Season 7 Draft Breakdown and Recap

There's a lot of words below, you have been warned

So I was browsing the Xbox forums and saw @goonderk give a look at how this season's crop of rookies performed on the xbox side. It's something I'd considered doing for a while, but was too overwhelmed with awards to really contribute much to media this season. That being said, I'm now pretty much done compiling everything, so I have time now to add some media here.


I figured it would be more appropriate to have a look back at how guys have performed in their 2 season rookie contract, rather than evaluating a guy after just 1 season, look back at a full draft contract and see how they've played out. Just having a quick glance at the draft from S7, I can say it was pretty darn brutal. Like man it's ugly. Anyway let's dive right in shall we?


Side Note, I'm going to rank each of the top 10 picks as a Gem, Bust, or Average pick for the expectations. At this point, owners are probably hoping for NHL contribution from a top 10 pick, but it does vary.


______________________________________________________________________________________

TOP 10 PICKS;


1. @OG-CrispyCreamy RW, Minnesota Wild
Season 1; 16-8-1 49 Points 16 Goals 33 Assists +27
Season 2; 13-4-5 42 Points 23 Goals 19 Assists +18


The top 3 of this draft was the hot topic of debate for a while leading up to it, and @Agger23 went with Crispy 1st overall, after he went 20-2 with 88 points in the CHL. His big reason for going first was CHL production combined with being known for clubbing with some other good players, so it was known that he'd be able to compete and produce in the NHL. I wouldn't call his output disappointing, but he's certainly been a headache for his owners, and the production of the pick behind him makes this one look a bit worse than it actually was. He was also traded 3 times in his 2 seasons, including once off of a line with his club mate. Not what you'd expect from a 1st overall pick.



Verdict; Probably the worst 1st overall pick on the PSN side, but still a solid player, AVERAGE Pick.




2. @l_Giroux_x_28_l C/LW, Colorado Avalanche
Season 1; 25-1-0 72 Points 34 Goals 38 Assists +53
Season 2; 17-8-1 73 Points 34 Goals 39 Assists +32

Despite only winning 1 CHL game, Giroux found himself going 2nd overall in the draft, due to somewhat similar circumstances as Crispy. He was one of very few people in this draft that were known to play with and against good players in club and hold his own. Crispy probably found himself going 1st thanks to his CHL pedigree. Unfortunately for Minny, that was the wrong decision, as Giroux has put up back to back seasons with 70+ points, and had a 25 win rookie season. He does benefit from playing with the best players around him of any top 10 pick, but you typically have to be a good player to consistently play with good players, and Giroux has proven himself to be a solid 1st line player in the league. He won a cup in his rookie season, and the Avs are the clear favorites out of the West and are no doubt ready to try and repeat. Giroux will be a big part of that.

Verdict; Regardless of how you feel about how he acts, this was undoubtedly a GEM Pick.


3. @Tactfeezy88 RW/C, Nashville Predators
Season 1; 10-13-4 38 Points 18 Goals 20 Assists -18
Season 2; 17-9-1 57 Points 20 Goals 37 Assists +14


Tact was the last of the presumably clear cut top 3 to go, as to nobody's surprise he went 3rd. He was seen as a top 3 pick due to being known as an old gen guy making his return to leagues, and showed he wasn't all smoke and mirrors, going 26-6 with 93 points in his season in the CHL. This draft was regarded as a pretty weak one, so getting guys who were just known to be able to compete against NHL talent was good enough to see you go top 10. At the time, I think many saw his ceiling as a 2nd line forward, and that's about where he's settled in. After his 1st season, it would've been easy to call him a bust, but he spent a large portion of that season on a line with Vibez, so huge results shouldn't have been expected. He's seen himself traded 4 times in his 2 seasons, but has settled in on a Colorado 2nd line with fellow top 3 pick Giroux, and as previously mentioned, they're poised to make another cup run.


Verdict; Given the expected production from a top 3 pick, and based on the numbers he's produced on his rookie contract, I'd call this a BUST Pick. That being said, he is still a solid player, and given the right linemates he should still be a mid tier 2nd liner going forward.



