Claimed: Mock draft by Hedge, part 1. [1/2]

[hedgehog337 3,480]

 

*we all waiting for this moment.*

 

 

I was the first member who praised the PT change and it's time to do what can make my life easier without thinking about claiming welfare. And what an event to do that. This draft promises to be one of the best in a while and what makes it even better is there are extremely active first-gen members who are looking for the first round. And I won't be surprised if at least two of them will make it to the first round. Well, one of them is definitely is going to the first round so yes, this draft is awesome. And now I need to get 2000 words and this means I'll likely do more than first round - there are some active guys who can be a second round steals too. Ok, this is already the longest intro I've ever done so let's start this mock draft.

 

 

1.

 

So what can I say about Cologne? This team had it's peaks and downs, but at this moment this franchise needs a successful rebuild as Advantage's predecessor, Anderson had problems with sticking to one plan and that put team behind teams that were rebuilding at the same time like the Express - like Riga and Toronto. So I think this team needs to take best players from this draft and that means I see Chase Keller as the first pick here. Some members are going to disagree with me - ''Kendrick is sick and tired to play in Cologne and he never played in NY so he won't accept a contract from Cologne e.t.c.''. While this argument is relatively valid, the only way how Keller slips to NY is if Kendrick lets ADV know that he doesn't wants to play in the Express and I don't see this happening. And not only Chase is the best player in this draft, this draft pick is nicely fitting this situation - the founder of this franchise is going to be one of their saviour with his player. So yes, Chase Keller is a #1 pick in my mock draft.

 

2.

 

I'm sure STZ is dreaming about Keller, but I don't think this is going to happen. Anyway, there are other great draftees that are certified studs so this team still going leave this draft as a winner. After all, the second pick in this draft is still a very valuable asset. So after a quick look at this team's roster I can see this team will draft a defender as this position is very important in this league nowadays. Not every contender team has even one star or elite player and this is what STZ is likely having in mind. The only question - who? There are more than one defensive stud and this not going to a cake walk on making a decision. However, I think the Americans' GM will play safer and draft Casey Jones. GoB/Der Meister already proved to everybody he can make huge players and also he was playing in NY with Ravenwing during their latest two-peat campaign. I can't say it's a no-brainer, but Jones is a #2 pick in my mock draft.

 

 

3.

 

I'm not going to talk about their 30-season cup drought...ok I mentioned about it already, nevermind. This team also needs a successful rebuild and some luck to finally shock the league with their third win so Bushito will need to find a player who's active and won't be a huge bust. His GM player is a center and he likely won't draft a goalie since he also thinks the goalie market is overwhelmed. But no matter what Canmore's position is, I can't see the GM lets Keaton Louth to other team. I know, there can be talks about Boner being a #3 guy because of Vasteras thing, but Corco already said he won't have a time to save his activity level he had in summer and that will decrease his draft stock. And now look at Beaviss - when is the last time when a member who spent less than two seasons in this league becomes a VHLM Commish already? That's wassup. He legitimately can build a HoF caliber player if he will continue to work on his player with this intensity. Keaton Louth is a #3 pick in my mock draft.

 

 

4.

 

There is still some possibility that Banackock will ship this pick for a solid player, but it's hard to do that with the current situation in the trade market. So I assume this pick will stay in Seattle. This pick is even harder to predict as Bana needs players in every position with the defence and goalie being a priority. Hard to say when this team will finally finish their rebuilding plan, but I think this team can do it faster with Boner. The members who are saying that Shawn Brodeur is better pick are also having a valid argument - mist4ke is aging and the Bears will have to find another goalie and the young Brodeur will fit in nicely. However, there is still Rhett DeGrath: yes, he's aging as well, but also he is much better than mist4ke is. So I think the Bears' GM will wait for the moment when he could get Rhett for a cheaper price (like only Seattle needs an elite goalie) and draft a good defenceman. I said already about Corco lowering his activity in the VHL, but the important part of this he's not going inactive, at least he said nothing about that. It could be a nice Fedorov-Boner first defensive pairing and this already going to be better than some contender team have. So Boner is a #5 pick in my mock draft.

 

 

5.

 

Even when Smarch left, I never thought Davos is going back to being a bottom feeder in a short time. But now here we are, Tyler decided to leave EU with two teams and I can understand this decision although I think he could've make another push. But this draft is stacked so as I said, this is also a fine decision by the new Davos GM. This team needs everybody but a goalie; also they have a center Quill and a defensive depth in Diego Jokinen who's a ''Davos player till death'' guy. This is another pick that is hard to predict and my guess might surprise some you. I think that Ko Kane is the player Davos will draft. Do you think that this pick is too high for him? Maybe. 144 TPE? Well, Robbie didn't claim media spot TPE for Kane since the end of the September and I'm sure he'll be close to 200 TPE prior to season. And the most important part - as I know literally nobody from Davos has problems with him and they most of them (besides me and Kesler) were members of the S54 Las Vegas crew where Robbie was a GM. So I think it's not a risky pick at all, he has a solid LR presence and earning solid amounts of TPE so Davos will be fine with him.

