The Almost-Too-Late Look at the Top 6 Teams in the VHL Draft

[der meister 3,160]

I know I haven't done a narrative media spot in some time. I don't know how much the VHL community enjoys those stories - I know the Ryuji stuff got some traction - but this doesn't feel like the time yet. Or maybe I'm just not feeling very creative due to work stressors and my impending birthday; who knows? But the narrative doesn't return this week, because I wanted to do a bit of an analysis of the teams at the top of the upcoming VHL Entry Draft, mostly for my own knowledge. Some General Managers I'm pretty familiar with, some I have never interacted with. And if you ask me to name roster players on those teams, I'd probably be unable to name more than one, if I was lucky. So, without further ado, the current draft order:

 

1 - Calgary Wranglers
2 - Calgary Wranglers
3 - Los Angeles Stars
4 - D.C. Dragons
5 - Helsinki Titans
6 - H.C. Davos Dynamo

 

 

1 and 2- Calgary Wranglers
    This is a team that, as far as I can remember, I have never had a player play for, which is kind of appealing to me, to be honest. Looking at their roster, they seem like a team that wants to bounce back quickly and be competitive as soon as possible, which I can appreciate. I know they just acquired Boom's player, Ari Dassler, but he's heading to unrestricted free agency and there's no guarantee he will sign with the Wranglers. They also have an excellent center in Raimo Tuominen, and those who know me from the SHL will know how much I like the Finns. They have quite a bit of depth on the wings in Kyle Toms, Catia Gonclaves, Keita Kourou, and Miner VHLer [really? that name...], but it's also a fairly old group, with Kourou being a S87 draftee and Toms being a S89.

 

    Defensively, they've got a good core with veteran Moritz Stauffer, Joe Block, Leif Reingaard, and Carson Tripp, with only Tripp being below the 600 TPE threshold (though he is well below it at just 390). Goal is not a strength of the Wranglers, with only David Slezak, a S91 draftee with 414 TPE, throwing on the pillows.

 

    Looking at the prospect ranks, there's some potential with a couple of 300+ TPE players there, though I honestly don't recognize any of the usernames and don't know if any have gone inactive.
    
    And in terms of management, I've never really had any kind of in depth conversations with either Assistant General Manager Daniel Janser or General Manager Leandrofg, a name I have to look at and triple check as I'm typing it. They both seem like standup individuals based on general board conduct, however, and I can totally see myself playing for this franchise.

 

 

 

3 - Los Angeles Stars

    Finishing almost 40 points behind the Wranglers but still picking behind them are the L.A. Stars. Surprisingly, this is also a team I've never played for. Up front there are multiple usernames I recognize immediately, including Hogan, samx, and youloser, all of whom were S94 draftees and therefore very young into their careers. Of those three, samx's Pombo, a left winger, leads the TPE count with a sliver under 500. The problem with L.A. is that Pombo is also the second most developed player on the entire team, barely trailing veteran defender Darko Alexander Malkovich, which in itself is a hell of a name. Still, with those three forwards all on the roster, the Stars have the makings of a very good top line for years to come.

 

    Along with Malkovich, the Stars have another veteran in Mason Rice, who is still serviceable, and yet another S94 draftee in Erik Thorvaldsson. Thorvaldsson will absolutely be the star of the blue line by the end of the year and will likely pile up the point feeding that top forward line. So from a prospect/recent draftee perspective, the Stars are in tremendous shape.

 

    Unfortunately for them, they don't have a goalie. That's not an insult; they literally do not have a goaltender on their roster. I'm not sure how that's possible as whenever I've made a player I get a little message saying there are currently too many goalies and maybe I should consider not making one of those.

 

    From a management perspective, I'm somewhat familiar with InstantRockstar and [I don't think] at all familiar with KRZY. From the way they're building, and the fact that they have a young top line already, I'm not even sure if Shevchenko is on their radar.

 

 

4 - D.C. Dragons

    I'll be honest with y'all, and this isn't insider information or anything like that: if I'm still on the board at 4, I'd be shocked if D.C. didn't pick me. My last player played in D.C. and I developed what I like to think is a pretty strong relationship with General Manager Frostbeard, and I've known Assistant G.M. Orbiting Death for what feels like forever. These are two guys I could absolutely picture myself running with for years to come, some real Bad Boys for Life shit. And to be clear, this isn't me angling to put pressure on them to pick me or anything like that - if they have the chance to draft me and pass me by, I won't take it personally.

