Another Mock Draft

[omgitshim 903]

With the end of Season 65 on the horizon, it's time to take a look ahead towards Season 66. This mock will cover the first round of the draft, and teams were slotted according to the reverse of the current standings, with the expansion Malmo Nighthawks receiving their best case scenario of earning the 5th overall pick. Let's get to it!

 

1.) Moscow Menace: C Hunter Hearst Helmsley (326 TPE)

Moscow has holes everywhere on their roster, and their best player is already a Center, but Helmsley is the clear-cut number one player on the board, and with no Defenseman even within 100 TPE of him, Moscow would be wise to take the best player available with this pick. Actually they would probably be best served trying to sell this pick for a king's ransom and try to get some young Defenders and more draft picks (and possibly even a Goalie).

 

2.) Calgary Wranglers: LW Shane Mars (295 TPE)

While Helmsley is the clear-cut number one player on the board, Mars is also a step above the rest of the competition this season. Calgary has been loading up on a lot of young talent the last couple seasons (perhaps too much with the expansion draft on the horizon), and they have a strong base of youngsters all across the roster. Thus it makes sense to go for the best player available at this point.

 

3.) Vancouver Wolves: LW Julius Freeman (233 TPE)

Vancouver is in a weird spot at the moment where they seem to be approaching a win-now window, yet they haven't been good enough to win now. They would be well served to pick up a young Defenseman as both Harding and Gate will start regressing next season, but they go with Freeman here because Forwards are a more sexy pick. Vancouver has 4 second round picks, so they'll likely take a top talent here and search for some young Defensemen later on to groom towards the future.  

 

4.) HC Davos Dynamo: C Maximilian Kirbsson (225 TPE)

Davos has a lot of young talent already and are getting close to being a playoff contender. Given that they have 3 first round picks, I wouldn't be surprised seeing them trading out of this spot to pick up a strong veteran to finally make a strong push at getting back to the playoffs for the first time since Season 62.

 

5.) Malmo Nighthawks: G Owen May (173 TPE)

We don't know who Malmo will pickup in the Expansion Draft, but of all positions, it's unlikely that an active Goalie will be available. Granted, with a lack of need for Goaltenders around the league, they might be better off grabbing one of the 200+ TPE forwards in this spot and addressing the position later, but May is the most talented one on the board, and they may be better served snagging him now than leaving room for another team to swipe him as their Goalie of the future.

 

6.) Riga Reign (from New York): RW Mikko Aaltonen (223 TPE)

Riga has a lot of talent in their prime and will be a Championship contender over the next couple of seasons, but with 3 first round picks and a lack of cap space, I wouldn't be surprised if they parlayed some of these picks into future first rounders instead. Aaltonen is the best player left on the board, so they take him here.

 

7.) HC Davos Dynamo (from Helsinki): D Charlie Paddywagon (184 TPE)

Davos grabbed a forward earlier in the draft, and with Riga having the next two picks, they take the opportunity to grab the best defender on the board here. Paddywagon was drafted 47th overall in the S65 VHLM Dispersal Draft, so seeing him jump all the way to the first round as the highest TPE Defensive is truly an impressive fate.

 

8.) Riga Reign (from Toronto): D Aron Nielsen (178 TPE)

Nielsen is actually 3rd in TPE at Defensemen at the moment behind Paddywagon and Jerry Garcia, but Riga is a team that does its due diligence and realizes that he has not yet put in an update for the week, so it's quite likely he'll be on top by the end of the week. Even so, at this point Riga may be looking for players under the 200 TPE threshold just so they can hide them in the minors for another season while navigating their cap.

 

9.) Riga Reign: C Bert Meyers (197 TPE)

Again, I don't actually expect Riga to make more than one of these first round picks when all is said and done. There a few more talented forwards on the board at this point in the draft, but once again if Riga actually makes this pick, they need it to be someone they can stuff in the minors for a season.

 

10.) HC Davos Dynamo (from Seattle): C Jet Jaguar (210 TPE)

Jaguar currently sits at 6th in TPE, so falling to the end of the first round would be a bit of a disappointment. Still, Jaguar is the kind of player that can be a bit controversial, so some teams might not want him in the locker room. Davos already has Dahlberg on the roster, so they aren't afraid of that and are glad to take the value pick to close out the first round.

 

Edited April 3, 2019 by omgitshim
auto-emojis ruin everything

[Nykonax 1,569]

wouldnt be mad with kirbsson

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

the disrespect