Who Should Draft a Goaltender in S79

[Lazarus 62]

The S78 goaltender draft class has the potential to be one of the strongest in recent memory. Two goalies were selected in the first round followed by another six in rounds 2-4. In saying this, the S79 goaltending class could be on par with the previous draft and may even have the potential to be stronger. With the S79 draft right around the corner, here’s what teams I feel should consider selecting a goaltender to help improve the backend of their franchise in the coming years. When draft day comes, we all known trades are bound to happen however I have written this article with the assumption of teams keeping their picks where they are.

 

 

Prague Phantoms

 

After its most successful season in history, Prague will look for an important piece to become a competitive team for years to come. In S78, the Phantoms had one of the deadliest goaltending duos with Grekkark Gyrfalcon and Jacob Carson but it could be short-lived as Carson’s contract is set to expire and he will hit free agency during the offseason. However, Prague will own both their own as well as DC’s first-round selection. There is one particular goaltender that may fall to them that could change the future of this franchise for a long time. In the S79 draft, there is a goaltender that goes by the name PAPA EMERITUS. This may be a long shot but no teams that will be drafting before the Phantoms really need a goaltender of this caliber. If Emeritus is to fall to Prague, he could jump immediately to the VHL if the Phantoms don’t resign Carson or pick up another goaltender in free agency. Papa Emeritus had a strong regular season with the Rush, posting an extremely impressive .892 SV% in 69 GP. He would be able to play under Grekkark Gyrfalcon for season 79 and move into the starting role as Gyrfalcon depreciates. Papa Emeritus has already won a Founder’s Cup with Yukon so he has tasted victory and you can bet he’s hungry for the same glory in the VHL. If Prague manages to pull this off, this team will be a contender for the next few seasons as Emeritus could become the backbone that pushes them over the hump and win their first Continental Cup.    

 

 

Chicago Phoenix

 

Chicago has seen a lot of success as of late and leading that success is their Daisuke Kanou Trophy winning goaltender, Jean Pierre Camus, who is the only goaltender currently on the roster. However, Camus is coming off his 6th season with the team and will retire sooner rather than later. The Phoenix need to look towards their future in terms of their backend and luckily there are some potential gems in the S79 draft. Although Chicago may look into grabbing a goaltender in free agency, drafting a goaltender to develop will be very beneficial for the future of this franchise. The Phoenix hold their first-round selection which will be later in the round where two potential options are projected to be selected. Both Em Em Flex and Orion D H Chiester IX should fall and while activity has slowed for both goaltenders, Chicago should still take the risk on one or the other. If either of them can become consistent with their TPE earning then the Phoenix could have another franchise netminder as soon as Camus calls it a career. I feel the best option will be Em Em Flex, the young goalie played in all 72 games for Miami and will only need one more year to develop before making the leap in the VHL in S80. If all goes well, that would give Flex one year behind Camus to learn under the veteran before taking over the starting role for years to come.   

 

Malmo Nighthawks

 

The Nighthawks have one of the strongest prospects pools in the VHL which could set them up nicely for the future. Despite having a lot of young talent, they don’t have a goaltender that can step up in the seasons to come. Having said that, they have a lot of draft capital in this year’s draft that includes three first-round picks. The Nighthawks have a great opportunity to select one of the top three goaltenders in this draft and I feel they need to capitalize. Veteran goaltender Woody McPine has played his last season in the VHL which leaves a spot on the active roster. Fortunately for the Nighthawks, their starting goaltender Artem Tretiak will lead them for a while longer and can mentor a younger netminder to take over the starting role in the future. Malmo can afford to pass on Emeritus and Em Em flex as Tretiak is still relatively young. Nonetheless, Malmo can use either Seattle’s or Warsaw’s pick on Ottawa netminder, Orion D H Chiester IX. Chiester IX had a very strong rookie campaign, splitting the crease with Jacob Rask. He put up a SV% of .886 in the 30 games he played. He will most likely need only one more season in the VHLM before making the jump into the big leagues as a backup. The duo of Tretiak and Chiester IX could last them for many seasons to come.    

