CIA's Long, Probably Wrong S83 Mock Draft

[CowboyinAmerica 2,711]

 

Another S83 VHL Mock Draft

 

A lot of times, mock drafts are pretty straightforward. You have your order, you have your team needs, and you have a selection of players with strengths and weaknesses. Sure, there will inevitably be transaction movement, but at least you know what types of players people are trying to build and where they’d fit into an overall team structure.

 

Thanks, meta, for ruining this for me too.

 

This offseason has obviously seen a lot of chaos, with not only everybody’s attributes changing, but a lot of player movement via trades as well. To a certain extent, this year’s GMs are flying blind, not entirely sure what the league’s going to look like when we get back playing again. And that means there could be a lot of different strategies, with some teams zigging and others zagging as everybody tries to figure out this new paradigm out.

 

With that in mind, this mock may be a lot more incorrect than in recent years, so don’t blame me. Also, this is just one man’s opinion, and a different opinion than the official VSN mock at that, so if I rank you lower than you would have thought it’s clearly because I hate you and no other reason. Now, let’s get to the mock.

 

 1. Chicago Phoenix: C Scotty Sundin @fromtheinside

I must say, the Phoenix really intrigue me coming into this season. They’re a clearly rebuilding team, but also one who doesn’t have their first round pick for next season. That means they need to hit this pick hard, and preferably have somebody who can contribute right away this season. Sundin is already just about at 400 TPE and would presumably slot in on the first line of the future alongside Clue and potentially Sunrise if he sticks around. I’m not too worried about both Sundin and Clue being centers with points added to face-offs – if you’re in Chicago’s position, you take the top talent and worry about the rest later.

 

 2. Vancouver Wolves (from Warsaw): G Brandt Fuhr @Tate

Even without the meta, the Wolves still could have been near the top of the conference this year except for one key issue: at goalie. Aike van Giersbergen was the sixth pick of the VHL Draft and was presumably the plan for right now, but now with a couple seasons inactive under their belt, Vancouver opted to rebuild rather than go in with a regressing, sub-500 TPE goalie and see what happened. I don’t think they make that mistake again and make sure to get a top goalie to kickstart the quick rebuild, and with both Reinharts and Bushtit still in town (as of this writing), plus another late first, it could be quick indeed.

 

 3. Malmo Nighthawks (from D.C.): C Igor Molotov @Dom

Similar to the Wolves, the Nighthawks are a team that could easily do a quick rebuild with some young talent like Obi Adesanya and Mason Jones set to make their VHL debuts. Molotov would seem to be a natural fit with those two wingers to provide a strong first line of the future, with Molotov a potential star regardless of whether he stays down in the VHLE or makes it a nine season career. Molotov is also BPA by TPE at this point, but it’s also not so many of a jump to the crop of three defensemen following that I’d be shocked if they fell in love with one, Voss in particular.

 

 4. HC Davos Dynamo: D Hammar Voss @BOOM

This is where I really start to diverge from the VSN Mock Draft, because you can call me… skeptical that the Davos GM is going to reveal his plans jumping over three defensemen with higher TPE and VHL pedigrees for a lower TPE defenseman. Voss would be the first piece of a long rebuild in Davos, which would be my only question whether he’s in for a timetable that may not pay off for a few seasons. But if he is, Voss comes with a VHL résumé that speaks for itself because you know you’re getting a consistent earner.

 

 5. New York Americans: D AirRig GoodBrandSun @Rhynex Entertainment

Really I just wanted to have a Rhynex player back on the Americans, it seems to fit well. The Americans are another team going through a rebuild, but Rhynex knows how the process goes having gone through it in New York before. The Americans could use a little bit of everything outside of winger Vasile Lamb so adding a talented defenseman to the mix would seem to fit well, though if one of the top centers or Fuhr were to slip here, I don’t think the Americans would hesitate to pull the trigger either.

