S40 VHL Historical First Overall Pick Mock Draft

[.sniffuM 1,741]

Look at that beautiful bastard up there. Just look at it.

That is a draft board of all the first overall picks in VHL history with their final TPE totals (including a couple of approximations if there was no way for me to gather the exact number). I wanted to use the players’ draft TPE totals, but that wasn’t gatherable for certain guys, so I went with this compromise. Anyway, in celebration of the 40^th VHL draft that just wrapped up and saw Thomas O’Malley selected first overall, I whipped this thing up. What I will be doing with it is making a 4-round mock draft of where these players would be selected by today’s VHL teams (based on current roster needs), where these teams’ selections will be based in part on TPE output and partially on actual player production (so a scrub like Leeroy Jenkins wouldn’t be selected ahead of a stud like Josef Heiss Jr.). But first, I’d like to talk about this board a little bit.

These 40 players total 24,640 TPE as of most recent updates, for an average of 616 per player. This lines up extremely well with the median of TPE for these guys, which sits at 615.5. There have been four players drafted first overall to hit 1,000 TPE, and all four of those guys were drafted between S25 and S30. There is only one player in the top ten to come from the league’s first ten seasons, as S7’s Layken Heidt sits 10^th. To get a better idea of the eras and the strength of first overall picks of the times, here’s a nifty little chart:

As you can see, S26-S30 absolutely killed the game with an average of 915.4 TPE for its first overall picks despite Al Wilson’s ugly 379 TPE total in there (5^th least all-time among first overall picks). This span had the only three guys picked first in history to top 1,100 TPE to balance that out. The most recent span yielding the lowest average isn’t surprising, as the oldest guy in that range is entering his fifth season, and the league’s first five seasons being low on the chart as well doesn’t surprise either as TPE was just harder to come by back then. Probably the most surprising result is S16-S20 holding fifth on the list; top-ten first overall picks Daisuke Kanou and James Bencharski did all they could to bring a good name to the span of time, but bottom-ten guys Demetrjusz Dudek and Jordan Berglund pulled that average down fairly significantly.

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get on with the mock draft!

Pick 1 – Cologne Express – Christian Stolzschweiger (S2)

He may not have had the most TPE, but Solzschweiger is one of the very greatest players in VHL history, sitting 4^th all-time in points and 2^nd all-time in goals. Stolzschweiger’s 140-point rookie season was dominant enough for the league to name the Rookie of the Year trophy after him.

Pick 2 – Cologne Express – Matt Bailey (S12)

Very difficult to leave out Leeroy Jenkins here, but with Cologne already adding a forward and with Bailey’s versatility (he split his career between forward and defenseman and excelled in both spots), I think Cologne would benefit greatly from adding the former Wrangler. He is the only player in VHL history with at least 700 points, 600 shots blocked and 1,500 hits.

Pick 3 – Toronto Legion – Leeroy Jenkins (S33)

Many believe Jenkins to be the greatest forward in VHL history not named Scotty Campbell. Sitting 4^th all-time with 2,182 hits, he’s the only player to top 2,000 hits and 800 points. He won a ridiculous five Continental Cups in his career while capturing four Boulet Trophies (given to the league’s best Two-Way Forward).

Pick 4 – Toronto Legion – Jochen Walser (S5)

Back before Daniel Braxton, Ryan Sullivan and now Connor Low established dominant eras in the league for defensemen in recent years, Jochen Walser was the guy most believed to be the greatest defenseman in VHL history. Playing in an era when players rarely played a full eight seasons, Walser is 8^th all-time in shots blocked and has more points per game than everyone ahead of him besides Japinder Singh.

Pick 5 – Toronto Legion – Jarvis Baldwin (S26)

Toronto needs a goalie for the organization, but Baldwin is the best player remaining on the board. Another disciple of the era of two-way forwards in the VHL, Baldwin is one of the most lethal scorers of all time and had underrated physical ability as well.

Pick 6 – Helsinki Titans – Ethan Osbourne (S30)

The highest earning first overall pick of all time, Osbourne is a Hall-of-Fame center joining his old team that really only has a need at center anyway. A first-generation player, Osbourne nearly topped 750 points in his career and has a point-per-game total comparable to Matt Bailey and Jarvis Baldwin.