4. @DrFurryNips RD, Winnipeg Jets
Season 1; 11-12-4 17 Points 2 Goals 15 Assists -1
Season 2; 17-6-4 13 Points 1 Goals 12 Assists +19

The first d man off the board in the S7 draft, Nips was coming in hot off of a mem cup run in which he went 8-0 in the playoffs and also picked up an All Star award in the CHL. Having been on the Kings with @Illyfilly (rip) in season 6, I know for a fact he loved this guy and was really hopeful that he'd fall to his pick (8th at the time, eventually traded to Pittsburgh). Unfortunately for him, he went to the Jets, who spent a couple seasons more concerned about their AHL team than their NHL team, and his numbers suffered given that. He was shipped to LA before the trade deadline in Season 7, and had a pretty strong finish to his season. After Illy got the boot as owner, he was traded by new Kings owner @Goostaav in the off-season and spent all season with the Rangers where he posted a pretty solid season for the Presidents trophy winners.


Verdict; Given the volatility of defensemen, you never really know how a guy will adjust to the NHL until he gets there, but Nips maintained similar offensive production and showed how well he could fit when he had competent players around him. Somewhat similar circumstances to Tact, but since he was outside of the top 3, I'll call this an AVERAGE pick.



5. @BA_Sports_Fan LD/RD, Minnesota Wild
Season 1; 18-5-3 32 Points 7 Goals 25 Assists +31
Season 2; 2-3-0 3 Points 3 Goals 0 Assists -3

If Minnesota had grabbed Giroux first overall, they'd have been the clear cut winners of this draft. BA stepped in right away onto the Minny top pair and was a difference maker from game 1. He was undoubtedly the best d man in the draft, and was both a Calder and Norris finalist in his rookie season. Also a west guy, but he's proven he can not only compete whether it's east or west, but be a game-changer either way. Unfortunately due to work commitments (I think) he had to quit this season, but hopefully he can return next season and pick right back up where he left off.


Verdict; No doubt a GEM Pick.



6. @xl_JDE0201_lx C, Chicago Blackhawks
Season 1; 13-13-1 36 Points 12 Goals 24 Assists -8
Season 2; N/A

JDE was a big part of a Portland team in the CHL that many thought were full of 2nd taggers, but as of now just seems like a bunch of guys that played well as a team down there, but couldn't do much above that level. Unfortunately for him, he was probably a reach pick made by a team that has shown to have absolutely no direction the last two seasons, in the Chicago Blackhawks. He lasted 5 weeks with them before being traded to a surprising Detroit team that won their division. He went 1-1 in the playoffs before retiring in the off-season.


Verdict; I was interviewed before Season 7 started and was asked to pick a bust from the top 10 picks. JDE was my pick, largely due to the team he ended up on, and unfortunately it seems as though my prediction was true, for his rookie contract at least, this was a BUST Pick.



7. @WrightDizzy LD, Tampa Bay Lightning
Season 1; 16-6-2 21 Points 3 Goals 19 Assists +2
Season 2; 15-6-3 13 Points 1 Goals 12 Assists +10


The 4th player from the Ottawa 67's drafted in the first 7 picks, WrightDizzy aka @Carmstrong95's brother, was drafted 7th to his team. He's had a very quiet first two seasons, as I don't know if I've ever seen the guy post in a shoutbox or discord anywhere, but he's posted back to back 15 win seasons, and despite being just a +12, 31 wins on your rookie contract is worth the price tag in my opinion.


Verdict; Maybe not the best defenseman in the top 10, but his production and wins lead me to easily give this a GEM Pick.



8. @Grzzlh LW, Pittsburgh Penguins
Season 1; 1-2-0 2 Points 2 Goals 0 Assists -5
Season 2; N/A

At the time he had just broken the record for goals in a season in the CHL. He looked like a pretty reasonable candidate to be a contributing 2nd liner for a Pens team that eventually went to the Cup Finals. However, he played 1 week, was traded, and then quit. Brutal


Verdict; So far, the biggest bust of the draft. BUST Pick.



