Is Bocage the Best 12th Overall Pick of All Time?

[Grape 739]

Despite @Spartan 's attempts to sabotage my development and Bocage kind of just being a bum for most of his career, with his only superstar season being when he was the only high end defenseman on his team, I would say they have carved out a fairly decent career, with possibly a couple more seasons left in the tank, motivation-permitting. Whether this player continues on up to retirement, or they simply ride off into the sunset by the end of this season remains in the hands of Moscow. I’ve put it out there that if traded, I will retire, but I am benevolent. I would give the unlucky GM a chance to sway my opinion and continue forth with the golden years of my Bocage. But, for the sake of this article, let’s assume that Bocage’s career comes to an abrupt end, Simon doles out a suspension that lasts for the entirety of the playoffs and Spartan simply gets fed up and banishes me to the realm of darkness, never to return again. If that were to happen, how good is Obuz? There was little draft hype surrounding the defenseman and to be honest, not many would have considered him to be a franchise defenseman. Last time I checked, he ranks 3rd in their draft class in TPE, and has surpassed many of those taken before him. I would say Bocage served as pretty good value for the 12th selection in the draft, but how does he compare to the other 12th overall picks throughout the history of the VHL? 

 

> Starting off with S1, we have Tyler Toews. They played one less game than Obuz, and have around 180 less points. Safe to say Bocage clears.

 

> Season 2 shows Tommy Gunn, with about a season more worth of games over Bocage, but again, falls short on the point total by close to 150. Bocage clears

 

> Zach Parise is the pick in Season 3, and they come relatively close to Bocage in terms of points, but falls short with nearly 200 more games in their favor. Bocage clears

 

> Season 4 Steven Morin is the best looking pick so far, averaging .84 points per game with about 100 or so less games than Bocage. Unfortunately, Bocage is at .96 points per game so yea, Bocage clears.

 

> This one is pretty close. Miroslav Ladic out of Season 5 has a cup to their name and is just a tick over a point per game with 436 points in 432 games, which has Bocage beat. Maybe let’s take a look at their playoff statline: 47 GP | 13 G | 21 A | 34 PTS. Now, compare that to Bocage: 49 GP | 14 G | 38 A | 52 PTS. Beat me out in the regular season, but Bocage shows that he is the more clutch player. Bocage clears

 

> Back to an easy clear. Brian Malkin of the Season 6 draft put up 250 points in 429 games. Seems like it’s pretty concise. Bocage clears.

 

> Another cup winner in the Season 7 selection, Sebastien Perrin. Fortunately for me, this one won’t require too much digging to surpass. Perrin has an extra season worth of games on Bocage, yet falls 17 points behind them. Suffice to say add an additional season to Obuz and that gap widens quite a bit. Bocage clears.

 

> Good thing Bocage wasn’t drafted 11th overall, or else this would be a comparison with Hall of Famer Matt Bentz, although it may not necessarily be that lucky, as Robert Zygadlo is the selection in Season 8. Zygadlo beats out Bocage by a percent in points per game, with 490 in 504. I am not able to find any of their playoff stats either. However, I did look through all the awards and saw that Robert didn’t have any in the VHL, which Obuz did. Therefore, Bocage clears.
 

> Riku Iverson was selected 12th overall in the Season 9 draft, and there’s actually nothing more about this player. From what it appears, they never played a single game in the VHL, or VHLM, having only been drafted to New York and nothing more. Bocage clears.

 

> Another player who appears to have nothing about them. Bruno Becker was the selection in Season 10, and other than being traded a couple times, nothing much else there. Bocage clears.

 

> This one is kind of weird. Tayson Barabash of the Season 11 draft is the first goalie to pop up and I don’t really know how to necessarily compare them with Bocage. I suppose looking at their stats they appear to be a relatively reliable goaltender but nothing spectacular. No awards or anything like that so I guess I’ll say, Bocage clears.

 

> James Sullivan of the Season 12 draft looks like a real gamer. 1.15 points per game is pretty damn good. Two seasons less than Bocage and less than 100 points difference, one could probably make the argument that Sullivan would surpass Bocage if he had those two extra seasons slotted in there. The big difference in between them though comes in the trophy cabinet.  No individual awards for James in his career, which means, Bocage clears.

