VSN Presents: S81 VHL Entry Draft Graded (Picks 1-10)

[nurx 908]

As the S81 draft sits in their prime, I believe it is time that we begin to think just how well every team drafted in this draft. There are players from that draft that are tearing it up in the majors while others have floundered or even failed to enter the majors yet. Some players have become franchise names while others are lucky to score 15 points on a season. However, all of these players still have plenty of career remaining, so it is possible we can see all of these players make a reverse on their career and become major parts of their respective teams. Please note that all rankings are solely based on players' performance, TPE or user behavior was not used to determine pick grades.

 

Round 1 Pick 1 (Helsinki)

 

The 1st overall pick of the S81 draft belonged to the Helsinki Titans where they picked left wing Nezuku @Baozi. They would play the S81 season in the VHLE where they would win the VHLE championship. Nezuku would come into the S82 season playing with Helsinki. Performing fairly well in their rookie Nezuku proved to be strong for Helsinki as they netted 77 points. Well below the 131 the ROTY would score, but still very respectable numbers. Nezuku continued to net points and play very productive hockey at the forward position. Being one of the better wingers in the league, but never the best in the league as of yet. Looking back Nezuku probably isn't a 1sr overall pick, but definitely not a bust by any means. I would put Nezuku still in the top 10 at minimum for the S81 draft. I would rate this pick as a B.

 

Round 1 Pick 2 (Helsinki)

 

This pick is different. Due to conditions surrounding the pick, Sirdsvaldis Miglaskems @FrostBeard was immediately traded out of Helsinki for a S82 2nd and S83 3rd. I will not be looking into how this trade went for Helsinki. I will instead be treating this as if the drama surrounding the pick never happened and Seattle just drafted in this position. Therefore the 2nd overall pick of the S81 draft was center Sirdsvaldis Miglaskems. Playing their rookie year in S82 Miglaskems was another player who performed well in their rookie season, but nowhere near the ROTY winner. Miglaskems netted 72 points in their rookie season. However, they were one of the better faceoff centers winning 53.8% of faceoffs throughout the season. It is hard to say how many goals that helped Seattle win, but gaining possession anytime will help your team. Miglaskems followed a very similar career path so far, but continues to be very strong at the dot. For Miglaskems, I would put him in the top 15 forwards drafted this season. He is a top 15 draft pick from the S81 draft. I would rate this pick as a B.

 

Round 1 Pick 3 (London)

 

The 3rd overall pick of this seasons draft belonged to London where they picked RW Zaza Colors @McWolf . Zaza Colors started in the VHL in S82 as well, but started off their career much quicker netting 111 points in their rookie season. Narrowly missing the conversation for ROTY, but they proved immediately why they were such a hyped draft pick. Colors' sophomore and junior seasons were much slower and very similar to the other draft picks in this draft. However, due to the lightning fast start to their career, I believe Zaza Colors should have been picked before both Miglaskems and Nezuku. I believe based on their career highs and how they have begun to come back to form Colors was a top 5 pick in the S81 VHL draft. I would rate this pick as an A.

 

Round 1 Pick 4 (Seattle)

 

This player picked in this spot would later be traded, so we will be looking at only how this player contributed to Seattle. In the future you can look at how the players involved in the trade contributed to Seattle, but the trade is just too recent to judge that right now. The 4th overall pick in the S81 VHL draft was right wing Maximus Decimus Meridius @Beaviss. Unfortunately Meridius had a slower start to their career netting only 50 points in their rookie season. Their sophomore year was even more disappointing where they only scored 39 points. While Meridius has begun to have a much stronger career in New York, it is fairly hard to justify this level of production at 4th overall. With how much they contributed to Seattle I would have to say Meridius is a late 1st round pick. I rate this pick a C-.

 

Round 1 Pick 5 (Toronto)

 

At 5 overall in the S81 draft Toronto selected defenseman Cadmael Ixazaluoh @Vice. At this point in time, Toronto was in desperate need for a defenseman. This pick gave them likely one of the best two way defenseman in the S81 draft. Ixazaluoh has season after season scored plenty of points for Toronto while being solid defensively. Are they the best defenseman in the league? No, but I don't think the best draft in the league came from this draft. They are, The position this team was in forced them to pick a defenseman and they picked well. I would say there is one player that would have been better, but they still picked incredibly well in this position. B+.

