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*AgentSmith630* · 01-07-2023, 05:02 PM

The mock draft is a wonderful time to engage with the site and the users in the draft, as well as the GMs who are supposedly working on scouting the class. Below is a list of each picks possibilities and some basic reasoning for each pick.
These are my own opinions, sprinkled with tidbits of information that I've managed to gather over the past few days.

1.

Minnesota Monarchs -
Possible Picks: Luca Pane - Nictox, Billy Herrington - Ferda, Georg N'Zola - retuperkele, Oskar Scholz - Karlssens
Reasoning: The top of this class is heavy with recreates and notable names, and I think Minnesota is going to have to struggle to not get a winner here. They already have a ton of prospects (16 before call-ups), so they’re just looking for any remaining pieces. Any of the options listed above would be home runs for what they’re looking for. I’ve heard several names mentioned here, but Pane is the most frequent.

2.

Tampa Bay Barracuda -
Possible Picks: Johnny Wagner-Svenson - AgentSmith630, Pork Tenderloin - Rankle, Georg N'Zola - retuperkele, Oskar Scholz - Karlssens
Reasoning: Dwight Knight, the GM of Tampa, and Wagner-Svenson are friends in real life, and have been a part of the Hockey Talk Tonight podcast since its inception. Tenderloin was an integral part of the previous playoff pushes in Tampa, so both of these picks make sense. Retu was a part of Carolina when Dwight was a part of the war room before he moved upwards to the Tampa position. A lot of teams are waiting with bated breath to see how this pick shakes out. I could even see a trade back here for a team desperate to make their pick before it gets stolen.

3.

Los Angeles Panthers -
Possible Picks: Luca Pane - Nictox, Johnny Wagner-Svenson - AgentSmith630, Antoine Beauregard - Count Chocula, Georg N'Zola - retuperkele, Petr Vrana - randominoe, Oskar Scholz - Karlssens
Reasoning: There is still an abundance of high-quality players here, but it really depends on what happens with the first two picks. It might even make sense to see who is willing to move up if Tampa snipes who they want, though since they already moved up from 5, they probably already have a backup plan to their backup plan.

4. pride

San Francisco Pride -
Possible Picks: Johnny Wagner-Svenson - AgentSmith630, Oskar Scholz - Karlssens, Petr Vrana - randominoe, Pork Tenderloin - Rankle
Reasoning: With San Francisco being Smith’s previous home, it makes sense that they’re going to do everything in their power to bring him back with Wagner-Svenson. If it doesn’t go their way, however, I wouldn’t be surprised to see another well-known and reliable recreate

5. Aurora

Winnipeg Aurora -
Possible Picks: Petr Vrana - randominoe, Georg N'Zola - retuperkele, Pork Tenderloin - Rankle, Oskar Scholz - Karlssens
Reasoning: Winnipeg is extremely happy to have this pick from Los Angeles, as they’re going to be able to add to an amazing roster with another likely recreate who is only going to be an addition later down the road. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see a trade out here, as it’s possible they run into roster and/or cap space issues by the time this class is ready to come up to the SHL.

6. pride

San Francisco Pride -
Possible Picks: Peter Tingle - Ricer13, Pork Tenderloin - Rankle, Jølñgüštrâädæviñçh DuBølk - MCP_, Peter Tingle - Ricer13
Reasoning: San Francisco’s second pick is a bit of a toss-up. They’re in desperate need of Defensive prospects, but there are also a lot of power users still left on the board as Forwards. You could also see the first first-gen player off the board here, as there are several standouts that have made themselves known as possible stars.

7. Platoon

Baltimore Platoon -
Possible Picks: Oskar Scholz - Karlssens, Antoine Beauregard - Count Chocula, Klaes Ashford - Leoben, Jack McCarthy - Operation Ivy, Jølñgüštrâädæviñçh DuBølk - MCP_
Reasoning: Baltimore needs a little bit of everything here, so a user known for sticking with a player to earn well is likely going to be a target, as they can’t really afford to miss here. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a recreate, though they may put their faith in a first-gen player who impressed them in their scouting process. It’s also possible to see a trade down here to pick up extra resources later or in the future.

8.

