Season 67 Mock Draft Series | Part 1 | Top-5

[Sullvino 289]

Season 67 Mock Draft Series | 1^st Round

Part 1: Top 5

 

 

The VHLM regular season just concluded, which means the exciting VHLM playoffs are about to begin over the next couple days. It also means that we are that much closer to the highly anticipated S67 VHL Entry Draft. In case you missed it, I will be reporting on various draft and prospect related league content for the Victory Sports Network (VSN). Over the past few weeks, I have been highlighting the Top-3 draft prospects at each position and this week I will begin my Season 67 Mock Draft Series. This is Part 1 and will mock the Top-5 with analysis. The draft order ignored any lottery outcomes and instead went straight from the regular season league standings. While I am aware the order can and will change, I also cannot predict the future so for now this is our best bet! Without further ado – the top five picks of the Season 67 VHL Draft.

 

 

1.01  -  Seattle Bears – W|23 – L|40 – OTL|9  

 

 The Seattle Bears are without a doubt in a rebuilding period after making the playoffs last year. They unloaded some veterans and accumulated three first round picks in this draft. This is a critical draft for the future of the Seattle Bears as it will be a major driving force in their success or failure over the next few seasons. After the retirement of veteran defenseman Samuel Gate, the Bears are left thin on defense besides the likes of S62 draft pick Lando Baxter. They used high draft capital on offense in Season 66 to draft Shane Mars and Valeri Morozov, both of which had a ton of promise to start but have garnered some long-term question marks as of late. This is a difficult pick for the Bears because I can see them go in a variety of directions.

 

The Pick: Phil Marleau – Center – San Diego Marlins @Phil

 

 

Analysis: Highlighted as the number 1 draft-eligible center in this class by yours truly in a recent article, the Bears go ahead and select Phil Marleau from the San Diego Marlins. When I look at the Bears roster, I see a black hole for a true number 1 center and they hope Marleau can fill that void. They’ll stick him between Mars and Morozov and watch some magic can happen. Marleau is described by many as a strong two-way centerman. He is very responsible defensively, great at faceoffs and plays a physical game (304 hits, not a big deal). While he may not “wow” you on a nightly basis with highlight reel goals, he plays the game in a way that makes everyone around him better. Don’t discount his offensive abilities though, in his 72 games played he registered 27 goals and 38 assists for 65 points. Most importantly, he possesses true leadership qualities and is without a doubt one of the favorites in the Marlins locker room.  The Bears land a franchise centerman.

 

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1.02  – Malmo Nighthawks - W|28 – L|41 – OTL|3 

 

The recent expansion team had an up and down season after being relatively hyped early on. Their roster has a fairly solid mix of veterans such as Matthew Materazo and Vaydar Odinsson, and rising stars such as Jerry Garcia (Season 66 draft pick), Jack Lynch (Season 65 draft pick) and Rusty Shackleford (Season 66 draft pick, currently in the VHLM). Like Seattle, I can see Malmo going in a few different directions at this pick, but I think they will try to take the best player available for them.

 

The Pick: Bjorn Scoringsonn – Right Wing – Philadelphia Reapers @11 Eleven

 

 

Analysis: Malmo goes with the natural goal scoring winger, Bjorn Scoringsonn at number two overall. Bjorn has been a wire-to-wire top draft prospect since the beginning of the season. Playing on a stacked Reapers roster in the “M”, his stats were good but not electrifying (30-36-66) as he took a slight back seat to the star power of VHL draft picks Kyle Sabertooth and John Frostbeard. Nonetheless, the Nighthawks here pick up a star in the making and the top winger available in Bjorn Scoringsonn. Bjorn possesses lethal offensive abilities off the wing and one of the deadliest wrist shots in the VHLM.  Bjorn will be lighting the lamp in Malmo.

 

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1.03  – Moscow Menace - W|26 – L|38 – OTL|8 

 

The other expansion team, the Moscow Menace, finished the season just one point ahead of their expansion rivals and slot into the third pick here. The Menace are led by a pair of Season 66 draft picks in Jet Jaguar and Dimitri Voloshenko who had 90 and 70 points, respectively. They also have a handful of prospects developing pretty nicely in the VHLM such as Edward Vigneault, Emil Passerelli and AJ Axelsson. The future may be bright for Moscow, but this is a pick they certainly would love to hit a home run on.

