Saskatoon Wild Dispersal Draft Recap

[Seabass 593]

Saskatoon Wild Dispersal Draft Recap

 

Just last weekend the VHLM held it's Dispersal Draft for Season 77.  Draft day is an exciting time for all players but more specifically all of the VHL community's newcomers as this is usually their first big event. For some this day makes or breaks their odds of staying an active member of the VHL community even.  This year there was a lot of talent in this draft, however nobody was really standing out as the clear cut 1st overall pick. TPE wise the top 5 players in the draft was, Jan Hlozek at 206, Nick Caldwell (198), Hard Markinson  (173) , Gustislavv Nasherov  (173) and The Loch Ness Monster  (170). The Loch Ness Monster  was the lucky player that ended up having the honors of being selected 1st overall in the S77 VHLM Dispersal Draft after being selected by the San Diego Marlins. Nils Tallinder and Gus Nasherov went 2nd and 3rd overall respectively to finish up the top 3.

 

The Saskatoon Wild was originally in a position where they had a selection to make in the top 5 (4th overall) and one selection in the top 10 (7th overall) which was originally acquired from the Las Vegas Aces in S76. Come draft day GM @Doomsdaysurprised everyone by trading down from the 4th overall spot to the 9th overall spot after a deal with the Mississauga Hounds. Rumour has is that the team had eyes on former Wild, Jan Hlozek but had come to the conclusion that he wouldn't be available by the 4th Overall selection and thus traded the pick down to the Aces to gain a pick in the third round. .In the end not only was Hlozek available by the 4th pick selection but he dropped down the draft and was almost available with the Wild's 7th pick but, the Miami Marauders snagged him at 6th. 

 

 

1st Round, 7th Overall

Nixon Caldwell

@Kendrick

 

One team need was pretty clear. The Wild only had one defender (Tanky) returning from last season and had many roster spots on the blueline to fill. So it was not surprising to see the Wild try to address that right off the hop and picked Nixon Caldwell with their 7th overall selection. Caldwell is a recreated player who managed to hit over 50 points and had a plus/minus of +44  in his rookie season with the Philadelphia Reapers. The kid has hands and vision and plays with a lot of confidence with the puck. He has a very active stick and is an above average skater. He was well enough defensively to be trusted by his former coach in clutch situations and on the penalty kill and I figure Caldwell will play top minutes as a Wild and be a fixture on the team's top pairing.  He also has the potential to be a future VHL powerplay quarterback if he keeps on building off his 51 point his rookie season. 

 

1st Round, 9th Overall

The Seabasstard

@Seabass

 

The Seabasstard, well that's me. In my mind I should've went 1st overall as I'm obviously going to be a superstar in the VHL someday but I somehow dropped to the Wild at the 9th overall selection. Big mistake by the 5 teams that passed me up and I'll triple shame @Zetterberg by tagging him in this because he specifically really dropped the ball by passing up on me three times.  Pfft loser. Anyways I'm building my player to be more of a faceoff ace for my team and envisioning myself becoming a much faster Yannick Perreault type player once I make the VHL. My player can crush it at both ends of the ice and should be a good a solid addition for the Wild's penalty kill. I figure I'll end up centering the Wild's first or second line. 

 

2nd Round, 16th Overall

David Tavau

@Ahma

 

The Wild were luck enough to also have 2 selections in the 2nd round of the draft and it used it's first one by picking up defenseman, David Tavau further addressing their roster holes on defense. David Tavau was an interesting pickup since he only has a small sample window to analyze, having only played 9 games last season in the VHLM playing for the San Diego Marlins. In those nine games Tavau displayed more of a two way defender kind of game. He has shown that he's confident and agile while handling the puck under pressure and is able to skate like the wind. While Tavau can move the puck over to his teammates efficiently he needs to work on his shot some more if he wants to be a real threat offensively. I envision Tavau will progress towards having a breakout year playing for the Wild this season. Keep an eye on him

 

2nd Round, 23rd Overall

Raphael Sonier

@raphaelsonier9815

 

With their 2nd pick in the 2nd round the Wild continued to add to their defense corps by picking up Raphael Sonier off of the Miami Marauders where the young defender played a full 72 game season. In those 72 games Sonier displayed a more stay at home defender style of game showing. Sonier was rarely caught out of position and was able to use his body the shut plays down with either a well timed shot block or a brutal open ice hit. Sonier will be able to help the Wild add some oomph to their roster as nobody else than Tanky plays with an edge to their game. Sonier had 180+ hits to his name in his rookie season and I fully expect the Wild to split Tanky and Sonier up to spread that physicality around the lineup. I can foresee seeing Sonier pairing up nicely with Tavau on the team's 2nd pairing. 

