News Alert ZHL s12: Draft Special

Predicted End Season Position: 5

This team will need some Mets magic, but the preliminary outlook is good. They’ve got a stud skating lineup in Mets, Carlito, and Kwakstar, with the great Lundqvist in net. If Carlito can free up his schedule outside of 8am on Fridays and Kwak gets off Fortnite this team has a lot of potential. Only thing is a lack of a true defender, but Mets has already stated he’s willing to step up and play defense if it’ll best help team.

Steal of the Draft: MrAlerteyes

This man won church tourney and still went for $131 the fuck is wrong with you people?

Potential Over Draft: Kwakster

I mean he might’ve been a little high but I think he will work well with Mets so it’s not a big deal. Mets was also high compared to other top tier players, but Sid could afford to overbid for people he wanted since he

Mar Sara Threat Agents

Predicted End Season Position: 1

Mar Sara had a great draft. There is no question their owner, ElTaco, is walking away from this draft very happy with his picks. Their success in this league will fully depend on whether or not ElTaco can be that ZHL quality goalie that they need. With a starting lineup of LingKing, Guerrila, MuffinMan, and the stellar 50% locked sub of Mythic, this team will put out a strong lineup every single night. They will be a team that other teams will watch closely. LingKing will provide one of the best offence in the league, being easily backed by one of the best defenders in the league. As long as ElTaco and MuffinMan can keep up, this team will be dominant.

Steal of the Draft: Mythic ($550)

This is an insane steal for the price they paid. Mythic in a snake draft fully unlocked is easily a 1st to early 2nd round pick. His defensive ability will be a massive asset to this team,
even if they can only use him half of games.

Potential Over Draft: MuffinMan ($1550)

This was hard to pick a person that was over drafted. If I had to go with anyone I would go with Muffin just because of the other players that could have been aquired with this money. Even still, I like this pick.

Char Meleons

Predicted End Season Position: 2

The Char Meleons have what I would call the deepest roster in the league. Every single person on their roster, arguably, could start in ZHL by the end of the season. Their starting goalie TownKrier will be backed by a solid goaltender in Vile. As for their starting roster, it will most likely be Rush, Tenkz, and Umbreon, with Kurt and Vile as the most likely subs. TK, their owner, will no doubt be extremely happy with his draft as he filled ever single need he could possibly need. They should see consistent play from Rush, and players Kurt and Umbreon should only get better as the season goes on. As long as interested personality Tenkz keeps everything under control, they will have a very good team that has the ability to beat anyone.

Steal of the Draft: Vile ($550)

Vile is an extremely versatile player to go for so cheap. He plays defense really well, and also plays stellar goalie. He is the perfect utility sub for a team.

Potential Over Draft: Rush ($4200)

Sorry Rush. I had to pick someone once again. This is another situation where I don’t think anyone was over paid for. Rush was a good pick and will dominate. He was just worth a lot.

Shakuras Inquisition

Predicted End Season Position: 6

The Inquisition are a team of defensively sound players, and a couple of them being friends. Those friends being iSpyGecko and iFound who are both very well rounded players. As for Yoda,
he is a strong defensive player who also has the ability to score important goals. Yoda will have to be the all star of this team. Marker is a sound goaltender that can be prone to BM or mistakes. As long as Marker puts on his championship pants, this team will have no issues in goal. As for their bench, it is weaker than the first few teams we looked at, but they still have some key bench players in Sly, Bizzaro, and Kaioken. This will be and interesting team to watch and their success could be unpredictable.

Steal of the Draft: iSpyGecko ($1600)

Gecko is a player that will greatly improve this season in my opinion. To get himself for $1600 is a steal, and this lead to him being able to easily draft his players, and pay as much as he needed.

Potential Over Draft: Marker ($1045)

Personally, I would have gone with other goalies for the price that was paid for Marker. That being said, Marker is still a solid goalie pick… just a little high priced.

Aiur Storms

Predicted End Season Position: 3

Aiur Storms have a team full of amazing skaters and a solid west goalie. Those great skaters include L1ghtning, Twodeuce, Bulbasaur, and DarkAngel. While DarkAngel is a skater, he can easily fill in as the backup goalie for this team. The only weakness this team has is their bench. This is because DarkAngel is their only true sub, but as long as they never need anyone else this won’t be an issue. Server flexibility could be a potential problem as majority of this team is located in the East. Overall, if this team can get past potential server flexibility issues,
they will have a team destined for success.

