Draft Analysis part 3 [1/2]

[ColeMrtz 571]

     You've seen Malmo, you've seem New York, now get ready for everything that's wrong with:

SEATTLE BEARS

 

     The Veterans:

//Seattle doesn't have a single player older than S65, making them one of the youngest teams in the league, if not THE youngest.

     The Inactives:

     S67 - Boone Jenton - 307 TPA - D

//Despite the freshness of the program, Seattle has a lot of well developed rookies. Jenton sits at the bottom of the teams depth chart across ALL positions, making his loss somewhat insignificant to the franchise.

     S65 - Carles Puigdemont - 475 TPA - D

//Although Puigdemont is the eldest member of the Seattle squad, he held an important position as the team's highest TPE defenceman. His role is a big one to fill, and with S68 being the last season before depreciation hits him he won't be able to hold that role well for much longer.

     S66 - Shane Mars - 381 TPA - LW

//The TPA doesn't necessarily show it, but Mars has been an impact player for the Bears every season he's played for them. Putting up 154 points in 144 games, Mars leaves a gaping hole in Seattle's offense, however he also hasn't really slowed down and still has time before depreciation kicks in, so his role on the team hasn't exactly been eliminated yet.

     S66 - Valeri Morozov - 312 TPA - LW

//Unlike Mars, Morozov has little impact on the ice and his TPA sits near the bottom of Seattle's depth. His role is easily filled and as a player he can be seen as almost disposable.

 

     With the lowest inac/vet count by far, Seattle is only down 4 players from their roster. However the Bears are short staffed as is, meaning they have an active roster of:

S67 - Acyd Burn - 464 TPA - LW

S67 - Ambrose Stark - 409 TPA - D

S67 - Berocka Sundqvist - 200 TPA (177 Banked) - LW

S67 - Henrik Zoiderberg - 425 TPA - LW

S67 - Hulk Hogan - 471 TPA - D

S66 - John Frostbeard - 505 TPA - RW

S67 - Kevin Low - 399 TPA - D

S67 - Scott Greene - 445 TPA - C

S67 - Rayz Funk - 585 TPA - G

     

     So Seattle is effectively playing with 3 LWs, 1 RW, 1 C, 3 D, and a goalie. With this active roster the Bear's hierarchy of needs comes out to:

1. CENTERS

When you have not only 1 active center but 1 center total that's a problem. However just because this tops the list as far as needs goes doesn't mean stretching for a center would be the best option here, as the team is generally well rounded positionally outside of this one spot.

2. DEFENSE

With your current best defenseman about to give out and only 3 remaining active, it would make the most sense to fill out the spot that's about to open up.

3. GOALIES

You don't have 2 goalies on roster, which is the only reason this ranks higher than wingers.

4. WINGERS

You have 4, they're all solid, one is your best skater. Clearly the concern doesn't lie here.

 

     So this is where the problem lies. With NY Eller made the most sense as they needed a center DESPERATELY and they needed on with FO. Seattle needs another center, yes, but with how young the team is the roster is volatile, players could easily fall inac. So even though the stretch to Underyew is much smaller than the stretch to Eller was, Seattle may just be best off taking the best player on the board. So in a split decision I'll leave this up to draft time, at third overall Seattle will take:

LANCE FLOWERS/THORNY UNDERYEW

 

     I really can't make the call here, Seattle is in a tough position as far as who they should take, but really they can't lose with either player. If Seattle's roster stays active they're brewing a powerhouse team that will be challenging for the Founder's Cup by S70 at the latest. Whoever they pick up in the first round will be a perfect fit in this young program.

 

660 Words

[Rayzor_7 741]

Note: Maxim Kovalchuk is now back on the roster and is the starting Center

(Pending portal making it official, the trade was completed yesterday or something)

[ColeMrtz 571]

16 minutes ago, Rayzor_7 said:

Note: Maxim Kovalchuk is now back on the roster and is the starting Center

(Pending portal making it official, the trade was completed yesterday or something)

Ah okay, I was writing based off what the portal displayed. Not going to go through and edit the whole article over but if Kovalchuk is in Seattle then Lance Flowers becomes the best choice at 3rd overall.

[ColeMrtz 571]

Claiming first gen doubles

[Renomitsu 930]

Review

A relatively thorough and well-reasoned article about Seattle's likely draft selection: I like it! Since there are quite a few teams in the league, it's sometimes tempting to go big-picture and lose a lot of nuance in how you make decisions for an article (I'm definitely guilty of this); Kovalchuk notwithstanding, I agree with your overall assessment of Seattle's hierarchy of needs, and readers can easily tell how much work you put into researching Seattle. You were right in the end, too, which is always a nice resolution to an article.