S95 VHLM Mock Draft + Playoff Predictions (>107.7% accurate)

[sadie 941]

Well, the last one of these mock drafts I did was 10 seasons and 2 years ago, and it's fun to be doing another one! This will also include my playoff predictions, which are of course entirely accurate and correct! I'm assuming for this draft's purposes that players already well above 200 TPE will proceed to the VHLE or VHL as they should (Spider Panda and David Pastanap). Also know that my mind is clouded with bias 80% of the time so I might have ranked your player too low. I also recognize that TPE ranks will shift, but it's fun to look at it as I think it should happen in this moment.

 

  First Round

         Halifax 4 - 0 Philadelphia

           Saskatoon 3 - 4 Mississauga       

        Miami 2 - 4 San Diego

Mexico City 4 - 2 Houston     

 

Semifinals

    San Diego 2 - 4 Mexico City

           Halifax 4 - 0 Mississauga

 

  Founder's Cup Final

          Halifax 4 - 1 Mexico City

 

Predicted Draft Order:

1. LVA

2. OTT

3. PHI

4. SDM (via HOU)

5. OTT (via SSK)

6. MIA

7. MIS

8. SDM

9. MEX

10. MEX (via HFX)

 

1. C - Ozzy Batty, Las Vegas Aces @Ozzy Batty

S94: 72GP, 43G, 71A, 114P, 133H, 35+/-

TPE: 169

If I was Las Vegas management, it would be really tempting to take Pan Daffleck, and get an ultra-reliable earner that has 2 HOFers under their belt already and has another one likely on the way in The Frenchman. But Ozzy Batty has already built up an impressive 30 TPE gap and is earning a very impressive 10.75 capped TPE weekly average over 4 weeks. Plus, they're coming off an incredible season with Mississauga, having put up almost 120 points as well as blocking shots well. Las Vegas desperately needs that high-caliber scoring center with the departure of Mad Villain in the draft. And although I haven't been able to be their teammate yet, the great content they've been putting out on the forum suggests an engaged and positive presence to have on the team! This would definitely be my pick for Vegas, should they choose to select a forward. I could just as easily see this be Daffleck.

 

2. D - River Harrington, Ottawa Lynx @kirbithan
S94: 19GP, 12G, 11A, 23P, 62SB, 3PPG

TPE: 133

Ottawa's one and only player not being redispersed in the VHLM Draft is their goalie, and although they are awesome, 0 skaters is less than ideal as a starting point. Going for a defenseman is a good starting point because it is important to nab one of these currently 4 100+ TPE D early. There are 10 forwards available with over 100 TPE (again, currently) in this draft, and it should be easy to grab one with their other pick at 5. It was a really, really tough choice between Pan Daffleck and Harrington but I think Harrington gets the edge due to the time he spent with the team last year- Ottawa may want to bring back one of their most instrumental players. In Kirbithan, you are getting a great member of the community, an always engaged max-earner, and a good locker room presence, as Ottawa already knows. Having put up great offensive and defensive numbers last year, Harrington is a force both at even strength and on the power play and has made it clear they would love to return.

 

3. D - Pan Daffleck, Philadelphia Reapers @OrbitingDeath

S94: 16GP, 5G, 11A, 16P, 52H, 3PPG

TPE: 139

All of Philadelphia's current forward group are leaving via the draft this year, leaving them to potentially bring back 1 defenseman and 1 goalie. While taking a forward here is enticing, I think Daffleck could be an even more important piece for this team. I make this pick here because I find it quite hard to believe that teams will let this user's player fall too far. Obviously in OrbitingDeath you are getting an great locker room presence who knows how to build a player that will perform at an elite level, and along with this a max earner. They are the user behind players like Duncan Idaho and The Frenchman. You also can be confident that they will not go inactive and that their TPE will be effectively applied. They are unquestionably a safe pick which for sure isn't always true in the M due to new players burning out or just losing interest. Looking forward to watching Pan's career play out!

 

4. G - Bartholomew Lorequavius, San Diego Marlins @jaypc8237

S94: 25GP, 17W, .897 SV%, 2.17 GAA, 2 SO

TPE: 150

Lorequavius is another player I think should be returning to the team they played with in S94. San Diego's will presumably not be able to resign either of their goalies unless it is through the draft, and I do not believe Spider Panda will play in the VHLM this year (although if I'm wrong, that changes this whole draft). This is an excellent chance for Lorequavius to take the step to being a starter after taking a back seat to Spider Panda last year. This user is earning quite well so far (and has made some lovely graphics). It makes a lot of sense for San Diego to bring them back but I would understand if they go a different direction due to quite a few potential VHLM graduates this year.

 

5. C - Brandon Petan Jr, Ottawa Lynx @sadie

S94: 19GP, 10G, 11A, 21P, 8+/-, 41H

TPE: 131

With Ottawa taking a D at 2, I feel that naturally the move is to take a forward next. Both Drosmis Sarkanis and Petan Jr look look tempting picks here, but once again, as with River Harrington, I think it's fairly likely that Ottawa would go for the player that was with them this past season. They know how Petan Jr operates already and has already performed well with them. I didn't really expect to pick myself going to the Lynx again (even though I'd love to) but that's the way my playoff picks affected this, I guess.

 

6. RW - Drosmis Sarkanis, Miami Marauders @Mr Bohannan

S94: 24GP, 6G, 9A, 15P, 25H, 12SB

TPE: 156

This would be a great pick for Miami if Sarkanis falls this far- the returning player with the 2nd most TPE would be a steal. Sarkanis' build looks good so far, and although it didn't translate to insane production with the Saskatoon Wild in S94, I think this will for sure pick up in S95, especially with the probable increased minutes Drosmis would be receiving with much of the current Marauders team having hit the 200 TPA cap for the VHLM. Although I could definitely see them going higher, I think they would find a great home with Miami, who has the opportunity to follow it up with another pick at 12. Mr Bohannan is a reliable user as well, with their previous player Matt Avens having had a long and successful VHL career and earning over 800 TPE. I think a big season is around the corner for Sarkanis.

