Virtual Front Porch Pages

Friday, April 9, 2021

Season 5 Draft

Now back to hockey! I hope to start the fifth season of my pre-NHL Hall of Fame league in the coming week or two, and the first step to get ready was to conduct the draft of new players. Five more Hall of Famers are joining the league, and the teams have selected players in reverse order of their Season 4 regular-season standings. 

1. Millionaires: Duke Keats, Center
The Millies passed up the best pure offensive talent in the draft class (see #2 below) to grab Keats, the franchise center they desperately need. Keats is the total package -- he can score, he can pass, he's an elite faceoff man, he can kill penalties -- but his mean streak is going to land him in the box more often than the Millies would like, and they're already the most-penalized team in the league. 

2. Comets: Frank Foyston, Right Wing
Foyston has blazing speed and elite scoring abilities -- welcome additions for a Comets team looking for offense after scoring a league-worst 2.44 goals per game last season. Foyston will suit up at right wing alongside superstar center Frank McGee, who has never had such an offensively gifted linemate. This pair of Franks is going to form a dominant combination. 

3. Thistles: Jack Walker, Left Wing
Walker is a top-notch defensive forward with offensive upside and will fit nicely on the Thistles' second line with Tommy Smith and Fred Whitcroft. He essentially replaces fellow defensive forward Harry "Rat" Westwick, whom the Thistles dealt to the Millionaires to obtain Whitcroft at last season's trade deadline.

4. Bulldogs: Jack Gibson, Defense
The defending Creighton Cup champions have bolstered their impressive blueline with Gibson, who moves the puck well and holds his own defensively. He's no Jack Laviolette, but he'll add value in a supporting role.

5. Victorias: James Sutherland, Defense
The downside to finishing the regular season in first place is that you get the last pick in the draft. Sutherland will be the worst defenseman in the league and won't be much help to the Vics, who could really use more depth at that position.

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