Looking at Warsaw's Draft

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The draft is an especially exciting time in any sport, not only for the prospects but also for GMs looking for the next generational talent. This season's draft was especially exciting as we not only saw some of the best prospects go to their respective teams, but also some old faces move places in the expansion draft. As AGM of one of the four expansion teams this season, it was also an especially stressful time to get draft boards sorted out. Looking back on Warsaw's picks and players, I believe that we did quite well for our goals going into draft night. First off, we have the expansion draft. 

 

Pick 3 | Arthur Dayne | C | 

From the start of our draft board and initial scouting to see what prospects we wanted, Arthur Dayne was at the top of our board. Not only was he our consensus second-best prospect in the entire expansion draft, but he was going to be just entering his 2nd year of VHL eligibility. We thought with his 12 capped TPE/week and being such a young player he would be in his prime as our #1 C when Warsaw would be ready to compete. Last season in the VHLM Dayne was a true two-way power forward, accumulating 152 hits and 89 points. If he can continue his development and play in the big leagues, I can't think of a more worthy player to be our first ever official skater.

 

Pick 11 | Alex Bridges | D | 

Unlike Dayne, Alex Bridges is already going to be in his 4th year of VHL eligibility. Despite us wanting to build for the future, Bridges still being available at #11 was too tempting to pass on. He has already been in the bigs for a year, and his potential is more clear cut than Dayne. He has been consistently earning 10 capped TPE/week and has been steadily growing into a solid two-way defense-man. Not only should he be a great player when we are ready to compete, but he will be a clear leader and role model on the team for the first few seasons. Last season for Davos, he put up a quiet and solid rookie season with stats of 26 points, 170 hits and 90 blocked shots. With the increase of minutes and his superb potential, we expect him to be the core of our defense for many seasons to come. 

 

Now for the actual VHL draft, which we had picks 10, 21, 24, 30, 46 and 62.

 

Pick 10 | Dakota Lamb | C | 

Our first ever VHL draftee is none other than Dakota Lamb. Just like Dayne, he is another center who claims 12 capped TPE/week. On our draft boards, we had Lamb being drafted 10th overall to us. Once again, he draws similarities to Dayne with his full ice play, putting up numbers of 93 points and 125 hits in the minors last season. His superb development and potential make me feel as if he can develop into a player like Patrice Bergeron from the NHL. An all-rounder that can be trusted in any situation and is the cornerstone of any good team. When he is finally called up with Dayne, Warsaw will have a lot of physical grit and a great one-two punch at center. Overall he is the type of player that will be good no matter what.

 

Pick 17 | Ajay Krishna | G | 

Now here is a prospect that made a lot of noise coming into the league with a completely unknown agent. Fully capping each week and putting up quite respectable stats on a relatively weak Lynx team last year is Ajay Krishna. We were completely floored that Ajay fell into the second round at all, with us believing he would be snatched up at #11. In a few years, he could be one of the greatest goaltenders to play in the VHL in recent memory and the steal of the draft. Despite thinking he would fall to the 21st pick, we still traded up, concerned a team would pick him up for the pure value. A huge goaltender at 6'8, we have high hopes that he'll become a franchise goalie that can carry our team to a cup.

 

Pick 24 | Victor Grachev | D | 

Most prospects that start playing later in their careers are often doomed to never making it to the big leagues. Well, Victor Grachev is the exception to that rule. He earns around 10 capped TPE/week and is developing at a steady rate. Despite only playing 23 games in the minors leading up to the draft, he had proven himself as the real deal. We fell in love with his play-style immediately after watching him play for the first time. With most players being a shoot-first type player, you need someone to feed them the puck and facilitate plays. That is exactly what Grachev is. Not only is he a surprisingly good skater for a defense prospect, but he also has an innate vision to make the correct passes on the ice. After developing more, he can be an elite play-maker and power-play quarterback. 

 

Pick 30 | Jeremy Lin | RW | 

Our final second-round pick is Jeremy Lin. For Lin, he is more offensively orientated than most of our other prospects. He has a hell of a shot when he's fed the puck for one-timers. Earning 8 capped TPE/week, he is another solid prospect that if he continues developing should be able to make a big impact for any team in the bigs. Despite his slight troubles in the minors last season, we believe that he'll develop into a wonderful piece. He already has a shot that can match some players in the bigs, all he has to do is round out the rest of his game. He could be one of the biggest steals of the second round if he keeps up his development.

 

Note we also drafted two players in the fourth round, Ben Mills and Jack Mount. Unfortunately, these two promising prospects have already seemed to stagnate in their development. If they don't rekindle their lost potential, they may never make the bigs, as such, they aren't going to get their own, personal, written section.

Overall I believe we have all the tools necessary to become a great team in the future and should be able to make a run at the cup in a few seasons. We have definitely a strong prospect pool and base for our new team.

 

1007 words, claiming week ending July 19 and 26

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Claiming Week ending July 19

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Claiming week ending july 26