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DRAFT REVIEW – by The_Alpha_Furyan When I first started discussing with the NHLGamer staff about contributing to the site, I knew I wanted to write and I also knew this was exactly the kind of texts I wanted to produce. I've always been a self-proclaimed stats- and prospects buff, with a fascination for everything from scouting reports to the drafting process to discussing different stats to gaining an interest in the modern "advanced stats". Combine that with my interest in writing and I knew we could be on to something! Anyway, without further ado, here is my first contribution to NHLGamera as a very loose member of the talented website staff. I'm going to start off this draft review by looking backwards, to the Mock Draft I posted in the days leading up to the draft. Let's take a look at those rankings (you can view that topic in the forums here: http://nhlgamer.com/community/topic/309-mock-1st-round-for-summer-cup-draft/) : 1. Dominointi (Forward) 2. Joukki13 (Forward) 3. OxTreeLAT (Goalie) 4. imosi1 (Forward) 5. poliskontroll (Goalie) 6. bjono (Forward) 7. Egyptologen (Defenseman) 8. FinKonna (Goalie) 9. Hanssoni (Forward) 10. plee999 (Forward) 11. tbantti (Forward) 12. SadaPoika (Forward) 13. Pelle3000 (Forward) 14. Chafak (Forward) In total I predicted 10 Forwards, 3 Goalies and 1 Defenseman for the first round. Now, lets compare that with how the actual first round turned out: 1. imosi1 (Forward) 2. vatalisti (Defenseman) 3. Dominointi (Forward) 4. joukki13 (Forward) 5. Foppatofflan (Forward) 6. bjono (Forward) 7. plee999 (Forward) 8. Chafak (Forward) 9. SadaPoika (Forward) 10. OxTreeLAT (Goalie) 11. tbnantti (Forward) 12. TehhAhola (Forward) 13. Tapparfan- (Forward) 14. wickedtah69 (Forward) For those keeping score at home, that is a total of 12 Forwards, 1 Goalie and 1 Defenseman - suggesting the team captains prioritized getting those high-scoring forwards as soon as possible. Now, while I had counted on this being a factor in the first round, I also thought goalies would be a higher priority than they were. Interesting how that turns out sometimes! Finally, the results of the mock draft had 9 out of the 14 players I predicted actually being picked in the first round with bjono at #6 an tbnantti at #11 being perfect matches. The remaining 5 were all picked in the first three rounds so all in all, I consider the mock draft a success and encourage others to join me in the mock drafting for the next Summer Cup! Moving on, let's take a look at the players that were picked: #1 Overall - imosi1 # in mock draft - 4 Pick made by - vSilenttio Previous Teams - SIKA, Finnish Roosters ECL Stats - Regular season: 32GP, 31G 38A = 69P. Playoffs: 31GP, 15G 26A = 41P. Scouting - When I suggested imosi1 might go as early as #4 he wanted to know if I had consumed mushrooms. Turns out he was right to doubt me as he ended up going first overall. Captain vSilenttio probably knows full well what imosi1 brings to a team seeing as they've played together quite a lot through the years. For those of you who don't know imosi1 I can tell you that this #1 pick brings a high level of skill and two-way responsibility to his team. If asked to perform as the teams sniper, he does. If asked to shut down the oppositions top forwards, he does. If asked to create plays, he does. As someone in the draft sheet said - "this guy does it all!". #2 Overall - vatalisti # in mock draft - N/A Pick made by - Billy44205 Previous Teams - Carlsberg HC, Victorious Secrets HC ECL Stats - Regular season: 29GP, 7G 48A = 55P. Playoffs: 52GP, 14G 48A = 62P. Scouting - The only defenseman picked in the first round, vatalisti should provide a solid base for Billy44205 to organize his team around. A solid two-way, pass first defenseman (who can also play center), vatalisti has proven his worth in the two previous ECL tournaments with Carlsberg and VSH. Look no further than the fact that this defender has 29 games in the regular season to 55 in the playoffs to know that he is a proven playoff warrior who will be looking to take his team to a third straight appearance in the finals. #3 Overall - Dominointi # in mock draft - 1 Pick made by - mir021k Previous Teams - Nordic Blizzard ECL Stats - Regular season: 26GP, 41G 42A = 83P. Playoffs: 26GP, 31G 41A = 72P. Scouting - The first overall pick in the mock draft fell to 3rd here but it was still an expected early pick for Dominointi. This number one center for the one-time ECL champions Nordic Blizzard is an incredibly skilled point-producing center who besides putting