 

> For whatever reason, there are a couple players by the name of Edward Eldred. One in season 2, this one in Season 13, and apparently one way in Season 33 that had some controversy around him and I believe DDoS’d someone. Strange lore surrounding that name for whatever reason. But in regards to this 12th overall pick, I think (stat sheet has him as Edward Eldred 2, but could just be to differentiate, I don’t know), but basically, same amount of points as Bocage with an extra season on him. Pretty easy to say, Bocage clears.

 

> This one is annoying. There are apparently a ton of players with the name “Zach Voss”. The one we’re looking at is the goaltender drafted in Season 14, and what I can gather is, this guy aged like fine wine. Not much to really talk about in his earlier seasons, but S19 he chowed down. Seemed like a solid goalie for most of his career, I keep seeing “franchise” next to his name when I was digging around for things about him. Top VHL goaltender in Season 18 and 19 and absolutely dominated the S19 playoffs, outplaying Daisuke Kanou and winning the trophy the opposing netminder was named after for playoff MVP. This one is a toughy, as goalies are already kind of weird to rank. Trade the playoff MVPS, now you're comparing offensive defenseman of the year and overall defenseman of the year for one season compared to two goalie of the years in back to back seasons, which I still kind of just don’t know. Putting the mindset in a GM mode, and just seeing how kind of useless goalies are comparably speaking, I think I would go with Bocage. You can get a starter level goalie pretty easily and with a good enough defense, you can probably get that goalie to win some hardware. Much harder to just slap in a defenseman and turn them into an all-star. Bocage clears.

 

> Season 15 sees Teatime McScones, a one season wonder for the VHL. Barely breaks 30 points. Bocage clears.

 

> Vince Stephan of the Season 16 draft is a goalie, which like I’ve said before are annoying to compare because there’s pretty much no crossover on the stats. However, this one seems pretty easy. Stephan put up an .899sv% in his career which I think is kind of not good, so Bocage clears.

 

> Rhett Gouldhawke was the selection in Season 17. They appear to be quite a decent player, having won three Cups in their playing career and sit at 398 points in 360 games. While those make them look like a player that could give Obuz some trouble, it comes down to individual accolades. Rhett’s trophy case in the VHL simply consists of the team awards, and has nothing for himself, making him more so a passenger in the cup runs than an actual driver, compared to Bocage’s playoff MVP run. Bocage clears.

 

> Season 18 sees the selection of Gabriel Cederland, who got to tag along for the ride for the season 25 continental cup run. Their offensive numbers, however, are pretty lacking. In 502 games, Cederland put up less than half a point per game with 230, a far cry from Bocage’s numbers. Bocage clears.

 

> Sigmund Olofsson for Season 19 doubles Cederland in Cup wins with two, but again their offense is subpar. While a fair bit better than the previous selection with 355 in 434 games, it still falls short of Obuz. Bocage clears.

 

> A common Helsinki miss, Jon Maxfield in Season 20 appears to have never played a single VHL game. Bocage clears.

 

> Yan Feng broke into the league for a single season, being season 26, after being drafted 5 seasons previously in S21. Suffice to say they did not come close to Obuz’s success, with only 13 points in that one season. Bocage clears.

 

> Ronan O'Keefe appears to be quite the perplexing player. Being drafted in Season 22, they ended up winning a Cup in S26, but appeared to have played sparingly in the VHL across Season 23-26, with some movement thrown in there. In their 202 VHL games, they only put up 15 points. Can’t say they were a main factor in the success of their team with those numbers. Bocage clears.

 

> Swing and a miss with the Season 23 selection of Francois Marfo, never breaking into the league. Bocage clears.

 

> Another 0 game player in Season 24 with Byron Garza. Kind of neat looking at this draft and seeing so many Seattle picks in this one, though it’s kind of in the dark ages of the VHL so I feel like most of those guys were misses too. Bocage clears.

 

> A familiar name pops up in Season 25 with Miroslav Ladic. This one however did not go on to have the same success as his name twin, with seemingly nothing about him. Can’t find any stats or any articles regarding this Ladic, so I’m assuming it was a bust pick. Bocage clears.

 

> Season 26’s selection is Adam Cullen, someone who had a unique playing career, playing a full season in Season 29, skipping Season 30, and playing again in Season 31. This tomfoolery would not benefit him, as he only eked out 20 points in his career. Bocage clears.

