2024-10-01, 07:01 PM - Word count:
Wow AJ you’re really writing a mock draft about a league you joined a few hours ago with no regard for play positioning, how the sim works, and which teams need which players? Yep.
Alrighty folks let's get after this because I need to earn some money as this league looks like one can earn like crazy and I know I wont have the time later in the year! I will be drafting purely on my experience with other popular sim users, people who I have interacted with in the discord over the past few hours, and how many messages they have sent in the discord as a whole. I will only be doing the first round for now until I get to know the user base and teams better.
As always with my mock drafts please feel free to complain in the comments and I will redirect all complaints to my secretary @Bamford13
Last note: Big thanks to @Wiggli for sending me a piece of media that laid out S17 season predictions. This was my only source of league info for any sort of semblance of final standings.
Pick 1 - Sao Paulo - ST -Thomas Hohenham - @norththegreatestshowman
If there is one person who really stands out to me who I have never met before it absolutely has to be North. North gave me plenty of guidance in a league I was very unfamiliar with. To the extent that I had assumed he was a rookie manager rather than a fellow prospect. From my experience in sim leagues when someone such as a user in the (S45 DSFL class) knows as much as a rookie mentor and guides other rookies on how to best navigate the forums, they tend to go first overall. Strikers are the ones who get the most attention, so investing in the right one is very important. This is especially the case for Sao Paulo who are currently cited as having the least amount of goals expected for the upcoming season. Whichever team takes the German will be picking up a future Hall of Fame member.
Pick 2 - Catalunya - ST - Julian Rubio - @donut
While my conversations with Donut have been limited there is no doubt he has a major impact on the league. Donut has nearly 400 messages in the discord server and much to my delight approved of my best donut selection. It also helps that Donut is atop the class in earning TPE and plays in the most influential position of all of them, you guessed it, striker. Injecting a player like Donut into a LR can be very beneficial to a team. I think it should be of note that Donut is also a potential first overall pick in this draft.
Pick 3 - Romana - CM - Daryl Mcmanus - @cake307
A good central midfielder provides stability and game changing aspects like no other position does. They truly are the heart of the team determining the flow of the game and the amount of pressure to be applied. Cake is no newbie when it comes to simulation leagues as Cake has made multiple players in the SHL and is quite popular there. For a team stuck in the middle of the league a user like cake can bring them "above water" and into a competitive window.
Pick 4 - Tokyo - CD - Alex Calderon - @Amidships
Amidships is a leader. There is no doubt in my mind about that. Amidships is often associated with the most recent ISFL expansion team in Berlin and a member of the ISFL Head Office (the latter may also be a negative but alas). As this team is run by @sköldpaddor , a user who I am fairly familiar with, I know that she appreciates a strong leader in her locker room especially with the team such a Tokyo who is not quite in the upper echelon but on the rise.
Pick 5 - Buenos Aires - GK - Benecio Aguilera III - @CROney3
Good ole Uncle Croney is hitting the draft in S18 and man can he bring a great impact to any team he goes to. The now retired “Tyrant of the DSFL” knows what it takes to develop a locker room culture, and a winning one at that. While I can't really tell if BA is in need of a goalie, I do know that this will be a player that will be earning plenty of TPE as Croney is a simulation league veteran. Croney is also lethal at Catan so be warned if he tries to lure you into a “friendly” game. My sources have told me that Aguilera is currently ranked as the top young keeper in North America. Some even call him the next “Memo” Ochoa!
Pick 6 - Hollywood - RM - Bengt Rubin - @kenvald
Ken has long been the captain of my beloved Otters over in the ISFL. Even when times were tough and we had to trade players my co-gm highlighted that we should absolutely keep him around no matter how deep into regression he was because of how great of a locker room impact he brings. Right midfielder is one of the most needed positions in the league. Bringing in a high caliber player in the rarest position is something that can change the course of a team’s future.
Pick 7 - Scwartzwalder - CDM - Ben Nelson - @Ben
I may be wrong here but I feel like Ben may be flying under the radar of some GMs. An argument could very well be made that Ben will be a top 5 user in this draft and overlooking him will allow for a team such as SCW (I’m not spelling that again) to steal him from a team that could really use his services. CDM is such an interesting position in the sport. If built correctly they can play some of the best through balls to their forwards and rack up assists. Ben seems like the type of user to take a step back and do the research to figure out just the right build in order to do so.
Pick 8 - Reykjavik - CM - Joao Pexioto - @zeagle1
It would make sense for the top team to scoop up Zeagle as he is already in charge of the most successful ISFL team of all time. I can give Zeagle credit he has done plenty of great work in the ISFL and undoubtedly will do well for his SSL team. As I have talked about before, a solid midfielder can really change how a team plays. Hopefully Joao doesn’t change too much for the reigning champions up in Iceland.
