S93 North American Draft (+Offseason) Grades!

[Spartan 4,003]

Per @JCarson's request during the VHL Draft stream last night, I'm back with another post-draft/offseason recap/grading article! I could only find the S90 article for the last time I did this, so I've missed a few seasons and am due to write another behemoth on the forums #forumcontent. For some context, I used to just grade the first round, but I'm going to grade on a team by team basis this season so that I can look at a team's moves and picks as a whole and shout out more folks who were selected this draft. I will also try and keep it concise with less emphasis on formatting and making it look pretty.

 

Also as a disclaimer, I'm usually pretty pessimistic vs being optimistic. So if you want to feel better about your grades, bump it up a sign I guess. Like B+ to A-, or C- to C. Take it with a grain of salt though I'm just writing some shit for fun. I'm not an expert, clearly. Nothing here is personal. You're all lovely people for the most part and I wish you all the best (unless you play against Moscow).

 

Edit: Turns out that this will just be part 1 of 2, as I don't want to cover both NA and EU in a single sitting. See you later in the week for the EU Conference coverage!

 

North American Conference

Calgary Wranglers - @leandrofg 

 

Calgary entered this offseason as the only team facing both cap and roster issues, and had to find ways to navigate around this. They began by sending out Sadie St. Louis @sadie to Seattle as a cap dump, then proceeded to also ship out Oreo McFleury @JB123 in another trade to Seattle. Seems like the Seattle - Calgary pipeline will be continuing even without Ricer at the helm of the Wranglers, as CGY made a whopping 3 trades with Seattle in a single offseason (although the third trade was just a pick upgrade/swap). While Calgary is cap compliant now, they roster only 4 forwards and 3 defensemen with just 6.5 million in cap space. It'll be interesting to see how CGY will fill out their roster, or if they'll choose to just retool/rebuild their roster and ship out players to other teams with cap and roster space. In the draft though, CGY brings home a familiar user in @Rhynex Entertainment and Miner Vhler, along with Carson Tripp @Cartripp14, Oliver Loo @Peiffy, Wladyslaw Mintus @mintusaurus and some other folks in the 4th round, including recently MIA user @jake and Trimiskez Artav. Miner Vhler was a player expected to slip in the draft due to a very odd build, while the other prospects will be projects that Calgary will need to significantly invest in to see development. There's certainly potential for steals in Carson Tripp and Wladyslaw Mintus who have been around discord/forum/draft stream, but the earning will need to match the activity to see proper value. Overall, I'm confused about Calgary's direction this offseason - shipping out strong players but going for draft pick quantity over quality, and whether they'll ice a decent enough roster for next season. With just about a week left in the offseason, they will have to be praying for a free agent pickup or for trades to go their way.

 

Grade: C

 

 

Chicago Phoenix - @badcolethetitan 

 

My last article in S90 called Chicago's situation "one of the worst ever involving GM transitions" and that Cole would have his work cut out for him. Chicago has surprised, flashing potential off of the back of Scotty Sundin in S91, but also playing their way out of lottery picks that they desperately needed. Chicago's roster looks better on paper now, but is still very young and needs time to develop. Chicago was quiet this offseason, not making any trades pre-draft despite rumors circling of various offers and discussions in the works. In the draft though, Chicago landed UghSike @UghSike at 5th overall, bringing home a very solid forward prospect who should be VHL ready within a season. With their 2nd round pick, they decided to take a gamble on Jean-Pierre Devote @eagle_3450, a projected top 3 player who had his draft stock tank in the weeks leading up to the draft due to inactivity concerns. It'll be a risk for Chicago, but with UghSike's selection in the first, they decided that the risk might be worth the gamble. Interestingly enough, it seems like their real target all along was Vanuza Kolesinska @chikn, a player and user with close ties to defenseman Karol Lamb @dlamb, as CHI traded two future 2nds to PRG for the player. Also drafting Micah Cederbaum @MicahC and Kevin OConnor @Luke033, Chicago has seemingly replenished their prospect pool - for their forwards at least, which was already their strongest group on paper. With only 3 defensemen contracted for S93 and 5 forwards, Chicago is also in a position where they're lacking a complete roster. Without any trades to fill holes and free agency seemingly not going their way so far, they're left to play the waiting game and see what limited opportunities are left.

