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*Keven* · 05-25-2021, 07:41 PM

With the official S60 expansion draft protection lists being made public to the site, we thought it would be fun to play the roles of expansion GMs and see what our hypothetical versions of the Philadelphia Forge and Montreal Patriotes would look like. We picked our teams and then waited for the official league coin flip to be made before starting our drafts to ensure that we mimic the real draft as closely as possible. Hordle will be drafting for the Forge and Keven will draft for the Patriotes.

Although we tried our best to be good mock GMs, there's a lot of additional work that goes into learning more about the users behind the players that we didn't do very much of. Most of our picks were based on looking at the players' season and TPE, with a bit of additional user information if we had it. Also, Hordle may or may not have only been looking at a quarter of the teams' lists for his first 5 picks so they may be a bit unexpected. Now without further ado, let's get a glimpse of what the expansion draft might look like.

Pick 1 Forge

- S50: James Ronlain Barracuda

- 1638 - W - I should start by saying that I don't know a lot of the people here. So a lot of my drafting is going to come from age/tpe. With that said, I pick James Ronlain with my first overall pick. At 1638 TPE, Ronlain seemed like a good place to start with building a decent offense.

Pick 2 Patriotes

- S51: Zlatan Ibrahimovic Jr. Steelhawks

- 1803 - D - After seeing a slightly surprising first overall pick, Ibrahimovic Jr. ended up being kind of a steal even at second overall. One of, if not the only player to be on pace for 2000 TPE in the available options, Zlatan will be the leading defenseman here for quite a few seasons.

Pick 3 Patriotes

- S46: Bobby Sharp Stampede

- 1902 - C - Sharp has proven that although he's facing TPE regression being on the older side of the league, he's still an incredibly effective player. In order for Montreal to have an effective first line, a top-quality center is needed. Sharp still has plenty of energy left to lead the charge for a few more seasons.

Pick 4 Forge

- S51: Luc-Pierre Lespineau-Lebrunette Platoon

- 1206 - D - I stuck with my strategy of picking younger but strong players. Lespieau-Lebrunette will be a star piece for my defense. I expect them to be a rock for several seasons to come.

Pick 5 Forge

- S48: Nick Connolly syndicate

- 1562 - W - My second offensive pick. Nick Connolly will line up opposite of Ronlain. I am hoping the two of them will make a killed first line with a center that I will be drafting later. Connolly is a bit older then the majority of my picks. But I believe that he will add some vet leadership to the team.

Pick 6 Patriotes

- S54: Bork Lazer Steelhawks

- 1399 - D - To start building the defensive core, Lazer was the obvious pick. He's 8th in his class and shows no signs of slowing down. I think once again due to the unfortunate oversights of my fellow mock GM, I'm getting a real steal here at 6th overall. Lazer should be a core member for a very long time.

Pick 7 Patriotes

- S54: Scoochie Stratton Blizzard

- 1272 - G - A good team will get you far, but a good goalie is what wins your team those close games. Another very solid pick from the S54 class, Stratton has been earning well and has luckily been exposed by Edmonton in order to protect a younger netminder in Tyler Ward. Stratton should be able to grow nicely as the starting goaltender here.

Pick 8 Forge

- S46: Peter Larson Rage

- 1172 - G - GOALIE! So I'm dump and for whatever reason I forgot half the teams were on the sheet. But regardless, I went for a higher TPE goalie to start off with. Larson is one of the oldest players on my team and server well as a netminder.

Pick 9 Forge

- S50: Ivan Maximus Platoon

- 1387 - C - With my 9th pick, I am picking another younger centerman. Maxiums had a high amount of TPE on the form that I was seeing (Again I'm dumb) and I figured they would be a good fit as my 2nd line center here. Younger in age with plenty of seasons to go. I feel like Maximus will be a great anchor for my second line.

Pick 10

- S53: Taylor Johansson Stars

- 1393 - C - Solidifying the franchise centers is a top priority for my draft, so picking up another relatively young player who is just about to enter their prime was a top priority here. Although Johansson isn't at the top of his class, he's proven that he can still earn at a steady rate and will be a great member of the Patriotes.

