S63 Redraft

[ColeMrtz 574]

     With theme week starting up as "League History", I thought there was no more fitting way to encompass this theme than to look back on the S63 draft class, the draft class I started in. This draft class sparked some of the best players in today's VHL, and held an abundance of star power. Looking back at the draft now, perhaps it should have panned out more like this.

 

FIRST OVERALL 

Was: Ryan Kastellic

Is: Ryan Kastellic (1)

 

     There was only one other person who could compete with Kastellic for first overall, but the (now) centerman looms ever so taller when you consider he spent the majority of his career playing defense. Kastellic has been at least PPG for the entirety of his VHL career, and sits atop the class for current TPE. A dominant force, Kastellic's unreal speed and control of the game has propelled him to one of the most prominent players in the VHL, and has hoisted both the Founder's Cup and Continental Cup once a piece.

 

SECOND OVERALL

Was: Joseph McWolf

Is: Julian Borwinn (3)

 

     Borwinn edges out McWolf for the second overall spot with higher TPE and about 100 more points through his illustrious career with Helsinki. Borwinn is a dominant scorer and a strong lockeroom presence, and only faltered just under PPG once in S64 with 71 points in 72 games. Borwinn's dangerous offense has brought him to a draft class high of 510 points. With a somewhat more polished career than Kastellic, Borwinn has earned himself the Kevin Brooks, Mike Szatkowski, Scotty Campbell, Dustin Funk, Brett Slobodzian, and the Continental Cup all in a single season (and the Stolzschweiger in S63). As much as this cabinet may argue the case for Borwinn's ascension, Kastellic's consistent offensive capacity from the defensive end of the ice in the age of emerging 2-way defensemen pushes him to the top.

 

THIRD OVERALL

Was: Julian Borwinn

Is: Joseph McWolf (2)

 

     Thus far we haven't seen much shuffling in the draft order, and it's not overly difficult to see why. The top 3 were just that, the top 3. While McWolf might not top the charts for production, with only 2 seasons over PPG, he's easily the best of the more defensive minded players available in the draft class. McWolf would go on to prove his defensive prowess, with 2 Sterling Labatte trophies to his name as well as the Alexander Valiq and a Founder's Cup he won in Ottawa with first overall selection Ryan Kastellic. McWolf has not, however, lifted a Continental Cup, playing with the Americans during Riga's cup winning season before reuniting with former teammate Ryan Kastellic in Riga with hopes of finally obtaining that dream.

 

FOURTH OVERALL

Was: Sidney Crosby

Is: Alexander Pepper (10)

 

     There's still plenty of strong players on the board at this point, but I'd be wrong to leave one of the greatest goaltenders in recent memory any lower than this. Pepper has been unreal throughout his career in Helsinki, consistently hovering around the .920 SV% and keeping his GAA under 2.5 generally (with the exception of his rookie season). His efforts won him the Benoit Devereux in a HIGHLY CONTESTED race during his VHLM tenure as well as the Daisuke Kanou, Aidan Shaw, and a Continental Cup in the Titan's S66 run. Pepper's control and finesse defines his game.

 

FIFTH OVERALL

Was: Tzuyu

Is: Tzuyu (5)

 

     What's not to love about a 2 time Continental Cup winning, PPG, speedy defenseman (or rather defensewoman)? Although Tzuyu's lower TPE hurts their draft stock in this situation, their track record in Toronto is exceptional, posting a career low 57 points their rookie season. This trend was short lived as Tzuyu went on to average ~77 points a season from the blueline, and earned herself the Alexander Valiq for her efforts. Tzuyu's incredible regular season performance carried over to their playoff game as well, continuing the trend of going over PPG, with 33 points in 31 games.

 

SIXTH OVERALL

Was: Scott Shawninganen

Is: Dan Willinsky (7)

     Willinsky has been a solid core player for virtually his entire career, generally bouncing around the 60 point mark. However these past 2 seasons Willinsky has skyrocketed into stardom, with 164 points through 138 games. His strong-armed puck control paired with lethal speed have finally found their footings together and as such propels Willinsky past other active candidates. Aside from his Founder's Cup with the all too familiar Ottawa squad, Willinsky earned himself the Scott Boulet award in S67 to further establish his legitimacy as a high end forward.

 

SEVENTH OVERALL

Was: Dan Willinsky

Is: Rylan Peace (12)

 

     There's an argument to be made for Peace to make this list before Willinsky, and if you're really pushing it he might compete with Tzuyu, but Peace's somewhat hollow career sits him beneath the aforementioned players. Peace is undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with, putting up over 50 goals in S65 and routinely breaking the PPG mark (excluding his rookie season). Despite all this, Peace has had a rather confusing career. After spending 2 seasons in the VHLM, Peace bounced from Riga to Davos and finally to Toronto, but was left empty handed at every stop. There's no doubting the offensive capability of Peace, but the shoot first centerman simply has not left the mark on the league that the other players have.

 

EIGHTH OVERALL

Was: Jose Gonzalez

Is: Jesse Wilson (13)

     Despite only going PPG once in his career, Wilson has quite the collection to show for it. A Founder's and Continental Cup that you're likely sick of hearing by now, as well as the Ryan Sullivan and Vladmir Boomchenko awards from his VHLM tenure. Outside of the S66 run where everyone on Toronto should've been tested for PEDs apparently, Wilson has shown he's a reliable player staying consistent though his separate stages within his career

     

 

NINTH OVERALL

Was: Mountain Thunderfist

Is: Sydney Crosby (4)

 

     At this point we're panning out to players who have been astoundingly mediocre. Continental Cup in S66 with Helsinki, which he contributed heavily to with 14 points through their 9 game playoff run. However outside of S66 Crosby has been a solid player, not really a star but not a poor player either. Just, decent.

     

TENTH OVERALL

Was: Alexander Pepper

Is: Jorgon Weyed

     Won the Matt Bentz in S63, otherwise a slightly worse career than Sydney Crosby. Astoundingly average.

 

     Everyone else from the top 2 rounds went inactive or retired, however it's worth noting that Randoms went 24th overall in this draft, and actively sits among the leagues elite as a pure goal scorer.

 

1100 words EXACTLY, fuckin COUNT EM

Theme week

[ColeMrtz 574]

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