 

Grade: B-

 

 

D.C. Dragons - @FrostBeard 

 

A team coming off of a Continental Cup win simply can't be criticized, right? WRONG, according to members of the VHL peanut gallery. GM John FrostBeard invited the wrath of the public when he made a curious draft day trade with Moscow, acquiring 19th overall from Moscow in exchange for their S94 DCD 1st round pick. What was he thinking?? Was there collusion?? Does Euron Leonidas have nude pics of GMs around the league??? Speculation was rampant, but DC quickly put concerns to rest with the selection of goalie Herald Benson @Benson at 19th overall during the draft. D.C. sorely needs a goalie prospect for the future with Henry Tucker @NSG facing retirement, and they entered the draft knowing they couldn't risk missing out in another goalie rich draft. D.C. otherwise is bringing back most, if not all of their cup winning roster, setting the stage for another strong season for the Dragons. With Brash Candicoot @TrinityMonk (name of the draft candidate??) and potential future backup goalie Connor Hellebuyck @HockeyFan4Life joining the organization via the draft as well, the Dragons are comfortable with their prospect pool as they look to expand upon their current success.

 

Grade: A- (gave Moscow another 1st so it drops from an A )

 

 

Los Angeles Stars - @InstantRockstar 

 

S90: "Simply put, the Stars are stuck in the mud." We can probably keep that leading sentence for LA as they enter an era without any of their top players. LA decided to take the route of Chicago back in the late 70's and attempt to compete all the way through the retirement of their top stars including Art Vandelay @Gustav  and Todd Cooke @KRZY. Now they're in a spot with minimal roster players, a shallow prospect pool, but a deceent collection of future draft picks from trading away Eric Queefson @twists, Sunglasses Joyo @JetsGoalie101 and Larry Abass Jr @RileyL. This draft, LA decided to take the best players they could get their hands on at each pick - as their position need was everything. WWumbo @Fire Tortorella, Taylor Swift @lilchrist, Connor Simard @Alex99 and Marc-Andre Fleury @ElementStyx9 won't move the needle for LA anytime soon, but some may turn out to be solid foundation pieces in LA's rags to riches rebuild. LA's biggest worry is meeting minimum roster requirements, which is probably the first time a VHL team has had that issue in recent memory. They've got a long road to success ahead, and this offseason just didn't really move the needle for them. There's still time to get roster compliant, but they sorely need young players to start some path out of the rebuild.

 

Grade: F

 

 

New York Americans - @STZ

 

Another team with a new GM since my last offseason recap! NYA got an F for their roster management and sketchy draft picks last go around. This season though, NYA made just one trade with Malmo to acquire Jebediah Big Ol Doinks in Amish @hylands  while trading down just a few picks in the 1st round of the draft. With their sole S93 selection at 11th overall, New York took Chris Reynolds Jr @Crstats23 who is quickly becoming very well known around the league for churning out extremely solid pension players while remaining very loyal to a franchise. Most of New York's roster stuck around, with Callum Gary Yannick Janser @Daniel Janser signing a long-term extension as well with the American team. Between Jasper Davis @Josh and FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist @STZ leading the forwards, a strong trio of young defensemen and the top rookie goalie from last season @rory, New York will certainly be considered one of the favorites to make a deep playoff run in the NA this season.

Grade: A

 

 

Seattle Bears - @Banackock 

 

Might be best to just skip over Seattle, otherwise I risk facing Bana's wrath regardless of what I say. But I'm a sucker for punishment so lets cover em anyways! Seattle entered the offseason with controversy, taking a mild lottery odds punishment from the VHL Commissioner's Office for illegal backup goalie management. That punishment ended up with Seattle losing out on the 1st overall pick to Davos, but instead securing 2nd overall due to lottery rules on dropping spots. Gianfranco Del Rocco @Victor was an easy pick for Seattle who will hope that Victor can go back to his HoF player ways. Seattle was also active in the middle of the 1st round, trading a S94 WAR 1st round pick to Moscow along with pick 31 to Moscow in exchange for 10th overall and 34th overall, where they selected Nathan Ecker @Nathan_8 and Marek Nowaczyk @Chillybro. Add in Cole Stermer @Bazeus, Filip Zinek @FiZi and Enn Jinn @jhatty8, Seattle has added a lot of youth to their once depleted prospect pool. Outside of the draft though, Seattle was very involved in trades with Calgary, acquiring the aforementioned Sadie St. Louis and Oreo McFleury for cheap as they enter retirement. Add in Henry Eagles @Greg_Di who oddly passed over multiple FA offers from presumed cup contenders, and Seattle seems to be attempting a speedrun out of a rebuild. Whether their forward trio acquisitions will be enough to move the needle is yet to be seen, but Seattle still lacks a quality goalie starter and talent on defense. If Seattle crashes and burns this season, they may regret the picks spent to bail Calgary out of cap hell, as they didn't add any strong defense or goalie talent - instead choosing to add Ecker to an already young forward group. I'm mostly curious to see if Bana convinces someone on the roster to position swap to defense. Severyus Targaryen anyone?

