Looking through Toronto's draft history under Peace.

[Peace 1,518]

Alright, so I'm not going to lie... this might be a self-damning media spot highlighting my inability to draft or -- for what I believe anyway -- just how unlucky I've gotten with some of the picks I've made since taking over for Toronto at the end of Saskatoon's S69 dominance. I'll be breaking these picks down from the first one I ever made as a VHL GM right to the most recent draft pick, which will almost certainly be a 'too early to tell' recap nearly everyone uses in most big sport leagues like the NHL, NBA and what not. Anyway, let's get onto the breakdown, shall we? 

 

 

SEASON 70:

10th Overall: 
RW - Justin Graves @JDGraves
Inactive

My first ever draft pick was -- at the time -- an exceptional pick, but obviously the dangerous 'first gen' risk is now brightly displayed as Graves went completely inactive shortly after he was drafted. Apparently, he got extremely busy in real life, and that's not something I can complain about. He moved into a new house with his wife, and had a kid from the short discussions we had, but disappeared after that. I hope he is okay, I really do mean that. I hope he is healthy, his wife and child are healthy, and he's doing alright in life. 

It's unfortunate Graves went inactive, as he was a capped earner who'd only missed a few capped TPE tasks. He would have been a solid piece on Toronto's roster, complimenting Magnum and then a forward Killinger before he switched to defense to assist with the build effort of Toronto. Sadly, this pick is entirely a bust as he never reached the ceiling I had hoped from him when I made the pick. Ultimately though, comparing who was drafted after him in the first round, this turned out to be the story with multiple GMs and their own individual picks. 

22nd Overall:
D - Aleksandra Olsen @GlowyGoat
Retired

 

GlowyGoat retired Olsen during the season seventy campaign at just 130 TPE, but after looking into the history of this player agency -- admittedly half arsed -- it's not a huge surprise the perennial VHLM preference has nipped a few GMs in the past. Chalk this one up to a rookie mistake, I suppose, but when I made the pick I was adamant he'd go further because I thought I was drafting a friend alongside him in Cheezy. There's really not much more to say about this selection other than, I suppose, 'what could have been'. 

I anticipate Olsen -- had Glowy brought him above the 200 TPA cutoff mark at the time -- would have left in free agency to a team he preferred more, but I was looking forward to seeing Olsen on the Legions' back end.

 

23rd Overall:
C - Dick Cheezy @goldenglutes

Inactive

 

For a while Cheezy continued to slowly develop, and it gave me hope that at least one pick from my first ever draft would make the VHL. It wasn't meant to be, as moderately short of 250 TPA, Cheezy ultimately went inactive. I believe this was during the SBA-VHL 'incident' that ended in a broken partnership that has since been restored, but I had respect for the 'slow and steady' approach to Cheezy's development. 

At a management level, it meant that Golden's player would have been an amazing depth piece for quite some time. He'd be cheap, continue to progress, and serve as a then much needed boost down the middle of our lineup. Sadly... it simply wasn't meant to be. As the sun goes down, and the day comes to an end, my entire season seventy crop of draft picks were busts and it kinda hurts. 
 

 

 

SEASON 71:

 

11th Overall: 
LW - Erik Killinger @Peace
Franchise

 

Erik Killinger is my player, so obviously he showed up on the Legions' roster, so instead I want to take a minute about the changes I've gone through in an attempt to help build Toronto... I've always been one to claim I wear my heart, my pride, on the sleeve of my shirt and I try to make that obvious by the support I give my players. I changed from a forward (which is the position I always want to play) to a defender just so we could become competitive quicker due to the lack of developing defensive prospects. What hurts more is striking out on free agents that could have made Toronto a competitive team as early as S72. 

Obviously Killinger is a 'franchise player', he'll spend the entirety of his career on the blue line now. Not much more to say, so I'll wrap it up here. 

 

18th Overall: 
RW - Jeff Blaze @NyQuil

[Semi-Inactive] 

 

I want to be clear here... hindsight is always more clear than the ability to predict the future. I had hoped Blaze would return to form, but it simply didn't happen. Regardless, I was still happy with NyQuil's development as he continued to keep earning TPE for Blaze. Even today, somewhat recently I'd argue, he was around and using the portal's new welfare function to grow Blaze beyond the 250 TPA VHLM cap. I'm not going to give this one a bust rating -- primarily because he's still updating his player from time to time -- but rather call myself out. I should have investigated more, and not let my mind make this pick for me on hope alone. 

 

Generally, though, because of Killinger's unique selection... S71 wasn't so bad. 

 

 

 

SEASON 72:

 

21st Overall:
RW - Michael Mac @LastOneUp

Inactive

LastOneUp's Michael Mac was an excellent prospect to select at 21st overall, and frankly, I don't regret this decision at all even as I write this article. I had discussed it with @diamond_ace shortly after making the pick, and he revealed a few things I'll keep between us. Morale of that conversation though is Toronto picked a player Prague wanted, and I can respect that. We're both puzzled by his sudden disappearance from the VHL; it could be the SBA-VHL drama, it could be he was drafted by Toronto, or it could be any other reason. Truth is -- unfortunately -- it did happen, and it's another pick that hurts the success of Toronto.

 

22nd Overall:
RW - Joseph Gainer @joeg

Away
 

JoeG's season has began... just not here on this virtual sim league, so I'll officially mark his as 'away' in hopes that he'll return. School, sports, and other things are keeping him away last I heard... so that's respectable, and real life should always come first over a website like this. Joe was a member who messaged me about coming to Toronto, claiming his favorite hockey team was the Toronto Maple Leafs, and that he would love to play for my team. I made it happen by trading a first round pick for three second rounds picks, another trade involving Beaviss and myself, which also included the pick I used above to select Michael Mac.