up goals and assists in droves, still finds the time to be ranked #1 in the world in Online Vs. for NHL 16. If one were to describe this players style, it would be "dominant" - not unlike the name he has chosen for himself. Look for mir021k's team to lean heavily on Dominointi to gain success in this tournament. #4 Overall - joukki13 # in mock draft - 2 Pick made by - debi_85 Previous Teams - Carlsberg HC, Victorious Secrets HC ECL Stats - Regular season: 31GP, 71G 55A = 126P. Playoffs: 50GP, 57G 62A = 119P. Scouting - In my opinion, the best and purest sniper in this draft. joukki13 has, just like vatalisti, been a part of two straight ECL finals without yet having a trophy to his name - something that has to be frustrating for this goal-scoring LW. His skill in scoring goals is only matched by his undying love for The Walking Dead character Rick Grimes. Look for joukki to once again be in the top-10 for goal scoring when the Summer Cup is over and who knows? Maybe another final is in the cards for mr. Grimes... #5 Overall - Foppatofflan # in mock draft - N/A Pick made by - pelimies80 Previous Teams - Bombers Hockey ECL Stats - Regular season: 21GP, 20G 24A = 48P. Playoffs: 5GP, 0G 6A = 6P. Scouting - Looking at his ECL stats, taking Foppatofflan as the #5 overall pick seems like a misstep. For those who are aware of what this creative forward has accomplished in the past, it's not as much of a surprise. However absent from ECL Season 2, Foppatofflan is still a known commodity in what used to be the Xbox360 community. Famous for his unorthodox playing style where no one can ever predict if he will pull a triple deke, go for the behind-the-back pass or simply take the puck to the net and deke the goalie out of his jock. For those who didn't know him before, I suspect he will open a lot of eyes this Summer Cup. #6 Overall - |bjono| # in mock draft - 6 Pick made by - LastMandalorian Previous Teams - Sjukstugan ECL Stats - Regular season: 34GP, 38G 50A = 88P. Playoffs: 27GP, 21G 28A = 49P. Scouting - Exactly as predicted, bjono went as #6! All kidding aside, this is a very solid pick to build a team around. Having been around as the captain and leader of Sjukstugan for as long as I can remember, this forward is a consistent point producer who besides never missing a game is also defensively responsible and, just like all of Sjukstugans players, a talented hitter. Will probably be paired up with regular teammate pnordetun in what is looking like one of the tournaments strongest forward corps. #7 Overall - PleeMaker # in mock draft - 10 Pick made by - Patzlaf Previous Teams - Carlsberg HC, Northern Stars, Finnish Roosters ECL Stats - Regular season: 25GP, 44G 41A = 85P. Playoffs: 35GP, 34G 24A = 58P. Scouting - A controversial figure in the community, much can be said about PleeMaker. However, what cannot be denied is his skill on the ice. Having racked up over a goal per game in both the ECL regular seasons and playoffs, PleeMaker is seemingly most comfortable on one of the wings where he can use his feared one-timer to terrorize goalies. Combining his talent for goal scoring and point producing with high-skilled center (and captain) Patzlaf seems like a receipe for success. Don't be surprised if one, or both, of these players end up high on the Summer Cup stat charts for goals and points. #8 Overall - Chafak # in mock draft - 14 Pick made by - Basstian223 Previous Teams - Aapon Taikasauva ECL Stats - Regular season: 34GP, 53G 45A = 98P. Playoffs: 25GP, 32G 24A = 56P. Scouting - Chafak is somewhat of a new aquaintance for me but his stat line suggests a solid point producer who's been a consistent force to be reckoned with for home team Aapon Taikasauva. Playing exclusively on LW, this point producing winger will fit right in with captain Basstian223 who exclusively makes his home on RW. Regardless of who will be playing C between these two gentlemen, expect that C to enjoy two talented wingers who will score goals and rack up assists like no tomorrow. Chafak has also been at the top of the point rankings for both ECL seasons - suggesting consistency is one of his strengths. #9 Overall - SadaPoika # in mock draft - 12 Pick made by - KingOfApes_ Previous Teams - The Unstoppable Warriors, Victorious Secrets HC ECL Stats - Regular season: 29GP, 38G 31A = 69P. Playoffs: 30GP, 16G 20A = 36P. Scouting - Another new aquaintance for me, SadaPoikas stats dont lie. He seems to favor goal scoring just as much as passing judging by his point totals. Having started his ECL career with TUW and falling short in the playoffs, he