Last Minute MEGA VHL MOCK DRAFT

[jacobcarson877 2,536]

I got bored, so here’s a VHL Mock Draft. I was gonna do a massive 3-league one, but then I realized I’ll be drafting in some capacity for a team in the VHLM (to be determined) so I probably shouldn’t give away too many of my thoughts for that draft.

 

And no one cares about the VHLE.

 

Here we go then!

 

With the first overall selection, I, the Los Angeles Stars select: Art Vandelay. I know this might be a strange selection, but you have to look at the team makeup for what it is. LA has lots of skater prospects at first glance, but all but a few are now IA, and the few that are left are clickers. Their best earning goaltender prospect is staying down in the VHLM and is a clicker at the moment. First rule of roster construction is that you can’t win without a goalie. What better guarantee can you have than Art Vandelay. Case closed.

 

With the second overall selection, Davos selects: Napolean Dynamite. I think Alex has made some interesting moves based on the information available and I for one really like it. Get people excited about Davos again (I know, you can laugh now), see how the core can do and let the vets retire knowing they got to do something. After this season though, here’s what Davos is to me. A great goalie (with another star goalie in Sam Tombstone on the way), an amazing D core, a couple of great wingers and a long list of solid clicker prospects to fill the holes. What this team is missing is a bona fide Center phenom. Guess what? That’s what Dynamite is for.

 

Back to LA huh? As much as I’m not super confident in their forwards at the moment, at least they have some. I assume LA picks a D here. I won’t judge on users here since well, that’s the real GMs job, but I will judge based on my limited view on D builds. So I’m picking Pierre Emile Bouchard here. I just like the build better than Murray or Maloish, but realistically any one of the 3 is likely being picked here.

 

Next is Helsinki. They probably should’ve made the playoffs last season, and after bolstering their already strong group, they should really be winning some games this season. Their G and D are set for the foreseeable future, but with an aging F core, the goal is win now and replenish with prospects in the future. I pick Noodles Marconi here. Strong offensive winger build, great earning. Not much else to say here.

 

Wow New York is bad. And to make matters worse, they’re aging out. Kennedy should be a star, but otherwise there is not much to talk home about in the prospect pool. Plenty of good clicker depth, but they desperately need some star power for the post-Reinhart era. A defenseman wouldn’t be a bad pick here, so the top TPE player goes, Callum Murray! Sorry for leaving you this long, but this is a strange draft positionally.

 

Prague has to be thinking future, now. They look good for this season, but its all going to start falling away quickly if the prospect cabinet isn’t filled quickly. As I said for LA, the goaltender is the most important position to fill early. Red Gaming will make a great backup/tandem starter for a while, but with Clueless Wallob just sitting there, its hard to pass that up. Wallob should be able to make up whatever build difference people think between himself and Vandelay pretty easily and makes for a great goaltender for the very near future for Prague, and a sure piece for the long term.

 

Definitely not an easy situation for the new GM of Vancouver to walk into. Luckily, the goalie position is solidified for the long term, and Kowalski makes a great start to a D core. They will have a couple clicker forwards to fill the future gaps, but this group also needs some starpower. I probably jump at Scoish Velociraptor Maloish and ride a dominant D pair and G for a few seasons, bolstering as I go along.

 

Calagry has an interesting situation here. They have done incredibly well in the past few drats and have their core pieces built now. They are obviously trying to win now. Looking at the draft board, another defenseman doesn’t hurt. I think they lean AK92 Wit da Hoodie here, just based off of VHLM build, although with ~130 TPE to apply, the difference between AK92 and Faith Hope Love could be minimal.

 

Toronto has a pretty sustainably good team built at the moment. Sure, losing Atreides and Moreau is going to hurt, but its got to end at some point right? Luckily this means that really anything works. I think with that mentality they pick Cobalt Burns. BPA, pretty easy.

 

Dil starts his tenure with India with a very… decent… team. Goalies are handled long term, forwards and defensemen are fine, some okay clicker depth. Fizzlebeef Jr retires soon, so who better to replace him than Malum Maellard? Great offensive build, that moderator connection? It all just works.

 

Back to Prague, and with G shored up, the next priority has to be D. Faith Hope Love has a very solid defensive build and has lots of banked TPE to enhance that. Prague still needs some more depth, but that’s what the rest of the draft is for.

 

Despite the lack of prospects, I like how Warsaw is built. Strong G, incredible D core and a deep F group. For those tracking, I think our first first-gen heads to Warsaw! Dogwood Maple should be ready to fill in at C and provides a really high ceiling to lead another dominant run for the Predators.

 

Moscow, although probably disappointed in the continuous finals losses, should be pretty happy with how the roster looks again this season. They have a few promising prospects and rookies starting this season. I think though, their aging D core is probably what they address first in this draft. Adding Velociraptor Greg to the prospect pool shores up their playing roster for S85 and provides some new star power to help replace Markinson.

 

Calgary shored up their defense on the last time around, but this time, I imagine they grab a forward, and likely a winger. I assume the pick would be Molly the Cat here. Really strong offensive build, great earning so far and a chance to play with his son? A match made in heaven, although from what I’ve heard, an unlikely one, as many teams have been interested by the player and may reach to pick them.

 

Moscow is probably also looking for a forward around this range, and with Seabasstard retiring in the near future, Tyler Busser makes a good replacement as any. Strong earning and build, and an active user in the community. Solid pick here with room to be a steal.

 

Seattle is still somehow primed to be competitive, but lack any prospects at all really. They’ll want a centre for the near future, and with Fraser Wallace available it makes a lot of sense. Coming off a strong VHLM stint, both in earning and production, Wallace has a strong build and also a high ceiling.

 

That’s the first round! I could end here, but I promised a MEGA Mock Draft! Onwards we go! I’m hoping the draft board is updated as I write this because there has been a bunch of trades recently and I can’t keep up.

 

LA gets 2 picks here, and after getting a G and a D in the first round, I think they look for some F prospects. They have some serviceable centres, so going with some wingers here makes sense. Especially when you consider the strength of the wingers in this range. I would go with Cole Caufield Jr and Jordan Bennett, both coming off of stints with the super-deep Marlins. Both need the opportunity to show off their talents a bit, and will do that in the VHLE this season. Strong earners, despite some real-life struggles this season.

 

Davos grabbed a C with their first pick, and I think they do it again with their second. Sax Justice fits well with the group and helps with the C depth in the organization. Has consistently earned above just welfare, so will break away from the rest of the draft as time goes along. Not as high of a ceiling as of right now, but a great build and user.

 

The Americans snuck off with the top TPE player in the draft and will be grabbing BPA for this pick as well. Loki Baker DMD is a great earning C, with room to grow. Could be a steal at this pick in my opinion, and New York is likely hoping this is true.

 

First pick for Malmo here, and with some incredible clicker depth already, they are primed to take a shot at a potential steal. Obviously, Igor Molotov is the C star for this team, but a player like Todd Cooke could make for a perfect 2C. Earning more than welfare and has a decent little build so far. Another couple of seasons away from the lineup, but some chance to be a steal.

 

Back to the Wolves, who will be looking for come more help up front, after grabbing a D in the first round. Looking for someone that can be a core piece, Otis Boudreaux makes a lot of sense. The earning might not look like a lot, but Otis has made a bit of a name for himself around the VHLM and could carry that momentum to a strong VHL career. Getting back into press conferences and the occasional media spot could separate Otis from the pack and become a core piece for the Wolves.

 

Moscow again, who have taken a F and a D so far and might look at some G depth here. Both Moscow goalies are set to retire in upcoming seasons and a body to put in net after them wouldn’t hurt. Matt thunder could be a good piece here, earning more than welfare and building strong so far in the VHLM. Great stats so far on a very empty Saskatoon team in the VHLM as well.

