How will pick value change with plateauing class sizes?

[Renomitsu 934]

With four expansions to the VHL in the last five seasons -- a 50% increase in teams -- it's become clear that player registration and retention has outpaced the league's prior capacity. Season 69's draft class per the most recent rankings is a fair bit smaller than the jam-packed classes of S66-68, but several teams have multiple active players remaining in the minors that are above 200 TPE (even if their TPA is limited by minor league rules). While the Board of Governors has chosen to increase the VHLM TPE cap to 250 in order to accommodate some of its 'tweener' players, the question becomes whether or not these players will be considered VHL-ready by the time they end a season over 250 TPE - whether that's their first VHLM season or their first season post-entry.

 

Indeed, we've already seen a team or two largely abandon picks (as is the case in real-life leagues) in favor of a chance to compete at the highest possible level, or alternatively tank as much as possible. Because new players through no fault of their own won't get minutes in the big leagues, or may be perceived as something of a detriment to their VHL team if given minutes, the question then becomes: is this a problem, or is it the minor leagues working exactly as intended? Will general managers start spurning picks when their first two lines are filled?