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BUST OR LICK - S72 DRAFT EDITION

gorlab

By gorlab
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gorlab

gorlab 4,321

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Posted

Salutations VHL,

 

I'm here again for the fourth edition of BUST or LICK. In this now infamous .com we will be analyzing the 1st round selections of the S71 VHL entry draft and determining which teams hit a LICK and which teams ended up with a BUST after draft day.

 

As always, this article is based on very little actual knowledge or research and is not intended to offend or belittle anyone. I welcome all BUSTS to use this article as motivation to go on and have a great Hall of Fame career and throw it in my face ~12-15 months from now. However, I will preface this season's BUST or LICK list with the acknowledgement that my success rate at determining busts or licks can only be described as precise.

 

Without further ado, I present S72 BUST or LICK report. Players will be listed in their draft order.

 

 

 つ ◕_◕ ༽つ BUST OR LICK - S72 VHL ENTRY DRAFT ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ

 

1. :dav: SS Hornet - The first overall pick has never received a bust rating and unfortunately S72 will be no different. IMO @McWolf is a reliable VHL member coming off of a successful career with Joseph McWolf. I foresee no red flags for inactivity or build breaking with him and I personally think he was a lock for 1st overall in this draft regardless of the lotto result.  Keeping with tradition, the 1st overall pick of the draft has achieved LICK designation.

 

2. :dav: Robin Winter - Davos went back to the recreate well with the 2nd overall pick and selected @Sonnet with the second overall pick. Normally, picking a recreate is a solid strategy to avoid a bust, but for the sake of both controversy and trolling, that well has become poisoned for Davos here. Fresh off of a mediocre career with Alexander Pepper and an almost fanatical obsession with VHL-themed hentai art commissions, Robin Winter is our first BUST of S72. I won't argue that he's a top-tier BUST, with a chance of becoming a lick, but it's gotta be one or the other. 

 

3. :cal: Latrell Mitchell - Despite some of the most incompetent draft day behaviour in recent memory, Calgary managed to not mishandle their 3rd overall pick and selected Australian piss up legend @dasboot. A combination of regular degen hour attendance, budding graphic skill, and a sister who works at Apple has landed L. Mitchell a LICK designation. I look forward to seeing dasboot carve out a place in VHL history for himself. 

 

4. :que: Gino DiGiannantonio - One of the most enigmatic and infamous modern-day VHL members. After his last career with tragically cut short, @pennypenny has returned to the VHL and I think Beaviss had a rare moment of brilliance to pick him at 4th overall. A lot has been said about potential ban issues or inactivity but after getting to know penny, I have the utmost confidence in both his sim build ability and commitment to VHL. I am happy to bestow Gino DiGiannantonio with a certified LICK status. Future Wolves captain right here.

 

5. :sea: Randy Marsh - I've just noticed that round 1 is loaded with recreates. @oilmandan is low key one of my favourite VHL members. He minds his business, does his thing, and chips in some comedy here and there. His last career was really successful iirc, Dan Wilinsky was always a reliable multi-category VHL fantasy option, and I think he had a cup or two on his resume. Normally all of these factors will combine to surefire LICK status, but the fact oilmandan chose to go with a Randy Marsh southpark meme gimmick has given me an opportunity to label him a BUST. I believe the fact he has gone full meme with this player will lead him down a dark path, possibly flirting with inactivity. Good luck with Marsh, Dan. 

 

6. :cal: General Zod - Yet another recreate, but IMO our first clear and obvious BUST of the first round. @Matt_O had some issues with his last player, and from my perspective, went inactive/rage retired. I don't know the specifics of the situation, but in my opinion, there's no way this pick will be a lick. Calgary, as previously stated, had the most incompetent draft day behaviour, which solidified this as a bust pick. Put me on the clown list if you must. Good luck in this career. 

 

7. :que: Jungkok - @tfong is a legendary VHLer. He has numerous successful players in the past and is a respected OG member/staffer. I like the guy, despite his sub-par league of legends support play and late-night video game addiction, and normally he would be a shoe-in for a LICK status, but I have a feeling he was drafted into a sub-optimal situation in Vancouver. I don't see fong and beaviss having much synergy, which may result in a rare BUST for a fong player.  I sincerely hope Beaviss and fong can get over their differences and make this relationship beneficial for both, but something tells me it's a recipe for disaster.

 

8. :mal:Viktor Alexei Kamenov - This pick was a major talking point for most of VHL. I think most people are going to agree with a BUST designation here, as Malmo reached wayyyy too low for this pick and probably could have easily secured Kamenov in the 2nd round. HOWEVER, I will acknowledge that @BigTittySmitty is a veteran sim leaguer, probably not known by a big chunk of the current active core of VHL, and he has shown he can build and maintain sim league players, and can do his work and find success. I hope Smitty stays active on VHL but his SHL roots are too strong, and I don't see him remaining too active on the VHL. Probably the worst pick of the 1st round in my opinion.

