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VSN Presents: S86 VHL Draft Review

jacobcarson877

By jacobcarson877
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jacobcarson877

jacobcarson877 2,069

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Here we have it folks. VSN is not only doing a mock draft, but they are also now reviewing the draft afterwards. Just a reminder, these are not objective rankings, and this is a sim league so truly anyone could earn well or retire tomorrow. Congratulations to all of the players drafted, best of luck to all the teams and lets discuss how they all did at the draft!

For reference: C is the neutral score here. If you got exactly what was expected, you'd get a C. This doesn't really take into account the number or value of the picks, but relative value to each pick that the teams did have.

:cal:Calgary Wranglers :cal: 

B

 

The Wranglers drafted Vincent Laroche-Gagnier, Adam Rage, Darius Marimoto II, Quinn Saint-Willes and Tristan Gorlim. 3 welfare plus forwards, and a bit of a project pick with Saint-Willes. Calgary needed support players for their current core, and they went out and did that. If they continue to earn and make the show, these will look like great picks. One might argue they lost a bit of value on the board, but got some users they really liked in the process.

 

:chi:Chicago Phoenix :chi:

C

 

Well, the Phoenix didn’t pick this draft, so I would say they got the exact amount of value anyone would expect of them.

 

:dcd:D.C. Dragons :dcd: 

C+

 

The D.C Dragons did not pick until 47th overall to be fair, but the reigning champions took some risks at the draft. Aky has updated recently, although hasn’t updated consistently since September. Lucas Grey may back claim a few months worth of TPE, which would obviously change everything here, but I won’t bet on it until it happens. Telker Jr is an ode to a user lost to history (for now). Grey could be a steal, gaining months of Auto 12 but I still don’t feel great about it.

 

:dav:HC Davos Dynamo :dav:

A

 

Alex continues to bring value into Davos at the draft, and once again does not disappoint. Once again targeting some very promising first generation players in Summers and Richards, 2 of 3 members of the infamous “trio”, and probably at a pick lower than both could have gone. Their 3rd and 4th rounder are both active players, under the fine tutelage of nurx in Miami. There is a decent chance both get going and start to catch up to their peers.

 

:hel:Helsinki Titans :hel: 

B-

 

Bonus points definitely awarded here for righting the wrongs of London and reuniting Dixon and Grimes. In the end they got 2 top forwards and are beginning to right the ship after a tumultuous past few months. They found their goaltender of the future and loaded up on some top forward talent and a few supporting players. I do think they left some value on the table, but overall a very respectable draft by the Titans. We shall see how all of the trades play out later.

 

:ldn:London United :ldn:

A-

 

London had a sneaky good draft. They got in and immediately grabbed what they wanted the most, a defenseman who has a shot at replacing Jerome Reinhart. They then took advantage of the Grimes and Dixon narrative and played villain to get some more assets. They then grabbed Triller and Odinson, 2 very exciting first generation players, who could both make their roster in the coming seasons. Probably didn’t make many friends this draft, but came out of it with everything they wanted.

 

:la:Los Angeles Stars :la: 

B+

 

Los Angeles was very much coming into this draft looking to add as much value in any position as possible. They didn’t appear to be drafting for any particular need, so ended up grabbing some players that others were passing on due to positional need. I don’t think they got any major franchise changing players, but got a lot of players who could easily play on their roster as supporting pieces. All of the picks made sense, and were generally just the Best Player Available.

 

:mal:Malmo Nighthawks :mal:

D+

 

This grade is very much rooted in what Sjin decides to do. At a glance that picks seems very much expected, but there is a lot of question as to whether Sjin will ever leave the VHLM. He has said he at least won’t until he wins a cup with San Diego, which is nowhere near a guarantee. Seeing as other forwards picked afterwards did not have this condition, perhaps there were safer options. Justin Lion looks promising, but will need to continue to be consistent to make the Nighthawks roster one day. They did have the last pick of the draft, and as expected, should see no value come out of it any time soon.