moved to VSH where he - together with joukki13 and draft captain KingOfApes - took his team all the way to the finals. Seemingly a big fan of NHL'er Steven Stamkos, look for SadaPoika to try and deliver some thunder and Lightning together with old teammate KingOfApes in this newly created team. #10 Overall - OxtreeLAT # in mock draft - 3 Pick made by - selänne8 Previous Teams - Silver Sword Griffins ECL Stats - Season 1: 11-6-2, 76.07 %, 2.63 GAA, 1 shutout. Season 2: 9-4-2, 86.06%, 1.13 GAA, 7 shutouts. Scouting - The first and only goalie to be picked in the first round, OxtreeLAT was my first goalie pick in the mock draft as well. Having delivered solid stats in ECL 1, he absolutely exploded in ECL 2 - putting up staggering numbers bested by no other goalie. Some would say playing behind the defensively oriented SSG squad might have boosted his stats, but for anyone who has faced OxtreeLAT (or seen him play) they know he's as much a factor in that teams defensive prowess as their skaters. Overall one of the best goaltenders in the EASHL community and will look to lead his team to the promised land for this Summer Cup. #11 Overall - tbnantti # in mock draft - 11 Pick made by - FINSeRe Previous Teams - Kattiautomatti ECL Stats - Regular season: 24GP, 37G 40A = 77P. Playoffs: 31GP, 33G 33A = 66P. Scouting - Another one of my patented "Perfect Picks", tbnantti went #11 as predicted. This is a very solid pick for a team to build their offense around and a remarkably consistant point producer in both the regular season and the playoffs. One peek at tbnanttis stats and you are instantly struck by how evenly distributed his point totals are between goals and assists. Mostly a center from what I've seen, tbnantti has been around in the community for a long time and his team Kattiautomatti (seriously tough to spell and I probably still got it wrong) was previously known as Budcats and Blades of Steel. #12 Overall - TehhAhola # in mock draft - N/A Pick made by - Juizki Previous Teams - Finnish Roosters ECL Stats - Regular season: 18GP, 14G 34A = 48P. Playoffs: 8GP, 3G 11A = 66P. Scouting - As we get into the later picks for round 1, my knowledge decreases. I admit to not knowing very much by TehhAhola (he wasn't on my radar when I put together the mock draft) except that his stats for ECL 1 - he did not participate in ECL 2 - were very impressive, particularly during the regular season. Being back in the community now and having been honored with the #12 overall pick, you can bet that TehhAhola will be hungry to prove Juizki right in picking him this early. #13 Overall - Tapparafan- # in mock draft - N/A Pick made by - DieCutterMC Previous Teams - Nordic Stars ECL Stats - Regular season: 32GP, 51G 37A = 88P. Playoffs: 11GP, 14G 5A = 19P. Scouting - I struggled for a long time with putting Tapparafan- in my predicted first round and he got cut just at the last minute. One look at the goal scoring skill of this LW/C and you can see why I struggled with my selection. Having been a leading presence on Nordic Stars, Tapparafan- will be expected to shoulder a heavy offensive burden for DieCutterMCs team as well - a challenge he will probably be more than up for. A very solid late first round pick that will pay dividends for his team in this tournament. #14 Overall - wickedtah69 # in mock draft - N/A Pick made by - juha96 Previous Teams - Infinity ECL Stats - Regular season: 10GP, 12G 10A = 22P. Playoffs: N/A. Scouting - One of the biggest surprises this draft, wickedtah69 rounds out this preview of the first 14 picks. Having solid stats for Infinity in the 10 ECL games he has played, he is somewhat of a mystery to me. Has he played together frequently with juha96? Is he, like Foppatofflan, another "legend" from previous PS3/Xbox360 community that just hasn't had the time to play many games in the previous ECL tournaments? An exciting mystery that will have to prove himself in this Summer Cup! Finally, I'd like to conclude this draft review by listing my biggest surprises of the draft: - Goalies not being picked sooner. I thought for sure the captains would go for goalies in the first two rounds. - wickedtah69 going in the first round. Prove me wrong, mystery man! - ProMinx24 not being picked until the 4th round. Mr. Darzins is an insanely talented player who would've been a solid second round pick! Please leave your thoughts and voice your agreements/disagreements (or point out factual errors) to the post in the comment section so we can get some discussion going - that's what makes it all worth it. Later skaters // The_Alpha_Furyan