 

9. :mos: Lucas Brandt - Victor was in attendance for the S72 entry draft, and he got his money's worth by selecting the first "first-gen" player of this draft class. I think this is honestly a top-2 pick of round 1 and I say that without team bias. @twists has established a great rep. on the VHL discord and has adhered to the most important steps in building a sim brand/identity, not changing his username or his runescape elf avatar which is quickly becoming iconic. Normally a first gen can basically guarantee a bust status, but I share Victor's optimism in Brandt and think he's going to be a very influential VHLer in the future. Moscow, as usual, picked themselves up a LICK here at pick #9.  

 

10. :hel:Valtteri Vaakanainen - This pick was never in question. GM player going to Helsinki. This is an easy opportunity to label a BUST, but @Jubo07 is coming off of a first-ballot HoF career and also made the savvy move to trade down in the first round knowing the pick would be used on his own player. I am still waiting for Jubo to have a discussion with me about his graphic design philosophy and what software he uses, as he has ignored me whenever I asked in the past. Unofficially, this is clearly a LICK, but due to me needing to get my ratio in check, this 10th overall pick is officially a BUST. The player name sounds like it could be found on the NHL roster for the Minnesota Wild ffs.

 

11. :mos:Alex Letang - Moscow was in a fairly desperate need to shore up their blueline with this draft and I think they accomplished that nicely with @Spartan. I am confident this guy can have a successful VHL career. I've seen him being active on the forum and discord with his upside down username. I haven't gotten to know him too well but I think he was the best d-man behind L. Mitchell and maybe oilmandan, and will be a valuable player for Moscow going forward.... However, due to the fact that MOS was forced to pass on one of my favourite prospects due to a positional need, this pick unfortunately will go down as a BUST. Someone told me Spartan is active on multiple sim leagues, which, TO ME, is a small red flag and can lead to potential inactivity in secondary leagues. Not sure what league he considers his home. Hopefully it's VHL. Welcome to Moscow.

 

12. :sea: Timothy Brown - This has to be the worst, most unoriginal, player name of recent memory. It sounds like Seattle drafted a home insurance salesman. HOWEVER, @a_Ferk was one of the first-gen gems of this draft class, and I was really hoping he'd slip out of the first round so I wouldn't have to use a LICK designation on him. Much like dasboot and twists, he has established an identity on the VHL discord. Building his sim brand by establishing the easily-identifiable 'dat boi' avatar and not being an idiot. I really don't like giving first-gen members the benefit of the doubt, but a_Ferk has done enough for me, to earn a lick status in his first VHL draft. Too bad he had to go to Seattle.

 

 

 

There you have it. Another edition of BUST OR LICK has come to a close. Congratulations to all the LICKS and condolences to all the BUSTS. This article in no way affects your reputation or future success in the VHL, and is all in good fun.  S72's first round has produced 5 LICKs and 7 BUSTs, which is a pretty generous sprinkling of licks, so the S72 draft class should go down in VHL history as a very respectable draft class.  

 

 

I'll do some more historical observations next season on the 5th edition of BUST or LICK. 

 

 

Thanks for reading and good luck to all the draftees in their VHL careers.

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McWolf

McWolf 3,115

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, gorlab said:

I foresee no red flags for inactivity

I did go inactive for 4 months midway through McWolf's career. But I'm not gonna complain about a certified gorlab LICK

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Spartan

Spartan 4,397

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Posted

Ah, more material to feed the fire. Love being slept on ?

 

10 minutes ago, gorlab said:

Not sure what league he considers his home. 

 

Only place I consider home is the area in front of the blue paint where I can cross-check the shit out of anyone who's foolish enough to try to get near our tendy. Watch out VHL.

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rory

rory 1,915

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Posted
24 minutes ago, Spartan said:

Ah, more material to feed the fire. Love being slept on ?

 

Only place I consider home is the area in front of the blue paint where I can cross-check the shit out of anyone who's foolish enough to try to get near our tendy. Watch out VHL.

New VHL article: Are Letang's attitude problems enough to label him a bust?

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BigTittySmitty

BigTittySmitty 172

Posted
Posted (edited)
43 minutes ago, gorlab said:

I hope Smitty stays active on VHL but his SHL roots are too strong, and I don't see him remaining too active on the VHL. Probably the worst pick of the 1st round in my opinion.

 

But, I retired in SHL. I am in PBE as a player still with in 3rd season of regression over 1100 TPE. Now that VHL isn't what it was back in the day. I can see myself sticking around.

 

Edit: I retired and left the SHL quite some time ago.. haha

Edited by BigTittySmitty
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a_Ferk

a_Ferk 766

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Posted
3 hours ago, gorlab said:

This has to be the worst, most unoriginal, player name of recent memory. It sounds like Seattle drafted a home insurance salesman.

oof, guess I have my parents to thank for that ?

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