VSN Presents: S82 VHL Mock Draft

[Alex 3,248]

@WranglersSuck

 

	1	NEW YORK AMERICANS
	Vasile Lamb @dlamb
			RW	TPE:	386
	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	(+/-)	SHT	PIM	HITS	SB
	81 - Mississauga	72	60	63	123	39	443	68	194	26
	80 - Philadelphia	19	7	3	10	-13	56	12	24	6
	81 - Mississauga (playoffs)	6	7	7	14	7	37	10	17	0
	80 - Philadelphia (playoffs)	5	1	2	3	0	21	4	12	1
	Vasile Lamb is currently the top player in the draft class in terms of TPE and is coming off of what will likely be an award winning season in the VHLM with Mississauga. Last season they led the VHLM in goals (60) and was second in points (123). Coming off of this Lamb looks to make the jump straight to the VHL and will slot in perfectly on New York's top line alongside Calvin Hobbs @2hawk and Jon Webber @Webberj where they will look to become the face of the franchise for the foreseeable future.
	2	D.C. DRAGONS
	Bubbles Utonium @fishy
			G	TPE:	342
	TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	SV%	GAA	SO	GA	SA
	81 - San Diego	48	27	17	4	0.895	3.05	1	148	1403
	80 - Yukon	8	6	2	0	0.839	3.76	0	26	161
	81 - San Diego (playoffs)	13	7	6	0	0.884	4.31	0	56	481
	80 - Yukon (playoffs)	8	5	1	0	0.883	3.92	0	28	239
	Bubbles Utonium enters the draft as the second ranked goalie and with that a lot of excitement around them. Following a solid season in the M with San Diego, Utonium will have a tough choice to make on whether or not to make the jump straight to the VHL and join a struggling D.C.Dragons team where they will be the starting goalie from day #1, or spend a season in the VHLE with the Vastras Iron Eagles. Given their current TPE it is likely the ladder of the two options. Needless to say D.C. will be drafting themselves a goalie of the future and Utonium will likely be their pick.
	3	LONDON UNITED
	Cole Pearce @N0HBDY
			G	TPE:	364
	TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	SV%	GAA	SO	GA	SA
	81 - Philadelphia	18	10	7	1	0.898	3.15	2	57	558
	81 - Saskatoon	27	7	17	3	0.898	3.6	0	98	959
	80 - Minnesota	2	2	0	0	0.844	2.5	0	5	32
	81 - Philadelphia (playoffs)	8	3	3	2	0.896	3.51	0	30	289
	Cole Pearce is coming off a solid playoff run with the Philadelphia Reapers which saw them make it the furthest they have been since S75. During the regular season Pearce was third in SV% (0.898) among starting goalies in the M and will look to continue that momentum as they will step straight into a young London United team and likely replace longtime Goalie Tater Tot in the starting role as they look to be headed to free agency. With London, Pearce will probably serve as the goalie of the future as there are no other goalies in their prospect system.
	4	CHICAGO PHOENIX
	Miervaldis Arpa @Zack
			G	TPE:	309
	TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	SV%	GAA	SO	GA	SA
	81 - Mississauga	66	44	20	1	0.89	3.08	5	203	1840
	80 - Philadelphia	12	7	4	1	0.84	3.89	0	47	293
	81 - Mississauga (playoffs)	6	2	4	0	0.877	4.5	0	27	219
	80 - Philadelphia (playoffs)	5	1	3	1	0.902	3.35	1	19	194
	The run on goalies will likely continue with Miervaldis Arpa going 4th overall to the Chicago Phoenix, who much like London and D.C. are in desperate need for a starting goalie of the future. The VHLE's S82 #1 overall pick will hope to hone their craft in Geneva before making the leap to the VHL in S83. Arpa's VHLM career was an interesting one as they were never near the league lead in SV% however, due to strong team play they found themselves with a winning record and one of the lower GAA in the VHLM.
	5	HELSINKI TITANS
	The Board Game Clue On Skates @MubbleFubbles
			C	TPE:	295
	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	(+/-)	SHT	PIM	HITS	SB
	81 - San Diego	72	32	37	69	36	258	34	69	12
	81 - San Diego (playoffs)	13	8	6	14	-1	59	0	13	3
	The Board Game Clue On Skates, is a very intriguing prospect, given how they skate is still considered a mystery as they have no legs, this board game put up a nice 69 points in 72 games last season for the Marlins and will look to improve upon that this coming season in the VHLE. As for Helsinki, they desperately need a center to fill in behind Jonathan Ori and this board game would fit the role perfectly and in a seasons or two time leave Helsinki with one of the best center cores in the league.
