Moscow's Look Ahead At The Draft [1/2]

[Victor 10,580]

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!

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[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

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

[Beaviss 4,949]

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?

[ThePerfectNut 563]

No Aleksander Rodriguez hmmmm 

[Victor 10,580]

57 minutes ago, Jtv123 said:

No Aleksander Rodriguez hmmmm 

Can't fit everyone in or let people know my real thoughts.  

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

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.