 

Prague has grabbed a G and a D so far and will likely continue to build from the back forwards. Jimmy MacElroy is an interesting prospect, earning rather sporadically, but better than welfare on average. Choosing to stay in the VHLM last I heard, MacElroy may skip the VHLE altogether. Prague is hoping MacElroy can hit his ceiling instead of his average here, but regardless, should make for a useful player.

 

Toronto still looks good here, especially after grabbing another strong forward. Perhaps they take a chance on the elusive Ilya Bryzgalov. Should have consistent Simmer earning, which plays quite well and will allow Bryzgalov to replace Lindbergh eventually, and G is definitely a good position to be too strong in.

 

Prague again, and I think they take a shot on Gruffud Theofylaktos. Pretty consistent in earning welfare and has been in a more prominent role on the site before, currently AGMing in Davos. If a true comeback is in the books, Prague will want to be all over it.

 

LA has likely heard about the return of Chip Stone. A surge of earning this week after many consistent weeks of welfare. If Chip Stone can keep this up, they will 100% be a steal at this pick, but it is hard to judge whether a comeback will work well. LA should work with the user to ensure burnout won’t be an issue, and they should have a great player on their hands, something they desperately need.

 

Seattle likely targets a forward with this pick, and the best one available is Jon Webber Jr, who has earned more than welfare for a while now and had a dominant rookie VHLM season this past season with Philadelphia. They should be primed to continue and provide plenty of depth for Seattle in the future.

 

I think Toronto looks at the board and takes a shot at Doug Britton, another fan favourite in the VHLM. Building with welfare and practice facility, Britton brings a physical defensive build to the table, with plenty of room to grow over time. A useful player at worst, which will be useful for the Legion in the future.

 

LA back on the board, and I assume they look at BPA here and are happy with getting William Futch at this pick. Has done trivia and press conference in the past, and although doesn’t have the best build, has lots of time to grow into something the Stars can use for a while.

 

Moscow have met their goals this draft already, so it is about finding extra value now. I think Ben McLaughlin best exemplifies this at this pick, who has gotten that extra press conference TPE most weeks and has been pretty active on Discord. Should be able to bring back at least a late 2nd in the future or be a good player for the Menace.

 

With the last pick of the 2nd round, Seattle grabs Lorenzo Cobberson, who has been doing Graphics recently in a push to up his Draft stock. A lot of wasted TPE in this build, but with some guidance, this could be a solid pickup.

 

To be honest, there’s not enough players in my opinion to warrant a full 3rd round analysis, so I’ll instead highlight some of the talent remaining.

 

Odette Boudreaux is a welfare goalie, who could be significantly better than a bot goalie in the future. I remember one just like her (Jacob Carson) who turned out okay. Damian Steele, Alex Bridges III, Tom Creeg, Jeffrey Bezos and Jason are all forwards who have been earning their welfare consistently, and have decent builds. Jack the Ripper also fits that bill on the back end. Fred Hampton and Zach Whelan earn most of their TPE either through welfare or Affiliate PT, so look for some upside from them. Izaak bobs has been a been erratic with their earning, but there could be something there for a GM who can guide them and remind them about their tasks.

There is definitely more talent even I missed in this draft, but lots of players haven’t updated this week yet, so we will see how the GMs weed through the rest.

 

Well that was MEGA! 2428 words! I might claim this, might not who knows.

 

PS. Sorry for no pretty pictures or formatting, I quite frankly don't care I just did this for fun

Edited June 16, 2022 by jacobcarson877

[Gustav 6,420]

2 hours ago, jacobcarson877 said:

Art Vandelay

 

[Gaikoku-hito 2,081]

Interest mock with the players all expected to go to similar locations as I expected but in different order. All the trading is starting to see different teams and player being selected in different places. It shaping up to be an interesting draft and I like that!! Good read!!

[jacobcarson877 2,536]

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[jacobcarson877 2,536]

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