Pick 7 – Seattle Bears – Daisuke Kanou (S18)

It was very difficult to snub Volodymyr Rybak here, but Kanou’s one of the all-time greats at the goalie position and easily the best option of the first overall picks. A three-time cup winner, Kanou is the winningest goalie in VHL history and was so good in his seven postseason appearances that the Playoff MVP trophy is now named after him.

Pick 8 – HC Davos Dynamo – Tomas Jenskovic (S10)

For the longest time, the debate about the greatest defenseman in VHL history was between Walser and Tomas Jenskovic. He won three Labattes in his career along with two cups, providing a face to a Davos organization that had recently relocated from Avangard following a disastrous run there. Jenskovic to Davos was just too obvious to not happen.

Pick 9 – HC Davos Dynamo – Volodymyr Rybak (S28)

Volodymyr Rybak is definitely part of the elite tier of wingers to have ever played in the VHL. His 884 points are 6^th all-time and no player above him can top his 1,075 hits (especially Phil Rafter, who I only wanted to mention because he had 80 hits in 577 career games while getting blasted 2,237 times). He represents a coup at the 9^th pick, but every player selected so far is a Hall-of-Famer (including Rybak himself).

Pick 10 – New York Americans – James Bencharski (S19)

That Bencharski was still on the board is a testament to how good these players really are. Bencharski is 7^th on the big board in terms of TPE and was a Hall-of-Fame level defenseman during his career.

Pick 11 – HC Davos Dynamo – Ansgar Snijider (S25)

Just recently inducted into the Hall-of-Fame, Snijider played in an era in which he was overshadowed by some of the greatest two-way forwards to ever play despite being a great two-way guy himself. Davos picks another former Dynamo to kick off their rebuild.

Pick 12 – Toronto Legion – Japinder Singh (S20)

Toronto needs a goalie, but holding the 16^th pick gives them the chance to gamble and pick the best player available. Singh is a controversial player, as many believe that his points and shots blocked were inflated by playing on bad teams, but he’s still one of the best defensemen of all time in terms of those two statistics.

Pick 13 – Vasteras Iron Eagles – Josh Vestiquan (S6)

One of the most underrated Hall-of-Famers in league history, Vestiquan put up 822 points in his day. Vasteras gets themselves a great center to replace Niklas Lindberg with their first pick.

Pick 14 – New York Americans – Wesley Kellinger (S33)

The Americans keep their enigmatic center by picking him 14^th overall. Kellinger hasn’t been a world beater, although he’s been a good two-way forward with 612 points and 1,026 hits in his career. He’s also the first non-HOFer (as well as the first active player) to be selected.

Pick 15 – Helsinki Titans – Alexander Sauve (S13)

Sauve joins Helsinki’s group of blue chip prospects on the back end and boy is his resume solid. Sauve topped 600 points and 1,000 hits while coming just short of 1,000 shots blocked in a career that included helping Calgary see off the Matt Bentz era with a bang.

Pick 16 – Toronto Legion – Satan (S27)

No one will mistake Satan for the best goalie in the league, but he was a very good goalie in his day and the best one still on the board. Imagine how dominant the Legion would be if this draft were actually allowed to happen in the league; it’d be scary.

Pick 17 – Riga Reign – Slaeter Fjorsstrom (S37)

Riga chooses to re-do their Season 37 first overall selection of Fjorsstrom, who has been one of the best earners of TPE since coming into the league. He falls down the board because of the amazing careers of the guys ahead of him, but Fjorsstrom deserves credit as a damn good player.

Pick 18 – New York Americans – Vojczek Svoboda (S38)

A big name blue-line prospect, Svoboda is one of the most enticing options on the board because of his youth as well as his outstanding rate of earning TPE. The Americans would benefit greatly from adding the young defenseman.

Pick 19 – HC Davos Dynamo – Lennox Moher (S35)

Davos opts to keep their current goaltender in Lennox Moher. A solid goaltender, Moher may not be headed for the Hall-of-Fame, but he was one of the best options still on the board and allows Davos to retain its current GM.