 

> Kraphf Dringus in the Season 27 draft has 1 cup to their name but only 207 points in 503 games. Bocage clears.

 

> Pekka Svenson for Season 28 turned out to be a half decent goaltender, putting up a .915sv% in 198 games. With a bit of digging though, they were never a true starter, but was more of a tandem goalie. Bocage clears.

 

> Dylan Pope, the selection for Season 29, never played a game in the VHL. Bocage clears.

 

> Black Jesus in Season 30. Cool name, but no game(s). Bocage claers.

 

> Chris Bourque for Season 31 was apparently an absolute beast in the M, but never cracked a VHL roster. Bocage clears.

 

> Well at least Jesper Hellkvist from the Season 32 draft played some games. Hellkvist had 2 seasons in the VHL, but only able to spew out 61 points. Suffice to say, Bocage clears.

 

> I can’t even pretend to make an argument for this one. The 12th selection in the Season 33 draft is Niklas Lindberg. Lindberg has gone onto be inducted into our Hall of Fame, with a heavily stocked up trophy cabinet, a Stolzschweiger in 34, Boulet in 39, Slobodzian, Szatkowski, and a Brooks in 40, and two Continental Cups which he played a pivotal role in. Take away the awards and just looking at the points, Niklas managed to put up 717 points in 504 games. Absolutely dominating player in his era. Bocage does not clear.

 

> Back to easy pickings. James Ryan from the Season 34 draft never sniffed the ice in the VHL. Bocage clears.

 

> Magnus Hertzberg from Season 35 is another No-VHLer. Seems like they were pretty damn good in the M but could never push themselves to the next level. Bocage clears.

 

> Season 36 shows Gordon Bombay, who capped out at 47 TPE. Yea, gonna have to go out on a limb and say they didn’t make the VHL. Bocage clears.

 

> After that little spurt, Season 37 has a player that actually played in the VHL. Ron World Peace comes out with a Cup win to their name and appears to be a pretty solid player. 407 points in 504 games for their career is nothing to scoff at. Though, that falls short of Bocage’s 419 with Obuz having a season less. Bocage clears.

 

> Pretty interesting player for this one. Seth Rollins is the selection for Season 38, and despite never making it to the VHL and capping out at 50 TPE, the user was actually pretty active, being in the league from 2014 all the way to 2023, and put out a fair few articles about their player. It’s honestly impressive to be, even on and off, interacting in the VHL for nearly a decade and only having one player, who never even broke triple digits TPE. His last message was in 2015, but he still continued to visit the forum and do, nothing I guess? Bocage clears.

 

> Season 39 has Hudson Backenbauer, who got to play an extra game in a season due to a midseason trade. That additional game would not lead them to greatness, as they put out 24 points in their career and went pointless in 16 games in the playoffs.Bocage clears.

 

> Shadhu Rathod Jr. from the Season 40 draft put up some pretty decent numbers and had a very solid career in the VHL, putting up 423 points in 504 games. No Cups though and no individual awards to speak of. Bocage clears.

 

> The Season 41 draft produced a fairly consistent defenseman in Jakob Ackerman, putting up 383 points in 504 games. While they served as a solid and reliable player in the VHL, he never did anything spectacular and never produced any individual awards. Bocage clears.

 

> A.C. Savage is the pick in Season 42. Greatness was never to be expected for this player, as the user @Molholt came out and said that this player was gonna suck, they were bored of the league, and would retire by the end of Season 43. He followed through with that, dropping out with only 2 seasons of the VHL under his belt but a solid 80 points to his name. While Savage never panned out, at least Molholt’s next player had himself a pretty good run, being the leader in goals and points for the Toronto Legion franchise. But, for Savage, Bocage clears.

 

> Chuck Goody for Season 43 got to ride a seemingly stacked Toronto team and earn himself a ring, but didn’t really do anything more than that. 218 points in 7 seasons isn’t awful, but not anything to write home about. Bocage clears.

 

> I guess there are some discrepancies between the Retired Player posts and the All-Time Stats spreadsheet. Jefferson Jackson, the selection in Season 44, either put up 8 points in 34 games, or 10 points in 109 games.I would probably prefer the former, but either way, Bocage clears.

 

> I think for simplicity's sake I’ll use the stats sheet for their points and whatnot and look at the Retired Player posts for awards. Jace Hines for Season 45 put up 226 points in 504 games, and while they saw some team success in the M, they didn’t quite get any in the big leagues. Bocage clears.

