Contenders for 1st Overall [1/2]

[Baozi 1,664]

The Scouting Report on Possible 1st Overalls

www.VHLHockeyNews.com

 

Partially into the VHLM season, we have seen some remarkable players step up in the race to secure their spots in the draft. While Tzuyu was projected to be a strong contender for 1st overall, we’ve seen a few players step up and challenge for the spot and thus far the race is wide open for that to happen.

 

Ryan Kastelic

Position: Defense

Yukon Rush

Kastelic has had a phenomenal start to the season sofar which has thrust him into the 1st overall contender spot. A quick footed defender, he has size and strong all around abilities that make for a great compelling case. Hard working at both ends of the ice and off the ice as well, we expect that Kastelic has the greatest chance of becoming first overall given overall performance. A player agency relatively new to the league, teams would be amiss if they let that short history cloud their judgement. Kastelic is currently 5th in league scoring and also leads all players in hits and blocks. His only real weakness currently is his shooting ability. While more than adequate for the VHLM, he will need to work on the shot power and finding ways to get his shot through traffic to produce goals on the next level. That being said, his ability to move the puck more than makes up for his weaker shot ability.

 

NHL Projected Comparison: Alex Pietrangelo

 

 

Julian Borwinn

Position: Left Wing

Las Vegas Aces

Another player shooting up the rankings, Borwinn has made a name for himself with hard work and tenacity. 4th in league points but leading all players in goals scored sofar, Borwinn is our top pick for the first forward to be picked in the upcoming VHL draft. All around ability combined with speed to burn and deft hands is his calling card. Strong at both ends of the ice and showing great ability to score from different positions of the ice, Borwinn is likely to end up with some hardware at the end of the season if he keeps this pace up. While dropping down one place below Kastelic in TPE rankings, his effectiveness has not shown any drop in itself. With continued progress, we can see Borwinn become the strongest forward in this draft class and a world class scorer. Teams may be hesitant to select him only on the fact that he too hails from a fairly new player agency as well. His only con right now is that while he exhibits strong traits throughout all facets of the game, we haven’t really seen any “elite” ability in any particular area yet. Time and development will be required to see him reach stardom.

 

NHL Projected Comparable: Marian Hossa

 

Scott Shawinganen

Position: Center

Las Vegas Aces

Shooting up the draft ranks is the formerly unknown center from Las Vegas. While not blowing away the competition on the stat sheet with only 12 points in 18 games so far, we have noticed that Shawinganen is improving his game at alarming an alarming rate. This has led his coach to deploy him in more and more crucial situations as of late and with his added ice time, we expect to see his point totals to rise. Shawinganen is a large playmaking center reminiscent of old traditional types like Joe Thornton or Adam Oates. He protects the puck well and sees the ice extremely well. His passing and vision gets top marks and he is already proficient in the faceoff dots at the VHLM level. His development as we remarked earlier is astounding as he is taking in his experience and ice time and learning to adapt quickly to the game. With improvement to his skating ability and overall technical skills and attention to defensive play, he is our sleeper pick to go first overall in the draft. Down the road we envision that Shawinganen could become an elite offensive playmaker if development continues on its current trajectory.

 

NHL Comparable: Joe Thornton

[Victor 11,036]

#AnyoneButFong tbh

[Baozi 1,664]

I dont wanna go 1st. Plz don't pick me early.

[bagelbitesisbae 71]

Wow! This was over the top descriptive and just really awesome. I like how you did NHL comparables as that made your media spot even more creative. I think the formatting could’ve been nicer, but you did a great job overall. Keep up the great work, bud!