9. @Deezy10 C, St. Louis Blues
Season 1; (AHL) 20-3-2 71 Points 35 Goals 36 Assists +48
Season 2; N/A


After a 19-4-1 season in the CHL, also putting up 91 points, Deezy went 9th to the Blues who I'm sure were looking for Center depth for their NHL team. He ended up not playing any games for the NHL squad, and instead put up a very solid 20 win season in the AHL. I have to imagine they were looking to see him move up this season, but he instead retired and did not play this season.


Verdict; Before i started, I did say my expectations for a top 10 pick was still an NHL contributor, and given the fact that Deezy played 0 NHL games on his rookie contract, I'd have to call that a BUST Pick.



10. @saucier17 C, St. Louis Blues
Season 1; (NHL) 3-3-1 7 Points 3 Goals 4 Assists 0 (AHL) 19-7-1 59 Points 23 Goals 36 Assists +27
Season 2; (NHL) 0-3-0 1 Points 0 Goals 1 Assists -10 (AHL) 17-4-4 49 Points 21 Goals 28 Assists +31

The 5th guy from the 67's to be drafted in the top 10 (How did that team not win the Mem Cup) Saucier split the season between RD and C, before getting drafted as a C. saucier spent each of the last two seasons with the Blues' AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage. He's posted at least 17 wins both seasons, but in the NHL he's gone just 3-6-1 with 8 points and a -10.


Verdict; Similarly to Deezy, saucier put up solid AHL numbers, but posted little to no production in the NHL. Because of that, he has to be considered a BUST Pick.


______________________________________________________________________________________



Other Notable Picks;



17. @ThomaLong RW/C, St Louis Blues
Season 1; (NHL) 5-7-3 14 Points 5 Goals 9 Assists -8 (AHL) 7-5-1 41 Points 14 Goals 27 Assists +6
Season 2; (NHL) 6-1-0 24 Points 15 Goals 9 Assists +13 (AHL) 23-2-3 113 Points 61 Goals 52 Assists +94


After winning a Memorial Cup in Season 6, Thoma was taken 17th overall to the Blues, their 3rd Center selection in the top 20. He went through his fair share of struggles in season 7, bouncing between the NHL and AHL. For Season 8, he ended up on the Wolfpack, the Rangers' AHL affiliate, and went on to lead the league in points with 113. Also put up 24 points in his 7 NHL games. He may not have fully lived up to his rookie contract, but appears poised to become a full time NHL'er next season.



19. @King_Anze LW, Nashville Predators
Season 1; 22-5-1 85 Points 45 Goals 40 Assists +41
Season 2; 19-5-3 59 Points 35 Goals 24 Assists +33

A well known VG guy, I'm still not entirely sure how he fell to 19th, but he jumped in and took full advantage of the west-east disparity, putting up 85 points and taking home the Calder trophy in the process. His 2nd season wasn't quite as prolific as his 1st, and he had to be sent to Vegas after the trade deadline as compensation, where ultimately they fell 1 point short of making the playoffs, and Nashville ended up losing in game 7 of the first round. Anze should pick up a pretty solid contract in bidding for next season.



28. @Kroeger71 RD, Vancouver Canucks
Season 1; 13-10-4 21 Points 2 Goals 19 Assists +11
Season 2; 10-12-2 10 Points 0 Goals 10 Assists -19

Another guy where I'm not entirely sure why he fell this far down, he was playing club with and against good players before the draft, I'd have expected him to go a bit earlier. Regardless, he spent both seasons of his rookie deal in the NHL, and while his numbers may not be great, he certainly is a capable NHL d man, at some level.