Steal of the Draft: Bulbasaur ($1807)

I still can’t even believe he went this cheap. He is an elite goal scorer in the league, and I guarantee a lot of teams will regret not picking him up.

Potential Over Draft: TwoDeuce ($4108)

This was another situation where I don’t really have a player to pick that was over drafted. If I had to go with anyone I would pick TwoDeuce based on his high price and ability. Still a solid pick though.

Braxis Barracudas

Predicted End Season Position: 9

The Barracudas only issue is clearly the goalie position. They have to decide who will be the goalie for their team. If they can convince Eldersage to play and not cause any problems, Elder as a goalie would make the most sense. However, if that doesn’t work out my best guess would be Sir or Chaotic to play goalie for the season. I do not see Reputed having the skills required to be a ZHL starter right now. As for their skaters, they will receive plenty of offence from Three and DustDevil, as long as the defense is taken care of at the same time. It will be interesting to see how the goalie position is handled.

Steal of the Draft: Chaotic ($1034)

I think Chaotic is pretty underrated. For the price you pay, you get a player that can play any position extremely well. He is a fantastic utility player for a very cheap price.

Potential Over Draft: Sir ($2001)

Sir had some good moments over the years, but for the price of $2000, I think its a bit much. He is not as active playing the game as he used to. The other potential players that you could have got for that price may make this look like a bad pick.

Korhal War Pigs

Predicted End Season Position: 8

War Pigs paid the highest for a 50% locked player, and that player is Watermelon. While Water is a fantastic player when he is in the lineup, this team will need to figure out who is his permanent replacement for the other half of the games that he can’t play in. Potential players for that position have to bne either Stealth or Tyrion. Tyrion is a proven skater with strong ability, but is restricted to East due to being from the EU. Stealth is a wildcard because he hasn’t played much lately, but has the potential to be a very valuable player. As for their goalie, as long as Elharion can keep up to ZHL quality play, they won’t have any problems. It will be very interesting to see what this team does when Watermelon is not there to play.

Steal of the Draft: ZachSmack ($3206)

Zachsmack is an elite player. Placed with the right people, he can be one of the best skaters in the league. He could have easily went $4000+ with his abilities. The War Pigs picked up a star player for a good price.

Potential Over Draft: Watermelon ($1707)

Tough to pick one here too, but paying that much for a 50% locked player that is meant to be in your starting lineup is a tough call. This large money could have been spent on a more consistently playing skater.

Kaldir Yetis

Predicted End Season Position: 7

The Yetis went all in on their top 3 skaters. Those 3 skaters being Htcp, Eric, and Swift. By doing this they left a massive hole in their goal-tending situation. Their owner’s way to fix this issue was to draft a whole bunch of goaltenders with their last few picks. By doing this they picked up HaloUNSC, Spitfire, and PapiChulo. From this list it would obviously be Halo who would be their first starter. However, if that path doesn’t work out, they will be hoping that one of Spitfire or PapiChulo can fill in that goalie need. With an extremely strong Skater lineup, it will be interesting to see if their goal-tending can keep up.

Steal of the Draft: HaloUNSC ($105)

While Halo can be unpredictable, getting a goalie with as much ZHL experience as he has for only $105 is an absolute steal. This team would be in a much more troubling position if they were not able to pick him up for so cheap.

Potential Over Draft: Leperkon ($98)

Not much to pick here, but I feel like even $98 is a waste on this player. BRB while I probably get DDOS’d.

New Gettysburg Flyers

Predicted End Season Position: 4

New Gettysburg found their team straight from the retirement home. The amount of ZHL games played split between their 4 starting skaters is 365 games. Yes, and entire years worth of games/.
Their main success has to ride on using ZHL experience to outsmart and out last the opponent. As for their goal-tending, they have arguably the best goalie in the league. With Blitz likely playing defense, the combo of Blitz + Ruckle will be a very tough wall to get through. As long as server flexibility doesn’t become an issue for Peter, they will have a deadly lineup.

Steal of the Draft: Ruckle ($1850)

Ruckle is one of the best goalies in the league. For under $2000, the Flyers will never have to worry about their goalie position again. He could have gone for so much more money.

Potential Over Draft: PeterDLai ($500)

Peter can be very server dependent. His style is also fairly predictable. I feel as though Vapour could have gotten a better, more versatile, player for this price.

Predicted End Season Position: 2

Analysis:

There wasn’t much for Papi to screw up, as he was given what may be one of the greatest probe carries we’ve seen in the great MrAlerteyes. So long as he shows up, this team is guaranteed to succeed, and given his track record, I doubt he will miss many games. Papi’s two wraparound picks, Lykingond and Gigidapopper, have a lot of potential as well, however, their attendance is certainly questionable, as it’s been multiple seasons since we’ve seen either play. It’s also notable that Lykingond is the only east player that Papi drafted, so this team could meet struggle off server, especially if they are missing a starter. Papi himself is a solid goalie and was put in a really strong spot, which he’s capitalized off of with his draft. If everyone shows up every game, I think this team could easily win it all, but that is a big IF.

Steal of the Draft: MrAlerteyes

Said it enough, this man will carry probe. Papi is an honorable mention, he got a steal of a draft spot.

Potential Over Draft: Gigidapopper

He hasn’t looked strong in inhouses and always has questionable attendance, but if he shows up and gets back to his old form he could be another strong part of this team.

Tarsonis City Wildcats

Predicted End Season Position: 1

Analysis:

Wow, who would’ve thought first two picks of the draft get the strongest teams! No memes tho, this team looks very strong. Kurt has always had a knack for carrying and tolerating cancer probes, shown time and time again on EU. I put this team ahead of Char simply because they have less attendance issues along with more depth, a lethal combo. Elharion has come on in dev league as he has tried to cement himself as the number one cancer offense of all time. I do think he respects Kurt enough to pass to him occasionally, which could turn out to be a really solid frontcourt duo. Picking up Bizarro in the 3rd round cemented the fact that Elharion won’t have to play a minute of defense this season, as Biz and Kurt should be able to shut down a majority of probe offenses. In addition, he has a solid goalie duo in Junky and Shaftman, who could both shine depending on server.

Steal of the Draft: Shaftman

Shaft is a very versatile player who can do virtually anything asked of him, including meme. He could even replace Elharion if a coup d’etat happens.

Potential Over Draft: Junky

An EU goalie who’s gone unproven in league play will always be questionable 4th round. I guess he knew he could still get shaft as a backup but still, would’ve liked to see these two picks flipped. Elharion honorable mention as he’s still trash.

Korhal Warthogs

Predicted End Season Position: 4

Analysis:

Wolfshark’s team has it all, from perennial probes like Spruance and Daggius to older players relegated to probe like DarkAngel and Kaioken. This team is one of the real hit or miss teams, as they seem to be one of the teams without a designated “carry” player, so it will be all about team play here. As I alluded to before, Dark has been known as one of the best defenders of the league, yet has been sent to probe after seasons of inactivity. This was a fine pick for Wolf, as he’s able to lock down one of the few probe defenders and Dark has shown that he wants to improve for ZHL, which will only help his probe contributions. The next pick, Spruance, is more of a head-scratcher. Granted there wasn’t much available, but I mean he picked a player who has never really broken the probe border and is known to have attitude problems. Personally, I think gigi would’ve been a better pick here as he’s at least proven to score at a ZHL level, even if he does have the same attitude problems as Spruance. Daggius round 3 is a really solid pick, as he locks down one of the two way players that can both goalie and skate at a high level, though it appears he will be taking over the goalie duties for this team. Rounding out the team is Wolfshark, an older player who has found new life in the game and has been one of the come-up stories of the offseason. I’m excited to see what he can do this season, and if he can fill out the carry role this team needs then I think they become immensely stronger than they appear at first glance. Another thing worth noting is the extensive depth they have, as the only player on that team who’s never played in a game is Minus, being the second to last pick of the draft.

Steal of the Draft: Snake

Personally, Snake was a player I had high on my draft list and has shown a real interest in playing this season in probe. If he does show up for Korhal, he could be the X-Factor for this team. Honorable mention is Daggius, but he’s not really a steal he’s just in a good spot and should help the team a lot.

Potential Over Draft: Spruance

Said it before, he’s never really been one of the top players in probe, only cresting into ZHL a few times, and is known to be a pain.