 

 

New York Americans

 

Like Chicago, New York has only one active goaltender, Thadius Sales and I’m sure he’ll be the first to tell you that and strong number two goaltender will have a large impact on a team’s success. In the S78 draft, New York decided to select the aforementioned goaltender, Jacob Rask with the 52nd pick. Rask was looking very promising and could have been a potential backup for the team down the road. Shortly after the regular season ended, Rask decided the VHL wasn’t for him and retired after two seasons in the VHLM with Ottawa and Yukon. This left New York back where they started with no goaltending prospects. In this draft, The Americans have a lot of options to select a potential goaltender for their franchise. New York has a selection that will land them in the middle of the second round where many options will be available for them. Now they may not find a franchise superstar in this spot, but there are three goaltenders that have the potential to become a much-needed backup in the future. Emiko Spector, Elijah Mikaelson, and Alex Parise will likely be on the board when New York makes their selection. Drafting any of these guys may be considered a reach however with very little draft capital, New York would have to wait until round 4, where all the VHL caliber goaltenders will already have been selected. My ideal selection for New York would be Canadian goaltender, Alex Parise. He has shown the most potential to become a consistent TPE earner and has had some pretty strong weeks. Parise could definitely make the VHL with a few seasons of development. Hopefully for the Americans, they can avoid another Rask situation and find someone to strap up the pads in The Big Apple.         

 

Toronto Legion

 

Toronto traded their first-round selection to Vancouver during season 77 which ruined the opportunity to select Emeritus, but they can still look for a future backup for the team. Toronto is in a rough place with very few draft picks as well as not making the playoffs. They may need a small miracle to compete in the near future. If Toronto is to go into a rebuild, then they will need some goalies that can come up in the future.  As it sits, Toronto has no goaltending prospects and one on the active roster. The Legion hold two picks in round two which will both be in the bottom half so they will have a similar pool as New York to select from. If Parise does end up going earlier then they can take a chance on either Elijah Mikaelson or Emiko Spector. Both goaltenders will likely take multiple seasons to develop but if their activity increases then Toronto could have a major steal late in round two. If Toronto decides to risk it and select a goaltender, Emiko Spector may be the best option. Spector has a major problem with inactivity but is a well-known member that could potentially come back. Should Emiko become an active member again, Toronto will have a goaltender that has the capability of making the VHL as a long-term backup. The Legion may be better off being patient until the S80 draft where there are already three highly touted goaltending prospects and they’ll have the picks to select them. In saying that, it may not be the worst thing for Toronto to gamble on a goaltender in the upcoming draft. 

 

No matter what happens in the draft, I’ll be keeping a close eye on this year’s class of goaltenders especially with the VHLE coming into play which will give more options for these prospects to carve their legacy. It’s very exciting to see the future of VHL goaltending and how these prospects’ journeys pan out. I wish all the prospects as well as team management good luck in the draft.

 

Words: 1518

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[JB123 728]

Review: Great article. I like how you used team colors and logos to add to the look of it. Each description was very in-depth and as a VHLM player I know you had to put some time in to look at VHL team needs. I hope that what you said for the Phantoms comes true. 10/10

[Renomitsu 934]

Review

Drafting goalies is always tricky! I feel like we've seen them drop so much further than anticipated (especially with excellent classes) in prior drafts because there are so few slots, and oftentimes middle earners don't get a good shot at playing anything beyond a backup role. You did a good job in reading these four teams' current goalie situations (especially Chicago/Prague, as it's easy to have rose-colored glasses on when a team is really good).

One consideration for this article I'd have put forth was Warsaw, who has an IA goalie who's right around the middle in TPE (500-600) without a true good backup option (Bustard is OK but barely over the 200 mark). As far as future article ideas, when do you think VHLE teams will take their netminders? Overall nice work!

[Lazarus 62]

11 minutes ago, Renomitsu said:

Review

Drafting goalies is always tricky! I feel like we've seen them drop so much further than anticipated (especially with excellent classes) in prior drafts because there are so few slots, and oftentimes middle earners don't get a good shot at playing anything beyond a backup role. You did a good job in reading these four teams' current goalie situations (especially Chicago/Prague, as it's easy to have rose-colored glasses on when a team is really good).

One consideration for this article I'd have put forth was Warsaw, who has an IA goalie who's right around the middle in TPE (500-600) without a true good backup option (Bustard is OK but barely over the 200 mark). As far as future article ideas, when do you think VHLE teams will take their netminders? Overall nice work!

Thanks for all the kind words. I like your idea for the VHLE goaltenders and I'll look into doing something in the future!!

[Lazarus 62]

Claiming Week 2/3

[WHY_Bolts 16]

I personally love these draft articles and this one is another great one. It shows how much research are put into these articles. I think you make some terrific points on why these teams should take a goalie because they are right there. They just could use some extra depth in net. 10/10

[Lazarus 62]

Claiming Week 3/3