27th Overall:
RW - Adam Frence @Kachur
Retired

Despite my best efforts to understand, communicate and be a presence for Kachur when he returned to the VHL he still decided to retire Frence and leave the Discord. If I'm being honest, this is the pick where I feel the most betrayed, simply because I wear my heart and pride on my sleeve. I stated it above, and I'll state it again here, but I don't want to blame Kachur for retiring out of the Legions' roster. I just have questions, questions I don't want answers to anymore, I've accepted it what it is. When I drafted Frence, I was unaware that he 'deleted his online presence', but was elated when he showed back up. 

 

38th Overall:
Ziarie Anigbogu @ngine4
Steal

 

Anigbogu is without a doubt a huge win for Toronto, and one of the numerous steals in the S72 VHL Entry Draft according to some articles. Although he's teetering on partial activity, I am still absolutely thrilled with this selection, and he'll finally be making his VHL debut with the Toronto Legion for the start of season seventy four. Ngine4 doesn't know much about hockey, and that's okay, I'm hoping that his interests are growing as he continues to develop his simulation player. Anigbogu is an excellent depth piece, one that I am happy to have, and one that'll replace the deceased Elmebeck as he rides his posthumous player to retirement with Toronto. 

 

 

 

SEASON 73: 

5th Overall:
C - John Merrick @Steve
Franchise?

 

Merrick was my only selection in the season seventy three VHL entry draft, and that's alright... he's a potential franchise player for the Legion and I couldn't be happier. Merrick joins the Toronto lineup at 400 TPE already, and with VHLM graduation and training camp just around the corner, he'll be a quality player for Toronto for seasons to come. Merrick represents a piece of Toronto now, and although I am still unable to get help for himself and Magnum, I know Merrick will contend [he will!] for the top rookie award as a member of the Legions' top forward line. 

 

 

 

SEASON 74: 

25th Overall:
C - Wolf Weiss @Matmenzinger
First Line Forward

 

Weiss' selection made sense for Toronto, as we were hoping [and still are hoping] to acquire the services of some talented defensive free agents this season. Matmenzinger's previous player was a staple for his team, and Tocco was an excellent player for the period he played in, so I was thrilled with this draft selection. I'll be the first to admit I didn't have him scouted, but I didn't expect him to drop to 25th, and I was honestly surprised when he did. I sent him a PM, and I think things are going excellent right now, so I'm a happy camper with this pick. 
 

35th Overall: 
LW - Nicholas Sunderbruch @NickSunderbruch

First Line Forward

The potential is there, and I believe the desire too, as the member has already started to become active within the Discord LR. Nick joined the VHL late into the draft season, earning his first TPE at the end of July, and has climbed a considerable way already. Sunderbruch has the ability to become a top line forward for the Legion, assuming he's on a team fully manned, and I think he has the means to get there. Overall the season seventy four draft class is still young... obviously... but I have great faith in the two players I selected. 


Thanks for reading! 

I want to say a special thank you to everyone I have selected, whether you are here or not, which is why I tagged you. You are all apart of Toronto's history now, be that good or bad, so I will take this moment to say I appreciate you. Take care, people, and stay safe. 

Claiming for the next three weeks starting on the week ending on the 20th.

Edited September 13, 2020 by Peace

[Peace 1,518]

First claim for the week ending on the 20th.

Edited September 13, 2020 by Peace

[NickSunderbruch 359]

Thank you fore believing in me! I'll make you proud coach. Lets win a cup together!

 

[Victor 10,536]

You've basically got the old VHL GM experience where you get 2-3 picks in a couple seasons and you have to make them count or your rebuild is fucked. Which is entirely Devise's fault btw, his last couple seasons in Toronto were terrible GMing.

 

I dont think any current GM has nailed every pick they made, it's just we a have a lot more margin for error. I reckon it'll be a lot nicer next time around.

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

Re-creates > First-gens

 

First-gens more boom/bust, re-creates more reliable.

[Peace 1,518]

2 hours ago, Victor said:

You've basically got the old VHL GM experience where you get 2-3 picks in a couple seasons and you have to make them count or your rebuild is fucked. Which is entirely Devise's fault btw, his last couple seasons in Toronto were terrible GMing.

 

I dont think any current GM has nailed every pick they made, it's just we a have a lot more margin for error. I reckon it'll be a lot nicer next time around.

Toronto's window could surprise people.

[Victor 10,536]

8 minutes ago, flyersfan1453 said:

Re-creates > First-gens

 

First-gens more boom/bust, re-creates more reliable.

Although I like to keep a mix, that's not really true anymore. 

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

3 minutes ago, Victor said:

Although I like to keep a mix, that's not really true anymore. 

 

I don't think it's as much a hard and fast rule like it used to be, but on average, I still think it is.

[ROOKIE745 571]

Review: Honestly Peace I only look forward to your articles or media spots because you have such an eye for quality. Just good grammar all around with good pacing, I never find your writing boring, you always mix in something in there to keep it entertaining. I say this with all the good articles and media spots but you've separated the text to make it easier to read and separated each player with thoughts from you under. In this case I think a picture wouldn't really add anything so I'm fine with the exclusion. Overall another great media spot from you peace 9/10

[Peace 1,518]

2nd Claim

[Baozi 1,635]

Good self reflection on these picks to be sure. Some of them are fairly unfortunate. Formatting looks good, you tagged the players so that helps as well. No pictures, that would've helped cut into the all text formatting though but its replaced by the highlighted features of the pick rating so its kind of a give and take there.

 

8/10

[Peace 1,518]

Final claim.