 

The Pick: Hulk Hogan – Defense – Mississauga Hounds  @HulkHogan

 

 

 

 

Analysis: Moscow has a decent mix of prospects and veteran defenseman, but they really lack that anchor on defense. Paolo Nano is the leader from the back end, but he has a few seasons until retirement. Komarov and Matthews are fine pieces, but have question marks. For Moscow, they take the consensus top defenseman on the board in Hulk Hogan. Hogan had himself an exceptional season for the Hounds, tallying 17 goals and 77 assists for 94 points, which put him number one in points amongst defenseman in the VHLM. This is a player Moscow can build around for years to come.

 

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1.04  – HC Davos (via TOR) – W|37 – L|27 – OTL|8 

 

The playoff-bound HC Davos hold two selections in the first round of this draft. This selection here was acquired on February 28, 2019 in a trade with the Toronto Legion along with a 3^rd round pick in exchange for talented veteran defenseman Robert Malenko. Davos had a solid year with 82 points and a playoff birth led by experienced forwards in Ryan Peace and Veran Dragomir. In the S66 draft, Davos invested in defensive talent with Charlie Paddywagon at #6 overall and Codrick Past at #13 overall. Both players stepped right into the VHL and have been developing nicely. This roster has a lot of nice pieces to build upon, so here they look to add some more young juice on offense.

 

The Pick: Aston Martin – Center – Ottawa Lynx @Sullvino

 

 

Analysis: The Davos roster is talented all-around and that is reflected by their fourth place finish this season. With the back end being addressed last year so this year they look to bulk up the offensive prospect pool with dynamic centerman, Aston Martin from the Ottawa Lynx. The UK-born centerman finished the season Top-5 in points with an even 100 and Top-3 in goals with 47; both of which were the best amongst all S67 prospects. The offensive explosion in his first professional season will not go unnoticed as he sneaks into the Top-5 in this draft. HC Davos has two very talented centers in S64 draft pick, John Madden and S63 pick, Ryan Peace. Aston Martin could slide into third-line center duties to build a highly dangerous center ice.  

 

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1.05  – Seattle Bears (via NYA) - W|23 – L|40 – OTL|9 

 

The Seattle Bears are on the clock again here with the fifth pick and their second pick inside the Top-5. This pick was acquired in a trade with HC Davos for Piotr Jerwa earlier this year as Seattle unloaded their veteran talent in a rebuilding attempt. With this first pick in this mock draft, Seattle landed centerman Phil Marleau to build out the middle of the ice with a franchise leader and they look to build out the backend here with the fifth pick.

 

The Pick: Rayz Funk – Goalie – Mississauga Hounds  @Rayzor_7

 

 

Analysis: Arguably the best player in this draft, Rayz Funk lands in Seattle at number five. I did consider mocking him at the first overall pick, but opted with the centerman. Ultimately, they still land their guy here and a franchise goaltender. The Bears roster two capable goalies in Tristan Iseult and Clayton Park, but I don’t think they can pass an opportunity to take the best goalie in the draft here. Statistically, Rayz Funk had a fairly average season, but the Hounds managed a 41-26-5 record and a playoff birth. Funk is without a doubt the top goalie available and a cornerstone to build around for any franchise. I see big things in his future in the VHL.

 

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Stay tuned into the VSN for the next 5 picks of the first round in a couple days!

Edited June 18, 2019 by Sullvino

[Matt_O 896]

Very well written article. However, I don't see ACL tear dropping out of the top five. And their has been some talk in Malmo about who we will draft, although I don't know if I'm allowed to say anything

[Sullvino 289]

2 minutes ago, Matt_O said:

Very well written article. However, I don't see ACL tear dropping out of the top five. And their has been some talk in Malmo about who we will draft, although I don't know if I'm allowed to say anything

 

Thanks man - yeah unfortunately I'm not privy to the internal discussions  

 

ACL will be in the second part of course, I wasnt sure how much the player build would be weighted so I slid him a bit

[Motzaburger 1,590]

I see MGS going high  

[Sullvino 289]

3 hours ago, HulkHogan said:

Nice, I wish I'd actually got 99 points though

 

lol whoops

[Advantage 2,769]

On 6/17/2019 at 11:14 PM, Matt_O said:

Very well written article. However, I don't see ACL tear dropping out of the top five. And their has been some talk in Malmo about who we will draft, although I don't know if I'm allowed to say anything

Yeah I mean I'd prefer If you didn't

[gorlab 4,321]

looks like a nice little draft class here