 

:mos: Moscow Menace :mos:

C+

 

Moscow took one quick look at the draft and decided to trade out of it. Although there were players on the table, they wanted to take the bet on next season’s class instead. If nothing else, the pick should be a higher pick, so one could expect more value. Only time will tell.

 

:nya:New York Americans :nya:

C-

 

With only 3rd and 4th round picks one didn’t expect much from New York this draft. I would say the major miss on Oli McGee couldn’t be offset by Marc Gorman and Winston Dixon Jr. Quinn McWells has updated in the last few weeks so perhaps there is at least a trade chip there. Overall nothing catastrophic, although it could have been much better.

 

:prg:Prague Phantoms :prg:

C

 

Prague’s only pick this draft was a welfare forward, who has in their defence been rather consistent. Not a lot of upside, not a lot of downside either. Prague has already assembled its pieces for the present and future, so nobody should be worried about the lack of activity surrounding this team at the draft.

 

:rig:Riga Reign :rig: 

A+

 

I don’t think Riga could have done any better at the draft. They grabbed The Frenchman, who was the obvious top player in the draft. They grabbed Sadie St-Louis, a rising star and future top player. They grabbed Grizz Tazzo, who has been secretly gaining momentum behind the scenes with Mexico City. Riga needed to get themselves going again, much like Helsinki, and they pulled in some monster talent.

 

:sea:Seattle Bears :sea:

B

 

I think this draft looks a lot better if you’re inside the Bears Locker Room right now. They grabbed a lot of people they liked and they were almost always one of the top 3 players left in their position. But I can’t help but think that they could have brought in a lot more with the amount of draft capital they had. Don’t get me wrong, they’ll be fine. I think they got stuck in a position where they didn’t want to contend for Grimes and Dixon and  therefore their picks in between looked a bit off. We are also talking about a GM who has worked with MANY people over the years and has some of those users he just wants to bring back into the fold.

 

:tor:Toronto Legion :tor:

A

 

I believe Moon was running this draft, but regardless, whoever did was very familiar with the class. Every single pick made me go “Ooo nice pick!” over and over again. Considering the turmoil of the last like 48 hours, Toronto looks to be heading in a good direction, and made some very shrewd picks in order to do so. Joel Castle will make a great replacement for Lindbergh, and they could yet get some good value from their picks all the way through the 4th round. Toronto took this draft very seriously.

 

:que:Vancouver Wolves :que:

B+

 

Frank made some very smart picks here with limited resources, and addressed some positional needs. They will soon need a new centerman and a new defenseman, and Wann Kerr and Jens Lekman look as ready as anyone to fill those shoes. Both Shindigs prodigies, and both off to Rome this season, the duo hope to carry their VHLM success, and strong earning habits through to Vancouver sooner rather than later. Nick Trash has updated recently and had a strong campaign last season in Saskatoon.

 

:war:Warsaw Predators :war:

D

 

I really wanted to give Warsaw an F, just to mess with dlamb a bit, but Ben Dover could be a decent pickup at the end of the 2nd round. There were certainly stronger players available, and with much better builds (note: do not look at Ben Dover’s build), but I don’t think Warsaw minds too much. Their reign of terror is likely coming to a close and having some assets to begin the new era isn’t a bad thing at all. I know the Bedirhan pick was a meme, but I still wanted better from them.

If you want to yell at anyone, yell at @jacobcarson877 for writing these 1400+ words.

Edited by jacobcarson877
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Nykonax

Nykonax 1,550

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2 hours ago, jacobcarson877 said:

:dcd:D.C. Dragons :dcd: 

C+

 

The D.C Dragons did not pick until 47th overall to be fair, but the reigning champions took some risks at the draft. Aky has updated recently, although hasn’t updated consistently since September. Lucas Grey may back claim a few months worth of TPE, which would obviously change everything here, but I won’t bet on it until it happens. Telker Jr is an ode to a user lost to history (for now). Grey could be a steal, gaining months of Auto 12 but I still don’t feel great about it.

way to go @Enorama!! C's get degrees

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