Claimed:Mag Article off-week

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(Didn't realize this was an off-week for the mag. I posted this last week so I'll claim it for last week and submit a new article for this week.)

 

 

The VHLM draft is now in the rearview mirror and the results weren’t overly shocking. Let’s take a look at the top picks and see what we can expect from each player.

 

The first overall pick in the draft was M.T. Power to the Oslo Storm. The Oslo Storm had a rough go last year finishing with a 22-41-9 record and the fewest points in the VHLM. Last year, their starting goalie, Edwin Threencarnacion, put up good numbers despite not getting much assistance from the guys in front of him. He had a 0.908 save percentage and a 3.05 goals against average with three shutouts. M.T. Power is farther along in his development than Edwin was last year so Storm fans should see an improvement in goalie performance this year, not to knock Edwin who did very well considering the circumstances.

 

The second pick was Franchise Cornerstone to the Ottawa Lynx. The Lynx had a 4-64-4 record this year in a fairly stacked North American Conference. Assuming the locker room is just as barren as last year, Cornerstone will see a ton of ice time his official rookie year, for better or for worse. Last season, he had a very good debut during the last few games with the Bern Royals. Unfortunately, he’s not on Bern anymore and he’ll have to do it all on his own. Will this push him to put up stellar numbers or will he crack under the pressure? Only time will tell with Franchise Cornerstone but if his name is any indication, he’ll continue his great play from last year.

 

The third pick was Xander Finn also going to the Oslo Storm. Finn finished up last season with the Saskatoon Wild and saw decent ice time but was not very effective out there earning four points in 14 games on the blue line. He also only put up nine hits and blocked zero shots in his 14 appearances. Using a third overall pick on a guy like this is questionable at best but maybe the GMs know something that doesn’t show up on the score sheet. It’s perfectly reasonable and in all actuality, very likely.

 

Fourth overall saw Rubber Band going to the Bern Royals. He returns to the Royals after going 6-7-2 with them last year after taking over from Jacob Worboy. He posted a .846 save percentage and 2.78 goals against average even though he had a pretty good supporting cast in front of him. Actually, calling them pretty good would be selling them short. Barnyashev and Kraken combined for 289 points this season and they had several highly touted prospects playing on the team to end the year. Rubber Band is going to step up his game this season to improve his standing amongst young goalies. It looks to be a battle between several very capable ‘tenders this year. Bern will be losing quite a few key players and Rubber Band's numbers could suffer as a result. Of course, his save percentage might benefit from a ton of shots against. We'll have to wait and see.

 

Fifth overall sent Brock Dragonslayer to the Oslo Storm as well. The Storm were busy this draft picking three times within the top five selecting a goaltender, defender, and now a forward. Dragonslayer is another Bern product who managed 5 points in 15 appearances with the Royals. He also tacked on 24 hits. He’s definitely a sniper but didn’t really perform up to snuff with the Royals despite seeing plenty of time (26.36 minutes per game) with the first line and on the power play. Another slightly questionable pick this early but there’s no telling what the GM knows that the rest of us don’t. He should see plenty of ice time alongside Cornerstone. Seeing as though they played together in Bern, this could be a match made in heaven. However, with both of them being shoot first forwards, it could be more like a nightmare if they don't have a playmaker to keep them both happy.

 

Next season should see a lot of top talent squaring off and make for a very interesting VHLM, something that the league really needs.

[Jericho 917]

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