Edmonton Blizzard -
Possible Picks: Hugh Manius - Bonk, John Hopoate - .simo, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez - Samsung virtual assistant
Reasoning: Edmonton is a bit of a wild card since they need some of everything to help pull them out of what feels like an eternal rebuild. A user known for long careers makes sense here, and a new user to help keep their locker room active are both good ideas.

9.

New England Wolfpack -
Possible Picks: Hugh Manius - Bonk, Damien Hirano - damienj10, Dusty Wilson - dustywilson22
Reasoning: Another team that doesn’t share a lot of info, so it’s hard to read what they need or want here. There are still a lot of names here that Luke recognizes, so it would be easy to take a comfort pick and snag someone he knows.

10.

New Orleans Specters -
Possible Picks: Hugh Manius - Bonk, Patrice Bergeron - McGriddy10
Reasoning: I’ve heard that New Orleans GM JoeK and Bonk are friends in real life, so there’s a strong connection here already. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Bonk is already gone by this point, so there could be something different here, such as a first-gen who has made an effort to be a standout.

11.

Tampa Bay Barracuda -
Possible Picks: Petr Vrana - randominoe, Jølñgüštrâädæviñçh DuBølk - MCP_, Tiberius Kane - PremierBromanov, FITTED *PRIMETIME99* CUDDLES - Fitted2106
Reasoning: At this point, it’s hard to know who’s going to be available at this point, so who knows what Tampa is going to do. Plus, DK is a wild card so it’s hard to know who is high on his list. There are several players in this class who have been in Tampa before and have made it known that they want to return, so keep an eye out for them in these spots.

12.

Tampa Bay Barracuda -
Possible Picks: Jølñgüštrâädæviñçh DuBølk - MCP_, Tiberius Kane - PremierBromanov, Peter Tingle - Ricer13, Ray Alexander - TheRoyalEmpoleon
Reasoning: The same reasoning as above, it’s going to depend on who is available.

13. Dragons

Calgary Dragons -
Possible Picks: James Dion - Leatherneckmike, Antoine Beauregard - Count Chocula, Edward Flinders - Avakael, David Doug - TheSparkyDee
Reasoning: I honestly have no idea who the Dragons are looking at here. I’m not sure if any of the draftees have played for Calgary before, but they have a tight-knit community that likes to bring back old members, so look for that if it exists.

14.

Texas Renegades -
Possible Picks: Antoine Beauregard - Count Chocula, Edward Flinders - Avakael, David Doug - TheSparkyDee,
Reasoning: This late in the first round is really me starting to throw darts at users that have a previous record of success, and there are still a few here that fit that criteria. Texas is also in a good spot to take a long look at the first gens still on the board here. There are several that could end up being a steal in the back half of the first round.

15. Inferno

Atlanta Inferno -
Possible Picks: John Hopoate - .simo, Damien Hirano - damienj10, David Doug - TheSparkyDee
Reasoning: Atlanta really is a wild card here. They’re already strong, but it’s hard to know how long their window will last, so it’s likely they’re picking for the far future. It’s possible that they take a low-risk pick with a user who has at least a semi-proven track record.

16.

Hamilton Steelhawks -
Possible Picks: Clint Clampton - HanTheMan_
Reasoning: From what I’ve been told, Han is a Hamilton boy through and through, and they like to stick together. Unless he gets taken sooner, I would be pretty confident in this pick here.

17. pride

San Francisco Pride -
Possible Picks: Jack McCarthy - Operation Ivy, Ray Alexander - TheRoyalEmpoleon
Reasoning: I think San Francisco is likely to target a first gen player here after they secure their known quantities earlier in the round.

18.

Buffalo Stampede -
Possible Picks: Edward Flinders - Avakael, Jack McCarthy - Operation Ivy, Ray Alexander - TheRoyalEmpoleon
Reasoning: Avakael made it known that he wants to go to Buffalo, so this is where I put him. This late in the round, it’s all going to depend on who’s there.

19. pride

San Francisco Pride -
Possible Picks: Jack McCarthy - Operation Ivy, Ray Alexander - TheRoyalEmpoleon
Reasoning: This pick is going to be reliant on who is available here.

20.

Texas Renegades -
Possible Picks: Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez - Samsung virtual assistant, Jack McCarthy - Operation Ivy, Ray Alexander - TheRoyalEmpoleon
Reasoning: This pick is going to be reliant on who is available here.