Kirby's Retrospective/Ramble: The VHL/E Draft Experience

[kirbithan 1,765]

 

As a first-gen who joined back at the tailend of S84, I wasn’t sure what to expect when it came to be drafted in the VHL and E. Originally, I wasn’t planning to pump out so much content like I do now, but it’s become second nature and something I genuinely enjoy. Plus, I experimented with making graphics for the first time.

 

One reason for my enthusiasm to earn TPE is because of how large the goaltender class was for S86. I had a reason to take as many opportunities as I could to further grow and improve my player knowing the friendly competition I was against, and it paid off. My content and activity caught the eye of many VHL members and GMs, which was my goal. Plus, I used some of my work to promote the legendary trio— which consists of myself, Sadie St-Louis, and John Richards. Almost everyone was aware that the three of us wanted to play together and that brings me to the actual review of what happened in the VHL and VHLE drafts.

 

My player, Lachlan Summers, is the first S86 first-gen player to surpass 200 TPE, and I am confident he would’ve gone much higher in both drafts if he wasn’t a goalie. There’s no going back and changing things, though, but I don’t have regrets. I love Lachlan and I knew what I was signing up for when I chose to play the goalie position.

 

First came the VHLE draft, and I wasn’t as nervous for this one as it was just a one season commitment. Of course, deep down, I wanted to stick together with my friends and that’s exactly what happened. Sadie was taken 5th overall by Stockholm, and we were weary that the Vikings weren’t in the right position to draft all three of us. When Lachlan was drafted by the Istanbul Red Wolves at 9th, I was happy with where he landed despite the fact that the trio would be separated, as he was the first goaltender off the board. However, Stockholm GM MubbleFubbles had some tricks up his sleeve and pulled off a few trades, moving up to the 10th pick to select John. Then, Mubbles traded Geoff Bezos to Istanbul in exchange for Lachlan, at the delight of myself and Sadie, who were watching the draft go down live. Thus, the trio were reunited like it was always meant to be.

 

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case during the VHL draft, but our expectations of staying together were low going into it, given there were twice the amount of teams than there were in the E. Sadie was selected 4th overall by the Riga Reign this time around, which shattered our hopes of playing together in the big leagues— at least for now. It wasn’t until the 12th pick that Lachlan was drafted by HC Davos Dynamo, which was the perfect team for him to go to, in my opinion. With the legendary Xavier Booberry set to retire in a few seasons, it would put Lachlan in the perfect position to take over in net for Davos, despite my previous concerns of even finding a starting job in the VHL once he got there. There will be some big shoes to fill, but Lachlan is the perfect goaltender to do it. Davos’ GM Alex also made a trade to secure John at the 16th pick, as well, meaning all three members of the trio were drafted in the first round. 

 

It was a wild few months leading up to both of these drafts. I accomplished what I wanted to and I’m ultimately happy with where Lachlan landed in the VHL and E. I want him to have an illustrious career and with the talent Davos has brought in, it looks likely. Hopefully one day, he’ll be in the Hall of Fame and possibly appear in some trivia questions as an answer option.

 

Spoiler

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