Yukon Rush S67 VHLM Draft Coverage

[Seabass 593]

Yukon Rush S67 Draft Coverage

 

Today, I will cover the first 5 rounds of the Yukon Rush's draft selections from this past draft where I will analyse

the players selected and give predictions and where I think they're all going to fit in the opening night lineup. 

The S67 took place July 2nd 2018 in Sydney,Australia and many fans ended up taking the long and expensive plane 
across the globe to Australia in order to follow the teams' draft selections live and in person. 

 

Lance Flowers

 

The Yukon Rush opened up the draft by selecting defenseman, Lance Flowers with their much anticipated

2nd overall pick at the draft. 

 

The giant 6'7", 244 pound defenseman and is currently ranked #1 in the S68 VHL Draft Class so you know

there is definitely a player here to be hyped about. Not only is he large in stature but he combines that size

with a little bit of speed as well. Add that with the fact the guy can also carry a powerplay on his back with

his slick passing abilities. Actually, there isn't really any flaw that stands out in his game at all he can do it all

including knocking your ass to the ice on a nightly basis. 

 

I project Flowers to lead the team in minutes played, playing as the teams obvious #1 Defenseman. It was

a great start to the Rush's draft as Flowers was definitely a piece they can build a team around.

 

Frans Eller

 

With the 2nd of their two top 5 selections, the Rush selected a right winger in Frans Eller. The Dane is a little

on the smaller side but showed in his small window of games last year in Houston that he can handle his own

and has some playmaking upside, getting 7pts in 11 GP, 5 of them being assists. However, if you had the label

his style of game I'd say he's more your typical two way player that's solid at both ends of the ice. There's lots of

promise behind Eller as he's ranked 3rd overall currently amongst the S68 draft class and the Rush are banking

on Eller to be a player that will improve as the season goes on.

 

I project Eller to take up a spot in the PK team as well as play on either top two forward lines. He's a versatile

player that you could just move around the roster as the season goes on as he's able to play well with just

about anyone.

 

Justin Rushmore

 

With their 2nd round pick the Rush selected left winger, Justin Rushmore. The Rush basically drafted

another two-way player in Rushmore. Rushmore plays more of a shoot first type of game which isn't bad

considering he has a pretty decent shot. He's ranked 10th in the s68 VHL Draft Rankings but i'd say he's 
got an edge in the skating department over Eller and the edge is a little surprising considering Rushmore is

6'5  weighing a little over 220 pounds. 

 

I project Rushmore to play on the Rush's first line with some time on the PK. I expect the Rush to use Rushmore

as their team's go to sniper and maybe fan favourite due to his name containing the word RUSH. and then

followed with the demand of more of it. 

 

Wolf Stansson Jr.

 

Selected with the 25th overall pick of the draft, defenseman Wolf Stansson Jr. figures to be more of a

defensive defensemen. He's effective at shutting down passing lanes and won't hesitate to block a

shot for his team. It seems the Rush had a theme in mind drafting yet another huge player as

Stansson Jr. stands at 6'8" and weighs as much as 250lbs! He also isn't afraid of using that size as he

dominates the ice with his physical play. However, he had a unexciting ten game preview for Minnesota

last year but we figure Stansson Jr. to be a big minute cruncher for the Rush, so lets hope he fairs a little

better this time around. Stansson is currently ranked 4th overall in the s69 VHL draft rankings behind

teammates, Flowers and Eller.

 

I project Stansson Jr. to play alongside Flowers on the teams top pairing.

 

Andrej Petrovic

 

4 picks later at the 29th overall pick, the Rush went with yet another defenseman in Andrej Petrovic.

I bet nobody ever described him as small, be he is compared to his defensive counterparts at 6'1

190 lbs. Petrovic is a fast skating defensemen that can play anywhere on the roster. He could even

manage to step up and challenge Stansson Jr. for his spot beside Flowers. He's the more offensively

gifted defensemen on the roster after Flowers and is expected to be Flower's partner on the PP. He's

ranked 14th in the s68 draft class rankings.

 

I project Petrovic to play on the team's 2nd pairing.

 

Brendan Plunkett

 

To close out the third round of the VHLM draft the Rush selected left winger Brendan Plunkett

with the 33rd overall pick. Finally a player with some experience, Plunkett is the first player 

selected in this draft to have already have a VHLM season under his belt. His 15 pts in 73 games

in Minnesota isn't very impressive but it was enough to get the attention of the Malmo Nighthawk

scouting team as he got drafted by them in the 5th round of the VHL draft that took place last

week. Plunkett plays more of a playmaking style of game, he can really dish the puck.

 

I project Plunkett to play on the 2nd trio.

 

Erik Draven

 

With the 36th overall pick of the VHLM draft, the Rush selected right winger Erik Draven. Draven
is probably the best goal scorer selected by the Rush. He's got power and accuracy to his shot, and 
he'll get it off quik. However he needs to work on getting faster on his skates to be able to get to 
the high scoring areas quicker and to tuck in past defenders.

 

 I figure Plunkett's playmaking style of play will complement Draven very well on the 2nd offensive line.

Expect the coach to give out some powerplay time to Draven as well.

 

Seabass Perrin

 

 At 47th overall Perrin was selected not expecting much since this is where the draft really drops off
in player quality. He's currently ranked 26th in the s68 VHL Draft Rankings though after moving up a 
couple of spots. He projects to be more of a defensive defenseman. He can hit, he puts his body in front 
shots, he has sound positioning too. However, hes a little on the slow side and needs to improve his skating
to keep up in the VHLM. He also needs to learn how to relax with the puck as he seems to be always rushing to 
get rid of it. 

 

I figure Perrin will slot in as a defender on the last pairing if he even makes the team at all because he's shit.

 

Thats all she wrote for the first 5 rounds of the draft, in total the Rush selected 8 players. Both Flowers 
and Eller were also top 5 picks and note that Plunkett was the only player selected in the first five rounds 
that has VHLM experience and is already drafted by a VHL team. Does this make him prime candidate for 
captaincy? Stay tuned!

 

1221 WORD COUNT

*Using for PT Week period July 8-14th + July 15th-21st*

[Seabass 593]

Claiming my 2nd week as written in the post above. (week of July 15th-21st)

[Jbeezy76 396]

Thanks for the kind words, Draven is off to a great start leading the team in hits and leads the league in plus/ minus ( of course we just played two games today so that will change quickly. Lol ) Our top line is Draven,Eller,& Plunkett. But we have been getting a full team effort from all 4 lines. New Goalie has been good too. 

Edited July 16, 2019 by Jbeezy76