Grade: B

 

 

Toronto Legion - @Moon 

 

Did Toronto even show up to the offseason? With just 2 picks in the S93 draft and 0 trades made, Toronto seemed to be content to sit tight and bring back their entire roster from last season. Toronto added defensemen Gul Dukat @MSouthworth and Phil Taylor @Legacy in the draft to replenish their very shallow defense room, but they still only have 2 defensemen on the roster right now. Toronto also has just 2.5 million in cap space, so it'll be extremely tough for them to add more than just a single cheap defenseman. Are they really this confident in their forwards and goaltending? And what moves will they make to get a defenseman, as half the league seems to be actively looking for cheap defensemen to fill their roster out with. Toronto will need to wake up and make a move, or risk just gambling away another season of Jimi Jaks @ke1vi and Mac Atlas @v.2  who are still hot commodities around the VHL trade market.

 

Grade: D

 

 

Vancouver Wolves - @Frank 

 

Despite being fairly deep into a rebuild, Vancouver surprisingly had just a single pick in the S93 Draft, and that was to select Annie Oaks @Noodle Enjoyer at 4th overall. Oaks was considered one of the top first gen prospects in the class, considered somewhat interchangeable with UghSike and Nathan Ecker for forwards. The Wolves got to take their pick of the litter and came out with a very strong forward pick to join the team in S94. Vancouver was surprisingly active with trades, moving 19th overall for Left Alone @okochastar from Moscow, and a small package of picks for veterans Sunglasses Joyo and Larry Abass Jr from LA's fire sale. Some might speculate if this is an attempt to have a rebound season and keep Liv Slater @Subject056 happy, as the rest of the roster still does not have a single player over 700 TPE. Could VAN be tanking their chances for a high draft pick next season with these moves? Or is Frank being shrewd and holding onto 3 veteran players who will likely fetch some interest at the deadline? However, I still believe that Slater still being on the roster after Analfist was traded last offseason is a criminal offense, and that Slater has effectively been put in VHL jail. While she had a fantastic individual season in S92, she's not getting any younger - and the trade offers that VAN once would have received for Slater are starting to dry up.

 

Grade: B-

 

See you later in the week for European Conference coverage!

(2,237 words)

[Chillybro 9]

Seattle is gonna cook this season (don't quote me on this)

[Victor 10,550]

13 minutes ago, Spartan said:

Might be best to just skip over Seattle, otherwise I risk facing Bana's wrath regardless of what I say. But I'm a sucker for punishment so lets cover em anyways!

I mean that sentence isn't gonna help you regardless

[Spartan 4,003]

Just now, Victor said:

I mean that sentence isn't gonna help you regardless

[Frank 4,780]

 

Liv Slater rn @Subject056

[Moon 550]

3 hours ago, Spartan said:

Toronto Legion - @Moon 

 

Did Toronto even show up to the offseason? With just 2 picks in the S93 draft and 0 trades made, Toronto seemed to be content to sit tight and bring back their entire roster from last season. Toronto added defensemen Gul Dukat @MSouthworth and Phil Taylor @Legacy in the draft to replenish their very shallow defense room, but they still only have 2 defensemen on the roster right now. Toronto also has just 2.5 million in cap space, so it'll be extremely tough for them to add more than just a single cheap defenseman. Are they really this confident in their forwards and goaltending? And what moves will they make to get a defenseman, as half the league seems to be actively looking for cheap defensemen to fill their roster out with. Toronto will need to wake up and make a move, or risk just gambling away another season of Jimi Jaks @ke1vi and Mac Atlas @v.2  who are still hot commodities around the VHL trade market.

 

Grade: D

Just you wait Spraytan, just u wait

[twists 276]

I am a good player!