 

3rd Round 26th Overall

TheCHEESE

@TheCHEESE

 

TheCHEESE returns to the Wild for another season after the Wild selected the player with 26th Overall pick the team picked up by dropping down in the first round.  TheCHEESE is a two way forward that played limited minutes for the Wild last season due to the team having a lot of depth on the right wing. This season TheCHEESE only has Jordan Heavens to compete with at the moment for a roster spot come training camp.  TheCHEESE didn't provide much offense last year scoring 9 pts in 48 games. The small winger winger is however in a position to even compete for the 1st line, if he comes into training game having better refined his game and gaining a few pounds, TheCHEESE will get an opportunity to become a big contributor to this team.  Hopefully the added minutes this year will help give him the chance to chip in more on the offense and gain some more confidence out on the ice. 

 

3rd Round 29th Overall

Duncan Montana

@124715

 

The Wild ended up going with two former Wild in the third round by selecting Duncan Montana with their 2nd selection of the third round of the draft after acquiring the pick from Philadelphia in exchange for a 2nd rounder in the next draft.  Montana like TheCHEESE got limited ice time last year due to all the depth at his position. Much like TheCHEESE, Montana only has one other player to compete with for ice time so far this season so he's due to see a increase in ice time. Montana has the size and the offensive tools to make things happen. The man displayed that he has a set of hands in practice and with another offseason worth of conditioning Montana will be back faster and stronger this season.  Montana had a good look late last season playing on the 2nd line and he played well alongside The Seabasstard. Maybe reuniting the two can create some kind of chemistry long term. 

 

7th Round, 76th Overall

Keshawn Harris

@Domkey

 

The Wild didn't have any picks left in the draft after the third round else than their one 7th round pick which was used up to pick up the young goaltender, Keshawn Harris. There is nothing out there on Harris, nothing, no scouting reports, no news articles, nothing. While not much is known about Harris I expect him to take up the team's backup role this season behind Andrew Bowman who could very well be playing his last season in the VHLM. If Harris can keep improving himself as the team's backup he could eventually be given the opportunity to take the reigns as the starter next season.  

 

In Conclusion I think our General Manager did an adequate job in filling up the holes in his roster hopefully he selected a good active crop of players so Saskatoon can be rocking this upcoming season. I think the people of Saskatoon will be pleased to hear that I think this team has the potential to make the playoffs this year. However is the talent on this team elite enough to make them reach the later rounds? Only time will tell. Go Wild Go!

 

Other odd mentions: @Bojovnik @TXC @StormJordanYT @BrutalBoost @LuluSalesAway

Edited March 22, 2021 by Seabass

[Zetterberg 863]

41 minutes ago, Seabass said:

Big mistake by the 5 teams that passed me up and I'll triple shame @Zetterberg by tagging him in this because he specifically really dropped the ball by passing up on me three times.  Pfft loser.

[Kendrick 4,741]

Proud to be here!

[TheCHEESE 37]

Im ready to have a good season

[Seabass 593]

Claiming Media spot for week of March 28

 

 

Update 2/3

[Bojovnik 487]

I hope the Wild do well, but I also hope that I score a hat trick against you. Thanks

[KC15 340]

Review:  Always enjoy the draft recaps to learn about players in the league and what strategy goes into the draft.  Well-written for sure.  Enjoyed the humor on the writer's own draft position.  Thought the alternating type color was a good idea to break things up, but the yellow was a tough read.  The blue was easy on the eyes.  8.5/10

[Seabass 593]

Claiming for week of April 4th 2021

 

3/3