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Carbine · 05-20-2020, 11:37 PM

*Quick draft media because it's late and I enjoy money. 2x bonus pls.*

Going into the S54 draft, expectations in the Baltimore locker room were pretty tame in terms of who would be joining the team that night.

The Platoon only had the 6th overall pick going in. Pretty much anyone who had a pulse on the league knew who that pick was earmarked for. Only having the one pick could concern some, but previous drafts, as well as trades, have left Baltimore with a young core that will carry the team through the rest of the S50's and hopefully well into the S60's as well.

That being said, the S54 draft quickly turned from a quiet night to possibly one of the best drafts the Platoon may have through the rest of the S50's.

Several transactions and picks were made that night, here is my recap and review. Note: I am technically in the BAP HO as the team's coach but I had to work that night so this was all a surprise to me as well.

Trade 1 - BAP/CGY: https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php?tid=106518

Calgary gets: 6th Overall
Baltimore gets: 11th Overall, 27th Overall

Nothing is a sure thing in these drafts, so this trade was still a gamble at the end of the day. Confidence was high that we'd get our guy one way or another, and this was a very good draft class, after all, the calculated risk was low enough to warrant dropping 5 spots to 11 and picking up a second pick in the draft. It certainly meant that this wouldn't be such a short evening for Baltimore after all.

Trade 2 - BAP/BUF: https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php?tid=106553

Buffalo gets: 27th overall, S57 BAP 1st
Baltimore gets: 12th overall

We certainly didn't need to trade up into the 1st round for a second consecutive pick but I'm very happy that the opportunity presented itself and that our management pulled the trigger. Jumping up 15 picks to 12th from the 27th pick just acquired from Calgary certainly caught our team watch party by surprise. I think we were all pretty happy with getting someone else at 27 instead of just the one guy at 6 but considering who was still on the board at 11 and 12 sent the room into a frenzy. Really disappointed I missed it.

This was a very good trade for Baltimore despite the high price on paper. The S57 1st will hopefully end up being a late 1st rounder if the team continues to improve at the rate it's currently going, so really it's a pretty low price to jump so many spots in a very strong draft class. It's a win for Buffalo as well as given the acquisition of Thor Odinson with that pick, another product of the Detroit-Buffalo pipeline. Great trade.

Pick 1 - 11th Overall: Pojo Biscuit @.bojo

Bojo is the Platoon. Everyone who's been around for a while now knows this. The risk of picking him while knowing the connection he has with the Platoon likely was too high for all the other teams to risk spending a top 10 pick on. I certainly think Bojo would honor the selection and sign an ELC regardless if he went anywhere else but to know that the likelihood of him walking at the end of that contract was pretty high is likely what dissuaded the other teams from gambling on what would otherwise be a very, very good prospect and forum member.

Pick 2 - 12th Overall: Patrick Shepherd @Cobbenstein

So if we only had two picks in this draft and we got Bojo and Cobb, we'd be ecstatic. Cobb has established himself as a great locker room presence in Maine as well as a pretty decent earner through his participation on Hockey Talk Tonight so this is a slam dunk at 12th overall. Plus this just makes our Center depth in Baltimore that much scarier. As coach of the Platoon, this pick got me really excited for the forward lineup we could be icing in just a few seasons. McCloud, Lundqvist Jr, Duncan, and now Shepherd? Hnnnnnggggg.

Trade 3 - BAP/NOLA: https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php?tid=106554

New Orleans gets: Conditional S55/S56 BAP 3rd
Baltimore gets: 42nd Overall

If I recall correctly, this trade happened right before the pick came up. I was home at this point from work but only just, so I didn't really know who we were after. The previous 2 picks addressed any further holes in the lineup that I was aware of, so this just looked like gravy at this point considering how deep the draft class was.

This trade did lock up our 3rd rounder for the next 2 seasons given the conditions on the pick but I hardly expect we'll miss the extra pick too much. We're getting to the point where we can only just afford everyone on the roster as it is. Did we need to make this trade? Maybe not but considering who we got at 42 made this trade so much better than it appeared on paper the moment it was announced.

Pick 3 - 42nd Overall: Leo Bloomfield @BloomeyGB

How in the living f*ck did Bloomey drop to 42!?!

Yes, we have Luca Del Vecchio already in goal, who's quickly proving to be the starter for the foreseeable future in Baltimore. But with this pick, we add not only an active locker room presence and a very underrated goaltender (who I think is about to pop off next season in Maine), but he's also the newly appointed IIHF Federation Head for Ireland. The dedication is there. I'm pretty confident we'll be able to find an arrangement where Del Vecchio and Bloomfield can share the net in Baltimore, and once we do, this very well could be the premier Goalie tandem in the SHL for quite some time.

At least I hope so.

Conclusion

All and all, a fantastic draft by @JR95 and @Glyc. Leading up to the draft we were planning to just add Bojo and further solidify our future plans for the defense corps but instead, we add Bojo, as well as a strong defensive center, as well as a goaltender that I think a lot of teams will end up regretting not taking a flyer on sooner. Baltimore was already looking like a lock to be a strong team by the end of the S50's but this draft reaffirmed that expectation that Baltimore will be looking for another Challenge Cup run by the end of the decade.

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mastersheep · 05-21-2020, 06:06 AM

Gonna be a great team soon! Platoon

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