 

    All that being said, this roster is SPARSE. Two forwards, in the form of the aforementioned InstantRockstar's Theo Allard and Cookie's Tom Dufour, both of whom are S91 draftees, make up the entire forward unit. Similarly, the squad has but two defenders in DB IV and Eurydyka Sklodowska Dudzinska, a name that looks like it would fit right in with my grandmother's side of the family from the Warsaw, Poland region. DB IV is the youngest player as a S92 draftee and has eclipsed the 500 TPE mark, which is a good sign, though wcats seems to be a welfare player at this point, so the potential is pretty limited.

 

    Finally, in net we have Benson's player, Herald Benson, who is a S93 draftee and at 485 TPE. Benson is earning a full 12 every week, so he's definitely going to be a key part of the Dragons' future success.

 

 

 

5 - Helsinki Titans

    In terms of teams at the top of the Draft table, and honestly maybe VHL teams overall, I've had the most individual success as a member of the Titans. I'd have to go back and do research, but I think I won 5 Cups there? Maybe it's only 4. Either way, it seemed like every time I was in Helsinki, we were rolling, and rolling BIG. Going back to Helsinki would be something I'd be interested in, especially if I can help history repeat itself and pile up some league titles. 

 

    The roster appears to be in pretty good shape, with a good mix of younger and veteran players in the forward ranks. The youngest player, Maple Dogwood, is a S94, and while not quite as established as some of the other S94s highlighted earlier in this article, is earning steadily, which is obviously what you want from young players.

 

    On the blue line, there is work to be done, with only two players suiting up for the Titans. Both are pretty decently developed, but neither are what you'd consider a prospect at this point, as Tommy Sleeves and Celise Pereira are S90 and S89 draftees, respectively.

 

    In net is Royski's rather bombastically-named player, THE MIGHTY ICE WIZARD, which is just fabulous. Another S94 draftee, he has 440 TPE and is earning steadily, as he has two on-site jobs that are paying him 10 TPE weekly. Ultimately, the Titans are in a similar place as the Dragons, though a big step ahead on the forward front.

 

 

 

6 - H.C. Davos Dynamo

    I gotta be honest: I didn't know much about Davos until my recent article where I actually looked up a picture of the city, and holy crap guys, I am sort of obsessed with how gorgeous it is. It skyrocketed up my list of places I'd like to visit some day.

 

    Easily the most ready-to-compete team in this list, Davos is borderline stacked up front with players from CowboyInAmerica [who hates me on a personal level], FrostBeard, Frescoelmo, Vice, mmrs617, and UghSike, the least-developed of whom is well beyond the 400 TPE threshold. They actually have two centers in Cowboy's Antonia Bucatini and Vice's Johnny Tsunami, and Frostbeard's Grimgor Ironhide is a 6'8" monster of a player. They're also all remarkably young, with Ironhide being the oldest as a S91 draftee, so I'm not sure quite where Shevchenko might fit in that group.

 

    Defensively, they've got a foursome of power with Ben Laas, David Jokinen, Felicia Hardy, and Sunset Moth, made up of four users I've had varying degrees of interaction with but are absolutely names I recognize. In net, they're actually in pretty good shape with starter Snussu's player, Aleksanteri Kaskiniemi-Kekkonen, who is making steady progress. They also have a deeeeeep prospect pool, with several players possibly making long-term impacts with the squad, and a staggering three goalie prospects, though I believe they are all inactive.

 

 

 

1,522 words

Edited July 24 by der meister

[der meister 3,160]

claiming week 1 of 3

[der meister 3,160]

Week 2/3

[Daniel Janser 2,137]

Just to add some trivia: Davos' hockey stadium is the building at the very left, next to the football (soccer) field. It is labeled a cathedral of hockey, as the sport is kind of a religion in these parts (Davos being the record Champion in Switzerland with 31 titles, the last of them in 2015), the fans are relatively quiet for European standards (so it is 'quiet like in a church') and the architecture inside reminds (remotely) of some of the gothic cathedrals abound in Europe, including looking like a cross from above.

 

[der meister 3,160]

On 7/29/2024 at 8:39 AM, Daniel Janser said:

Just to add some trivia: Davos' hockey stadium is the building at the very left, next to the football (soccer) field. It is labeled a cathedral of hockey, as the sport is kind of a religion in these parts (Davos being the record Champion in Switzerland with 31 titles, the last of them in 2015), the fans are relatively quiet for European standards (so it is 'quiet like in a church') and the architecture inside reminds (remotely) of some of the gothic cathedrals abound in Europe, including looking like a cross from above.

 

 

The world championships or something were held there a handful of years ago and I remember falling in love with the architecture. Such a cool building.

 

Week 3/3