Pick 11

- S48: Barrett Blackwood Panthers

- 1547 - W - At pick 11, there's still tons of good players on the board. Blackwood is one of those players who has already proven his strength in the league for many seasons and will be an essential piece of the top line while younger players are developing.

Pick 12 Forge

- S50: First-Name Last-Name Stars

- 1530 - C - First-Name Last Name was a great pick up here in my opinion. I like drafting out of the season 50 class due to them having been in the league for a bit. But being young enough to not have to worry too much about regression coming up. First-Name and Ivan will battle between the second and third line center. Both will most likely get time in the postion just to see how it goes.

Pick 13 Forge

- S55: Nathan Thomas pride

- 999 - D - One of my youngest picks. Thomas is coming around the corner of 1000 TPE and will be servicable now and even better later. This is a pick to help ease the worries of draft and free agency in the future. I believe that Thomas could be a defensive star with the right guidance.

Pick 14 Patriotes

- S51: Abel Skinner Argonauts

- 1633 - D - With Hordle finally discovering the latter half of the eastern conference and all the teams in the west, I felt extremely fortunate to be able to pick up Skinner here. He's another player who has earned at a steady rate despite being a bit further down in his class. The defensive core is starting to look incredibly strong with this addition.

Pick 15 Patriotes

- S54: Justin Keahi Barracuda

- 1276 - W - Picking up yet another S54 player is great here. Keahi will be hitting his top TPE numbers at the same time as earlier picks such as Lazer and Stratton which should be able to carry the team over the tough period where the older draftees start to regress and retire. Since I can't draft any S58 or S59 players, I feel the need to draft strong players like Keahi to hold the team together while we wait for the younger classes.

Pick 16 Forge

- S51: White Goodman Renegades

- 1358 - G - Mr. Goodman! I DISCOVERED THE OTHER HALF OF THE SHEET. Jesus, I feel so stupid. Anyway, I saw Mr Goodman on the board and had to take him. As a high TPE goalie, he'll be my star goaltender for the typing being and being from seasom 51. He'll fit into the age model that I am trying to start with.

Pick 17 Forge

- S43: Tony Pepperoni Blizzard

- 1614 - C - I had to. Pepperoni is an actual teammate of mine and even though he is an old man. I believe that his leadership (and skill) are to useful to pass up at this postion.

Pick 18 Patriotes

- S47: Boris Poroshenko Dragons

- 1532 - C - After picking up Poroshenko with the 18th overall pick, I feel like both expansion teams will end up looking very strong at the center position. Although he's the 5th center to be drafted here, Poroshenko still has really good TPE. If I'm up to date with the goings on of the SHL, if a strong enough team is able to secure Poroshenko, free agent Mats Marner would also be enticed to sign here. With the amount of talent in this expansion draft I think drafting Poroshenko here could have some surprising value.

Pick 19

- S56: Alexis Vermette Wolfpack

- 914 - W - With an already strong core being assembled for the Patriotes, picking up Vermette here is a move to solidify the future of the team. A strong earner in the young S56 class, Vermette should be able to have plenty of opportunities with the team moving forward. Over the course of the draft I have realized how tough it is to balance pursuing success now and also success in the future, and Vermette should be able to make the future part a little easier.

Pick 20 Forge

- S48: Satoshi Zizagooney Argonauts

- 1651 - D - This name is gonna kill me. Zizagooney is a strong defensive leader and will be fitting in well with my teams age model. Though they are a bit older and I can see them retiring in the next few seasons. I believe the risk is worth it to take a chance at making the playoffs and potentially making history.

Pick 21 Forge

- S56: Jst Maro Aurora

- 759 - C - Maro! A QCC player that is young and developing. Another grab for the future. Maro will eventually take over as a star first liner, I'm sure of it.

Pick 22 Patriotes

- S46: Mathias Seger

- 1873 - D - I was kind of surprised to see Seger available this late in the draft. As far as I know, Segi is a wonderful member of the community and his player, Seger has been a core member of the Monarchs and now Panthers as part of a very successful career. He should still be a pretty strong player entering the later years of his career and will definitely be a great addition here.

Pick 23

- S57: Vincent Mietitore Aurora

- 705 - G - I'd be surprised if Mietitore didn't end up being the future star goaltender of one of these two expansion teams. Earning at a good pace in the very young S57 class should mean that Mietitore has plenty of time to develop and learn from Stratton to grow into a franchise goaltender for the Patriotes.

Pick 24 Forge

- S53: Carlos Brown Inferno

- 994 - W - I started to shoot for more young players here just to shore up the future. Marrow was first and Mr. Brown is shortly after. Coming in a 994 tpe while writing this, it won't be long before the winger is coming around 1000 TPE and shooting up the depth chart.

Pick 25 Forge

- S53: Bradley Barkov Specters

- 854 - D - More younger picks. Bradley Barkov of the season 53 class is a defensive prodigy in my opinon. The same season as Brown. These two should fit in well together and develop at the same pace.

Pick 26

- S57: Jarmo Kekäläinen pride

- 665 - W - Another young member of the S57 class, Kekalainen has slightly less TPE than Mietitore, but has been a fantastic prospect of the Pride for these last few seasons so I'm confident that he'll be a great future member of this expansion team. The Patriotes are already looking strong, so picking up another promising young prospect is exactly what we need to secure a stable future.

Pick 27

- S53: (Clean) Andrei Kostitsyn Wolfpack

- 1038 - W - To fill out the remaining spots on the roster, Kostitsyn, the cleanest player in the league, should be a very nice addition to the wings. Although his TPE is slightly low for S53, I know that his personality and presence on twitter will more than make up the difference. Hopefully he still has room to grow and move up the lines as well as time goes on.

Pick 28 Forge

- S55: Alex Marshall Monarchs

- 966 - W - Securing some more offensive development, Marshall was a great pick here. At the season 55 class, Marshall hasn't been in the league that long and is already toping 950 TPE. Soon enough they'll be in the 1000 range and should prove to be a winger of the future.

Pick 29 Forge

- S50: Rintarou Okabe Inferno

- 1041 - D - Okabe fits into the S50 window that I wanted to draft from. And as my last defensive pick they will find themselves on the second line with Kirkby. I believe this will be a good pick for keeping a defensive core strong for a while.

Pick 30 Patriotes

- S47: Tony Ford Monarchs

- 1129 - D - Another player on the older end of the spectrum, Ford should be a fairly solid depth defenseman. Drafting a player with 1100 TPE this late in the draft should mean that there are no glaring holes in any line for this team. Drafting another slightly older player will allow for the stars of the S60 draft class to move in with perfect timing down the road.

Pick 31 Patriotes

- S55: Lassi Suhonen syndicate

- 962 - C - Another promising young prospect, Suhonen should be a great addition to the depth of this team. Although three centers have already been drafted here, if Suhonen is able to keep earning at a steady pace, the slot eventually left by the slightly older players should be able to be filled by Suhonen in future seasons.

Pick 32 Forge

- S50: Alexei Rykov Specters

- 902 - W - Rykov will serve as a filler/scratch for the most part. At season 50 they have one of the lowest TPE totals of the others from the same class. But regardless they will see some playing time on the third line in the future.

Pick 33 Forge

- S50: Luca Veccelli Rage

- 1093 - C - Luca Veccelli will round out my picks. Fitting back into the S50 area that I wanted to draft from. I feel like Veccelli will round out the second and third line well when needed. And if nothing else there is trade value in the centerman.

Pick 34

- S40: Otis B. Driftwood Dragons

- 989 - D - The oldest pick for me in this mock draft, Driftwood should be a very solid member for the Patriotes as he ages out of his career. The decent amount of TPE should be enough to allow for some of the younger players to develop while also keeping the team competitive in terms of depth. My hand was kind of forced here with the dragons being the only team still eligible for a pick and the Patriotes still needing a 6th defenseman. Maybe the real GMs will have better foresight that me here and avoid having to draft a S40 player.

Pick 35

- S51: Kaarlo Kekkonen Renegades

- 1958 - W - It's kind of crazy how nobody noticed Kekkonen until this point. How could we both be so blind? Easily the best pick of the entire draft for the Patriotes, I think Kekkonen should be instantly promoted to GM. He will clearly be the leader of the team for many years to come and I feel bad for picking him up so late in the draft. He definitely won't fall this far in the real thing.

Pick 36 Forge

- S43: Rex Kirkby Stampede

- 1662 - D - The GM player pick is pretty much how this goes. I'm not gonna be all snarky like Keben. Tongue

Projected lines for the Philadelphia Forge Forge

:

Average Forward TPE: 1245 (16th/20)
Ronlain (1638) - Pepperoni (1614) - Connolly (1562)
Veccelli (1093) - Last-Name (1530) - Brown (994)
Marshall (966) - Maximus (1387) - Rykov (902)
Maro (759)

Average Defense TPE: 1236 (13th/20)
Kirkby (1662) - Zizagooney (1651)
Lespineau-Lebrunette (1206) - Okabe (1041)
Thomas (999) - Barkov (854)

Average Goalie TPE: 1265 (10th/20)
Goodman (1358)
Larson (1172)

Average Total TPE: 1244 (18th/20)

Projected lines for the Montreal Patriotes

:

Average Forward TPE: 1319 (13th/20)
Kekkonen (1958) - Sharp (1902) - Blackwood (1547)
Keahi (1276) - Poroshenko (1532) - Kostitsyn (1038)
Vermette (914) - Johansson (1393) - Suhonen (962)
Kekalainen (665)

Average Defense TPE: 1471 (6th/20)
Seger (1873) - Ibrahimovic Jr. (1803)
Skinner (1633) - Lazer (1399)
Ford (1129) - Driftwood (989)

Average Goalie TPE: 989 (17th/20)
Stratton (1272)
Mietitore (705)

Average Total TPE: 1333 (12th/20)

And there you have it, our little take on what the expansion draft might look like. The actual job of the GMs will be much more difficult than what we had to do here, but this mock draft at least gives us a sense of how the teams could stack up to the rest of the league. We can see that there's plenty of top quality defensemen available, which allowed Montreal to draft a team worthy of 6th in the league already. Philadelphia's defensive placement of 13th is also quite a bit higher than their overall TPE placement of 18th, which further reinforces how strong these draft teams could end up being on the blue line. Going forward, it might be difficult for these teams to manage the timing of prospects and plans for future rosters since all players from S58 and S59 were ineligible to be drafted here, but it should be okay since these teams seem to be getting a solid jump into the league regardless. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!

3000 words split with @Hordle

***Hordle*** · 05-25-2021, 07:45 PM

I'M STUPID

Sopath · 05-26-2021, 03:12 AM

Otis B retired so now you have to update the whole list >:D

*Keven* · 05-26-2021, 01:01 PM

05-26-2021, 03:12 AMSopath Wrote: Otis B retired so now you have to update the whole list >:D

I won't change the original article but I think I can fix this...

Pick 31 becomes S46: Jules Watt syndicate

- 949 - D

Pick 34 becomes S44: Mikael Choybuk Dragons

- 1173 - W

I'm definitely not cut out to be a real expansion GM. Keeping track of all these players is tough Confused

***luke*** · 05-26-2021, 01:09 PM

I think in terms of people selected you are correct, but the order in which people are picked are probably wrong. Like I think goalies will be taken a lot later, as forwards and defensemen are way more valuable. Overall I loved the media article

*Keven* · 05-26-2021, 03:26 PM

05-26-2021, 01:09 PMluketd Wrote: I think in terms of people selected you are correct, but the order in which people are picked are probably wrong. Like I think goalies will be taken a lot later, as forwards and defensemen are way more valuable. Overall I loved the media article

Thanks for the feedback! I can definitely see now that even with the relatively low supply of active goalies available there's definitely going to be enough time to wait it out and draft them later in order to secure better skaters. Yet another good reason to leave the real draft to the real GMs. I'll start taking notes to prep for the S80 expansion draft when I might apply lol

Sean · 05-26-2021, 04:24 PM

Fun read and I think you guys did a pretty good job! those teams don't look too bad. It's definitely a new feeling to see myself as a potential expansion pick!

EDM All-Time Leader in Goals, Assists and Points

SlashACM · 05-26-2021, 10:13 PM

Barkov sucks

*gurbs* · 05-27-2021, 12:44 PM

Nice work! Did better than I could’ve done… weird seeing myself as a pick :eyes:

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