Admin Victor 11,043 Posted April 5, 2019 Admin Share Posted April 5, 2019 With seven selections in the S66 VHL Entry Draft, the Moscow Menace have a vested interest in what may be the deepest draft in the league's long history. However, what to they need in the draft and which positions will be prioritised? We've asked GM Victor Alfredsson to run us through his thoughts about the upcoming draft. Goaltenders There are four currently active S66 goalies, of whom 2 or 3 will graduate to the VHL instantly after being drafted. That's quite an interesting dynamic given that most of the league does not currently need a goalie. Malmo will naturally be in the market for one, but the team with the oldest starter – Vancouver – has already addressed their future in net with the surprise pick of Joe Nixon in S65. The next likeliest team to start planning ahead, Seattle, as well as the most unpredictable team in Toronto both have very few picks in the draft therefore there really are more prospects than spaces at the moment. There appears to be an expectation that we will be drafting a goalie in Moscow. We just missed out on Nixon last year but picked up a capable substitute in Justin Cole, who requested to go up straight to the VHL for our inaugural season. Sadly, the trials and tribulations of an expansion team's first season seem to have taken their toll on Cole and he is increasingly unlikely to be our future starter, however this has already been addressed by the trade for Chase @Chase Klein midseason, another S65 netminder. Will the Menace be looking to draft a goalie nonetheless? Maybe, depending on circumstances, as competition is always good but right now our faith is firmly with the Chase and Cole tandem. Defencemen It has been well documented by now that this draft is very forward-heavy, but there's still quite a few interesting defencemen on the board, a few of which will be instant VHL players. However, I would not call defence a position of immediate need in Moscow. We currently have a solid stay-at-home duo of Evgeni Komarov @Gooningitup and Lew Bronstein @troy, with our first ever draft pick Mitch Matthews @Antone10 developing well in the VHLM. This will likely be sufficient for the time being, as the VHL is a very offense-focused league, although we are sure to be on the lookout for some of the lower ranked defensemen draftees available, who might require more time in the minors. Forwards The lottery pick owned by Moscow this draft is guaranteed to be a top 2 selection and that will certainly be one of the superb forward prospects leading the way in S66. I wouldn't say that Moscow's forwards are below where we'd expect them to be at this stage of the process, but there have been a few hiccups with the retirements of Ryan Zabby and Nathan N, and losing Kyson Blake to inactivity. Currently the trio we expect to rely on going forward are Mark Gebauer @Sova, Dan Baillie @wcats, and the recently acquired Matteo @tunedtorock, with Vladimir Pavlov joining us in S57. That leaves two slots to fill with some of the superb talent available this draft so that will be the focus for sure. I wouldn't want to give rise to speculation by naming a ton of names right now which may or may not be available at our selections, but naturally HHH and Shane Mars are on the radar for our first picks. Other players who have signalled positively at Moscow are Dimitri Volosenkov, Edgar Tannahill, and Codrick Past, but no formal discussions have been had so media speculation holds about as much weight as what I have just said. Nonetheless, should be an exciting process! wcats and Antone10 2 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/60722-moscows-look-ahead-at-the-draft-12/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregreg 930 Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/60722-moscows-look-ahead-at-the-draft-12/#findComment-605018 Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregreg 930 Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/60722-moscows-look-ahead-at-the-draft-12/#findComment-605019 Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregreg 930 Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/60722-moscows-look-ahead-at-the-draft-12/#findComment-605020 Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregreg 930 Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/60722-moscows-look-ahead-at-the-draft-12/#findComment-605021 Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregreg 930 Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/60722-moscows-look-ahead-at-the-draft-12/#findComment-605022 Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregreg 930 Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 Victor 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/60722-moscows-look-ahead-at-the-draft-12/#findComment-605023 Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLastOlympian07 2,388 Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 I wouldn't want to give rise to speculation by naming a ton of names right now which may or may not be available at our selections, but naturally HHH and Shane Mars are on the radar for our first picks. Other players who have signalled positively at Moscow are Dimitri Volosenkov, Edgar Tannahill, and Codrick Past, but no formal discussions have been had so media speculation holds about as much weight as what I have just said. Nonetheless, should be an exciting process! the disrespect Victor 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/60722-moscows-look-ahead-at-the-draft-12/#findComment-605026 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaviss 4,958 Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 11 minutes ago, TheLastOlympian07 said: I wouldn't want to give rise to speculation by naming a ton of names right now which may or may not be available at our selections, but naturally HHH and Shane Mars are on the radar for our first picks. Other players who have signalled positively at Moscow are Dimitri Volosenkov, Edgar Tannahill, and Codrick Past, but no formal discussions have been had so media speculation holds about as much weight as what I have just said. Nonetheless, should be an exciting process! the disrespect Are you implying Jagr is worth mentioning? gregreg 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/60722-moscows-look-ahead-at-the-draft-12/#findComment-605038 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePerfectNut 563 Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 No Aleksander Rodriguez hmmmm Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/60722-moscows-look-ahead-at-the-draft-12/#findComment-605171 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 11,043 Posted April 6, 2019 Author Admin Share Posted April 6, 2019 57 minutes ago, Jtv123 said: No Aleksander Rodriguez hmmmm Can't fit everyone in or let people know my real thoughts. ThePerfectNut 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/60722-moscows-look-ahead-at-the-draft-12/#findComment-605181 Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLastOlympian07 2,388 Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Review Didn't mention Jagr. No points for you. Interesting take on the draft class that was S66 and your thoughts on what other teams needed. Not your typical Victor article but still a nice read nonetheless. Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/60722-moscows-look-ahead-at-the-draft-12/#findComment-632389 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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