Claimed:#Clargary Confident Despite Shallow Draft [Final 6/6]

[Guest]

Geoff Reid shaking hands with GM Austin Gow after the VHL Draft

 

CALGARY, AB - The Continental Cup champion title comes with a few preconceptions about the future of a franchise, specifically what will happen in the immediate future with the next offseason and the next year's draft. Most teams go a few different directions:

 

1. Rebuild - A team wins the Cup with old favorites and disbands almost immediately, selling off key players to competing teams for draft picks. Calgary did some of this, selling off Nicklas Karlsson to Cologne for a pick and doing the same with Alexander Beketov, but if they were a true rebuild team, there would be more people gone. Wingate remains in goal, Clardy and Hill man the top pairing, and Hurley is still captain. So rebuilding is not an option.

 

2. Stand Pat - A young team with tons of talent starts their dynasty bid by winning their first cup and, to protect their future, the team signs their young core to long-term contracts and the GM trades picks for depth players that will contribute immediately, maybe even finding these players in free agency. While Calgary did go out and get Bismarck Koenig and young players like Tim TebowGow and Michael Clardy are still on the team, there were key contributors that are gone from the team. Sachimo Zoidberg retired, Karlsson and Beketov were traded, and the team is definitely different from last year's group of second-liners.

 

3. Retool - This is where the Wranglers seem to fit the most, with the young core staying on the team and older players being traded for picks and roster space for newer faces that will take on roles and keep a team competitive. This ensures that Calgary has some picks to keep bringing in fresh prospects from the VHLM while maintaining their competitive stride toward a back to back cup run. Players like Kekko Hyvärinen and Tim TebowGow will really come up to top 4 and top 6 roles, respectively, and the top line of Hurley, Koenig, and Tyler Cote will be bringing the majority of the points to Calgary.

 

From left to right: Tim TebowGow (Center), Marcus Hurley (Left Wing), Michael Clardy (Defense)

 

Despite recent advances and offseason activity, Calgary still needs a forward and defender to really fill out a top 6 and top 4, respectively, and not much help was found in the most recent VHL Draft. Ottawa Lynx defender Geoff Reid was taken with the 25th overall pick in the 3rd round of the draft, and while this could be a potential top 4 player, that potential will be realized later on, with many scouts saying the newest Wrangler is a project player. This means that the Wranglers will be more aggressive in the coming drafts, looking to find players to fill the holes that will eventually be left by the retirements of top players like Cote and Hurley.

 

Bismarck Koenig skated with the Cologne Express last season

 

Looking forward, there are a few parts of the Wranglers that look to be the shining points of success:

 

1. Defensive youth

 

Jaime Hill stays home, trying to give goalie Hans Wingate room to defend the net

 

With the exception of Jaime Hill, one of the older members of #Clargary, the Wrangler defense will be around for another 4-5 seasons and will be improving. Michael Clardy and Kekko Hyvärinen look to be a potential top pairing once Hill retires, and until then, the two young guns will be battling for 1st line honors. If Geoff Reid makes it as a defender in the VHL, fans in Calgary can expect solid protection of the defensive zone.

 

2. Upcoming drafts

 

Geoff Reid stands next to his parents after being drafted to the Calgary Wranglers

 

S46 may end up being a deep draft year for the VHL, and Calgary only has 1 pick in the first 2 rounds. Luckily, it's not their own (which should be low on the draft order) and instead is dependent on the New York Americans, a younger team that is destined for either last place in the North American Conference or a Cinderella run at the Cup. While players like Jonathan Killeen might fall down to the Wranglers in the draft, GM Austin Gow and the Wranglers are looking to clean up in the S47 Draft with a 1st and 2 2nd round picks. 3 potential good picks would be able to soften the blow when Cote, Hill, Hurley, and Rami Jakobssen retire the following season.

 

3. Goaltending

 

Hans Wingate stands tall in net at home, as he did throughout the Wranglers Cup campaign

 

Hans Wingate has become the best goalie in the VHL, bar none. This means a lot for a team that needs a goaltender to help drag them through games at points, and Wingate is a type of player that could help the Wranglers get to the top seed in the North American Conference instead of fighting on the bubble for a playoff berth. Wingate plans to be around for a while, so expect Calgary to continue to have consistent goaltending, a hallmark of Continental Cup champions.

[Tylar 219]

Content: 3/3 - Calgary will be fine as long as they have Wingate since hes a god. Mr.Eagles has done a pretty good job thus far and picked up a key player in UFA. So Calgary should be okay for awhile. I'm sure Mr.Eagles will find a way to keep Calgary competitive for awhile before blowing it up . 

Grammar: 2/2 - 
while this could be a potential top 4 player, that potential will be realized later on = while he could be a potential top 4 player, that potential will be realized later on (The way you wrote it read kind of funny to me)

Appearance: 1/1 - Yes

Overall: 6/6

[eaglesfan036 4,602]

Grammar: 2/2 - 

while this could be a potential top 4 player, that potential will be realized later on = while he could be a potential top 4 player, that potential will be realized later on (The way you wrote it read kind of funny to me)

 

 

 

You look kind of funny to me

 

[ChrisF 105]

#Clargary hahaha

 

Good article, very insightful. Good read.

[CoachReilly 688]

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