Moscow Offseason Recap

[Spartan 4,531]

The past few days since the draft feel like they've really flown by. We completed the draft on Thursday, and it featured some really amazing graphics by Sonnet who needs a lot more credit for that than what he's gotten so far. It was really awesome to see in real time, and hopefully it got more people off the portal and watching the stream.

 

In terms of the draft from a Moscow perspective, I'm honestly quite pleased with it. We selected a disproportionately large amount of wingers in the draft, but I like to think of them as luxury picks. Snagging Steez and Seabass at 2 and 3 was really the main goal of the draft - shoring up our defense and adding a franchise 1B center. I've said many times that I'd love to try to emulate the one-two punch the Penguins have with Sid and Geno, and I think that's exactly what Atreides and Seabasstard can become for Moscow. Adding Lemieux, Markov, Johnson and Takala all in the 2nd was a cherry on top, as I've had great interactions with all 4 before the draft and really wanted to find a way to get all of them on the team. It was a nice combination of veterans and first-gens, older and younger members that has already made the locker room a fantastic place to be.

 

Drafting 4 wingers, 5 if you count the IA Mack, really wasn't the plan I had going into the draft, but seeing them available at our picks was just something I couldn't pass up on. Takala and Johnson both had top 20 grades on my draft board, so I was happy to trade with Toronto to move up and select them. Our middle 6 winger group may be the most uncertain position on our team long-term, and I think Lemieux, Markov and Takala can all remain active and earn consistently to fill in those spots alongside some combination of the 3 rookie wingers we called up this season. It's a deep prospect pool at the position, and now only time will tell how we fare. The cap change will greatly benefit us, as getting that extra 5 million to ensure roster spots for the next 2-3 seasons was huge, and will give us more flexibility in evaluating our rookies/prospects.

 

Lastly, Leroy Johnson may have been the most under-appreciated player in the class. Goalie was not a very coveted position, as is typical for the position. But Kobe had been in our LR for a few weeks before the draft, and he had expressed a desire to play for Moscow. Having Malone entrenched as the starter and Bowman coming up as a prospect gave us very little wiggle room, so I challenged Kobe to max earn up through the draft to prove that he could be a starting goalie. He rose to the challenge, and is one of the few players in this class to really earn his roster spot. I'm very excited to see how he can grow over the next few seasons and potentially blossom into our goalie of the future after Malone - it'll certainly keep Bowman on his toes!

 

Anyways, well over word count so I'll stop it here, but I'm just excited to build more relationships with new faces and continue turning Moscow into a serious threat!