 

> Alright, so this one is a weird one. This was back in the day where GM players basically went straight to their team, no questions asked. Molholt, the guy who’s player was a couple seasons ago, gets the Toronto GM gig and his player, Max Molholt, y’know, the guy that leads the franchise in goals and points, gets slapped onto Toronto. To make the rule somewhat fair, a pick has to be voided. That pick happens to be the 12th overall pick for Season 46. So now, it’s somewhat of a dilemma: Do I compare Bocage to the voided pick and take the freebie, or does Obuz have to go up against Molholt. I was originally planning on eating the comparison and moving down the list, there’s a pretty interesting thing I noticed. Yea, Toronto gives up their S46 pick, but Max is an S45 player, therefore couldn’t be drafted in S46 anyways, so that pick is a simple question mark on who they’d pick, and therefore, the void stands, and Bocage clears.

 

> Alright, no more of that chicanery. Season 47’s selection is Surly McGrath, one of those fairly common players recruited by something, makes a player, and leaves, as the user was only on the forums for a month and the player didn’t claim a single drop of TP. Bocage clears.

 

> Season 48 sees Dope Fiend as the selection. Hopes were likely high for this player as the user’s previous player earned around 800 TPE. Unfortunately, Fiend got smoked out of the league pretty quickly, fading away with only 16 points in 98 games. Bocage clears. 

 

> JJ Dynamite enters for the Season 49 draft. While they had a pretty long career with 342 games, it was not the most fruitful. In those games, Dynamite only managed to put up 114 points and had no awards to speak of. Bocage clears.

 

> Misha Tobolsk is the player for Season 50. Got a Cup win in Season 53 and 159 points in 360 games. Not a bad player but also not super good either. Bocage clears.

 

> Ales Blasek is the final selection in the Season 51 draft, making this probably the weakest draft I’ve ever seen just pure numbers-wise. This user seemed to be quite the big name back in the day, as they also created Hall of Famer Alex McNeil, but since that player they appeared to be on a steady decline and that’s amplified with this player, who apparently never even earned any TPE, sitting at their base 30. It’s one of those kind of sad relatively common stories of an old user who used to be super good and somewhat active ends up leaving the league (their last player before this one was a S33) and tries to come back after a while and just is never able to reignite that spark. Bocage clears.

 

> Another (sort of) void pick for Season 52, but this one actually has a player from the draft class attached to it. Maximus Theodore Power is a goalie and GM player for New York. GM players usually turn out to be pretty good, and while they did end up winning a Cup, Power didn’t really turn into anything special. A .906sv% in 90 games isn’t gonna get you any props from me. Bocage clears.

 

> Apollo Aho is the pick out of the Season 53 draft. Got one season under his belt and 51 points to show for it. Not good enough. Bocage clears.

 

> The Season 54 draft has Jon Snow as the pick. Another one season player who did slightly better than the one before him with 54 points. Again though, not good enough. Bocage clears.

 

> Lyle Smallwood is the pick in the Season 55 draft. There was probably some hype surrounding this player based on the user’s previous high earning skaters, but unfortunately Smallwood would not share that success. A relatively short career with 216 games played with a modest 134 points. Bocage clears.

 

> The Season 56 draft selection Augustus Gloop appears to have some good team success, being on the winning side of the VHL finals twice, in seasons 58 and 60. However they were likely a supporting cast member than a main star during those runs, with only 83 points in 213 games played in their career. Bocage clears.

 

> This one might be scary. @Quik, who appears to be a Hall of Fame player creating machine, puts together another one in Mats Johnsson for Season 57. 603 points in 576 games, no playoff MVP but showed up with 87 in 72, 2 cups, one in 59 and the other in 62, Valiq in 61, 2 Wyldes, one in 62, the other in 63, and a Labatte tossed in in 63 for good measure. I would say Obuz is honestly pretty close to Johnsson, a lot closer than what I originally thought when I saw Hall of Fame, but still, I have to give it to them. Bocage does not clear.

 

> Apparently I don’t have access to this selection’s Retired Player page, but it matters not. Season 58 shows Vladislav Koradek, a goalie who only played in the VHLM and never made it to their draft team of New York. Bocage clears.

