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*Otrebor13* · 04-18-2019, 09:08 PM

As I mentioned in my previous article (if you were one of the few who read it), I haven’t had time to get articles out because of work. However, now you’re all getting a second article in as many nights from me because I think I can bang this one out quickly before leaving my house. I thought I would do something slightly different. Even though this article will be about the S47 SHL Entry Draft, I’ve decided to highlight a few things that happened on draft day as somewhat of a little recap on the day. As much as I’d love to ramble some more, let’s get right in to it!

Mock Draft Mayhem

Before even getting to the draft, it’s only fitting we start with the Mock Draft. Let me tell you, this was absolute madness. I can honestly say I did nothing at work that day while I was trying to get my mock draft in order. If an of you were a part of the S47 discord, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. That chat was going at a mile a minute, constant messages from everyone trying to hash out a perfect mock. Some of you may not be aware, but back during my first stint in the SHL, I put a lot of time and effort into the mock draft PT. I had my sources and GMs were much more open about picks, so I did fairly well. Lots of people would wait for my mock and eventually copy it. However, all these hours spent trying to perfect my mock this time around and I got one hell of a messed up mock.

I’m not sure if it’s that GMs are much more tight lipped about their picks, or perhaps there are a lot of newer GMs around who don’t know me/trust me to give me info. Nevertheless, this was the beginning of draft day and it did not disappoint (the amount of TPE I get from the mock draft PT might, though).

Winnipeg Jax

After the mock draft, the only logical place to go next is the draft itself. The much anticipated 1st round pick was up, but there was a curveball – or so we thought – to open up the draft. Commissioner Eggy came out, put the Winnipeg Jets on the clock and then a massive TRADE ALERT comes up just a few short posts later. Impossible. I think everyone was shaken when that came up as everyone expected Jax Duggan to be going 1st overall to the Jets. Well, we were right. It was an attempt at the league management and Winnipeg Jets to troll us and boy did it work. The trade was for a swap of 3rd round picks and Jax Duggan ended up going 1st overall to the Winnipeg Jets. Lots of pressure comes with being a 1st overall pick, so we’ll be sure to keep an eye on Duggan as he progresses (No pressure).

HAS ANYBODY HEARD FROM CHICAGO!?

We slide a couple of picks down to the 3rd overall spot (sorry Tampa and Jess) where we have the Chicago Syndicate. I promise you, the amount of times I saw someone in the S47 discord write “Has anybody heard from Chicago?” was outrageous. Rumblings of a potential trade stalled everyone’s mock draft right here. Nobody knew what would happen as a lot of it depended on who Chicago would be taking at the 3 spot. I think even after the draft started, Chicago was on the clock and they still hadn’t picked, and I was still seeing people comment “HAS ANYBODY HEARD FROM CHICAGO!?” until finally they came out and selected Corey Kennedy (thank you to my source for getting me this info and getting me some TPE, you know who you are)

SMJHL Simmer Slides

In perhaps the most bizarre turn of events, Marc Hagan, the current SMJHL simmer slid all the way in to the middle of the 2nd round where the Edmonton Blizzard would eventually – and I’m sure extremely happily – selected him. This, to me, was by far the biggest surprise of the draft. All throughout the day nobody was making anything of Hagan, he wasn’t even featured in many 1st rounds on people’s mock drafts, which I found very odd. I’m not sure what happened here and why GMs let him slip as far as he did, but I think they made a mistake. Hagan is getting paid 10M a season and gets free PTs. You know what that means? That means you’re guaranteeing yourself someone who will update and won’t miss a single PT. This is a no brainer. Hagan himself was shocked, as he had a press conference following the draft, where he was visibly irate. I don’t blame him. However, this just means he’s going to have a very large chip on his shoulders and will likely prove everyone wrong.

Oh and side note: For any SHL GMs who currently have a player in the SMJHL, don’t be surprised if your team mysteriously struggles the next few seasons. I wouldn’t worry about it too much though, the sim can be very random…

Undrafted Free Agents Leave Their Mark on the Draft

I was very surprised about this, but the number of undrafted free agents selected in the first two rounds was much higher than expected.6 undrafted free agents were selected in the first 32 picks, which makes up 18.75% of the first two rounds. That is absolutely incredible. They were all behind in TPE, but showed excellent progression during the season which had them catapult up the rankings. I’m not sure where they would have ranked had they been around as long as everyone else in the S47 class, but it’s great to see. A lot of people don’t like joining the league when they’re already behind, but I think this goes to show that as long as you’re active, you can make an impact and still get selected high up in the draft.

SMJHL Player Selected Multiple Times?

In what is maybe the strangest turn of events, People Asking to Skip Selections – better known as PASS – became the first SMJHLer in the draft to be selected multiple times. It was extremely strange to see multiple teams selecting PASS (some teams even selected him more than once!). However, PASS didn’t just get selected a couple of times, he got selected a whopping 29 times! In a draft that had 80 selections, that’s an astronomical 36.25% (I’m running out of adjectives to showcase just how marvelous this is)! I’m going to be very interested to see how he fits in to a team’s lineup, but first I would love to see which team will actually get his rights. I’d bet on Manhattan, New Orleans or Buffalo, as they each selected him 3 times, which was the most of any team. Either way, I’m sure PASS is going to have one hell of a decision to make being wanted that many times.

Well, there you have it folks, my S47 SHL Draft Day highlights. I hope you all enjoyed a slightly different take on a draft related article. Until I write another VTOO article or 2x media time, peace!

1206 words, 2x media