Claimed:Sball66’s S36 VHL Mock Draft Pt. 2

[Ball 453]

Sball66’s S36 VHL Mock Draft Pt. 2

 

You know what guys, I like you. You didn’t totally annihilate my first five selections, you gave me some good feedback, and you didn’t make fun of me not knowing how a lot of this stuff works. So instead of making you wait to find out who is next off the board in our first annual mock draft, I spent my Sunday night writing this. Who needs Sunday Night Football, friends, and alcohol anyway? Apparently not this guy. So, let’s get in a quick recap of the first five picks before we start with the Toronto Legion’s first pick. Number one, we have defenseman Godavari Yumalatopinto going to the Riga Reign. New York finds a gem at forward at second overall with Xin Xie Xiao. Vasteras uses their third overall selection to add some fire power, selecting center Robin Gow. Seattle rounds out the lottery picks by selecting Robert Gow III from Ottawa, not RGIII from Baylor. And, last but certainly not least, Riga takes Damon Tyrael fifth overall, thus ending pt. 1 of our 2 part series. Now that your all caught up, here is the bottom half of your VHL Mock Draft.

 

6. Toronto Legion

7.  Riga Reign (via Cologne Express)

8. Riga Reign (via Calgary Wranglers)

9. New York Americans (via Helsinki Titans)

10. New York Americans (via Quebec City Meute)

 

#6: Toronto Legion Select: Defenseman Andrey Zarorov

 

While the Legion would love to find a forward to replace Smooth Jive, who is retiring after this season, this draft class is very heavy defensively. So with the sixth overall selection, look for Toronto to draft Andrey Zarorov. At 6’4”, the defenseman out of Khabarovsk, Russia isn’t the biggest defender coming out in S36, but he is very sound defensively. He reminds us of a Kimmo Timonem, a great defender who relies more on his skills then his physicality. Zarorov is also a very good facilitator with the ability to set up his offense with clean, crisp passes from anywhere on the ice. With Jack Sound and Nikita Lebedev holding down the first defensive pairing for the Legion, Zarorov could be a nice partner for the promising defenseman Villie Sixten for the future.

 

#7: Riga Reign Select: Defenseman Phil Villeneuve

 

Well isn’t this a surprise, the Riga Reign are back on the clock. Seeing as the Reign still need everything but a goalie and this draft being rich in defensive prospects, Riga uses the seventh overall pick to get Phil Villeneuve. Villeneuve is very similar to Zarorov, both stand at 6’4” and both prefer the poke check to the body check. He should be a great fit for Godavari Yumalatopinto, whom the Reign drafted first overall, seeing as GY is more of an offensive defenseman. A big problem with Villeneuve is he doesn’t possess the greatest work ethic at the moment, but given the right general manager, Villeneuve has the potential to develop into an elite defender in the VHL.

 

#8 Riga Reign Select: Defenseman David Januzaj

 

This for me is where the draft could go any which way. Riga needs offense, but the only forward left is DuJuan Cook, who has plummeted off of draft boards due to a lack of well everything. But, in the VHL, you could never have too many defensemen, so look for Riga to pick up David Januzaj. Januzaj is an very interesting prospect. There is a lot of potential, but no one knows how dedicated Januzaj is. He is a solid offensive defenseman who can put the puck in the net on occasion, but lacks the motivation both on and off the ice to put in work. Like Villeneuve, if you can get Januzaj’s head in the right place, you have a diamond in the rough at 8^th overall. But the reward is well worth the risk, so I find this a solid selection for the Riga Reign.

 

#9: New York Americans Select: Defenseman Triton Jackson

 

The New York have the last two selections in the draft and are in big time need of players. If they don’t try and use these picks to trade up to grab a top tier player, look for the Americans to select Triton Jackson out of Portland, Oregon. At nearly 6’7”, you wouldn’t picture Jackson as a very good offensive defenseman. But, in reality, Jackson excels at one this and one this only, scoring goals. While he isn’t anything to get excited about on defense, the kid has a wicked slap shot that has left goalies waving at thin air this season. He isn’t terrible in his own zone, but like our last two selections, lacks a proper work ethic to make him an elite prospect. I can’t stress it enough that, given the right general manager, Jackson can join Villeneuve and Januzaj as one of the better defensemen in years to come.

 

#10: New York Americans Select: Defenseman Sami Kravinen

 

With the 10^th and final pick in the first round of our S36 VHL Mock Draft, the Americans are handed the 5’9” finnish defenseman, Sami Kravinen. While there isn’t a lot of hype surrounding Kravinen, he has shown potential to one day become a solid player in the VHL. He isn’t great in any one aspect of his game, but is a very well rounded player. As he develops, we envision Kravinen as more of an offensive minded defenseman, rather than a physical, hardnosed one. While he does show glimpses of greatness, the young defenseman still has a lot to prove before he heads to the big leagues.

 

And so ends the sball66’s first annual VHL Mock Draft. While you may not agree with me, just keep this one thing in the back of your minds while reading this. I don’t care if you agree or not. Just playing, seriously, I look forward to seeing what you guys think of the selections and how you all see this draft playing out. Until S37, this is Sebastian Ball, signing out. 

Edited November 25, 2013 by sball66

[Victor 10,940]

Knights of Riga

[Mike 708]

Knights of Riga

 

I could live with that

[Wasty 566]

Whoa! Didn't expect to see Kravinen slide in there at #10. I'd be pretty damn pumped to go that early especially in a good defensive draft. Thanks!

Edited November 26, 2013 by Wastlund

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

Content: 3/3 - And now we get the last picks of V1 of sball's mock. I didn't really realize how defense heavy the bottom half of the first round is likely to be until I read this media spot. With what seems like a shortage of VHL defensemen, it would be nice if even half of these players pan out into solid VHL players.

 

Grammar: 2/2 - Just a couple.

 

Kimmo Timonem = Kimmo Timonen (how dare you misspell the name of the Finnish God of Defense)

The New York have = New York has

at one this and one this only, = at this one thing and this one thing only

finnish defenseman = Finnish defenseman

 

Appearance: 1/1 - Very nice. Colors and everything.

 

Overall: 6/6

[Ball 453]

I even looked that up to make sure I spelled my man's name right and still spelled it wrong lol. Damn me

[Doomsday 4,130]

Content: 3/3 - Awesome to see what a stacked first round this year's class has! Well done with your research, it shows you did your homework!

 

Grammar: 2/2 - The Fly Guy got this.

 

Appearance: 1/1 - Just as pretty as Christmas lights!

 

Overall: 6/6 - Johnny... do you play baseball?

 

FINAL: 6/6

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