 

> Theo Karlsson is the selection for the Season 59 draft and boy what a pick. No games in the VHL, capped out at 30 TPE. Bocage clears.

 

> Two more drafts until it’s integrated into the portal, which will make this go a lot faster for me, unfortunately @Beketov doesn’t link the player pages on his draft boards so I have to do more work to get there but c'est la vie. The draft selection for Season 60 is Matthew Keller. Despite having an insane season in the M, he never cracked the VHL and really didn’t earn much, capping out at 60 TPE. Bocage clears.

 

> The Season 61 draft shows Jacob Smith, who appears to be not half bad. Played 3 seasons in Davos and put up 105 points in 216 games. Other than being a force in the S61 M playoffs, not much else to say about this player. Bocage clears.

 

> Finally into the portal era for the drafts. I get to close some tabs and stop my laptop from sounding like a jet engine. It’s great to just be able to go to the player page and have everything laid out nice and neat for my viewing pleasure. Season 62 has @AW13’s first player, Oleksiy Revchenko. A respectable center for Calgary throughout their career. Playing 5 seasons with them, putting up 276 points in 360 games, with a season in Helsinki as punishment thrown in there. Good but not great. Bocage clears.

 

> Cool that I’m starting to see some active members and names I recognize start to pop up now. @Peace’s first player Rylan Peace is the selection for Season 63. Pretty strong career for a then first gen, with 467 points in 432 games split amongst Riga, Davos, and Toronto. The kicker is, no individual awards, just a single cup win with Toronto in S67. Bocage clears.

 

> This was definitely not a name I thought was gonna pop up when I was doing this. BladeMaiden’s goalie, Brick Wahl II is the selection in Season 64, and oh boy were they pretty good. While throughout their career they seemed to be an alright, slightly above average goaltender, they absolutely turned it up a notch in their final season, S71, winning the Shaw, Slobodzian, Funk, Clegane, and Campbell and putting up a .931sv% and a GAA of 1.97 in 64 games, they were an absolute wall that season. Career-wise not too bad either, with a .920 and a 2.5 in 495 games. While I would like to make an argument on how Bocage is better, I think it’s best I just give this one to Blade. I don’t want the simp army to return and come after me. Bocage does not clear.

 

> Season 65 sees a less dominant player in Viktor Kozlov, who got a free ride on a very strong Helsinki team, getting a ring as a result. They ended up playing 3 seasons in the VHL, all with different teams, and putting up 40 points in 198 games. Immensely funny statline for Toronto, playing 53 games and scoring 1 goal, for 1 point, and having a +/- of 1. Bocage clears.

 

> Ah Season 66, my first draft in the VHL. I can definitely say I’ve improved a bit, with my first player being taken 47th overall. The player we’re looking at though is John Frostbeard. If that name looks familiar, it’s because that’s @FrostBeard’s player. Subtle hint in the name. Winning two cups in Seattle and being a relatively active participant on the scoresheet in those playoff runs is pretty nice to see, but his points are a chunk less than ole Obuz. Frostbeard put up 296 points in 360 games with 3 different teams and no individual awards to speak of. At least Grimgor is panning out alright. Bocage clears.

 

> Oh, hello again Quik. At least this go-around I’m not going up against a Hall of Famer. No, Season 67 has ACL TEAR, who other than riding the pine on the S69 Vancouver Victory cup run, didn’t have much else going for them. 300 points in 503 games across 8 teams, I guess they were going for a different team every season or something, I don’t know. Doesn’t translate too well to success though. Bocage clears.

 

> First 12th overall pick to break into the 1st round of the draft. Season 68 has Wolf Stansson Jr as the selection. While they definitely had a long career, all with Prague, that loyalty did not pay off in both team success and individual success. Never going really anywhere in the playoffs and putting up 446 points in 576 games. A strong player on I suppose a weak team. Bocage clears.

 

> In the nicest draft, Season 69 has David O’Quinn going in the 12th overall spot. Pretty mid player in the VHL though, despite outstanding success in the M. O’Quinn managed to get 223 points in 360 games across 5 seasons and 3 teams. No awards at the VHL level for him though. Bocage clears.

 

> @ShawnGlade’s (I’m assuming) 3rd player, Shawn Glade Jr, takes the 12th overall spot in the Season 70 draft. This player did not seem to have a very long or fortunate career, with only 2 seasons played and 31 points to show for it. Unfortunately less than mid player. Bocage clears.

