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Draft Day


Smarch

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:vhllogo:Draft Day:vhllogo:

On Sunday the Victory Hockey League alongside the Victory Hockey League Minor Leagues finished Season Seventy-Three after the Seattle Bears and Minnesota Strom, respectfully finished off their opponents in the VHL and VHLM finals. With the season coming to a close, the off-season schedule was announced by the league VHL Commissioner team, and the most anticipated off-season event, the VHL Entry draft is taking place on September 10th, 2020. Today we will look at some of the names near the top end of the draft board, and see if we can try our hand at predicting the draft outcome.

 

:war:(LW) Luke Thornton – 330 TPE:war:

Thornton comes in as the best prospect and left winger in the Season Seventy-Four VHL Entry Draft currently, not very far ahead of fellow left winger Aloe Dear. Thornton has been a consistent participate in the Miami Marauders practices this season, no different than the little time he had with Las Vegas last season after joining the league at the deadline. While Thornton hasn’t put up the eye popping offensive numbers many of the others top draftees did in the VHLM this past season, Thornton is a great two-way forward that focuses on a pass first mentality in the offensive zone. During his first full and last season in the VHLM with Miami in Season Seventy-Three, Thornton put up twenty goals and forty-two assists in seventy-two games. Thornton also put up ninety-eight hits and fourteen shots blocked as he began to build his two-way game. With no impact left wingers on the Warsaw Predators or Chicago Phoenixes roster, it’s still a guessing game if Thornton will go in the top spot.  

:chi:(LW) Aloe Dear – 324 TPE:chi:

The second best prospect in the Season Seventy-Four VHL Entry draft, Dear is coming off an impressive ninety-five-point season in Season Seventy-Three with the Houston Bulls. After being drafted Third Overall in the Season Seventy-Three VHLM Dispersal Draft, Dear showed her capability as a pure offensive powerhouse, putting up forty-six goals and forty-nine assists in seventy-two games for the Bulls in the most recent VHLM regular season. After helping the Bulls finish in second place in the VHLM standings, Dear and the Bulls entered the post-season with their heads held high and were looking to do some damage, as they attempted to win the franchises second Founders Cup. Unfortunately for the Bulls and Dear the playoffs did not end with Houston lifting the Founders Cup, but Dear did manage to put up four goals and five assists in the Bulls ten playoff games. Now Dear will enter the VHL off-season as the number two prospect in the upcoming VHL Entry draft, only time will tell if Dear will be pulling on a Warsaw jersey or Chicago jersey on Thursday.

 

:ldn:(C) –Christian Mingle –299 TPE:ldn:

Mingle was a late entry into the Season Seventy-Four VHL Entry Draft Eligible prospects, only first coming to the league the week ending July 26th, 2020. Mingle has not let that slow his progress down as he currently sits tied for the third best prospect in the draft. Mingle was claimed on waivers by the Houston Bulls shortly after the VHLM Dispersal Draft, but before the beginning of the season, so Mingle was able to dress for all Seventy-Two Bulls games last season. Mingle played as advertised this past VHLM season with the Bulls, as the thirty-five-year-old center put up forty-seven goals and thirty-five assists in those seventy-two regular season games. With Mingle playing an a very talented Bulls roster, his eight-two points only put him seventh on the team in scoring, so one will wonder what his total might have looked like if he wasn’t somewhat buried on the Bulls roster. With almost 300 practice roster hours to his name, it wouldn’t be a long shot to hear his name called by the Predators First Overall either.

 

:prg:(C) – Venus Thightrap – 299 TPE:prg:

Thightrap is another prospect that is coming off a monster season in Season Seventy-Three with the Houston Bulls. After being drafted Thirteenth Overall by the Bulls in the Season Seventy-Three VHLM Dispersal Draft, Thightrap went to work, ensuring VHL GMs were made aware of the talent she possessed. After a disappointing start to her VHLM career with Las Vegas last season, that saw Thightrap only put up one points in twenty-two games, Thightrap believed she didn’t bring her best effort each night and was not helping her draft stock. VHL General Mangers sure took notice of Thightrap, as she put up eye popping numbers with fifty-two goals and seventy-three assists, good enough for a tie for the second most points in the VHLM in Season Seventy-Three. Thightrap currently sits tied as the third best prospect leading up the draft on Thursday, another player that might just sneak up on people and hear her name called First Overall.

 

:la:(RW) – Onde Sandstrom – 289 TPE:la:

Sandstorm is coming off his first full season with the Las Vegas Aces after being brought back to the franchise with the Eighth Overall pick in the Season Seventy-Three VHLM Dispersal Draft. Sandstorm impressed management so much in his twenty-two game stint with the club after being picked up on waivers in Season Seventy-Two, they just couldn’t let him sneak past them when they walked up to the podium to announce their First Pick in that draft. Sandstorm has a balanced season with the Aces, putting up thirty-six goals and thirty-one assists, while also putting up 115 hits on the season. This first generation VHL player is on a very good path already with 289 practice hours to this points, this number will also ensure the team that drafts Sandstorm will see him in their colors next season. Depending on how the four prospects fall above him and the needs of franchises that sit at the 5-10 position, right now Sandstorm is likely a mid-round draft choice.