 

 

6.

 

So you can't put a current Toronto logo on the boards for like 2-3 seasons? So here is the old logo...IN YOUR FACE! I'm really surprised DAAD didn't make any moves yet. The blue squad (Toronto+Helsinki) is really quiet in this off-season so far. There are still some players left in Davos and Stockholm, but he's still stuck with the same roster minus AK-47 and Doughty. I think Dollar will make Eagles cry and draft Jeff Gow here as this team also needs forwards and Daring Do's development has stalled and an active Flyersfan will be a nice addition to Reinholdt and Boeser. Some of you will say like ''Eagles will ask Dollar to not draft Jeff as he really needs this forward in Calgary due to them being brothers.'' But even if this happens I can't see Toronto passes this player as they need a ready player for the VHL. After all, they need to find a replacement of their retirees...and not only of them (RIP Random Name).

 

 

7.

 

This is also a draft position for Ko Kane, but I put him to the fifth spot and in case if the draft goes like I predicted, Davos will likely select a forward here. They already have Quill, but I don't think a center McQuack is going to be drafted here anyway and he and Robbie aren't fond of each other. So my guess is Phil Bennington. Another crazy prediction, you'd say. *I actually want to sleep, so fuck off.* But hey, why not? Phil has been a solid member since he became a VHL member and Davos will only win with this member and player. Maybe he's not THAT active like he was during his peak, but even this activity level is enough to make a solid player and I do think this is going to happen. Another possible question from a reader might be like ''Will Phil and Robbie get along with each other?'' and thing. Wait, were they even shit talking each other? At least I don't recall that. And the Davos is only starting their rebuilding plan, hence they need any player regardless of position (besides a goalie, yeah I know that). And Phil will be a solid solution here.

 

 

8.

 

According to my mock draft STZ just picked a defenseman Jones. So you think he might search for a forward, isn't it? But before I'll name my prediction for the #8 spot, let's look at the roster once again. Isn't there something fishy that they have a S54 480+ TPE player? And by God, their GM got Fujimoto for a bag of rice and I think he made a hint here. Either he trades this guy, which I don't see due to a 7M contract or he keeps him for all three seasons as he might build a contender following this season. And I don't think it's impossible - Fujimoto+Komarov+two S57 picks and GM's goalie and maybe some team will fold up like Quebec, Riga or Helsinki. And now let's get back to the draft. My guess is Colton Rayne as the 8th pick. I don't think STZ needs another center so he passes on DT and drafts Colton to make a young Rayne-Jones defensive duo. Remember, a defence is an important position as there are not a lot of an elite D's here left and with this pick NY solves any problems with having a bright future at this position.

 

 

9.

 

I've heard ADV wants to get rid of this pick, but maybe it's still could bring a solid future guy to his team. And the Express GM is going to be even more extatic if Seattle passes on Shawn Brodeur, as my mock draft is saying. There's a strong argument that the goalie market is heavy and there's no real reason to draft a goalie, but Cologne has no reason to rush things either. I think by the time when this team will be contender, Shawn will already pass a 400 TPE mark and that's already a fine netminder. Too low TPE? Ask Devise, he won the Continental cup with the 330+ TPE M.T. Power (RIP) so Brodeur will be a fine player too. Can they find another good youngin here? Well, maybe Johnson and I think this player would've been been higher if Quik was still active...Yukon indeed a boring place since their last finals lol.

 

 

10.

 

Remember I said something about Mats Johnson? Yes, he practically went inactive, but there's still a hope he comes back and continues to work with his player. He already has 181 TPE so Tyler isn't going to be wrong if he takes Mats here. And if Quik indeed comes back, they will have a decent Kane-Johnson duo. And since Davos has just started their rebuilding program, their GM can sit, relax and wait for his moment without making a rush decisions.

 

 

I promised I'll make this a two-round mock draft, but guess what, I already hit a 2000 word mark so I'll stop there. Sorry other draftees, you were snuubbed by me...shit happens. Wait...I still have Petenis.

 

 

 

Part 2 coming in 3...2...1...

 

 

 

6x4=24 TPE goes to Krīgars

 

02.10.-08.10.

09.10.-15.10.

16.10.-22.10

23.10.-29.10

Edited October 22, 2017 by CowboyinAmerica

[hedgehog337 3,480]

By the way, I made a mistake. Eagles won't cry about not having Jeff in his team as he has no picks left. I'm too lazy to fix this, so yah.

[eaglesfan036 4,585]

18 minutes ago, hedgehog337 said:

By the way, I made a mistake. Eagles won't cry about not having Jeff in his team as he has no picks left. I'm too lazy to fix this, so yah.

i'll still find a way

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

Review

I love reading mock drafts, even more when I have a player in said draft. This was a unpredictable draft with tons of moving parts. It was still a great read and you got most right which is pretty nice. Good stuff hedgy well written and ticks all the boxes. Nice PT.