Halifax's Draft and how each pick came to be

[ShawnGlade 1,010]

Thought for my PT this week I'd talk about the draft I had on Saturday and give a little insight for each of my picks. I actually thought I did well for my first return draft. It was a draft super saturated with forwards so I was bound to make a splash there, but it was other positions I was worried about. I also made a blockbuster trade which helped get more mid-round picks which definitely helped to add depth.

 

5th overall: Daryl Dixon

To be completely honest, it was always my plan to draft one of the brothers, and it just so happened to be Dixon. I was hoping to maybe get them both on Halifax but after hearing about their connections to Miami, I just felt it was right to trade him to the Marauders. I knew before the draft that if I drafted one of the two, I was going to ask for a big return, knowing that they were going to end up together by either chance or force. I definitely got a sizeable return for him, which included draft picks that I very badly needed, including a 2nd and two 3rds. I'm glad we were able to re-unite the brothers and I do genuinely hope they light it up in Miami.

 

10th overall: Babay Shrimp

This pick began the trend of me asking "how the heck is this guy still on the board?" I was genuinely surprised when it was time for me to pick and going through my list, a capped player fell into my lap. I was so shocked in fact that I had commissioners triple confirm to me that Shrimp is in fact staying in the VHLM and people aren't avoiding him for a reason. Huge fan of this pick just because a cap falls to me without having to trade up and he's instantly a first-liner that sits with our other caps. I'd say it was an easy choice but I didn't even know he was eligible until I was about to pick him, and I wasn't sure if I was going to have the pick veto'd or not for that reason. Regardless I'm happy to get him, and it was nice to pick someone that I originally didn't even have on my list. I'm still a little worried that a commish messed up somewhere and I have to give him back, but for the time being I'm glad to have such a dynamic forward.

 

15th overall: Ash Sparks

Heading into the draft I knew that there was a cluster of goalies around 150 TPE and that they were limited so I knew I had to get one. I originally wanted to grab a goalie at 10th overall, however that fell through once I realized Shrimp was still on the board. I knew that since goalies still really hadn't been taken so I knew that my chances were high of being able to grab a goalie. Originally I had two names on my list, Castle and Rask. It was until closer to the draft that I realized Sparks had slipped through the cracks and likely wasn't on many teams lists. Once Rask and Castle went at 13 and 14, I knew there was one good goalie left and I had to snag him before anyone else could. I knew I wasn't drafting again for quite a bit and with 100% certainty Sparks wouldn't even make it to the 3rd round. It was a lay-up pick in my opinion, I wasn't really considering anyone else when it was my turn to pick and probably my fastest pick in this draft. Should be my starter for the entire season to be honest.

 

28th overall: Vinny Lecavalier

Another "why is this guy still here" pick. When it was my turn to pick I thought I made a mistake somewhere along the way and forgot to remove him from my draft list, but after double checking I was amazed to see that he was still on the board. This was one of the first people I wanted to draft but when it came down to it, I just had other priorities and I felt like he was going to be there when I picked later on. With a pick on Shrimp coming out of nowhere, it pushed my goalie back to 15th which meant I knew I was likely going to lose out on Lacavalier. I was bummed but I just moved on because you can't expect the draft to always go your way right? Anyways, I couldn't decide if I wanted to take Vinny with this pick or 30th because I knew my two players are likely to still be there even if I take someone else, but I decided it wasn't worth the risk and figured I'd just lock in Vinny while I still have the chance, because I knew at this point he was not going to be available for long.

 

30th overall: Bedirhan Paard

I think this quickly became my signature pick of the draft and established my direction in the draft. There wasn't anyone left on my list that I was really comfortable taking here besides Paard. Everyone was joking about "who's gonna take him" because some don't like his personality but I would deserve to be fired if I skipped over an active LR chatter and someone who earns consistently because of what others think. I wasn't really nervous either because I knew whoever I took here was likely the last active I'd take in the draft just because by this point most of the actives had already gone off the board, and Paard was just BPA out of everyone who claims so really it was a slam dunk pick in my eyes.

 

45th overall: Igor Vezina

I was really high on Vezina because he not only responded to my initial interview, but also re-messaged to ask when the draft was, so that showed me that he at least cares about the league and draft enough to see where he goes, which is fair enough. I wasn't comfortable just having one goalie heading into the season so I knew I wanted to take another one, and it was just a match made in heaven that I was able to snag Vezina. I actually tried to trade up in the draft to take him, which other GMs can attest to. I tried selling the rest of my draft to guarantee that I take Vezina but trades just didn't work out but in the end I still got my guy. Really stoked to have such a great goalie tandem right out of the gate.

 

52nd overall: Pasi Anssi

Not much else for me to say other than he shows signs of life updating this week and for 52nd overall, that is more than enough for me. He saw my initial DM this week shortly before the draft and that's what sold me to be honest. Anytime you find someone in the 6th round that has updated THIS WEEK and is still checking their DMs is a steal and a half. Very excited to have him around on the second line. I think he has a real shot at being a good earner for me too. Even on welfare I expect him to be mid-100s by playoff time, which is more than enough

 

60th overall: TurkeyBig

I know the member behind the player is a returner so I felt good taking a flyer on him. Usually good for welfare and has recently visited the site so I figured why not give it a shot and see if he returns? I did the math on how often he updates, so I can expect an update every 2-3 weeks which places his next update this week, which if that's the case then maybe I found myself a real steal of the draft. I've been digging through some VHL discords to see if I can track the man down, but to no avail so far, so if anyone has seen this man, DM me.

 

65th overall: HeyItsShawn

Besides the obvious Shawn jokes, this pick has quite the background for me. During my trade which sent Daryl Dixon to Miami, the condition on the 6th round pick was that nurx would send me a list of 6 players, and I wasn't allowed to take any of them in the first 6 rounds or I forfeit the pick. After looking at the list, I genuinely didn't know who any of the players were. So I did some deep digging and figured out they were all 30 TPE players who responded to Miami's initial interview. The condition in the trade stated that when the 7th round came, I had free reign to pick anyone on the list. I looked and saw one defenseman, who I ended up drafting here. Whether he returns will remain to be seen, but there was actually a strategy with this pick here, because I figured why not give an active player a shot even if they haven't visited in a bit?

 

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Week ending 9/4

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Week ending 9/18

[ShawnGlade 1,010]

Week ending 9-11

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Week ending 9/18