35. @Dallas1262x LD, Nashville Predators
Season 1; 15-5-4 15 Points 0 Goals 15 Assists +12
Season 2; 7-10-5 12 Points 1 Goals 11 Assists -22

One of many to be drafted off of the Memorial Cup Champs in the Edmonton Oil Kings, I knew nothing about Dallas before he was drafted, but he went 6-0 with Nashville before they turned around and traded him to the Rangers. He finished the season with the Rangers, before TR'ing in the first couple weeks of this season for some reason, and ended up finishing out his contract with the Lightning, where both he and the team struggled down the stretch. Regardless, 2 full NHL seasons, with one being quite solid, from the 35th pick is a good contribution.



41. @BakTheGreat- LW/RW, Florida Panthers
Season 1; 15-7-6 56 Points 28 Goals 28 Assists
Season 2; 17-7-4 62 Points 25 Goals 37 Assists

Bak is a guy who popped up out of nowhere nearly simultaneously with the draft, as he made a big run in the VS tournament and made a name for himself there. He proved his skills weren’t limited to the 1v1 field as he put up 15 wins and 55 points in each of his 2 seasons. The only reason he fell this far is due to playing 0 CHL games, there’s no doubt in my mind that he’d have torn up the league and ended up being a top 10 pick had he played a full season previously, because he is very very skilled.



46. @MonGee__ RW, Colorado Avalanche
Season 1; 9-7-2 30 Points 13 Goals 17 Assists -2
Season 2; 7-14-3 51 Points 30 Goals 21 Assists -2


A well-known old gen guy, MonGee has not had exactly the type of success he was probably hoping for when he decided to return to leagues, as he’s picked up just 16 wins combined in two seasons. However, he has put up 80 points in 2 seasons, despite being traded 6 times in 2 seasons, and 5 times in season 8 alone. He will look to improve on his NHL performance in his 3rd season.



49. @mikemoran19 G, Nashville Predators
Season 1; 7-9-1 78.2%
Season 2; 15-8-5 80.8%

Likely the goalie that has shown the most from this draft class, mike is no doubt an NHL caliber goalie, but having played against him in club many times this year, I’d have definitely expected him to be holding down a starter spot by now. He’s certainly capable, but for these to be the best NHL numbers of the goalie class from this draft, it speaks a lot to how weak the performance of goalies were from the S7 draft.



54. @Nylander_x_29 C/LW, Toronto Maple Leafs
Season 1; (CHL) 22-2-0 105 Points 51 Goals 54 Assists +69
Season 2; (NHL) 12-8-5 45 Points 23 Goals 22 Assists +5


After winning a Memorial Cup in season 6, Nyl took owner in the CHL, and then was drafted 54th by TOR, and proceeded to light it up in the CHL. He then was traded in the off-season to CGY and after a couple weeks to Carolina. He spent the rest of the season with the Hurricanes, settling into a solid role on the Canes 2nd line, before being an absolute goof and getting himself banned week 9 on Xbox. He was unable to be re-added to the roster and is currently watching from the sidelines while the Canes attempt to advance in the playoffs without him. Due to him taking CHL mgmt, he’ll have another season left on his contract and be back with the Canes next season.



72. @Kann0n_42_ RD, Philadelphia Flyers
Season 1; 18-7-1 15 Points 0 Goals 15 Assists +24
Season 2; 3-6-1 2 Points 1 Goal 1 Assist -19


I think Kannon is a VG guy, but I’m not entirely sure, regardless you don’t typically expect a d man picked 72nd to step into the NHL right away, but he did just that. He was traded to Arizona before the season started, before eventually being flipped to Nashville after week 3, where he went 15-2-0 with them. However, he was moved in the off-season, and eventually traded 3 more times before he ended up on Pittsburgh, and ended up quitting. Ultimately, Nashville definitely got the best value from him, getting a great season out of him, then moving him for a 1st. That being said, I’m sure Kannon would like to bounce back next season and show his first go around wasn’t a fluke.




