion or a team willing to rebuild could use as a cornerstone for future success. His ability to be vocal and talk about issues and his thoughts should be looked upon as a positive aspect of his personality.
 
Everyone on the staff of ECN wishes Mr.Downey all the best in the draft and the upcoming season, you will do great kid!
 
People mentioned: @JeffD

An upgraded version of Dil

An upgraded version of Dil

Fucking Koch brothers 

❤️ @JeffD

Same

Resignation in 5....4....3....lol

@hedgehog337

@gorlab I feel like this could just be a rant of your past self against your current self lmao

Vancouver 5-2
 
4 Uncapped TPE
@jRuutu
@JeffD
@aCrypticPancake

WoW
So the VHL has announced they’re expanded still no news on Boubabi though. So that being said I’ll have three cities on what I think we should expand/ add on to the VHL. So that being said I will also add a city that I think we should not do at all so hold that in. So crediting that it’s the Boubabi lover and let’s get into this one. 
NA - good cities
San Jose - So I’ve seen people say that we should add Los Angeles, but that’s a fucking stupid idea (if you’re reading I meant that). San Jose is much more of a hockey city than LA. On that fact LA is much more of a basketball city or even Football (American for that matter). So if you’re going California While sales might be a bit higher you’ll have more fans and people who care about games instead of Justin Bieber doing a skate around at games. So San Jose is a W for me. 
 
St Johns - If you want a fresh start go to an irrelevant place that nobody wants to go to turn St Johns into a hockey place all they have is the ECHL and the CHL. While this place might seem boring it’s a clean slate and should be a place that the VHL could turn into an exciting one. I mean you gave Yukon a team why not St Johns. Or you can just leave New Foundland and Labrador screaming internally.
 
Oregon - I know you can call me lazy cause this pretty much @JeffD's idea. In my idea it doesn’t even have to be Oregon since there is already a city in there named the trailblazers. So the Oregon trail is a bit off. Though seriously Portland and Oregon don’t get enough love as they should. It’s right next to Seattle, and if they pick up a good pace they  could end up being long time rivals. I don’t think anybody would mind seeing hardware in Oregon as well. 
EU
Amsterdam - I can’t say a ton on Amsterdam. Though I have a feeling that it would be a great hockey city. They’re apart of the IIHF program and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind joining the VHL association at all. Keep in mind they are known for soccer I know that for a fact. Yet we still gave Houston a hockey team so why the hell not Amsterdam. 
Luxembourg - This would be a perfect idea. Something to cheer both Luxembourg and Amsterdam after tornadoes recently struck the two cities. It would be a nice idea for the Luxembourg fans who love hockey. The team would get a good amount of fans to sell tickets. I recommend the team placing the arena a bit far away from the city in case of a tornado. 
Paris - The city of love such a perfect place for the a team. As you know Montreal is a French city more or less (origin wise). So you’d think some of that hockey love had to originate from the French while you could say the other Canadian provinces/territorys play a bigger role you could be possible right. Nonetheless even if your fans from Paris don’t show up, you still have a shit ton of tourists. I mean you’re gonna have a lot of bank as well considering the fact you’ll most likely have a French or French-Canadian player. Overall a great place to start.
 
So the cities you shouldn’t add to are New York and anywhere in the Czech Republic. Not gonna go on a rant though. That being said unban @boubabi
 
 
 

No can do! I need that spot!

stay back!

The race for third on this list is heating up big time.

Oh you gotta be kidding me

I'm going to finish the Round Robin this afternoon (around 2PM EST), so if you guys want to make any changes, be sure to send them in by then.
 
@Enorama @Jbeezy76 @McWolf @JeffD @Motzaburger

LETS GOOOOOOO

LETS GOOOOOOO

4 Uncapped TPE
 
@GustavMattias
@JeffD
@Zeno
@Cornholio

I'll throw my hat in the ring for this. I'm far too active around here for my own good. I am just getting my first experience with this kind of thing right now as I am general manager of Team USA in the WJC. Would love to get some experience in Las Vegas.

S68 Draft Defensively Stacked – GMs Excited
 
Toronto, ON - There is a lot of great talent in next year’s S68 VHL entry draft and that may be no more apparent than on the defensive end of the game. The top of the draft class is full of great defensive prospects and many teams could pick up a future franchise cornerstone. Of the top 10 prospects in practice hours accrued half of them are defensemen and the top two, whom are far and away the best, play the position. This article will be going over the top defensive prospects and giving an overview of some of the top talent the VHLM has to offer.
 