 

Round 1 Pick 6 (Seattle)

 

With the 6th overall pick in the S81 VHL draft Seattle selected defenseman Hulk Hogan 2 @Hogan. Hulk Hogan 2 is better than Ixazaluoh. In nearly every way. Not significantly better but they are better. In a sport where every bounce matters, having the best defenseman in a draft is an advantage. Hulk Hogan 2 is the best defenseman in the S81 draft. I believe that Hulk Hogan 2 should have been drafted before any other defenseman. Therefore, I would have liked to have seen Toronto select this player. I am however giving Seattle an A+ for this draft pick.

 

Round 1 Pick 7 (Riga)

 

With the 7th overall pick in the S81 draft Riga selected defenseman Biggie Cheese @a_Ferk . The third defenseman in a row and another great pick. Arguably in the running for best defenseman of the draft, Biggie Cheese came in the VHL and established Riga as having a very strong defensive core. Cheese continues to thrive in Riga as the core has begun to be traded, but here Riga picked the right player. I believe this player should have been a top 5 pick. I grade this pick an A+.

 

Round 1 Pick 8 (Calgary)

 

With the 8th overall pick in the S81 draft Calgary selected center Daniel Janser @Daniel Janser. Janser has been incredibly consistent in Calgary leading to 70 point season every season they have played. This is extremely good and shows an even higher ceiling. They weren't the best player available, but at 8th overall Janser was an incredible pick. I grade this pick an A-.

 

Round 1 Pick 9 (Toronto)

 

With the 9th overall pick i. the S81 draft Toronto selected defenseman Harkat Mulds @hylands. This sadly is the first player who has underperformed greatly. Coming into the league in S81 Mulds was highly touted and one of the few to join the VHL immediately. However, Mulds only blocked around 100 shots in their first 3 seasons in the VHL. They performed greatly offensively all of their seasons, however, as a defenseman it is much more important you aren't causing pucks in your net. For that reason, I sadly have to rank this pick as a D+.

 

Round 1 Pick 10 (Moscow)

 

This player was traded soon after being drafted, but only one season is such a small sample size, so I will be rating this player based on all their seasons in the VHL. With the 10 overall pick in the S81 VHL draft Moscow selected Nico Pearce @Spartan. Pearce came into the league in S81 and had 3 consecutive strong seasons. However, they just exploded with a very good 120 point season in S84. This is incredibly important because it shows that Pearce's ceiling is higher than just 70 point seasons. This player could have been a 3-6 overall pick. At this position they were a steal. This pick is an A + pick.

 

That has been the first 10 picks of the S81 draft. There are so many more amazing players yet to be drafted this season. However, this far the best team picks have been Moscow and Riga and the worst has been Toronto. Follow along as I continue to break down this draft in future editions and remember that every single pick matters no matter who or where it is.

 

[FrostBeard 1,974]

There was no drama with Sirdsvaldis, my player need to be scouted or they don't play. Done. Also, I was ranking my player at around 7th or 8th at the draft so when Helsinki actually picked me that high, I got worried, there was even a thought "Heck, maybe I shouldn't ask for a trade" because Rayz went so far out to grab me. I did make the right choice though and stuck to the principle. 
 

[Shindigs 1,771]

13 hours ago, nurx said:

Follow along as I continue to break down this draft in future editions and remember that every single pick matters no matter who or where it is.

Unless it's Riga picking a goalie in the 80s.

[nurx 908]

14 minutes ago, Shindigs said:

Unless it's Riga picking a goalie in the 80s.

honestly most of Rigas picks this draft are C and lower. There are a significant amount of S81 draft picks in the 4th round who are going to be making their rookie season next season. If I were a GM I would take them over some 2nd round picks.

[Daniel Janser 1,975]

28 minutes ago, Shindigs said:

Unless it's Riga picking a goalie in the 80s.

with the exception of Ben, Calgary was not very lucky with their netminder picks in the 80s (on the other hand you only need to get lucky once with goalers)

[nurx 908]

3 minutes ago, Daniel Janser said:

with the exception of Ben, Calgary was not very lucky with their netminder picks in the 80s (on the other hand you only need to get lucky once with goalers)

true and a surprising amount of goalies in the VHL are 1st gens soooo

[Daniel Janser 1,975]

2 minutes ago, nurx said:

true and a surprising amount of goalies in the VHL are 1st gens soooo

Well I guess that during the Meta-era, veteran VHLers did not feel like creating goalers as they were blasted to kingdom come by everyone and their mothers. I feel there were more goalkeepers recreated in the past two seasons (having a one-to-one conversion of TPE into Attribute points certainly helped that trend)