 

> The pick in the Season 71 draft is Zyrock12, a first-gen at the time who played big in the M and had a mediocre career in the VHL. 5 seasons split between Malmo and Riga with 189 points to show for it. Bocage clears.

 

> In Season 72 we have @a_Ferk’s player, Timothy Brown. Brown went on to have a pretty fruitful career with 555 points in his 7 seasons in the VHL, all with Seattle, and would also go on to help the Bears win 2 cups in his tenure. Definitely one of the better players so far on this list, but with no individual awards in the VHL, Bocage clears.

 

> Next up we have @SirRupertBarnes’s player, Dimitri Volosenkov in Season 73. Another long and loyal career, playing all 7 seasons of his career with London, amassing 487 points. Unfortunately he would retire with nothing in the trophy case from the VHL. Bocage clears.

 

> A controversial user comes up for the Season 74 draft in Diacope and their player, Kasper Kankkunen. While Kasper would be this user’s best player in terms of earning and production, having garnered 1247 TPE and 445 points in 432 games, they fall short in the accolades section with no awards to speak of. Bocage clears.

 

> Next up we have @emidas’s Joe Kelly for the Season 75 draft. A pretty short career for this player, having only played 2 seasons split between 3 teams, and accumulating 64 points in the process and never even seeing the playoffs in the VHL. At the very least, their lack of success turned their next player into probably the best 55th overall pick in VHL History. Bocage clears.

 

> Season 76 sees @Phil’s player, Phil The Rock Johnson. Very long career out of this guy with 579 games played in the big league with 452 points to show for it. Despite making the playoffs in all but one season, he was pretty much a nonfactor in each showing and his team never really saw much success in the postseason. Bocage clears.

 

> A ppg player hits the scene with Gustislav Nasherov for the Season 77 draft. In his 504 games he barely hit the mark with 507 points. Playoff success was limited though and not much individual success despite the very strong offensive production, especially in seasons 81 and 82 where he broke 100 points. Oh well. Bocage clears.

 

> We have our first player to enter the VHLE era of our glorious sim league. Bastian Greiss is the pick in Season 78. Had a cup of coffee in the VHLE with Stockholm in Season 80 and that’s as far as they’d go with no VHL experience. Bocage clears.

 

> Season 79 has a three cup winner in Omi Aberg. Aberg got to ride on 2 of the 3 seasons of the MetaWolves and did pretty alright for themselves, as well as got another cup with Warsaw in 84. They fell 31 points under a ppg pace, with 401 in 432 games, While the cup wins are a nice addition to their legacy, without any individual awards, they’re still a step behind Obuz. Bocage clears.

 

> A long 8 season career for the Season 80 selection, Logain Ablar was a reliable defenseman for his tenure in the VHL, although not really an offensive juggernaut by any means, putting up 373 points in his 552 games. That S88 season was especially poor, with only 48 games played and 8 points and a -6 to show for it. Limited playoff success as well. Bocage clears.

 

> The Season 81 draft showcases a good but not great first gen in Robert Wilk. Wilk was able to put together a 7 season career across 6 teams, amassing 364 points in 506 games. Not much success with his team or as an individual, with the only run going past 6 games being with the S85 Moscow Menace, and having a completely barren trophy cabinet. Bocage clears.

 

> Season 82 has a real franchise level defenseman in @Steve’s Max Torq. A long and bountiful 8 season career that saw Torq put up 569 points in 576 games with a ring to show off with the Season 83 Bears, where he was a point per game during that postseason. While during his tenure in the league he appeared to be a force to be reckoned with, there was always a player that beat him out, as Torq never won any individual awards. A strong supporting player, but still not part of the main cast. Bocage clears.

 

> Ivan Retoslav, @eagle_3450’s player, is the selection for Season 83. Retoslav put together a respectable 8 season career, with 495 points in 576 games and went on to win a cup with London in S88, putting up 25 points in the 23 game postseason. Too bad that cup is the only award to his name, as Ivan went on to win nothing else. Bocage clears.

 

> @JCarson’s Molly the Cat is the pick for Season 84. They came bursting onto the VHL stage, winning rookie of the year. Molly was also on the S88 London cup winning team, playing a big role in the success of that run. In his career, Molly managed to reach 606 points in his 576 games played, all with London. The lack of additional individual success strikes again however, as Obuz’s award portfolio looks much more impressive. Bocage clears.