82. @mikelong11 C, Nashville Predators
Season 1; (CHL) 28-3-2 133 Points 33 Goals 100 Assists (inc. Playoffs)
Season 2; (NHL) 14-12-0 58 Points 24 Goals 34 Assists +16


One of many Nashville draft picks to get the bulk of their production on other teams, Mike was drafted 82nd overall after a decent CHL season in S6. Afterwards, he took CHL mgmt., and proceeded to light it up down there in his 2nd go around. He nearly broke 100 points in the regular season, before adding on another 35 points in the playoffs. He was traded to the Canadiens in the off-season where he re-united with his linemate from season 7, GreasyLikeButter. However they didn’t continue their CHL success as they struggled pretty hard for the Habs. Mike was moved to the Kings where he really picked up his production and finished out his first NHL season on a strong note.




86. @OBrien x 8 C, Minnesota Wild
Season 1; 13-7-6 42 Points 16 Goals 26 Assists +4
Season 2; 9-15-2 39 Points 20 Goals 19 Assists -16


I had absolutely no clue why Minnesota made this pick when they did, Obrien’s CHL stats were mediocre at best, but he quickly proved me wrong as he jumped right in with the Wild, and proved to be a very capable defensive center. His Face-off proficiency is nearly unmatched, and for a guy that just started playing NHL this year, his game has evolved quite a bit as the year progressed. His numbers regressed this season, but he was traded 4 times and spent time with a couple of teams that were really riding the struggle bus. He will likely continue as a defensive 3C into next season.




96. @leafs1791 G, Minnesota Wild
Season 1; (AHL) 31-3-1 82.5%
Season 2; (NHL) 28-18-4 78.3%


Leafs or mikemoran were probably the best goalies to come from this draft, and as I mentioned earlier may say a bit more about the class, considering the S6 draft produced the Vezina and Calder winner and runner-up respectively. That being said, leafs isn’t a bad goalie at all, as he posted outstanding numbers in the AHL last season, before moving up to the NHL and taking the Senators starter role, where he played 50 games this season. He will look to improve on his 78 save percentage, but certainly will maintain an NHL spot next season.




106. @scyther808 C/LW, Buffalo Sabres
Season 1; 13-9-4 41 Points 23 Goals 18 Assists +3
Season 2; 11-14-2 42 Points 21 Goals 21 Assists -22


Another guy in which I knew nothing about before he was drafted, scyther had no games played in the lower leagues before being drafted 106th to Buffalo. He followed that up with 2 pretty mediocre seasons, spending most of his first season with the Rangers and spending most of his 2nd season with the Jets. Odds are that he will either continue next season as a 3rd liner, or drop down to the AHL for a season to see if he can prove himself a viable commodity.




115. @xOgLowkeyyx C, Edmonton Oilers
Season 1; (CHL) 27-3-2 124 Points 46 Goals 78 Assists +63 (Including Playoffs)
Season 2; (AHL) 23-4-1 102 Points 42 Goals 60 Assists +62


After a pretty solid CHL season 6, Og took CHL management to try and improve on his previous season, shortly thereafter he was taken in the draft by Edmonton. He followed that up by going off in the CHL en route to a Memorial Cup. This season he spent all season in the AHL with the Hartford Wolfpack, where he’s topped 100 points for a team that has romped through the whole AHL this season. Presumably he will be in NHL bidding next season, and will be looking to prove he can contribute at the highest level.




120. @nitram308 RD, Tampa Bay Lightning
Season 1; (AHL) 18-8-0 22 Points 1 Goal 21 Assists +25
Season 2; (NHL) 18-8-1 15 Points 2 Goals 13 Assists +30


Despite a very average first season in the CHL, Lil Marty did find himself drafted right at the end of the draft, to the Lightning. He was traded after only a couple of weeks, before getting traded back to the Syracuse Crunch a month later. A few days after that he was shipped off to the Iowa Wild, where he finished the season on an extremely good run. In the off-season, his AHL GM Tommy took over as the owner of the Hurricanes, and promptly traded for nitram, where he has spent the entire season in the top 4. Things are only looking up for Marty, and he’d be even better if his internet wasn’t absolute trash.



