The draft is in three days and I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen

[scoop 3,426]

And let's keep it that way.

 

I have been leading the S88 VHL draft class in TPE for a while, and it's not particularly close for this point in our careers. In the grand scheme of a VHL career, a 35 TPE difference isn't that much, but it's a little more noticeable at lower TPE levels. It's a bit of an artificial lead, with me having spent money on 10 uncapped TPE, and already having the VHLM graduation bonus, but it's still going to be a draft-day lead. All that being said, TPE is not everything, so I know that there's a chance I don't get drafted first, or even second or third if I "fall" that far. Reasonably, looking at the draft class, I think I could potentially go as late as sixth. Contributing to this feeling of uncertainty is the fact that very few teams have actually talked to me about the draft, and no one has said anything concrete along the lines of "if you're available, we are going to pick you." To keep the draft exciting for myself, I do like it that way. The fact that few teams have contacted me, and just two drafting in the top six where I feel I could reasonably go, has me wondering if other teams are either so sure I won't be available to them, or if they are already set on other players. I would expect some sort of contact from any GM who is thinking about drafting me, to see if I'm a good fit, especially considering the quality of the other top picks available.

 

I said before that I think I could fall as far as sixth, and while it would very much be unexpected, I see a path for it. To get things started, I could see the first three teams selecting the trio of FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist, Bobby Bob, and Mark Calaway, in some order. Analfist is the best forward in the draft, and STZ is very good at making elite players. Calaway is arguably a more sure thing than myself, as Beketov has not had a dud of a player in a long while. Bob is closer to me in TPE than Baby Bob was to Taylor Mourning when he was drafted ahead of me in S79, and that turned out to be the correct choice. I can't really see anyone arguing that any of the first three teams would take any of those three players ahead of me. In a scenario where I go sixth (or potentially later, I suppose), I think we see New York take Merome Dilson. While they do have the eighth pick, and not all teams need goalies, Chicago at seven is in need of a goalie, so New York doesn't risk Dilson being selected just ahead of them. Then at pick five, Prague takes Jasper Davis. The Phantoms don't have cap space, so they won't want to pick a player such as myself who will be up in the VHL next season. Davis also has a connection to the franchise, as David Davis played for them in his first three seasons not long ago.

 

Honestly, I think I've convinced myself that I'm not going to be selected as high in the draft as I thought. I didn't anticipate falling to 10th with Mourning, so maybe it happens again. At that time, I thought I'd prove to teams that they made a mistake, and I really don't think I did that. I'm not active on the VHL discord and I don't have connections with many GM's, so maybe my not hearing from them really should be a sign to me. I'm exciting to see what happens though.