Patrik Laine's VHL Mock Draft: TOP 5 Preview

[Laine 1,361]

Welcome to this week's edition of the VHL Mock Draft! This week, we will be looking at the projected top five overall picks and evaluating them.

 

PROJECTED PICKS:

 

1ST OVERALL: Marshall James Frost (LW out of Mississauga) @FrostBeard

 

STRENGTHS:

 

SCORING ABILITY: Frost is known for his lethal wrist shot and one timer and he is known for picking the corners when he shoots.

 

SKATING: Frost is an incredible skater who has a high top speed, accelerates quickly and has great balance and coordination while airbourne.

 

SIZE: Standing at 6 feet 5 inches and weighing in at 240 pounds, Frost is a presence when he is on the ice and he isn't afraid to use his body to get the puck.

 

WEAKNESSES:

 

DISCIPLINE: Frost a lot of times will take unprovoked penalties. In 22 games with the Hounds this year, he has recorded 28 Penalty Minutes. It's not like this issue is not fixable.

 

FACEOFFS: This isn't important to a winger as much as it is to a Center, but Frost is weak in the faceoff circle. He should work on his faceoffs just in case he has to play Center in relief of injuries or a trade.

 

2ND OVERALL: Tyler Walker (D out of Saskatoon) @Advantage

 

STRENGTHS:

 

SKATING: Walker is a great skater and as a defensemen in the VHL you have to be. He can skate fast and use his agility to get away from opposing forwards.

 

DEFENSE: Walker is a great lockdown defender. He has one of the highest +/- ratings in the VHLM this season with a +19. He can effectively stop the play at the blue line and never gives up an easy zone entry.

 

SHOOTING: Walker has a hard, heavy slapshot but he can also shoot top shelf with an equally terrifying wrister. He would be a perfect fit on a VHL power play because of his creativity with the puck in all 3 zones.

 

WEAKNESSES:

 

HITTING: Walker is not very good at hitting. He can sometimes lose battles for the puck in the corner due to this but with the right coach at the VHL level this issue can easily be fixed.

 

SIZE: Walker stands at 6 foot 2 inches and weighs 197 pounds. Not too small but it makes it a bit harder to block shots the smaller you are.

 

3RD OVERALL: Jacob Tonn (G out of Mississauga) @MexicanCow123

 

STRENGTHS:

 

REBOUND CONTROL: Tonn is great at steering rebounds to the corner and being able to negate rebounds during odd man rushes

 

GLOVE: Tonn has a great glove and rarely gives up a goal up high. His glove is in perfect position for the shot the attacker is trying to take.

 

WEAKNESSES:

 

SKATING: Tonn isn't a great skater when coming out to play the puck. A good coach would be able to work these habits out but if not fixed, it could lead to some dangerous situations when he plays the puck.

 

SIZE: Tonn is very small for a VHL prospect standing only 5 foot 5 inches tall and weighing in at only 140 pounds make it hard on him as he has to move more in the net.

 

4TH OVERALL: Micah Adrienne (D out of Las Vegas) @Poptart

 

STRENGTHS:

 

LOCKDOWN ABILITY: Adrienne is a pure shutdown defender. He can play on any pair and is good at not letting the opponents enter the zone or pass the puck out of the corner on the power play.

 

SIZE: Adrienne stands at 6 foot 6 inches and weighs 250 pounds which is great for a defensemen who loves to block shots. Don't be fooled though, he can still skate fast and effectively.

 

PUCK HANDLING: Adrienne is a great puck moving defensemen as well. He can move the puck effectively from any area of the ice whether it be his own zone during a breakout or at the opposing blue line on the power play.

 

Weaknesses:

 

PASSING: Adrienne is not a very good passer. He often turns the puck over trying to pass it through the neutral zone. This can be worked out the VHL level but a coach should not turn this into a bad habit.

 

DISCIPLINE: Adrienne sometimes takes unnecessary penalties such as hooks and trips trying to get the puck away from the opponent.

 

5TH OVERALL: Viktor Mjers (D out of Halifax) @InstantRockstar

 

STRENGTHS:

 

SKATING: Mjers is a great skater and is able to slice and dice his way through the neutral zone when he steps up with the puck.

 

SHOOTING: Mjers has a hard, fast slapshot which is deadly accurate and can be used at even strength and on the power play.

 

PUCK HANDLING: Mjers is great at handling the puck all over the ice and is able to use his quick skating to either steal the puck or pin the puck in the corner.

 

WEAKNESSES:

 

SIZE: Mjers stands 6 foot 1 inches and weighs in at 188 pounds. His frame makes it a bit more difficult for him to win puck battles in the corner or to block shots.

 

CHECKING: Mjers isn't very good at hitting and often when he attempts to step up in the neutral zone to prevent a zone entry, it will lead to an odd man rush. His hitting can be improved upon once he reaches the VHL level.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ColeMrtz 574]

2 players out of MIS you truly love to see it

[Advantage 2,891]

Frostbeard will go later than 1 since he will use his latest first on him, but otherwise excellent article.

[ahockeyguy 110]

I loved this! As someone who has his player in the VHLM right now, it made me excited to see the VHL draft and where these guys go. I loved the consistent and symmetrical structure that you had (e.g., weakness, strengths, etc.). I wonder if hits make as big of a difference in the game as may often be said. After all, the more hits you have, the less you have the puck. Though, on the flip side, if you separate the man from the puck, that's a good thing. So it likely depends on whether you are then recovering the loose puck, or if your guy doing the hitting is also the one doing the losing of the puck in the first place. Hard things to dissect. Great thoughts! Score: 9.5/10

[bigAL 2,176]

Nicely done Rik, I love to see the VHL draft hype! Keep an eye out for Groovy Dood, he's taken over the 2C job in MIN and is just starting to put the full package together. The pass-first playmaker is hoping to go in the first round, and thought he'd be more valuable at C than only at W.