:que:(D) - Markus Schauer – 271 TPE:que:

We have finally found it; we have our first defenseman on the draft board in Markus Schauer. Schauer and other fellow top defensive prospect in the draft Emi Rune have been going back and forth as the top defenseman available in the draft all season long, and now Schauer has taken a slight lead in practice hours are the draft day draws nearer. Schauer played for the Bulls last season in the VHLM, and he was another player that benefited from the offensive powerhouse they had. While he wasn’t the leading scorer on the team for defenseman, Schauer still had a great season putting up twenty-four goals and eight-five assists. After being drafted Twenty-Fifth Overall in the Season Seventy-Three VHLM Dispersal Draft, VHL GMs will not let this defenseman slip in the VHL Entry draft.

 

:nya:(D) - Emi Rune – 267 TPE:nya:

After not seeing a defenseman in the first five spots for top prospects heading into the Season Seventy-Four VHL Entry Draft, we now have back-to-back defenseman on the list. Emi Rune takes her spot very closely behind Schauer, in fact so close we may see these two switch spots in the rankings again before the draft takes place on Thursday. After picking Rune up on waivers during the franchise Founders Cup winning season in Season Seventy-Two, the Wild made sure to get the exciting defenseman back, selecting Run with the Twenty-Fourth Overall pick in the Season Seventy-Three VHLM Dispersal Draft. Although the Wild didn’t experience the same success in Season Seventy-Three as they did in Season Seventy-Two, Rune made her presence known in Saskatoon, as well as around the entire league. Rune put up ten goals and sixty-four assists, alongside 116 shots blocked in seventy-two games for the Wild. The only question now heading into the draft, is out of Schauer and Rune, who impressed the scouts more leading up to the draft.

 

:sea:(C) - Julian Nousiainen – 260 TPE:sea:

Another top VHL prospect that joined the league near the deadline last season, Nousiainen is another VHLM prospect that enjoyed an amazing offensive season as part of the Season Seventy-Three Houston Bulls roster. Nousiainen wasn’t a hot commodity leading up tote Season Seventy-Three VHLM Dispersal draft after a pointless twenty-two game trail run with the Las Vegas Aces in Season Seventy-Two, a performance that lead to Nousiainen slipping to Twenty-Second Overall in the VHLM Dispersal Draft. The Bulls couldn’t have been happier now in hindsight that Nousiainen “fell” to them at that spot in the draft, as Nousiainen rewarded the club with a thirty-eight goal and seventy-one-point performance in the regular season. Nousiainen also did everything in his power to help propel the Bulls to their second Founds Cup win, with eleven points in ten games in the playoffs, but unfortunately for Nousiainen and the Bulls, it wasn’t enough the move past the eventual Founders Cup champion Minnesota Storm.

 

:que:(LW) – John LeClair II – 257 TPE:que:

Coming from very impressive hockey lineage, John LeClair II is ready to throw his body around in the VHL. LeClair was drafted by the San Diego Marlins in the Season Seventy-Three VHLM Dispersal Draft, Ninth Overall, and quickly got to work ensuring opposing players were aware of his presence on the ice. LeClair entered the VHLM as a power forward, and he lived up to that billing in his first full VHLM season. LeClair put up 355 hits in the Marlins seventy-two regular season games, good enough for the second most hits thrown in the VHLM in Season Seventy-Three. The most surprising stat to go along with the 355 hits, is how clean LeClair plays despite all those hits, only amassing 119 penalty minutes on the season. LeClair also chipped in offensively as well this past season, putting up eighteen goals and sixteen assists to go along with all those hits. As LeClair waits to see which VHL team will select him in the Season one other thing LeClair has going for him is the recent success of other prospects his agent has brought to the VHL. Time will only tell if LeClair can be the next big things from the flyersfan agency.

:ldn:(RW) – Lexi Glass – 255 TPE:ldn:

Glass who hails from the country of Estonia, is looking to make a splash on the international stage for himself and his country. Glass was another member of the crop or prospects that joined the VHLM after the trade deadline last season, as Glass joined Mississauga for the Hounds remaining eighteen regular season games in Season Seventy-Two. After Mississauga got bounced in the Season Seventy-Two playoffs by the Philadelphia Reapers Glass focused his attention on bumping up his draft stock prior to the Season Seventy-Three VHLM Dispersal Draft. Glass impressed the scouts for the Ottawa Lynx with his hard work and determination and the Lynx ended up selecting Glass with the Eighteenth Overall pick in the draft. During the course of the season with Ottawa, Glass kept showing up to practice, putting in the necessary work required, but unfortunately for Glass that work didn’t quite translate on the scoresheet. Glass did still manage to put up a respectful twenty-four goals and nineteen assist in the seventy-two games he played with Ottawa in the regular season. Glass is ready to put his VHLM career behind him, as his focus is now towards the VHL draft and improving on every aspect of his game leading up to the draft night. With a few more known names ahead of Glass in the prospect pool, Glass should be able to slip in the draft slightly to a possibly more favorable team.

 

After reviewing the above prospects, we believe those ten we have named will be the first ten players to hear their names being called out by VHL General Managers. With the league expanding to sixteen teams prior to last season draft, there are many rosters that are in dire need of a superstar player. With twenty-seven prospects currently at 200 practice hours or higher, this might be just the draft that the expansion clubs and other franchises with bare cupboards can fill those spots with elite talent anywhere in the first round. This is an exciting time for the VHL and its’ fans.

 

2,017 Words. For Weeks of (Sept 7-13; Sept 14-20; Sept 21-27; Sept 28-Oct 4)

Week 2 claimed September 14th

Week 3 Claimed Sept 21st

Edited by Smarch
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Watch me drop to the 5th or 6th overall buddy ahahaha.

 

Great article tho. I love seing things like these, it makes me be hyped even more. My player was even more impressive in the playoff and I was glad to be one of the only two people in this class to compete in the finals

Edited by Jtv123
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