 

> Next up is @Toast’s most recent player, Lloyd Braun for Season 85. This defenseman was kid of mid in the regular season, putting up 349 points in 504 games, but came up big for London in Season 93, winning playoff MVP despite his team losing. He would have a ring though from the Season 87 Calgary run. Other than that singular series, which would end up being his last, his other playoff runs were less than stellar and the wow factor wasn’t really there for this player. Bocage clears.

 

> Yea I’m fucking cooked on this one. Season 86’s 12th overall pick is none other than Hall of Famer Lachlan Summers @kirbithan, who some may consider the best goalie pretty much ever. 2 Campbells, a Slobodzian, 3 Shaws a Clegane, a Stolzschweiger, and a cup in S89 for good measure. An absolute dominating force throughout their 8 season career, spent mostly with Davos, posting a .931sv% and a GAA of 2.48 in 459 games played. Massive shoes to fill after Booberry left and they certainly filled them. Not only have they surpassed Bocage, At this point, Summers has surpassed everyone else taken 12th overall. Bocage does not clear.

 

> It’s kind of neat that it seems that after a HoF player that kind of just blows Bocage out of the water, a softball pitch is thrown next. Hannibal Barca is the pick for Season 87, and yea they were not very good. 3 seasons played in the bigs, with 45 points in 216 games. They also managed to squeeze out 1 point in 12 playoff games, but it’s also Warsaw so can’t really expect much. At least they got VHLE MVP in 89. Bocage clears.

 

> I can feel we are nearing the end, as this player is still playing in the VHL. Legacy Gaming @Gaming Ringleader is the selection for Season 88, and is currently rostered on the Chicago Phoenix, which I think will be their final season before retirement. They have been able to muster 428 points in 504 games, which is definitely not bad. They’ve also only had a positive +/- in 2 of their 7 seasons in the VHL, so either they’ve pretty much only been on bad teams (Chicago really hasn’t been that good), or they’re simply poor defensively (probably a mix of both). Bocage clears.

 

> Savaisk Tzesar @comrade cat takes the spot for Season 89. They may have won a cup by now if they weren’t cursed to be on Malmo, but alas, loyalty can be a curse. Regular season both Tzesar and Bocage can be directly compared due to having the exact same amount of games played. While Savaisk’s 417 points is not too shabby, Bocage beats them out by 2 with 419, and is more impressive due to Obuz being a defenseman. Additionally, while Malmo has had a fair amount of success recently, winning the Victory Cup in 92 and 93, playoffs have not been in their favor and Savaisk has not been a large factor in their runs except this most recent where they put up 18 points in only 8 games. Bocage clears.

 

> Season 90: Obuz Schneider Canet du Bocage. You are my sunshine, giving light to my day the moment I wake, making my vision clear and shining the path forward. You are my moon, illuminating the night sky, so I mustn’t rest in absolute darkness. You are the air that fills my lungs, yet you also are the one that takes my breath away. You are my protector, blocking the darkness that creeps towards me and ensuring I reach my salvation. You are my warrior, charging into the evil that conspires against me and snuffing out the flames of corruption before they spread. You are perfection, with no faults to show, yet you are always improving, pushing the boundaries of what is seen as the absolute and exceeding the believed barriers. You are, Bocage.

 

> These last handful of players are somewhat interesting, as their careers are younger than that of Bocage, so I’ll have to base it off projections and comparisons of previous Obuz versions. Season 91 has Mina @Baozi, a defenseman who has bounced around a fair bit, playing for 3 different teams so far, winning a cup with Seattle in 93. As of now, they have 242 points in 360 games, which is a rather large chunk away from the offensive production of Bocage. In a comparison, this season should have been their true breakout, as it was for Bocage at this point in his career, yet they didn’t even sniff a ppg. Bocage clears.

 

> Season 92 has DB IV @wcats. When comparing them to Bocage, they are honestly pretty similar in their 2nd - 4th seasons. Bocage has a slight edge here and there, but the main difference comes in that rookie season. DB IV only got 15 points in their first season, whereas Bocage doubled them up and then some with 35 points. As of now DB IV has 200 points in 4 seasons, which, scaled up to Bocage’s game amount, would end up being 300 points. That poor rookie production really hurts their ppg and while I don’t think they’ll end up that low, as it’s more of a gradual increase than a linear one, I also don’t think they’ll have the same success as Obuz. Bocage clears.

