Lessons Learned From My First Draft

[Ozzy Batty 293]

The hardest part of preparing for a draft is trying to determine the draft strategy of the other General Managers. Yes, a draft is the opportunity to bring in new players for your team, but it is also a chess match with the other teams. At the end, I think it is important to analyze how I did in the draft and what things I can do better next time.

 

The first thing I realized is the nature of the M means that draft picks have different value than they do in a traditional draft. Players that I bring into the Mexico City Kings will, at best, be on the team for 2 seasons. There may be the odd player that is on the roster for longer than 2, but it looks like that is the norm. Ironically the players who earn TPE at a super-fast rate run the risk of being a one-season wonder. So I got a crash-course in draft pick value for sure.

 

I was selected as the General Manager of Mexico City about a week before the draft. My previous stint in a front office was as the Assistant General Manager of the Calgary Wranglers in the VHL. Player values and trade strategy followed, what I would call, traditional thinking so it all made sense to me. The goal is to build a winning franchise and the intent is to keep players as long as possible...but the VHLM is different.

 

So yea, draft position value is much different for sure. That was my first lesson.

 

My second lesson was the expectation of having a back-up goalie. I made the mistake of reading the rules for all of the VHL league levels in one sitting. I was also the General Manager of Team Europe which required me to have 2 goalies and to play both of them. I guess I combined all of that together and thought I had to have a back-up goalie. Not only did I think that I needed one, but I also thought that ALL teams needed a back-up. So as I put my draft board together I made sure to include a back-up goalie selection, trying to think long-term as well. I wanted to make sure I had a back-up that would be more of a long-term project because of the value I place on a good goalie. I was pleased to get my back-up but wasnt sure why other teams were not picking them. I thought they were going to rely on signing back-ups via waivers since they had their main goalies. This incorrect belief I held impacted my 6th round selection as well as I selected a 3rd goalie, thinking that I would be able to trade that player for a selection in next season's draft.

 

But I was wrong....

 

Oddly enough, the VHLM does not require teams to have a back-up goalie. I found out we are the only level of the VHL that does not require that, as far as I know (that is a topic for another discussion...if I decide to even go there). At this point, I am not sure what is correct, haha. But the end result is that I have three goalies on my roster, when I only needed one. That mistake has a variety of impacts on the team....I could have selected a Forward instead of the back-up goalie. There were still quite a few good ones on the board that would have made an immediate impact on the team. But I didnt do it. By the time I was able to make another selection, the Forwards were few and far between. 

 

And I have 3 goalies....

 

So I cost our team a Forward that would make an immediate impact on the team, plus I have a goalie that will have to be released and another that, according to the league expectations, I did not even need on the team. 

 

Yes, there is more I learned, but those 2 were huge. I have made quite a few notes to apply to my draft strategy for my next one...never stop learning...never stop improving... 

 

Word Count: 613

Week Claimed: 20 Aug 2023

[Enorama 2,038]

38 minutes ago, Otis Boudreaux Jr said:

Oddly enough, the VHLM does not require teams to have a back-up goalie. I found out we are the only level of the VHL that does not require that, as far as I know

 

The VHL and VHLE have minimum numbers of backup game starts, but those backups are usually bot goalies. The reason we have those minimums is to give teams an incentive to have a human backup when they are available, to give them someone better than a bot for those 8 games.

[Ozzy Batty 293]

53 minutes ago, Enorama said:

 

The VHL and VHLE have minimum numbers of backup game starts, but those backups are usually bot goalies. The reason we have those minimums is to give teams an incentive to have a human backup when they are available, to give them someone better than a bot for those 8 games.

Thanks for the explanation!! Something new learned that could be beneficial later.

 

Appreciate it!