122. @Mike813499 RD, Tampa Bay Lightning
Season 1; 7-6-2 11 Points 1 Goal 10 Assists +12
Season 2; 14-8-3 18 Points 0 Goals 18 Assists +13


Just 2 picks away from being Mr. Irrelevant, Mike was a guy who was known by some as a decently good HUT player. That being said, most owners were no doubt scared off by his abysmal CHL stats. Though Tampa drafted him, Florida was the team to give him a shot, and he showed to them that he was much more than his CHL stats showed. I just want to give a quick shoutout to a trade that Tampa made shortly after this draft.
Season 7
The Crunch have traded nitram308 & Mike813499 to the Thunderbirds for Ajax32123
2018-02-13 01:53pm


Yikes.


______________________________________________________________________________________

Biggest Steals

41. @BakTheGreat-
Getting a 1st/2nd line player with that production in the 2nd round is unmatched in terms of value.



19. @King_Anze
41 wins and 144 points across 2 seasons is something you’d hope for from a 1st overall pick. To get that at 19 is outstanding value for the pick slot, and not at all expected at this point in the league.



120/122. @nitram308 and @Mike813499
To be able to get 2 guys that are capable of playing on a 1st/2nd pair with ease at the very back end of the draft is amazing pick management. If only Tampa actually knew what they had instead of shipping both guys off. Still to me 2 seasons of these guys at 500k is hard to beat.


______________________________________________________________________________________

Most Wasted Picks

For this I wanted to look at the team that drafted the most NHL caliber guys but didn’t actually get the NHL from them. For this there was no clearer answer than the Nashville Predators. Great job Vibez, you did an awesome job drafting, unfortunately between Dallas, Taek, mikemoran, SebQc, Howard, and mikelong, you drafted the most NHL talent that you didn’t actually get use from yourself. I have to think Nashville could certainly have gotten better use out of some of these guys over the past two seasons.


______________________________________________________________________________________

This is something I’ve kind of wanted to do for a few seasons now, and finally had a chance to really go through the draft and break down the hits, misses and steals of the draft. Will be interesting to see how these guys shape up in their first go a round’s in bidding next season. Hope you all enjoyed this breakdown of the Season 7 draft and the picks that made it, cheers.


JClaus

 

2 / 3 Biggest steals.

 

Boston (with a west line) traded away yung martin for a 2nd. F

 

Great writeup. Love it. Too bad @TheRealDudester is a dumbass and traded @Mike813499 and @nitram308 for ajax after I explained how elite mike n marty were. Feelsbadman

 

@nickyP1999

 

Heat have earned the player rights for stammerchel with a bid amount of $500,000 in Season 7 of the LGAHL PSN
2018-02-09 09:32am

 

@TheRealDudester nice trade

 

Thought I was the biggest bust of the draft but I'm not even mentioned feels bad man.

 

Nicely done @JClaus33

 

U forgot snipester who was also a wasted pick for Nashville too

 

Dont diss my rampage goats like that. there all gems in my books.

 

I thought I had a pretty good rookie season after being picked 14th in that draft. Getting traded to Chicago before the beginning of season 8 didn't help my sophomore season... only could get better from here !!

 

Not gonna lie man I just missed your name. Definitely a notable pick spending both seasons in the NHL. That is my bad

 

@JClaus33 GOOD PIECE. Defnitley would vote on more of these!!

 

Smipester was OK, but he wanted to be sent down. So I gave him what he wanted. Then my AHL guys pissed him away. They also pissed lewi away and also a few others I believe.

Could have been a dick and got them in trouble but I'm such a nice fella

 

When all is said and done, my take away from this draft was Anze, Flap, Fog, Chelios and part of Trio. If you follow the money.

That plus some community service of helping build some other teams in the process. I'm LG's Robin Hood

 

Let’s goooo! Not a bust! Personally, I think I was taken too high in the draft given the fact that I play a very defensive style of play, and don’t take many chances offensively. All about the clamps.

Great write up though, @JClaus33

 

Also I made a friend for life in Dallas

 

Great Write Up