Alrighty folks let's get after this because I need to earn some money as this league looks like one can earn like crazy and I know I wont have the time later in the year! I will be drafting purely on my experience with other popular sim users, people who I have interacted with in the discord over the past few hours, and how many messages they have sent in the discord as a whole. I will only be doing the first round for now until I get to know the user base and teams better.
As always with my mock drafts please feel free to complain in the comments and I will redirect all complaints to my secretary @Bamford13
Last note: Big thanks to @Wiggli for sending me a piece of media that laid out S17 season predictions. This was my only source of league info for any sort of semblance of final standings.
Pick 1 - Sao Paulo - ST -Thomas Hohenham - @norththegreatestshowman
If there is one person who really stands out to me who I have never met before it absolutely has to be North. North gave me plenty of guidance in a league I was very unfamiliar with. To the extent that I had assumed he was a rookie manager rather than a fellow prospect. From my experience in sim leagues when someone such as a user in the (S45 DSFL class) knows as much as a rookie mentor and guides other rookies on how to best navigate the forums, they tend to go first overall. Strikers are the ones who get the most attention, so investing in the right one is very important. This is especially the case for Sao Paulo who are currently cited as having the least amount of goals expected for the upcoming season. Whichever team takes the German will be picking up a future Hall of Fame member.
Pick 2 - Catalunya - ST - Julian Rubio - @donut
While my conversations with Donut have been limited there is no doubt he has a major impact on the league. Donut has nearly 400 messages in the discord server and much to my delight approved of my best donut selection. It also helps that Donut is atop the class in earning TPE and plays in the most influential position of all of them, you guessed it, striker. Injecting a player like Donut into a LR can be very beneficial to a team. I think it should be of note that Donut is also a potential first overall pick in this draft.
Pick 3 - Romana - CM - Daryl Mcmanus - @cake307
A good central midfielder provides stability and game changing aspects like no other position does. They truly are the heart of the team determining the flow of the game and the amount of pressure to be applied. Cake is no newbie when it comes to simulation leagues as Cake has made multiple players in the SHL and is quite popular there. For a team stuck in the middle of the league a user like cake can bring them "above water" and into a competitive window.
Pick 4 - Tokyo - CD - Alex Calderon - @Amidships
Amidships is a leader. There is no doubt in my mind about that. Amidships is often associated with the most recent ISFL expansion team in Berlin and a member of the ISFL Head Office (the latter may also be a negative but alas). As this team is run by @sköldpaddor , a user who I am fairly familiar with, I know that she appreciates a strong leader in her locker room especially with the team such a Tokyo who is not quite in the upper echelon but on the rise.
Pick 5 - Buenos Aires - GK - Benecio Aguilera III - @CROney3
Good ole Uncle Croney is hitting the draft in S18 and man can he bring a great impact to any team he goes to. The now retired “Tyrant of the DSFL” knows what it takes to develop a locker room culture, and a winning one at that. While I can't really tell if BA is in need of a goalie, I do know that this will be a player that will be earning plenty of TPE as Croney is a simulation league veteran. Croney is also lethal at Catan so be warned if he tries to lure you into a “friendly” game. My sources have told me that Aguilera is currently ranked as the top young keeper in North America. Some even call him the next “Memo” Ochoa!
Pick 6 - Hollywood - RM - Bengt Rubin - @kenvald
Ken has long been the captain of my beloved Otters over in the ISFL. Even when times were tough and we had to trade players my co-gm highlighted that we should absolutely keep him around no matter how deep into regression he was because of how great of a locker room impact he brings. Right midfielder is one of the most needed positions in the league. Bringing in a high caliber player in the rarest position is something that can change the course of a team’s future.
Pick 7 - Scwartzwalder - CDM - Ben Nelson - @Ben
I may be wrong here but I feel like Ben may be flying under the radar of some GMs. An argument could very well be made that Ben will be a top 5 user in this draft and overlooking him will allow for a team such as SCW (I’m not spelling that again) to steal him from a team that could really use his services. CDM is such an interesting position in the sport. If built correctly they can play some of the best through balls to their forwards and rack up assists. Ben seems like the type of user to take a step back and do the research to figure out just the right build in order to do so.
Pick 8 - Reykjavik - CM - Joao Pexioto - @zeagle1
It would make sense for the top team to scoop up Zeagle as he is already in charge of the most successful ISFL team of all time. I can give Zeagle credit he has done plenty of great work in the ISFL and undoubtedly will do well for his SSL team. As I have talked about before, a solid midfielder can really change how a team plays. Hopefully Joao doesn’t change too much for the reigning champions up in Iceland.
![[Image: Mikko-Rashford-Sig.gif]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1022455373170475068/1120512677823918201/Mikko-Rashford-Sig.gif)