	6	RIGA REIGN
	Max Torq @Steve
			D	TPE:	364
	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	(+/-)	SHT	PIM	HITS	SB
	81 - Ottawa	72	2	58	78	42	215	104	211	72
	80 - Ottawa	20	5	11	16	10	28	14	18	22
	81 - Ottawa (playoffs)	17	4	12	16	7	40	20	46	11
	80 - Ottawa (playoffs)	16	5	12	17	-7	38	4	16	23
	The only player in this draft coming off back-to-back Founder's Cups with Ottawa, Torq will look to make an immediate impact with the team that drafts him. With Riga's current position a defensemen that can take the step to the VHL right now makes sense as they already have a solid roster in place and could be set to make the playoffs again after just missing out last season.
	7	D.C. DRAGONS
	Bo Joansson @Shindigs
			D	TPE:	279
	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	(+/-)	SHT	PIM	HITS	SB
	81 - Miami	72	11	51	62	-53	97	72	123	177
	Bo Joansson has made a huge impact on the league since joining the Miami Marauders just after the draft last season through waivers, since then they went onto put up 62 points for a struggling team. In the draft I think it's safe to say that what ever team drafts them will be getting their value. As for D.C. this pick would solidify their blue line for the foreseeable future as Joansson would slot in perfectly alongside S80 top pick Ryan Vidot as their top 2 defensemen,
	8	SEATTLE BEARS
	Mikhail Kovalchuk @Banackock
			D	TPE:	278
	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	(+/-)	SHT	PIM	HITS	SB
	81 - Houston	70	28	61	89	69	252	57	87	118
	81 - Houston (playoffs)	6	2	0	2	3	23	8	11	18
	Similarly to Joansson, Kovalchuk joined their team just after the draft through waivers. With Houston Kovalchuk would have a very good season putting up 89 points, good enough for 3rd among defensemen. This selection for Seattle makes perfect sense as Kovalchuk will fit perfectly in their top 4 following 1 season in the VHLE, especially since Seattle currently has no defense prospects.
	9	TORONTO LEGION
	Milan Dvorak @solas
			D	TPE:	283
	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	(+/-)	SHT	PIM	HITS	SB
	81 - Ottawa	72	31	47	78	41	232	54	69	78
	80 - Yukon	16	1	7	8	2	31	8	10	23
	81 - Ottawa (playoffs)	17	4	11	15	4	67	10	24	27
	80 - Yukon (playoffs)	15	3	6	9	8	23	10	12	29
	Toronto could go just about any direction with their pick, currently due to Lemiuex going IA their biggest gap is on the blueline and for that reason I have them selecting Dvorak 9th overall. Last season Dvorak finished above a point per game during the regular season on their way to a Founder's Cup with Ottawa. Dvorak will likely spend 1 season in the VHLE before making a VHL roster.
	10	WARSAW PREDATORS
	Wumbo @Fire Fletcher
			G	TPE:	276
	TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	SV%	GAA	SO	GA	SA
	81 - Halifax	28	10	13	2	0.891	3.33	1	88	807
	81 - Ottawa	13	10	1	1	0.905	1.83	0	22	231
	80 - Saskatoon	18	6	11	1	0.898	4.3	0	78	767
	Wumbo is coming off of a rough season where the outcome really had nothing to do with their play as they continued to put up decent numbers following a trade to Halifax. This pick makes perfect sense for Warsaw as they currently need a goalie especially since the rest of the roster looks just about ready to contend for the playoffs and improve on their playoff run last season. Wumbo would go a long way to securing Warsaw's goal for the foreseeable future.
	11	PRAGUE PHANTOMS
	Tavish Degroot @rory
			D	TPE:	375
	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	(+/-)	SHT	PIM	HITS	SB
	81 - San Diego	72	24	29	53	45	153	162	220	108
	80 - Yukon	20	3	7	10	0	34	18	47	14
	81 - San Diego (playoffs)	13	4	11	15	5	29	32	37	26
	80 - Yukon (playoffs)	15	4	3	7	5	15	20	34	13