 

7. LW - Bret Weier, Mississauga Hounds @Quanack

S94: 70GP, 11G, 12A, 23P, 82H, 4GW

TPE: 138

Bret Weier's numbers from last season may not knock you off your feet immediately, but they don't tell close to the whole story. 45 in 70 on by far the best team doesn't look great, but considering that (somehow) Weier at 138 TPE is the LOWEST ON THE ENTIRE HALIFAX TEAM, let's cut them some slack. In their last game, Weier only recorded 13 minutes of ice time while almost every user was played for 25+ minutes. Halifax has an incredible, incredible roster with 10 PLAYERS at the 200 TPA cap for the VHLM. There's only 3 who aren't and one is at 199. Let's use this as an opportunity to be excited for what Weier will surely be able to do when given the minutes they deserve. I think this would be a great pick for a Mississauga team in need of top forwards, given all but 1 are departing through the draft. Quanack also appears to be engaged and committed, having recorded a (very well done, I recommend it) podcast episode recently (which many people wouldn't want to do).

 

8. D - Alagsantere Groenvold, San Diego Marlins @VattghernCZ 

S94: 16GP, 3G, 7A, 10P, 28H, 23SB

TPE: 115

After having selected a goalie in this theoretical universe, I think San Diego would be very thankful to have the opportunity to get Groenvold out of this draft. Arguably a player that should go higher than this (considering Vattghern's last player was the fantastic Wann Kerr), anyone would be happy to bring them home at 8. It appears that San Diego may lose all of their current 4 defensemen, with 2 departing for the draft, and the other two having reached 200 TPA, so it makes logical sense to bring in a big name to fill that void. Groenvold has looked at home right away for Mexico City, and will no doubt be an extremely well built player. Vattghern's earning habits also need no questioning, having maintained amazing earning for the duration of Kerr's career, and enough to break the 1700 TPE threshold. It will be exciting to see how far Alagsantere goes in these playoffs!

 

9. D - Alex LeBlanc, Mexico City Kings @Psanchez55

S94: 66GP, 16G, 48A, 64P, 140H, 133SB

TPE: 124

LeBlanc has been an huge part of the Houston Bulls' impressive journey to 93 points, and in years without a draft class this top-heavy with defensemen, may well have gone higher than this. All four Mexico City defensemen will enter the draft, so shoring up the blueline and goaltending will be priority number 1 as they still do have a shot at resigning some of their current forwards. Alex LeBlanc fits the bill here and will provide reliable physical play as well as give their all for the team, as evidenced by their hits and shots blocked numbers. Psanchez has also been earning very well, and has submitted 6 TPE PTs in every week of LeBlanc so far; it certainly seems this will continue, as their activity across multiple leagues suggests.

 

10. G - Chazz Michael Michaels, Mexico City Kings @Xflexz

S94: 10GP, 6W, .893 SV%, 3.06 GAA, 1 SO

TPE: 101

In this universe, gets the fortunate opportunity to select back to back, and I believe they would use it to fill the other need I stated before- goaltending. It was a tough choice initially between Dustin Wolf and Chazz Michael Michaels, given that Wolf already plays for the team and naturally they wouldn't mind bringing him back, but I think this is a case where earning habits do make up the difference. The Andorran Michael Michaels sits just 2 TPE ahead of Wolf, but has done this in just 2 weeks as opposed to 5 for Wolf. Base rollover TPE has made a difference, but the max earning habits of Michael Michaels will cause them to surge ahead and be the clear better choice, even taking into account prior team. Xflexz also has history on their side, having been the user behind 900+ TPE player Jimmy MacElroy last time around.

 

 

Word Count: roughly 1850

claiming for weeks 14/7, 21/7, 4/8

Edited July 18 by sadie

[LucyXpher 1,585]

Fantastic article!  Your mock draft was really well done and the write ups on each player were well detailed and researched!  

[Mysterious_Fish 405]

6 hours ago, sadie said:

  First Round

         Halifax 4 - 0 Philadelphia

           Miami 3 - 4 Mississauga

Saskatoon 2 - 4 San Diego

Mexico City 4 - 2 Houston     

 

Semifinals

    San Diego 2 - 4 Mexico City

           Halifax 4 - 0 Mississauga

 

  Founder's Cup Final

          Halifax 4 - 1 Mexico City

Wrong match ups would love to see predictions tho with correct match ups

 

[Mysterious_Fish 405]

but a great article

[sadie 941]

37 minutes ago, Mysterious_Fish said:

Wrong match ups would love to see predictions tho with correct match ups

 

thankfully i still have the same teams going out, so it doesn’t affect my draft order! go san diego, rooting for you guys!

[VattghernCZ 1,056]

 

jk, if Grønvold goes in the first half of the 1st, I'm cartwheeling haha. Fantastic read Sadie!

 

8th would be the 1st half of the 1st in the VHL, not the M, I'm dumb. But I'm still half sleeping lol

Edited July 6 by VattghernCZ

[OrbitingDeath 3,229]

This is why we need to update hof data in the portal with old players, lebeau, omalley, maximoff are sad now

 

[Ozzy Batty 293]

Appreciate the shout out. Im just trying to be the best teammate I can be....everything else is icing on the cake

[sadie 941]

claim for week ending 21/7

Edited July 15 by sadie

[sadie 941]

claim for week ending 4/8