S67 Draft Preview | Top 3 Centers [1/2]

[Sullvino 289]

Last week in our early Season 67 Draft preview, we highlighted the top five sleepers in the class. In our second installment of Season 67 draft content, we will look into the top three draft-eligible centers, based on Total Points Earned at the time of this article. Yes – I chose this topic so I can talk about my own player.

 

Phil Marleau – San Diego Marlins @Phil

The top draft eligible center prospect in this class is Phil Marleau from the Marlins. Marleau projects as a rock solid two-way forward in the VHL; he is very responsible defensively but also has a natural scoring touch. He was drafted 5^th overall in the VHLM Dispersal Draft despite having just declared for the draft, which caught some teams by surprise but looking back on it now, the Marlins looked like geniuses. This season, he has registered 16 goals and 22 assists in 35 games played, which paces at just above a point-per-game. Marleau also has ideal VHL size at 6’5 and 240 pounds; he is a big body and very difficult to move off the puck.

Scout assessment:

Quote

“A sure fire first-round pick and could be in consideration for the top player in the class. You know what you are getting with Marleau and that is a well-rounded centerman. He plays all areas of the ice, including the dirty areas, extremely well and is a coaches dream.”

 

Boris The Forest – Mexico City Kings @chillzone

American-born centerman, Boris the Forest, comes in at number two on this list. Boris is an offensively gifted center with tremendous, natural scoring ability. He was drafted at 28^th overall by the Kings and that has proved to be a fantastic value pick for the organization. Boris has 19 goals and 16 assists and 6 of those goals scored have been game-winners, which leads the team. Of all the center’s in the class, Boris may have the most natural upside in terms of goal-scoring ability.  His areas of improvement at this point in time are skating and puck handling; but scouts aren’t overly concerned about Boris developing those traits.

Scout assessment:

Quote

“A truly gifted scoring centerman. His touch around the net and ability to score goals has been impressive. If he continues to shine, I could see him sliding into the back of the first round.”

 

Aston Martin – Ottawa Lynx @Sullvino

Next on the list of center’s to keep an eye on for the S67 Draft is Aston Martin of the Ottawa Lynx. Martin profiles as a similar player to the aforementioned Boris the Forest, but is further along in his development of skating and puck handling. Simply put, the Ottawa Lynx have been scorching hot this season and Martin has been able to capitalize on the success by producing points. In his 35 games played, he has tallied 22 goals and 24 assists while also registering an impressive 166 shots on goal. His 22 goals scored puts him at Top-6 in the VHLM and first amongst draft-eligible centermen.

Scout assessment:

Quote

“Martin has burst onto the scene here over the past couple weeks. He has been scoring at a very impressive clip and consistently putting together multi-point games. While a lot of that can be attributable to the Lynx juggernaut of an offensive; I see Martin as developing into one of the more dynamic players in this draft class.”

 

Next Week: Top 3 Wingers

[Phil 5,119]

Review:

 

A comprehensive review of the top 3 centres in the VHLm. Honoured to be on top of the list. There's a sizable analysis on each of the three and the quote really adds a lot to the presentation of the article. If you wanted to go all out, it would be interesting to also see how many practice hours (TPE) each of the players have. Otherwise, I would have just added a Title in the body and a picture or two and called it perfect. Well done! Can't wait for more in this series @Sullvino! :cheer: