So this is a media piece I wrote almost a year ago (last September to be exact) and I'm updating it now because I need the money, but also because I thought it would be interesting to see how the players previously listed have grown and any new contenders that have been drafted since. Essentially what this is, is that I knew I was the best player drafted 37th overall and I wanted to prove it by naming all of the busts that were ever drafted here as well as showcasing some up and coming players drafted in the later rounds as well.

A little personal history recap for myself is that I appeared on this site mysteriously the day after the SMJHL 46? draft where I was able to sign as a free agent with the Kelowna Knights and play along side my friend and the person who recruited me: Guy Zheng. He suggested the idea of us starting a podcast in order to make some money to buy equipment (one of the best podcasts ever by the way, you should totally check it out but also im too lazy to put up a link) and somewhere along the way we publicly announced to our huge audience of 40 people that we would only play on the same team together. Of course, in doing so I totally tanked my draft stock because I joined the site late and had less TPE than others in my draft class. Zheng was taken 15th overall by New England with their third pick in the first round and after that teams stayed away because they were worried I wouldn't re-sign with them (they were probably right). Anyway, Calgary was going to draft me so I messaged Ace and he traded two thirds for a higher third and drafted me 37th overall. So this article is basically his fault, please direct all complaints to him. 

I've just finished my 8th and unfortunately final season with New England and in that time period I've landed myself as 16th in all time points for the team with 313 (142 goals and 171 assists). Last season I had the second highest +/- ever: 46 (thanks FHM), which has unfortunately been beat but whatever. I've played a strong game as a two-way forward for the last few seasons on the top line and this past season I've had hella takeaways so hopefully I end up with a few Dar noms. According to the spreadsheets, I'm 9th overall in TPE for my draft class, a HUGE improvement from where I was drafted and only a few behind Zheng who sits at 6th. After a few seasons of under performing and missing the playoffs with New England, me and ride or die parter Guy Zheng were traded in a blockbuster deal to the Hamilton Steelhawks with 4 firsts and a few prospects coming back the other way.

After I was drafted in S46, the LA Panthers drafted someone by the name of Jay Boom'Boom 37th in S47. Seemed promising, as he had been on the site since December 2012, but unfortunately retired his player, reaching a peak of 246 TPE. Not a very good pick for the Panthers. 8 picks later, at 45th Minnesota picked Igor Volkov who was recently traded to New England. He is currently sitting at 22nd in terms of TPE which is much better than his draft position, however there are only 27 active players remaining from that draft class. Basically though, since it wasn't a r/hockey draft, talent really fell off after the second round.

The Winnipeg Jets drafted 37th overall in S48, taking a right winger, Tah Puhcheese. Puhcheese at the time I first wrote this article sat at 355 TPE and was 29th TPE wise compared to the rest of his draft class, which at the time was decent. Unfortunately, there was such a large disparity between top and middling TPE earners in this draft class. The top TPE earner was almost 300 TPE higher, 287 at the time of writing to be exact. For the draft position he was taken at, this was a good pick for Winnipeg, definitely above average for 37th overall in a non-reddit draft. Unfortunately somewhere along the way, not sure exactly when, he retired which seems to be a common theme amongst players drafted 37th.

Just one season later, the Texas Renegades scooped up Gavin Hughes, one of the last players taken in the draft, whilst all the other teams were relinquishing their picks and passing. He was a d-man who has since retired. 

The last pick I discussed when I first wrote this article was Sasha Danglechek taken by my previous team, New England. Compared to other players in his draft class he is currently ranked 30th, so a slight improvement compared to where he was selected. Danglechek just finished up his first season up in the majors after three or four seasons down with St. Louis, with 4 goals and 8 assists. His play style is that of a power forward and they definitely have the body for it standing 6ft 3in tall and weighing 220 pounds. His presence was well known as he landed 60 hits while only playing limited minutes on the third line.

Since I first wrote this article, it doesn't look like those picked 37th have fared very well. For starters, nobody was drafted in S51 and S52, in part due to them both being smaller draft classes as well as the teams that had those picks not feeling the need to draft what was likely going to be an inactive or a small earner. S53 was probably a reddit draft (idk i dont research things) with players continuing to be selected in the 4th round. Los Angeles had the 37th overall pick this draft and with it they selected Michael Lee, a defenceman playing for Carolina. Currently in terms of TPE, he is sitting at 40th, with an 80 TPE difference between him and 37th, almost 25% of his current TPE level. Quite a big drop off in terms of earnings, so while it is still early, it does look to be a disappointing pick for LA.

In the most recent draft before the one that's about to happen (yea thats right you fuckers, i pre-write this shit), S54, New Orleans had the sacred pick with which they selected Kwame Dakari, a forward who also plays for Carolina. Was this a reddit draft? Probably, there were just about three full rounds of players selected and still so many that are still active, though it's still a little too early to say how long some of these players will stay active for. Initial impressions of the pick are strong; Dakari is currently sitting at 26th in terms of TPE and there is only a 20 TPE difference between him and 20th place. If he can keep up the pace, NOLA is looking at a strong mid-line player that can join their team in a few seasons.

Today was the day of the S55 SHL Entry Draft and the Winnipeg Jets selected Zelma Zuntnere 37th overall. Zuntnere was one of the players I expected to be taken in this range. As of Sunday they were tied for 35th in TPE for their draft class and they only have 2 more than 37th. Since it's still so early on it's hard to expect much from any players selected in this range; in fact, there's only a 20 TPE difference between someone who's 35th and someone who is 20th in TPE rankings. Zuntere is a left winger playing for the latest cup champions, the Carolina Kraken. Playing what appears to be 3rd line minutes, they managed to get 9 points while shooting at under 7%. Safe bet to see these point totals soar next season if they continue to earn at a steady pace.

Just to recap quickly, I'm still better than all you hoes.