Login

amjohnson636 · 10-01-2024, 02:42 PM

A Reflection on the MTL S76 draft

As we look forward to the future of many of these teams with the most recent draft, I wanted to take some time to look back, specifically at my own draft. During my time in this league my biggest concern is that I will be considered a draft bust by some. As a max earner in another league who does not have the time to max out in this league, I was genuinely fearful that I would be cut or traded from MTL as it seemed there weren’t enough spots on the team, and that the prospects the year below me were catching up in TPE. As someone who is just over 800 TPE I know I am by no means a weapon to any team with how young my player is. I do my best to stay active in the LR and update what I can. Fortunately for me, I made the final roster. I am thrilled to be a part of the grand MTL rebuild and win our first trophy. Go Pats.

MTL has been on the bottom of the standings for the entirety of my short tenure. When looking at our team we most definitely lack the veteran presence many other teams have as regression has to touch a single member on the current MTL roster. We are a very young team, and we are hopeful we can grow as a group.

Our first pick was the user @sve7en who I will be referring to as “7” because if not I will repeatedly misspell it. While I wasn’t as active in the overall community (I am still not for the most part if we are being honest here) it was apparently well known the 7 was going to be the first overall pick. 7 brought in a lot of leadership experience as he has GMed for Carolina for a number of seasons. I can say from experience that he brings a great amount of activity to the locker room and is one of the two MTL leaders in my draft class. While 7 is not the overall top TPE earner in the class as his player currently is the 12th highest in TPE for the S76 class. I do not think there is a significant gap between 1 and 12 when it comes to one ice performance as the gap is a modest 20 TPE. Overall I think MTL made the right choice with 7.

With my unfamiliarity with the league I reached out to @Kalakar of MTL, one of the leaders of our team, for a quote and I think that his words paint what 7 brings to a team perfectly.

“Sve7en is incredibly important to the SHL. He's one of those users that hit the ground running when he first joined the site, dedicating a lot of time to learn how things work to figuring out ways to make the site a better place for its users. One of those ways to help out fresh users learn the ropes of the league has been from his position at the head of the Carolina Kraken. Sve7en has a great talent to assess people and surround them to build a core group of people from all walks of life to enjoy spending time in this league. On the verge to start his 25th season as a GM in the SMJHL, he'll be the longest-running manager in the juniors by the start of next year. He really strives to help out new users achieve new heights; a long list of users from the Kraken have been managers of SHL teams or important pieces in how the league works on a day to day basis. In my time in the league a few years ago, I could see the energy and dedication he's spent here and on the teams he was a part of and I was saddened at our paths not having crossed that often in the past until now.

When Montreal got lucky enough to draft Sve7en, it's like it legitimized our rebuild. A user of his caliber can not be passed on as not only do we know he's gonna build another 2k TPE top end player, he's also gonna have his print on this team moving forward and help steer us in the direction of a Challenge Cup win. When in doubt, drafting a Damien Littleton winner tends to improve your franchise.” -Kal

Our second selection was my favorite teammate while playing in the J for Nevada, and the other leader of the S76 MTL draft class: @JohnFranklinKennedy. JFK was picked up 8th in the draft and I think he has the caliber to be a number one overall draft pick. In my mind we drafted two elite players of equal value at both picks 1 and 8. JFK brings with him a high level of new create energy, something that can invigorate a locker room for a struggling team. JFK currently ranks 3rd in TPE for the S76 class. This is quite the impressive feat as I know he is pushing to reach the top TPE wise.

While this is a reflection on the MTL draft I think this quote from the previous NBB GM and Co-Commissioner of the league @sköldpaddor really captures who JFK is:

“It took me nearly twenty seasons to have someone in the war room who I felt wanted to manage the team and who I would also trust with the team, but I couldn’t be prouder of how he and Fancey have hit the ground running. He was basically completely blindsided by some major stuff as soon as he took over, but he took it in stride and with an incredibly positive attitude and I’m very proud and it’s made my own transition to not-a-GM-anymore so enjoyable and peaceful.”

With 12th overall we selected Death Klaw (who I would shit myself if I saw on the ice) created by @ZootTX. Zoot is no newbie when it comes to simulation leagues as he has created multiple players in a variety of leagues. With that in mind, Zoot brings a phenomenal veteran presence to the locker room and a noticeable level of activity. GMs tend to prefer new creates to a certain degree as the energy they bring is often unmatched by recreates; Zoot is the exception to this notion. [/font][/color][/size]

[size=medium][color=#000000][font=Arial, sans-serif]In reference to the player Death Klaw my teammate @ThisSeemsFishy said this:

“I had the pleasure (or misfortune depending on your perspective) of playing against Death Klaw for a season in the junior league. I don’t think there are many players who could ragdoll me like he did. I think he’s going to surprise a lot of people. For such an imposing presence, he has incredible hockey sense and pretty solid hands with the puck as well. I’ll be glad to wear the same jersey as him for a change.”