 

 6. Helsinki Titans: D Ryuji Sakamoto @der meister

In recent drafts, the Titans have been known for not going BPA, with players such as Nezuko and Dvorak potentially being surprises with higher TPE players on the board. But there’s one thing that a lot of Titans picks have had in common: reliability and VHL pedigree. That makes Sakamoto (or Voss if he falls) a great pick here regardless, having shown previously that he’ll be a reliable player for the Titans. And while Helsinki does have four relatively young defensemen and might prefer a forward for positional fit, Sakamoto would also serve to put a little practice pressure on Remy during a presumed VHLE season.

 

 7. Toronto Legion: D Brian Kowalski @Wheaties

The VSN Mock Draft noted this could potentially be a trade, but while I could see it, the Legion do have 6 forwards, 4 defensemen, and not much cap room to play with. I think they may prefer picking up a defenseman to eventually replace an aging Moreau or Nylen instead, and they get a good one in Kowalski. I’m giving Kowalski a slight edge over Yasilievich or Thunder here because Doomsday has previously been active in the EFL and knows what Wheaties has done over there, and affiliate 12s are a good hedge against potential inactivity.

 

 8. D.C. Dragons (from Malmo): D Siyan Yasilievich @badcolethetitan

In making major trades this offseason for Mourning, Peepants and Kitson, it’s clear the Dragons are going for it now. That means that whoever they pick may have some pressure to be up very soon or even from the start of this season. If that’s the case, Yasilievich is near VHL ready as it stands and given their recent jobs, seems to be engaged to be a cornerstone of the future. They would be joining a Dragons prospect pool that has a whole lot of forwards but zero defensemen. Given their M.O. this offseason, I also wouldn’t be shocked to see a trade here, particularly to a team in need of a goalie and looking to pick up Augustus Kennedy.

 

 9. Calgary Wranglers (from Seattle via Helsinki): D Jake Thunder @Thunder

Six defensemen in a row? You better believe it, as it’s clearly a major area of need for many VHL teams right now. For the Wranglers, who are entering a full rebuild with two forwards (Janser and Kotkakoivu) and a goalie (Dahl) as their main centerpieces, all of their defensive prospects need more time in the VHLM or VHLE. That would put a player like Thunder to the top of the line as the blue chip defenseman of the future, and his timeline plays well with Dahl to team up for a long time into the future. Plus, the defenseman pool drops off a lot after Thunder, with a few more Wranglers picks coming up.

 

 10. Calgary Wranglers: LW Tomas Sogaard @Brandon

With a defenseman down and Dahl presumably going nowhere, looking for a forward makes sense to me. Leandro Goncalves would be a reasonable pick with that in mind, but both Janser and Kotkakoivu are centers with a lot invested in face-offs, so I think the Wranglers would tend towards a forward with different skills. With 75 points for Mexico City last season, Sogaard is going offense-heavy with his rerolled build thus far, and would fit on the first line of the future in any configuration that the Wranglers would prefer.

 

 11. HC Davos Dynamo (from Prague): G Augustus Kennedy @InstantRockstar

The Dynamo have a few different goalies in their prospect pool, including a few between the 300-400 TPE range in Boris Tsezar and Red Gaming. But if I’m the Dynamo, and Kennedy is still sitting on the board after a few teams that don’t need goalies, I don’t think I’d care. A top-flight goalie will be even more important in the coming days, and while IR being an opposing GM now may be a turn off to some organizations, I see that as more of a positive that he’ll be active and not going anywhere. Better to have too many goalie prospects than too few. And to be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kennedy go higher than this if someone tries to jump to #7 or #8 for a trade.

 

 12. London United: D Deron Nesbitt @AW13

I think London is the single most interesting team for me entering the season. After jumping ahead of schedule with a meta-heavy team build last season, they’re still lined up for a solid future with a bunch of S80 players and an S82 goalie, but have a few holes to shore up before they’re true contenders. One of those is at defense, where two of their three VHL defenders under contract will be retired within the next two seasons. Nesbitt may be a bit of a reach by pure TPE, but McWolf also knows AW well from the EFL (see: Athens Carnage) and could see the connection working in the VHL also.