 

> Next up we have a goalie for the Season 93 draft. Aleksanteri Kaskiniemi-Kekkonen @Snussu out of Davos comes into the fold. With only two seasons in the league so far, one as a starter and the other as a backup, it is hard to project how good they’ll be. They played very well in the postseason for S95, putting up .930sv% and a 2.59 GAA on a really not that good Davos team, but has been replaced this season with a more veteran starter. They should retake the starting position next season but the thing with goalies are, they are pretty easily replaced. Aleksanteri may put together some above average numbers and keep earning really well, but that’ll probably nip them as lower TPE goalies are probably going to be able to compete at the same level. Bocage clears.

 

> Season 94 sees the return of an old legend in @Hogan and his player, The Phantom of the VHL. Phantom has had a really strong start so far in his career, outproducing Bocage when comparing their first three seasons. Here’s the kicker: In Phantom’s first playoff series, they have generated 3 points in 8 games. This series comes in their third season. Bocage was marginally better with 6 in 12. Clutch is more important than points, and unless they shred up the playoffs next season, Bocage clears.

 

> This next player is one that has yet to break into the VHL. Season 95 shows Drosmis Sarkanis @Mr Bohannan . So since we can’t compare VHL stats, what can we compare? Well, we can look at the draft season and earning. Drosmis was drafted to the VHL in S95, and is currently playing in the VHLM this season, S96. Bocage was drafted in S90, and made the jump to the VHL in S91. Obuz was able to make the jump to the majors after one season of being drafted, where Sarkanis will look to debut with London in S97, 2 seasons after his draft season. Bocage clears.

 

> Our last 12th overall pick. Season 96 has Kurt Bachmann @Blutch as the selection. Similar to the player before this one, Bachmann has yet to break into the VHL, as they are playing for the Mississauga Hounds in the VHLM for their draft season. Their TPE is sitting at 254, and likely projects playing an additional season in the M, and possibly even more, depending on both earning consistency and the state of Helsinki moving forward. I feel secure in saying, Bocage clears.

 

Throughout 96 drafts, the 12th overall pick has garnered some real difference makers and overall solid players, but also had its fair share of misses, with a solid handful never making the VHL and fizzling out before their career even started. Taking a gander of the players selected, I would place Bocage as the 5th best, behind the 3 Hall of Famers of Lachlan Summers, Niklas Lindberg, and Mats Johnsson, and a really strong goalie in Brick Wahl II.

 

1. Lachlan Summers (S86)

2. Niklas Lindberg (S33)

3. Mats Johnsson (S57)

4. Brick Wahl II (S64)

5. Obuz Schneider Canet du Bocage

 

Pretty damn good all things considered. At the start I felt like I would have been worse, and as I was progressing through I thought I was gonna end up a lot better, and then got hit with the Hall of Famers which humbled me. Spartan did try to talk me into not retiring for a bit when I was going through a bummed out period during the season and he said that there could be a legit chance that Bocage breaks into the Hall of Fame himself, but the direct comparisons, even with some extra seasons thrown in there, it appeared that Obuz was a far step away from these other guys. Maybe if he has another superstar season there’s a chance, and I would say that if he at least maintains his play and finishes out his career to natural retirement, he’ll hop over Brick Wall II, but the line between 3rd and 4th is pretty damn massive. But hey, I’ll take 5th.

(6845 words. Took me 3 days to get this done. Wish I could say I'll see y'all in 3 months, but you can only claim 4 weeks, so uhhh, see y'all in a month ig)

[Moon 597]

does lil bro think anyone is reading this all?

[Grape 739]

39 minutes ago, Moon said:

does lil bro think anyone is reading this all?

Shut up, fake ammer

[jacobcarson877 2,563]

I read at least 60% of it

 

[Oatex 262]

14 hours later, just finished the first paragraph. 

[Spartan 4,531]

Simp army should have been summoned for this one imo

[Thunder 1,205]

On 11/30/2024 at 6:16 PM, Moon said:

does lil bro think anyone is reading this all?

I read it all.  Took me 15 minutes tho

[Grape 739]

Claiming week 2