With pick 21 MTL selected Jack Booth. Unfortunately this pick was ultimately a huge bust for the Pats as Booth has retired despite reaching a respectable 768 TPE. This seemed to be a great pick at the time but as we all know, not everyone will pan out and reach the upper echelons of the league. Overall this is sad to look back on as there were players such as Will Nuck, Cade de Vries, Pique Boo, and Dash Jackson who were all drafted after Booth and have all remained active and surpassed the 800 TPE mark. When inquiring about Booth’s draft stock I was informed that he was a primary target for the second round. My anonymous source from the SHL discord gen chat hinted that there was a “falling out” with this user and some members of the Head Office. Once again this goes to show that HO is in fact smelly (minus Jess) and a threat to our freedom as hockey players. (Side note: every single time I saw this player’s name I associated them with President Abraham Lincoln’s assassin.)

With pick 33 I was selected. I was surprised to go this early in the draft; speaking I sent all of one message in the rookie discord and maybe 2 in the general SHL discord. One thing I’ve always been concerned about is if I am a draft bust. Currently I sit around 26th in my class TPE wise and just past the 800 TPE mark by the time this is graded. (Thank god I can finally pay for some seasonal coaching). I’ve been told 800 is the mark where you can make an impact on the ice and 1000 is the expectation for a decent player with the average sitting around 1200 TPE. I think that I was a decent selection looking back as there were players picked ahead of me that have fallen off. On the other hand many prospects in S77 are starting to catch up so it might be about time I put it in high gear and figure my stuff out media wise! Hopefully I can keep my spot on MTL and help them rise up the standings!

Fortunately curiosity didn’t kill this cat. I approached 7 (who helped with drafting the S76 MTL class) about what he saw in me, and he said this:

“I could see where you'd be earning and a valuable contributor to the core I wanted to put together, where I think GMs don't put enough consideration into the second round. knew you were a solid piece in Nevada - Jess and I are tight and I had learned that, I had just managed to get JFK to fall to us - getting people that knew each other already was important because I wanted to make sure the locker room energy was there and was already developed, and I wanted to bring in non-established recreates - people who both would have more energy and excitement about the league and would come in with less bias against Montreal and their slightly stagnant rebuild history.” -7

With pick 41 Joe Degen was selected. Degen went on to be a decent player if you count almost maxing in the J as being decent. I don’t believe this was necessarily a bad pick in the draft as I do remember speaking to Degen in the locker room as he was a part of the same fraternity as myself, which makes it even sadder to see him go. Degen you are missed, ODH brother.

With pick 61 Juice Williams was selected. Juice surpassed the 250 TPE mark which is impressive. They also share a name with a semi successful college football quarterback, so I guess they have that going for them. At this point in the draft options were quite limited so at this point GMs are digging for gems as sadly they didn't get one here.

With pick 81 Connor McDusty was selected. While many scrubs on the ice are referred to as “dusters”, Connor wasn’t that bad with how late he was taken in the draft, speaking he almost hit 400 TPE. Unfortunately, Connor returned to dust as if a Thanos snap happened as his activity came to an abrupt halt and he was gone with the wind never to return. "You are dust and to dust you shall return".

MTL was the only team to make selections in the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th rounds. All players selected have gone inactive or retired.

In the end I think MTL did very well with this draft. There is something to be said that you can have too many good picks in one draft and want to keep yourself open to bring in new better players in the future. I think the current group of myself, JFK, 7, and Zoot make for a strong final “big piece” in the MTL rebuild as we will continue to slowly improve this team. When looking at team stats MTL currently ranks 17th in average TPE. That being said we do not have a single player in regression on the team at this time. This is a very young team and one that will be extremely dangerous as many of our in-conference opponents are filled with rosters that are aging or at the peak of their career. MTL will have their time on the top and I cannot wait for the S76 class to be a part of this rebuild.

Patriotes

***sliceruser*** · 10-01-2024, 02:53 PM

MTL had a very strong draft for S76 and have quickly been amassing some top end prospects which i am looking forward to seeing in the future. I know some teams dont consider 2nds past about 25th overall very valuable because of their coin flip nature but as you are seeing making it to 800tpe, this is a marathon not a sprint and if you can keep to it even if not max earning you can make a roster and have an impact.

***Kalakar*** · 10-01-2024, 03:56 PM

excited to see this class make the team next season!!

ThisSeemsFishy · 10-01-2024, 07:04 PM

It’s about to be the Montreal Hockey League fr with how many cups we’re gonna win.

***aleks*** · 10-01-2024, 07:07 PM

wouldnt trust jfk with a single deca ring imo

***luke*** · 10-01-2024, 08:07 PM

great article! I removed the styling so the dark mode users can see it. A lot of potential from montreal. Will be scary in the next 2/3 seaosns for New England as they start to peak and be competitive