The move that split the timelines

[diamond_ace 3,114]

Before the S68 expansion that saw DC and Prague brought into the league, there was a minor lottery that at the time didn't seem of vital importance. The lottery would determine which team had the higher expansion draft slot vs which team had the higher actual draft slot. I won this lottery and chose the expansion draft slot, leaving @Enorama with the actual draft slot. @Quik was in the PM with both of us sorting out logistics and the like. The expansion draft was fairly non eventful in that sense, with Eno still getting Aaltonen, and with me still getting my original targets of Dalton Wilcox (who was later traded to NY) and Erik Draven - ultimately the one player remaining on Prague from the expansion draft is Alex Pearson @Jayrad28 who has been absolutely great for us but wasn't someone I knew a great deal about at the time.

 

The key event, the move that split the timelines, was in the regular draft. It's fairly public knowledge that Prague was looking to come out of that draft with a long term answer in goal. It's also recorded fact that we failed to do so, with a run on goalies in the first and ending up with Bruce Grimaldi in the early 2nd who would later go inactive. Here's the thing - pick 11 was originally held by DC as a result of being the earlier draft slot. This pick would ultimately end up in the hands of Moscow, who would use it to select...

 

Raymond Bernard @Mr_Hatter.

 

That's right - had I simply selected the actual draft slot instead of the expansion draft slot, my pick would have been in the position that ultimately went to a franchise goalie, the biggest need we had for years. Now there's an argument to be made that Moscow doesn't trade down at all if DC is at 12 instead of 11, and possibly they take Hatter at 5, their original draft slot. Who knows at this point, as none of this is what happened in real life. Still, it is a point of contention - would Hatter have spent his career on Prague, like he did on Moscow? Would that single goalie choice have resulted in a cup or at least some deep playoff runs?

 

The other thing of note is that if we have 11 instead of 12, we don't then have 12. We don't get Wolf Stansson Jr @Cornholio who has been loyal to this team all the way and was a great pick who frankly I never expected to fall to 12. I mean who knows, maybe Stansson falls to 15, depending on what way DC goes at this hypothetical 12 they never had, and New York at 13 and DC again at 14. Maybe we do still get him. Ultimately, even though Bernard is basically the exact thing we needed, I don't know that I'd barter Stansson for him, frankly at this point I don't know if there's much I would barter Stansson for, the man has been a Prague legend and will be among the first to have his name hanging from the roof of this arena (Pearson, also mentioned above, will likely be granted the same). It's just interesting to think that the goalie problems could have potentially been solved by just taking the earlier actual draft slot.

[Quik 4,113]

2 hours ago, diamond_ace said:

the one player remaining on Prague from the expansion draft is Alex Pearson

 

Didn't want to lose him in that draft, but always new he'd be a legit piece

[Mr_Hatter 1,608]

Going into the draft, tbh, I was hoping to be selected by Prague. Its funny how things work out sometimes though  butterfly effects and all that

[Mr_Hatter 1,608]

also can we just remember how absurd it was to give expansion teams the 11/12 spot in the draft