	The Man, The Myth, The Legend (in training), Tavish DeGroot is coming off a solid defensive season with San Diego last season in which they had 53 points and were a +45. Due to some comments about where they would like to be drafted DeGroot's stock plummeted which will see them being drafted later than anyone could anticipate. With Prague DeGroot will slot into their top 4 defensemen immediately and likely start their VHL career alongside JaredN Jr. One thing to be considered is that there is a legitimate chance that Los Angeles could trade up in the draft to take DeGroot early. Only time will tell what happens and this should be an interesting story line to watch
	12	SEATTLE BEARS
	James Teekirque @Mongoose87
			D	TPE:	250
	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	(+/-)	SHT	PIM	HITS	SB
	81 - Mississauga	72	27	85	112	31	254	56	86	105
	80 - Houston	3	1	4	5	2	4	4	1	0
	81 - Mississauga (playoffs)	6	3	6	9	4	23	2	12	14
	80 - Houston (playoffs)	6	0	2	2	2	2	4	6	8
	Similarly to drafting Kovalchuk earlier, adding Teekirque as well would help reinforce Seattle's blueline in the near future, last season Teekirque tore up the VHLM leading all defensemen in scoring with 112 points. This selection would also allow for Seattle to build for the future as their entire defense would be set up for the entirety of the next six seasons assuming they can resign everyone once their ELC is concluded.
	13	CALGARY WRANGLERS
	Ben Dahl @Ben
			G	TPE:	243
	TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	SV%	GAA	SO	GA	SA
	81 - Miami	54	15	36	3	0.887	3.9	1	209	1853
	Calgary needs a goalie. Pretty well no matter where Calgary drafts they will be drafting the best available goalie. Dahl is coming off of a rough season where they served as Miami's starting goalie for the majority of the season in which they did not have too much defense in front of them. As for Calgary, they have not had much luck when it comes to drafting goalies with them going IA shortly after being drafted on a consistent basis. Hopefully Dahl can break that trend and be Calgary's starter for the foreseeable future.
	14	HC DAVOS DYNAMO
	Perry Laperriere @KaleebtheMighty
			C	TPE:	269
	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	(+/-)	SHT	PIM	HITS	SB
	81 - Ottawa	72	36	57	93	34	272	43	88	22
	80 - Philadelphia	19	3	4	7	-2	26	6	25	6
	81 - Ottawa (playoffs)	17	10	9	19	1	73	6	26	4
	80 - Philadelphia (playoffs	5	2	2	4	2	10	0	8	1
	Another Ottawa Lynx expected to be selected in the first round, Laperriere played a significant role in their cup run, scoring 10 goals in 17 games. As for Davos having just entered another rebuild we should look for them to draft their first significant piece of their future core and Laperriere should foot that bill perfectly.
	15	WARSAW PREDATORS
	Kakapo Bushtit @Esso2264
			RW	TPE:	272
	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	(+/-)	SHT	PIM	HITS	SB
	81 - Mississauga	72	44	53	97	36	244	29	109	30
	80 - Yukon	20	9	5	14	0	45	2	12	2
	81 - Mississauga (playoffs)	6	2	2	4	5	22	4	6	4
	80 - Yukon (playoffs)	15	1	8	9	7	35	2	7	1
	After drafting their future goalie at 10th overall in Wumbo, it's safe to expect that Warsaw will draft the best player available which at this point would be Kakapo Bushtit, who following 1 season in the VHLE should compliment their young forward core very nicely and would be a good step forward for Warsaw into the future of their team.
	16	VANCOUVER WOLVES
	Ronan Lavelle @Arce
			LW	TPE:	255
	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	(+/-)	SHT	PIM	HITS	SB
	81 - Mexico City	72	42	41	83	-35	345	38	127	31
	81 - Mexico City (playoffs)	4	0	4	4	-3	21	2	8	1
	Ronan Lavelle is coming off of a very strong season for Mexico City as they put up 83 points in 72 games last season, abd were a point per game in the playoffs as Mexico got swept. This pick makes perfect sense for Vancouver as it looks like they could be losing a fairly large portion of their forward core to free agency and with this selection it could start to usher in a new era in Vancouver and be the first piece of a new group of Vancouver Wolves.

[Doomsday 4,143]

This is really well done, fantastic article!!

[rory 1,943]

Shoulda waited for my exclusive interview

[mattyIceman 1,229]

Someone has picked up where I left off...