Tallinder's Draft Profiles Update: We are SO Back

[Patrik Tallinder 1,087]

Hello all, it's me again.

 

Maybe you saw my last VHL.com article, maybe you didn't. In case you didn't, the brief rundown is that I am looking at reintroducing my scouting content, but I just was not sure of the form it would take. After mulling it over, I've landed on perhaps the most obvious, and least creative option: bringing back my draft profiles series. I will be bringing an entirely new look to the series, as well as numerous features that I am excited to share. Some of these features are pending actual agreements between myself and the participants, so what I mention in this article is not necessarily final. That being said, here is a general 9-week schedule I hopefully plan to follow from the time the S94 VHL draft is over, all the way up until the S95 draft.

 

Week 1 - Previous season recap

• In Week 1, I plan to introduce my initial S95 draft rankings, as well as review the performance of S95 waiver pickups in the VHLM from the previous season. Additionally, I plan to hopefully interview one of the top re-creates of the draft, who may be an early favourite to go 1-3 overall in the draft.

 

Week 2

• In Week 2, I will bring back some familiar sections of my previous draft profiles, these being "Risers of the Week" and "Achievement Centre." The riser of the week and a player with a significant accomplishment (went high in the VHLM draft, got hired into a new league-related position, etc) will each get a player spotlight, where I give a few words on what I think their potential may look like.
• Additionally, I will present my updated rankings.

 

Week 3 - VSN Scouting Feature

• This is the biggest "IF" of this whole series at the moment. My plan is to hopefully have a brief interview with a member of VSN Scouting to help paint the picture of the S95 draft's potential as a whole, as well as maybe highlighting some of their dark horses early in the season. I have not asked about this, but I will closer to when I plan on writing the article. People have busy lives, so if no one is able to do the interview, I'll make sure to find something else interesting in its place.
• This week will also feature updated rankings, risers of the week, achievement centre, and a player spotlight for whoever has a significant achievement that week.

 

Week 4 

• This is a pretty standard week, featuring two player spotlights (riser of the week & achievement centre player of the week), as well as updated rankings.

 

Week 5 - WJC Spotlight

• This week will cover everything that connects the S95 draft and the WJC, such as GM hires from the draft class, as well as player selectees.
• I'm banking on hopefully one of the GMs being from the S95 class, as I plan to do an interview with one of the WJC GMs. If not, it still works out, and I'll ask them about the S95 players they selected for their team.
• The riser of the week will get a player spotlight, and there will be achievement centre, but no player spotlight in that section. Rankings will be updated.

 

Week 6 - Down to the numbers

• This article will be quite far along into the season, and it will look at the stat leaders among S95 draftees in the VHLM.
• There will be risers of the week and achievement centre, with achievement centre containing a player spotlight.
• Rankings will be updated once again.

 

Week 7 - First gen spotlight

• This article will feature a recap of all the draft class' notable first gens and their rankings (yep, those are updated again too).
• There will be risers of the week and achievement centre, but all profiles will be saved for the first gen spotlight.
• I plan to hopefully do a "first gen panel" of maybe 3 first gens who have proven to be promising prospects, asking them about their future, how they're enjoying the website, and other fun stuff that I haven't really outlined yet.

 

Week 8 - VHL GM Feature & Season Recap

• I'll hopefully be able to land an interview with a GM for this week, preferably someone with multiple first round picks or the 1OA pick. Just asking about their view of the draft class as a whole and what they hope to get out of it.
• I will look at VHLM award winners, such as cup winners, stat leaders, and potential individual awards that have not yet been voted on.
• There will be updated rankings, achievement centre, risers of the week, and a player spotlight for the riser of the week.

 

Week 9 - My personal mock draft

• My final draft rankings
• Depending on the strength of the draft class, I will do the top 16/32 picks, making graphics for the top picks. I'll include a blurb about everyone covered, including bits about their TPE earning, community presence, player builds, and VHLM seasons.

 

After that, we move on to the next batch of prospects. Let me know what you guys think of this format; I know it may be a bit difficult to visualize as I've kinda just thrown some key words and abstract sections with not much context at you. That being said, I'm excited to get this going again. If you're looking for any indication of what the achievement centre and risers of the week may look like, here's my last draft profiles article. The new ones will look different, but a lot of inspiration will be taken from those ones.