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The VHLM off-season is in full swing as we seen the Season 35 Dispersal Draft play out live, last night. Teams have begun to buy and sell assets as they either try to contend or rebuild their squad. It is a fun time of year for the league's general managers and the draft got me to thinking that there have been a lot of steals in some of the most recent VHLM drafts. Most of these "stolen gems" were selected in the second round, while a couple went in the third round, and one particular guy in the fourth round. There are many more players who could be on this list, but I cannot go through them all, and it was tough to cut some of the guys out during the selection process.

S26 - Klaus Müller - Selected 15th Overall - 790 TPE
The first player that I will look at is Klaus Müller who was selected in the second round, 15th overall in Season 26 by the Vasteras IK J20 hockey club. Klaus finished Season 26 with eighteen points and 80 hits, with a plus-10 rating. In Season 27, Müller broke out with 62 points and 288 hits. He put up an astounding plus-60 rating and was a big part of Vasteras hoisting the Founder's Cup. Klaus joined the Calgary Wranglers in the VHL during Season 29 and had himself a nice career, etching out nearly 800 training hours and winning a Continental Cup with Calgary in Season 30.

 

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S27 - Brody Hodgson - Selected 11th Overall - 688 TPE
Many people may not find a player who was selected with the first pick in the second round (11th overall) to be a steal, but just take a look at some of the players selected before Hodgson and you will see why he is a steal. Jonathan Floyd, Roger Fenzig, Pekka Svenson, Jehovah, and Ross Rhea all faded out over time, while Brody Hodgson put up a decent 55 points and 105 hits with a plus-24 rating with the Ottawa Ice Dogs in Season 27. In Season 28, Hodgson raised his totals to 79 points, and a plus-33 rating, while taking a bit of a hit (pun intended) on his hit total, throwing 83 body checks. Brody graduated to the VHL with the Helsinki Titans, where he became the centerpiece of the offense and a franchise player for Helsinki, being rewarded with his first Continental Cup victory in Season 34. Hodgson will play out his last season in Season 35 before retiring.

 

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S28 - Thomas Corcoran - Selected 16th Overall - 691 TPE
Wow! It's unbelievable to see that Thomas Corcoran dropped all the way to the last selection of the second round in the Season 28 draft, finally being picked up by the Oslo Storm. Corc has a pretty decent first season, tallying sixty-four points, one-hundred and thirty hits, and a plus-26 rating en route to a Founder's Cup Finals appearance. Thomas nearly doubled his point total in Season 29, putting 123 points on the board. He played a bit less physical, with 96 hits and put up a plus-53 rating. The Oslo Storm went to the finals again, but came out on top this time around. Corcoran spent three seasons with the Vasteras Iron Eagles of the VHL, before being dealt to the Riga Reign in his final season of play, winning a Continental Cup.

 

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S29 - Smooth Jive - Selected 19th Overall - 682 TPE
The Season 29 draft seen Smooth Jive still on the draft board in the third round, and the Oslo Storm quickly scooped him up with the number nineteen pick. He struggled in his first season, amassing only 33 points with 88 hits and a plus-30 rating, but he was there to help raise the Founder's Cup. Season 30 was a whole different story for Jive, collecting 179 points, 112 hits, and a +112 rating with Syracuse and Kolari on his way to a second straight Founder's Cup. He then spent the next three seasons with the Helsinki Titans where he was a mainstay on the top line, but was dealt to the Toronto Legion before he could win a Continental Cup with the Titans. Jive will be in search of that elusive VHL championship in his last three seasons.

 

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S30 - Reggie Dunlop - Selected 31st Overall - 446 TPE
Reggie Dunlop was left on the board until the second last pick in the Season 30 draft, 31st overall and in hindsight, that is just a travesty. Reggie may not have done a whole lot in his first season, putting twelve points on the scoresheet, with 35 hits, and a plus-28 rating but he was part of the cup-winning Kolari Panthers team. Dunlop came back the next season with an outstanding effort, potting 111 points, 146 hits, and a plus-45 reating between Kolari and Bern. Dunlop has spent the entirety of his VHL career with the Cologne Express, a team that is on the rise since joining the league in Season 31.

 

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S30 - Teemu Lehtinen - Selected 16th Overall - 502 TPE
Teemu Lehtinen was picked up by the Syracuse Wolfpack with the last pick in the Season 30 draft and proved to be well worth it. His first season was full of struggles, compiling fourteen points, 53 hits, and a minus-two rating but Syracuse went to the Founder's Cup finals, losing to the Kolari Panthers. Lehtinen spent Season 31 between the Oslo Storm and Yukon Rush, where he won a Founder's Cup with the latter of the two. Teemu scored 98 points while throwing 111 hits, and putting up a plus-65 rating. He has spent his entire VHL career with the Toronto Legion, and will have a great shot at winning a Continental Cup soon.

 

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P.S. - wrote this as a VHLM Mag article before the season started but the mag isn't running yet :(

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Content: 3/3 - Pretty awesome to see some of the all-time value picks over the years, very cool to see guys making it big going so late in the draft.
 
Grammar: 2/2 - Just one goof, very nice!
 
seen Smooth Jive still on the draft = saw Smooth Jive still on the draft
 
Appearance: 1/1 - Pretty pictures!
 
Overall: 6/6 - Ayyyyyy!
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Content: 3/3 - A nice look at some of the best non-first round picks in recent VHLM Draft. While everyone looks to the first round picks in the Dispersal Draft, I think one of the most important things in building a successful VHLM team is finding a guy or two in the later rounds who'll stick around for more than one season. You've got a great chance of finding talent in the first round, but if you can find someone outside of there who'll help you out, it's a huge help.

 

Grammar: 2/2 - That whole "seen" thing is one of my pet peeves. Was considering giving you 0/2 just for that :P

 

swing as we seen the = swing with the

has a pretty = had a pretty

 

Appearance: 1/1 - Solid.

 

Overall: 6/6

 

FINAL: 6/6

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