Season 96 VHL Entry Draft Re-cap

[Smarch 3,189]

Season 96 VHL Entry Draft Re-cap

This past week the annual VHL Entry Draft took place, allowing VHL prospects to take their first steps towards hopefully a long and productive VHL career. Today I will look back at some of those players that were drafted in the most recent draft.

1^st Overall: Pan Daffleck (Prague Phantoms):

Daffleck was the consensus first overall pick for most of the season heading into the VHL Entry Draft and the Phantoms made that thought a reality when they stepped up to the podium last Friday to start off the draft. Daffleck spent last season with the Cologne Express, putting up three goals and five assists in seventy-two games with the Express. A defensive defenseman by nature, Daffleck wasn’t expected to put up big offensive numbers so the Phantoms know they shouldn’t be expecting much offensively from Daffleck next season in what will be his first VHL season. Daffleck was also selected in the VHLM Dispersal Draft after the VHLE stopped operations this off-season. Daffleck was selected third overall by the Mississauga Hounds, but with 425 TPE earned to date, it appears that pick won’t pan out for the Hounds.

 

2^nd Overall: River Harrington (Moscow Meance):

Harrington was taken second overall by the Moscow Meance but could have easily gone in the top spot of the draft with 403 TPE on draft night. Harrington spent the last two seasons in Ottawa with the Ottawa Lynx of the VHLM. Harrington saw action in ninety-one games with the Lynx putting up thirty-three goals and seventy assists in those ninety-one games. Much like Daffleck, Harrington is a defense first defenseman at this point of his career, with minimal TPE put into scoring and passing at this point. Harrington now sits at 426 TPE as of writing this article, which means he will likely see action his season in the VHL with Moscow however, Harrington has banked his last twenty-seven TPE which mean he currently sits under 400 TPE as we head further into the off-season.

 

3^rd Overall: Brandon Petan Jr (D.C. Dragons):

The next player selected in the draft was Brandon Petan Jr. who was taken third overall by the D.C. Dragons. Petan was the first forward taken off the draft board after a very productive season last year in the VHLM also with the Ottawa Lynx. Petan played in all seventy-two games last season with the Lynx, putting up an impressive thirty-nine goals and forty assists. The eighteen-year-old Canadian born forward will head to the American capital to hopefully lead the Dragons back to the playoffs, after the team has failed to qualify for the post-season the last two seasons. Currently as the league is in the middle of an off-season, Petan Jr was just recently announced as one of the nine forwards that will be representing Canada in the World Junior Championships. Petan currently has 413 TPE with 400 TPA applied, which means it will be up to the Dragons if they will make season ninety-six the rookie season for Petan Jr.

4th Overall: Alagsantere Groenvold (London United):

Next up on the draft re-cap is Alagsantere Groenvold who at the time of the draft had 359 TPE, which was only 30 TPE behind Petan Jr. Groenvold was drafted by the London United a team that is only one season removed from a 108-point first place season in the European Conference. Now the United are amid a rebuild with only one defenseman currently over the 400 TPE mark. Groenvold will join a VHL club that will desperately need defenseman but could also help the club offensively as he showed last season in the VHLM with The Mexico City Kings. With the United unlikely to contend for a playoff spot in season ninety-six, there is a very good likelihood that Groenvold will head back to Mexico City for another kick at the can with the VHLM based club. Groenvold is also heading off to represent his country in the World Junior Championship, as he will be representing Team World in season ninety-five version of the tournament.

5th Overall: Deadpanda (Moscow Meance):

With their second pick of the first round of the Season 96 VHL Entry Draft, Moscow Meance selected the first goaltender of the draft, Deadpanda. Last season Deadpanda put VHL teams on notice with a stellar VHLM season with the Las Vegas Aces. Deadpanda played in all seventy-two games for the Aces putting up a record of 50-15-7. Along with putting up league leading fifty wins, Deadpanda put up a .924 save percentage and 1.75 goals against average, which also led the league. Currently Deadpanda has 344 TPE, which means the forty-seven, yes forty-seven-year-old netminder will be heading back to the Sin City for another VHLM season. Unlike the prospect that were drafted ahead of him in the draft Deadpanda was not announced as being selected for the upcoming World Junior Championships, which might light a fire under the Portuguese born goalie.

 

6th Overall: Slava Kovalenko (Warsaw Predators):

Warsaw headed up to the podium for the first pick of their draft and selected Slava Kovalenko, the first, first generation VHLer taken in the draft. Since joining the VHL back on June 24, 2024, Kovalenko has continued to show his worth week in and week out on and off the ice. At the time of the draft Kovalenko had obtained 318 TPE, while on the ice for the Mississauga Hounds, Kovalenko put up an amazing twenty-four goals and sixty-five assists in seventy-two games with the Hounds. The eighty-night points that Kovalenko put up last season in the VHL, lead all defenseman in points, three points ahead of second place Mathias Gunnarsson.

 

7^th Overall: Joel Jakobs (Warsaw Predators):

The last player we will look at today was the player who was drafted seventh overall by the Warsaw Predators. With their second pick in the first round Warsaw looked to shore up their forward core by selecting Joel Jakobs. Last season in the VHLM with the Philadelphia Reapers, Jakobs showed what an offensive powerhouse he could be putting up thirty-three goals and sixty-two assists in seventy-two games. Jakobs took his play to the next level in the VHLM playoffs where he put up eight goals and sixteen assists in the Reapers fourteen game playoff run. With 262 TPE to date, Jakobs will need a bit more seasoning in the VHLM, but with an already impressive first campaign in the VHLM, Warsaw is very excited to add Jakobs to the fold.

 

For weeks:

October 7th-13th

October 14th-20

 

 

[eaglesfan036 4,605]

GOod to see you are still alive

[Banackock 8,123]

3 hours ago, eaglesfan036 said:

GOod to see you are still alive

Ty

[Banackock 8,123]

3 hours ago, eaglesfan036 said:

GOod to see you are still alive

Create a player plz and be good 

[eaglesfan036 4,605]

On 10/8/2024 at 6:55 PM, Banackock said:

Create a player plz and be good 

I've had a player for quite a few seasons now

[Banackock 8,123]

3 minutes ago, eaglesfan036 said:

I've had a player for quite a few seasons now

 

On 10/8/2024 at 4:55 PM, Banackock said:

Create a player plz and be good 

hehe yeah, I missed that and now I feel warm and fuzzy. 

[Smarch 3,189]

Claim week 2

[Scurvy 1,538]

Review:  I am here to review since I sucked terribly at trivia this morning. First, great article.  You constantly put together great articles that show tremendous amounts of research and forethought into the content. Draft re-caps require some research on the picks, teams, and the players themselves. Great insight into each draft pick that included some stats and player type with necessary details that give the reader a sense of the player and the type of player he/she will turn out to be. I also love the team logos  and text  color changes that help break up the article.  The only thing missing to get a 10/10 is a picture of Logan Ninefigers. lol

9/10