Riga S78 Draft Haul

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The Riga Reign had a disappointing S77 made worse by the fact that they had traded their own lottery pick in the S78 draft during the off-season attempt to piece together a contender, but nevertheless they had a decent collection of draft picks and came away with a nice group of young players.

 

1st round, 10th overall - D Milk Jugs, San Diego Marlins @NerdyCowz
Jugs is strong in two main areas; his shot and his defense. He's small (5'5" 140) but still had 16 goals and 39 points as a defenseman in his VHLM rookie year with San Diego, eventually being drafted 8th overall in the VHLM draft to Houston where he'll spend the upcoming season.

 

1st round, 15th overall - RW Anze Miklavz, Mexico City Kings @McKelvie
Miklavz somehow dropped down the board to 15th overall in the VHL draft, despite easily being ranked in the top-10 heading in. That he was still there with Riga's second first round pick certainly helps ease some of the disappointment from not having their own lottery pick, as Miklavz and Jugs represents a pretty solid haul. He had 42 goals and 87 points last season with Mexico City and will play with Jugs next year in the VHLM too after being selected 5th overall by Houston.

 

2nd round, 32nd overall - G Tobias Reinhart, Mississauga Hounds @Spaz
The backup goalie for the Hounds during a dominant regular season, Reinhart went 12-1 with an .865 SV% in 13 games in S77. He is a consistent player and hard worker with some upside and probably would've went a bit higher in the draft if not for the state of the goaltender position around the league. Reinhart will probably be Philadelphia's starter next season.

 

3rd round, 45th overall - C Pippo Coca, Yukon Rush @pippo
A relatively new player to the draft class, Coca stepped in with Yukon and put up 9 goals and 14 points in 28 games. Coca is a good offensive player with good hands, good skating and a good shot. Probably a season or two away from the big leagues, but has shown consistent growth since joining the Rush.

 

4th round, 53rd overall - D Ron Gorgonzola, Philadelphia Reapers @Ron Gorgonzola
Gorgonzola is an old-school defenseman who isn't afraid to hit or fight, kind of similar to current Reign defenseman Jared Carter. He had 13 points and 96 hits in 50 games last season with the Reapers, who were impressed enough by him after picking him up on waivers that they used the 23rd overall pick in the VHLM draft to retain his rights for S78.

 

4th round, 55th overall - LW Johnny Macintosh, San Diego Marlins @Yemnac
Macintosh is a big, well-rounded winger but doesn't have tremendous upside. He played a minimal role with San Diego last season, with 2 goals and 3 points in 72 games. He's a bit of a long shot to make the VHL at this point, but could make it if he can maintain a strong work ethic.

 

4th round, 56th overall - D Jyuunya Pureya Oneri Desu, San Diego Marlins @Guriinwoodo
Oneri Desu is a good athlete that plays a solid shutdown game. Joined very late in the season and only got into 8 games with the Marlins, where he put up 1 assist. Scouts have mentioned that he showed some improvement in the brief time he was in the lineup, so he's got a chance to eventually develop into a decent VHL defenseman down the line.