VSN Presents: Prospect Pipeline 9/20

[nurx 914]

Graphics by @Oli-La-Poutine

 

The S85 VHLM Draft has come and gone and a lot of players have been given a chance to make a name for themselves. But this article isn’t going to talk about the players or a deep dive into who went first overall. Today we’re going to be hearing from some of the General Managers who make the draft happen. I spoke with @Shindigs of the Las Vegas Aces, @badcolethetitan of the Mexico City Kings, and recently appointed @nurx of the Miami Marauders before and after the draft in order to see if what they had hoped for had panned out. I wanted to check into their mindset going in and see how they feel they fared compared to their hopes.

As a note of strategy, and due to the way the player availability has panned out, Shindigs and Cole aimed to take both goalies and defensemen early on. “Goalies and Dmen are going to be in kind of short supply despite the large draft class. So I'm going to go for filling those early,” Shindigs said in our interview. Cole shared this sentiment stating “My overall strategy heading into this draft is to make sure we get a defenseman and a goalie.” Nurx however, had a different route in mind. Having had 2 more picks than both Shindigs and Cole, along with the number 1 overall pick, Nurx had more of an opportunity ahead of him. Nurx said to me that [they] “have a plan to get a great set of forwards in the first 2 rounds, but following that we are interested in lower round goalies who we can help improve throughout the season.” Given the position of last place in S84, Nurx planned to focus on front-of-net presence over in-net and, with last year’s goal differential of -186, the strategy makes sense.

It’s no surprise that both Shindigs and Cole planned to go for goalies and defensemen. Out of the 184 eligible players for the draft, only 47 (25.5%) of them were defensemen or goalies. That means each team could get 2 goalies with 1 remaining. While this allowed for each team to draft a starter and backup, it also meant that any real choice was left up to those with early draft picks. For a GM like Shindigs, who had back-to-back successes in the VHLM Finals, his first pick at 13 left him vulnerable to losing out on the top goalies. “There are not enough starter tier goalies for all the teams in this draft, our first pick at 13 will make or break this season for us,” said Shindigs prior to the draft. With that pick, he was able to bring Joel Castle @animal74 back to Vegas so it is anticipated that he was and will continue to be a great goalie for the Aces. 

 

Cole also valued a goaltender stating “I always believe building from the net outwards is the best way to look at things.” Mexico had a more advantageous first pick at 7th and also chose to bring back a goalie in Jeremy Swayman. Both Vegas and Mexico knew they would need great goalies and it seemed both had eyes on ones they knew they could count on to get the job done. After the draft, I asked Cole what he thought the most important piece he picked up in the draft was and his answer was, no surprise, goalie Jeremy Swayman. “Swayman was a huge part of our team last season as a backup goalie, and we by far had the best tandem in the league in net. The fact that we were able to bring back someone who has already been in our system for a season…is an absolute win for us here at Mexico City.”

 

But with first overall, Nurx had the pick of the litter. While in agreement with Shindigs and Cole that defense was a top priority, he chose to wait until the second round to grab his goalie. His and the first overall was Centerman Rick Grimes @tinafrombobsburgers. Nurx stated prior to the draft that “[to] be successful going into S85, we really need to secure some solid defensive forwards. We have a returning defenseman, but we do not have any returning forwards or players.”. This speaks to the above mentioned need for a strong front-of-net presence. While grabbing a forward first was Nurx’s main agenda, he also was chomping at the bit to draft a certain goalie. “We have one goalie in our eyes mostly however all plans can change in a matter of seconds come draft night.” Given how many goalies ended up going in the first round, we can only hope that the one Nurx and Miami had their sights set on was the one they drafted: Bill Nye the Puck Stopping Guy @Big Newff.

 

After the draft, I asked all three GMs to grade their picks overall. Shindigs rated Vegas’ draft with an A- which he considers possible due to being able to round out his team with 5 Forwards, 3 Defensemen, and 2 Goalies, all whom he states are active. Cole rated his draft picks an overall B+ due to some solid early picks brought down by inactive players that he was not able to get back into active status. Nurx gave himself a similar score of B-, citing picks that would perform well, however many dropped communication shortly after the draft. I think the three General Managers were fair in their assessments. It seems out of the 3, Shindigs was the only lucky one to grab and keep active players active. Hopefully the inactivity and lack of communication for Cole and Nurx won’t have too negative of an impact on their season.