 
Name: Condor Adrienne (@Green)
Height: 6’8”
Weight: 250 lbs.
Team: Philadelphia Reapers
TPE: 261
ISS Draft Ranking: 1
Key Attributes: 75 Skating | 75 Puck Handling | 75 Scoring | 75 Defense
 
Condor is an extremely well rounded defenseman who is tearing up the VHLM for the Philadelphia Reapers. The hulking brute is currently scoring at over a point per game pace and is clear and away the leader in practice hours in the draft class. It would be absolutely shocking if Adrienne wasn’t taken first overall in the draft. Coming in at an enormous 6’8” and 250 pounds any team that is looking to have a future franchise cornerstone on the defensive side would be crazy to not take him. His well-rounded game will allow him to develop into whatever type of player he wants to going into the VHL which adds to his value. There is no other player in this class that will hit the practice room as hard as Adrienne.
 

 
Name: Lance Flowers (@CowboyinAmerica)
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 244 lbs.
Team: Yukon Rush
TPE: 229
ISS Draft Ranking: 2
Key Attributes: 70 Skating | 70 Puck Handling | 75 Passing | 80 Defense
 
Lance is another enormous defensive prospect but he plays a different style than Condor Adrienne. Whereas Adrienne favours a more even style of game Lance Flowers is far more focused on the playmaking side and the defensive side of his game. Flowers is the best defensive defender in the draft class and also is a very astute playmaker. Some teams may be concerned with his complete lack of goal scoring ability as he has yet to score a goal this season in the VHLM. Despite that fact he is running at a point per game pace by putting up 20 assists in 20 games played. Teams looking for a franchise defender may want a guy with a more balanced offensive game but there is no doubt that he is one of the most dedicated practice players around.
 

 
Name: Luciano Valentino (@Kekzkrieg)
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 217 lbs.
Team: Halifax 21st
TPE: 167
ISS Draft Ranking: 7
Key Attributes: 64 Skating | 64 Puck Handling | 64 Passing | 64 Scoring | 75 Defense
 
The first of our more traditionally sized defenders is the Italian Luciano Valentino. Valentino was a late declaration for the VHLM season but has rocketed up the draft rankings with his insane work ethic and skill level. Although a one-way offensive game was listed as a downside of Lance Flowers game above it could actually be said that Luciano Valentino’s indecisiveness when it comes to shooting or passing the puck could be viewed as a downside as well. Although that may be an issue it is definitely something that can be remedied through training and should not be viewed as a problem. As of right now he may not be the highest ranked prospect but his work ethic is starting to get noticed around the league and he could begin moving up very quickly.  
 

 
Name: Jeff Downey (@JeffD)
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 220 lbs.
Team: Mississauga Hounds
TPE: 160
ISS Draft Ranking: 8
Key Attributes: 70 Skating | 70 Strength | 70 Puck Handling | 70 Passing| 70 Defense
 
Speaking of well-rounded prospect we have Jeff Downey. Downey came onto the scene shortly before the S67 VHLM draft and was picked up by the Mississauga Hounds in the VHLM. Although Downey’s lack of a convincing stat line may look concerning from the outside it should be noted that he is playing on a squad that is fairly bereft of talent and is still managing to have a respectable year. Talent wise Downey doesn’t really have any standout attributes and could be referred to as a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’. On the offensive side of the puck he definitely favours the playmaking side of the game although he has managed to score three goals this year. One part of his game that differentiates him from the other prospects is his actual physical strength where he is by far the strongest of the bunch.
 

 
Name: Wolf Stansson Jr. (@Cornholio)
Height: 6’8”
Weight: 250 lbs.
Team: Yukon Rush
TPE: 154
ISS Draft Ranking: 9
Key Attributes: 75 Skating | 60 Passing | 75 Defense
 
Another hulking giant, Wolf Stansson Jr. hails from Iceland. Despite his enormous size Stansson is the smoothest skating of the draft class and also plays one of the more defensively sound games of the bunch. He has put up a very good 16 points with the Yukon Rush is 20 games with five of those being goals. Stansson has taken a different approach to training and is actually competent in many areas that the other prospects haven’t even begun to train. This may lead to Stansson lacking the top end attributes of some of the other players in the class but gives any team that drafts him a good base to work with to mold him into a great defender that any team would love to have on their roster.
 
Conclusion
 
As can be seen from the reports above there is a wide range of talent that is going to be available on the backend of the S68 draft. This article only covered the five defensemen that are within the top 10 of the International Scouting Services rankings. There is another group that includes Keven Foreskin, Andrej Petrovic, Ricky Johnson and Aamon Grim that fall within the top 20 and could all potentially end up being just as good as the guys listed above. It is very unlikely that all of the discussed players will end up as franchise altering defensemen but it certainly will not hurt to have options in what was viewed as a position of weakness across the league coming into this season.
 
---
 
Word Count: 1080 | Claiming weeks ending 7/28 & 8/4

@Beaviss you're supposed to shout people out in these bum