Pick 20 – Vasteras Iron Eagles – Steve LaFramboise (S8)

One of my personal favorite VHL goalies, LaFramboise was one of the most productive of these goalies and would give the Iron Eagles a solid option in net. His TPE total may not be great but you can’t disagree with his stats.

Pick 21 – Calgary Wranglers – Patrice Reynaud (S3)

One of two HOFers remaining on the board, Reynaud was a great defenseman in the early years of the league. What really holds him back is his low TPE total; I can make an exception for a guy like Stolzschweiger because he’s one of the top three players to ever play statistically, but I just don’t think Reynaud would hold up nowadays.

Pick 22 – Toronto Legion – Layken Heidt (S7)

And with that, the last Hall-of-Famer on the board has been selected. Heidt was a very good center in his day and a monstrous presence, standing 6’11”, but time has passed him by. He currently sits 72^nd in points all-time in the league, sitting behind guys like Mathias Chouinard and Kevin Hesje.

Pick 23 – Helsinki Titans – Andreas Bjorkman (S21)

Helsinki might as well get insurance for Kimmo Salo at this point. Bjorkman was a very good goalie in one of the most competitive times in VHL history, leading the Vasteras Iron Eagles to a curse-breaking Continental Cup in Season 26.

Pick 24 – Cologne Express – Jack Sound (S32)

Sound wasn’t a Hall-of-Fame talent, but he provided solid play as a defender for a number of years. Adding him and Bailey to the blue line would be huge for this Express team.

Pick 25 – Calgary Wranglers – Max Kronenburg (S15)

Kronenburg’s playing career was relatively quiet, as he racked up good enough stats for recognition but not nearly enough for enshrinement. Regardless, many forget that Kronenburg had a year in which he scored nearly 150 points; the Wranglers are hoping he can do that for their team as well.

Pick 26 – Vasteras Iron Eagles – Thomas O’Malley (S40)

The most recent draft’s first overall pick Thomas O’Malley went into the draft with the second most TPE for a prospect of all time, behind only Mason Richardson (who went the pick after him in the same draft). Green is one of the premier handlers in the league, making O’Malley a coveted prospect.

Pick 27 – Seattle Bears – Godavari Yumalpinto (S36)

Yumalpinto hasn’t set the league ablaze with his talent, and his handler hasn’t been the most active with him, but he’s not a bad option. Entering his fifth season, Yumalpinto is closing in on 550 TPE.

Pick 28 – Riga Reign – Jack O’Reilly (S9)

Another one of those guys that was good but not great, O’Reilly played against some of the best goaltenders this league has ever had to offer and ended his career with 547 points in only 432 games, giving him a solid rate of 1.27 points per game.

Pick 29 – HC Davos Dynamo – Malcolm Kelly (S14)

Kelly was well on his way to dominating the league before he was forced to retire so his handler, Kendrick, could bring in a goalie following his appointment as Helsinki Titans GM.

Pick 30 – New York Americans – Doug Clifford (S34)

Similar to Kelly, Clifford was a young player on a solid pace towards stardom in the VHL before circumstances forced his handler to bring in a new player.

Pick 31 – HC Davos Dynamo – James Faraday (S39)

A player of league commissioner Higgins, Faraday is a prospect with a lot of potential, but he hasn’t earned TPE at the torrid pace that Higgins’ players usually do.

Pick 32 – Vasteras Iron Eagles – Ginzou Fujiwara (S11)

Fujiwara played seven seasons in the VHL, and although his 633 TPE was a great total for the time, he just didn’t produce a ton. He’s still a talented defenseman and a guy worth picking.

Pick 33 – Helsinki Titans – Clint Guite (S22)

I could not, for the life of me, remember who the hell Guite was when I was doing my research for this article. He topped 1,100 hits and had nearly 800 shots blocked, stats inflated by playing on some bad teams.

Pick 34 – Cologne Express – Jordan Berglund (S17)

Berglund’s stats aren’t all that bad, with 1,165 hits and 1,009 shots blocked, but he was a low-TPE defenseman that feasted on stats by playing on shitty teams.

Pick 35 – Calgary Wranglers – Demetrjusz Dudek (S16)

Was one of the best goalies in the league for Calgary before abruptly retiring due to events that aren’t worth hashing out. His retirement was one of many in the era of the “Matt Bentz Curse” for Calgary.