 

I think it is safe to say that all 3 of these General Managers knew who and what they wanted going in, and it seems for the most part, that they all got exactly what they wanted. Fans of these teams can only watch on and hope that these players were also what the teams needed. At the time of writing this, the VHLM standings after week 1 are definitely more mixed than they were last season with Miami currently holding 2nd, Mexico in 4th, and Vegas surprisingly sitting in the middle at 6th. But it is only the first week so we will see what happens from here.

 

Written by: @aimkin

Some of the best stories and experiences in the VHL and its related leagues are the partners and friends you have in the league. Nearly every member of the community has been part of a trip or a duo that you grew close to. Whether that was in the VHLM the E or even the big leagues. It is rare, however, to see these relationships so public. This season though there are two major groups of people in the VHLM. One together and the other separated, so let us take a trip around the VHLM and look at the duo and trio in the VHLM right now.

 

First the duo in Miami. Brothers in real life, Daryl Dixon @Ricer13 and Rick Grimes @tinafrombobsburgers are playing on the same line on a very good Miami squad. They signed as waiver players to Houston at the trade deadline last season. Houston was a very good squad last season, but unfortunately fell short in their pursuit of the Founder's Cup. Of course, Grimes and Dixon were huge characters in the locker room and in the streets in Houston where locals hoped they could see the duo back in the next season. 

 

The duo announced that they wanted to play together far before the draft, but after a stretch pick at first overall picking Rick Grimes, Miami was able to secure both of them. They are a very active pair both on and off the ice allowing for one of the best forward pairings in the VHLM. On the franchise's side, Miami has excelled in marketing this brotherly love. When walking around Miami near the Marauders home, it is hard to not see Rick Grimes' and Daryl Dixon's faces on billboards. It is hard to not love this duo if you have ever had a friend. No matter what happens in the future in the VHL draft, they will always have the memories in Miami.

 

Next up is the young trio who played in San Diego last season. It is incredibly rare you find a group of three people as close as these three young stars. The trio started their career in San Diego last season where they played for a team that was not very good. San Diego struggled throughout much of the season, but the one bright light in the team was this electric trio. It is incredibly exciting to see a forward pairing putting up the points while a goalie puts up great numbers. Unfortunately the team didn't have many other players that are worth being named.

 

In the S85 VHLM drafy, however, the trio was separated. Lachlan would be sent to San Diego for a return season, while the rest of the trio would head up north to Ottawa for the following season. While Lachlan is putting up some of the best numbers in the league, the other two are part of a Ottawa team who has been crushing their mid level opponents. Time will only tell how Ottawa season will progress as they begin to face the likes of Miami and Las Vegas. What we do know, however, is that the relationship between the trio is as strong as ever and it is unlikely we will see a breakup between them.

 

While all of us can remember being part of a dynamic duo or a trio, it is hard to know when you are in the good times until the good times have ended. It is possible that the trio may never play on the same team again in their careers, but it is equally possible they find a home in the VHL on the same team. We will not know until that time comes. On the flip side, we do know that the duo is in the good times right now as they play on a competitive team with their partner in crime. One group may have passed the good old times, while the other is living through them right now. In sports, we love to look at the stats and the winners, but I believe that the best stories tell the human aspect of sports. The relationships of these players and their stories can fade, but the stat line with their names will never fade until the paper it is written on is gone. Now the human relationship between players is as written down as those scorecards.

 

Written by: @nurx

 

 

VHLM Power Rankings:

 

1. MIA > 3

2. LVA =

3 OTT > 4

4. SSK > 4

5. PHI  < 1

6.HOU = 

7. HFX < 2

8. SDM  > 1

9. MEX < 8

10. MIS =

 

Biggest mover is Mexico City who just hasn't been able to find a spark with a roster who going into this season was looking like favorites to win the Founder's Cup. Time will only tell as they begin to face more teams how good they really are.

[Shindigs 1,771]

Vegas on a 10 game win streak, still only 2nd in power rankings. FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY

[nurx 914]

4 hours ago, Shindigs said:

Vegas on a 10 game win streak, still only 2nd in power rankings. FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY

Power rankings are 4 days old

[Dom 1,445]

@Oli-La-Poutine nice graphic man!

[Oli-La-Poutine 39]

Claming graph