 

 13. Calgary Wranglers (from Riga via Prague): LW Landon Wolanin @jacobcarson877

While I could certainly see the Wranglers preferring another defenseman with all things equal, the forwards on the board are where the value is, and I think the Wranglers in their current rebuilding situation would be better served going best player available. Currently a defensive-minded power forward, Wolanin provides a bit of a blank canvas towards either a passing-oriented or scoring-oriented build in the future. That’s good flexibility for the Wranglers to have trying to fit in a forward next to two established stars.

 

 14. New York Americans (from Los Angeles): C Leandro Goncalves @leandrofg

With the top line defenseman of the future already secured, the Americans would surely be looking at the board here and seeing a lot of potential forwards to sit next to Lamb on the first line of the future. Out of all of those Goncalves would not only be the best available by TPE, but he may be the best fit as well. Goncalves currently has a scoring-centric build but also one that has focused on defense and face-offs, making him the type of do-it-all player that would fit next to a scoring-heavy star like Lamb. A good value for New York here as they continue the rebuild.

 

 15. Moscow Menace: LW Pete Mitchell @Crstats23

The Menace are in a very interesting place where they’re caught between the present in the future. After shipping off longtime stars Aurelien Moreau and Paul Atreides for largely cap reasons, they brought in S81 center Harkat Mulds in turn, signaling that they don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon. With that in mind, Duncan Idaho and his impending retirement in two seasons has to be the next issue on the horizon, and while nobody can be a like for like Idaho replacement, Mitchell provides a nice hedge. A scoring-centric forward, I could definitely see Mitchell lining up alongside a center like Hulds or Preobrazhensky as soon as next season.

 

 16. Vancouver Wolves: D Baxter Arcanum @ctots

If they take a goalie earlier, the Wolves could go any number of ways here. And to be sure, Ivan Retoslav and PJ Daniels would be imminently defensible picks and give the reigning champs another young scorer to build around. But particularly with the presence of Bushtit and the Reinharts, I think a defenseman makes sense here. On a team that doesn’t have a single defenseman anywhere in the pool younger than S79, Vancouver will have to restock the cupboard eventually. An active updater with a World Juniors job now under his belt, Arcanum may even see his stock rise in the first round above this pick.

Edited April 4, 2022 by CowboyinAmerica

[CowboyinAmerica 2,711]

2000+ words, claiming for the weeks ending 4/10, 4/17, 4/24 and 5/1

[leandrofg 1,025]

24 minutes ago, CowboyinAmerica said:

 14. New York Americans (from Los Angeles): C Leandro Goncalves @leandrofg

With the top line defenseman of the future already secured, the Americans would surely be looking at the board here and seeing a lot of potential forwards to sit next to Lamb on the first line of the future. Out of all of those Goncalves would not only be the best available by TPE, but he may be the best fit as well. Goncalves currently has a scoring-centric build but also one that has focused on defense and face-offs, making him the type of do-it-all player that would fit next to a scoring-heavy star like Lamb. A good value for New York here as they continue the rebuild.

 

 

No way @MexicanCow123! I know you messed with Team Europe's medal round sims!

 

[Daniel Janser 1,983]

4 minutes ago, leandrofg said:

 

#blamecole

[leandrofg 1,025]

18 minutes ago, Daniel Janser said:

#blamecole

 

[Lemorse7 900]

 

[Spartan 4,003]

@Crstats23

[Crstats23 329]

4 minutes ago, Spartan said:

@Crstats23

That’d be something

[BOOM 8,426]

CiA drafts are always worth the read. Nice one. 

[CowboyinAmerica 2,711]

On 4/4/2022 at 9:59 AM, CowboyinAmerica said:

2000+ words, claiming for the weeks ending 4/10, 4/17, 4/24 and 5/1

 

Claim 3

[CowboyinAmerica 2,711]

On 4/4/2022 at 9:59 AM, CowboyinAmerica said:

2000+ words, claiming for the weeks ending 4/10, 4/17, 4/24 and 5/1

 

Claim 4