Pick 36 – Vasteras Iron Eagles – Alec Miller (S4)

Low TPE total, marginally productive career, not much to talk about here.

Pick 37 – Seattle Bears – Josef Heiss Jr. (S31)

This is where the first overall picks get really ugly. Heiss Jr. played for a couple years, sucked, and then retired.

Pick 38 – Riga Reign – Al Wilson (S29)

Wilson was my first ever first round pick as a General Manager, and he freakin’ sucked.

Pick 39 – HC Davos Dynamo – Matthieu VanCoughnett (S24)

I remember him throwing a fit whenever anyone would misspell his name. I remember him leaving. I remember absolutely nothing else about him.

Pick 40 – New York Americans – Robert Sharpe (S1)

This just couldn’t be anyone else. Sharpe has the least TPE of any first overall pick and had a ton of controversy surrounding his handler during this time. Edited September 24, 2014 by Muffins

[Advantage 2,901]

Great idea.  Enjoyable read.

[Hybrid1486 577]

Pick 33 – Helsinki Titans – Clint Guite (S22)

 

I could not, for the life of me, remember who the hell Guite was when I was doing my research for this article. He topped 1,100 hits and had nearly 800 shots blocked, stats inflated by playing on some bad teams.

 

*cough*

[.sniffuM 1,741]

I know now, but I had no clue when I got to the S22 draft.

[Hybrid1486 577]

I know now, but I had no clue when I got to the S22 draft.

Yeah, that was a pretty forgettable event

[Guest]

I made it! Only been drafted 1st once!

[Squinty 116]

Why the shit did you not make this an MS. I had a good time reading this. Fack you for that Heiss > Jenkins comment.

Fave part of the entire thing:

"Wilson was my first ever first round pick as a General Manager, and he freakin’ sucked."

[.sniffuM 1,741]

Why the shit did you not make this an MS.

Because I can still claim it as a historical MS (commish confirmed and everything).

[Squinty 116]

Also 

 

especially Phil Rafter, who I only wanted to mention because he had 80 hits in 577 career games while getting blasted 2,237 times

 

 

DID NOT KNOW HE SUCKED THAT MUCH

[.sniffuM 1,741]

Yeah, that was a pretty forgettable event

No kidding. The third pick entered the draft with 50 TPE and the draft had fucking Fernando Garcia Jr. in it. That had to be the worst draft

in VHL history.

[Beketov 9,103]

Dead last, hell yeah haha.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Beketov

[NotAVHLM-GM 1,858]

Thanks for drafting me this low, I'll make you regret it once O'Malley officially retires Great and fun concept, just a shame Riga selected Heiss instead of LeBeau, would love to see where he would be on the list.

[Higgins 3,618]

Al Wilson was a good guy

[Victor 11,027]

No kidding. The third pick entered the draft with 50 TPE and the draft had fucking Fernando Garcia Jr. in it. That had to be the worst draft

in VHL history.

Probably yeah.

Why the shit did you not make this an MS.

Draft rankings = 7 TPE usually.

And this was orgasmic. Toronto wins again. Maybe. I didn't really analyse past top 5, just read it.

Kind of ridiculous that O'Malley is already not last on the TPE list.

And no 1st overall for me.

[BOOM 8,818]

S33 could have looked so different in these rankings.....

[sterling 2,000]

My worst player is the only one to go first overall

[STZ 5,389]

neato gang

[gorlab 4,321]

#BasedHistorical 

[gorlab 4,321]

#NeatoGang

[Victor 11,027]

Also, don't think anyone considered Walser or Jenskovic better than Labatte.

[NotAVHLM-GM 1,858]

Kind of ridiculous that O'Malley is already not last on the TPE list.

Kind of ridicolous I'm higher as last year's #1. #BlameHiggins

[Victor 11,027]

Faraday < Laich

[CoachReilly 688]

who else besides me and slobo has two players in the top 20?

[Victor 11,027]

who else besides me and slobo has two players in the top 20?

Fong. 8O8 is the only other member with more than one first overall pick. Slobo now has three.

[Da Trifecta 1,902]

Osborne>Osbourne