Zenn Chill

Predicted End Season Position: 5

Analysis:

In a perfect world, Moclac’s team is very strong, as they have a strong starting 4 and a great player off the bench in QQQ. The issue is, this isn’t a perfect world. Moclac drafted very little depth for a team that’s already semi-volatile. For that reason, I can see them dropping a few games, and that causing them to slip in the standings. His first pick, Perplex, is a jack-of-all-trades player which makes it very helpful to build around him, so no complaints here about that. Only thing is you may have to pull him away from Europa Universalis to get him to practice or even play games. In the second round, Moclac picked his Aiur Storms teammate Microwave, which you can’t blame him for. He will show up for games and should be able to practice a lot with Moclac, so they can develop some top tier chem by the end of the season. We will have to see if Ghandi’s (Microwave for you newer friends) cancer offense is finally the future, as in past seasons it hasn’t worked as well. He will have to step up and assume his carry role for this team to meet its max potential. Moclac himself was in a good spot, and should continue to improve at the rapid pace we have seen him at since he began playing. He and Perplex will most likely rotate the defending and supporting duties, which I think they’re both capable of. His goalie pick he got pretty shafted, though, as there were no goalies good enough to pick round 2 (rip Reimer) and by the time his 4th round pick came a lot of the top goalies were gone. He ended up grabbing Eldersage, which, again, on paper is a good pick. We all know Elder, though, and he can be gone at any moment (see: season 11). Hopefully, he and Microwave can keep it together so that neither of them RQ the season, because if they do there isn’t much available to use.

Steal of the Draft: QQQ

A very good depth player who probably should’ve started this season, he should prove valuable to Moclac’s team filling in when necessary.

Potential Over Draft: Eldersage

I mean, if he sticks around he’s a good if not great pick, but what are the odds of that? Then again, maybe he’ll stay just because I’m saying this.

Shakuras Crusaders

Predicted End Season Position: 7

Analysis:

Well, looks like Shakuras gets to be a dumpster franchise two seasons in a row. They even brought back the creator of the dumpster fire himself, elSpach. Where do I begin, a top five of overdrafted players or the meme of depth? I guess we’ll start at the top. Tijo, great guy, has shown he can play some decent hockey, but hasn’t played in multiple seasons. Not really sure if he’s supposed to carry this team or what, but I don’t see him doing it. PeterFarber, old hat with new life like Wolfshark, except overdrafted and so kinda screwed by management there. He could also carry, but is most likely going to fall into a support category as that fits his style better. Then we get Spitfire, fresh off his ragequit last season when he was a fourth rounder. How that increases your value I have no idea. Either way, I still don’t think he’s that good anyway, and will struggle for a team with little defense. Salokin 4th round was also an overdraft, as he’s proven to be rusty and his ping is like 100 at all times. Probably will be benched very soon. As for his potential replacement, complex, he’s so cancer that his dev league owner was offering to give him away for a cheeseburger (no lie). Ded franchise is ded.

Steal of the Draft: Elspach

Most of this team was overdrafted, from the starters to the memeable bench. Also shoutout to my boy resteral for going from 1st round shak to 7th round shak in just 1 season.

Potential Over Draft: The entire team

I’ll give a special shoutout to Complex though: 118 CoMpLeX 217 7 23 = 5th round. Bwaata player.

Mar Sara Hazards

Predicted End Season Position: 6

Analysis:

Well, it’s not completely terrible. They’ve got one of the strongest west lineups in the league, yet they wasted their 4th round pick on an EU goalie who’s skater locked. One thing’s for sure, goals will be a must for this team as they have no real goalie or defender. To start, iFound picked up NWImmortal, coming off his dev league win. NWI is one of the strongest west players in the draft, so I can see him really carry his team’s home games which will undoubtedly be on west. Undertaker also helps, as a proven support player who also calls the west server his home. LeperKon isn’t a bad 3rd rounder, only issue is he’ll most likely have to goalie for this team since there really isn’t anyone else except Kaga that can do it, and I don’t think Leperkon is worth 3rd round goalie. We’ve now reached the 4th round pick, which I think is definitely the overdraft of the season: THEMagetOne. An EU goalie who is skater locked and whose only NA experience is 20ish elo games, it seems like there were a lot better picks here. He has to be benched on west, leaving the 3rd skater/goalie slot to KagaRoshi, as I doubt they will use any of Adonis’ attendance locked games on west. Side note about Adonis, I doubt he’ll show up to a full 7 games anyway, he’s proven to be a no-show. Basically this team will have to win every home game using their 6th rounder to compete.

Steal of the Draft: KagaRoshi

A veteran west player, Kaga will have to step up, either as a goalie or a skater, as it appears he will have to start at least all their home games, if not more. Don’t count him out though, he has a desire to improve and succeed, and I think he can be a really nice fit for this team.

Potential Over Draft: THEMagetOne

See above.

New Gettysburg Aviators (Done by Alert)

Predicted End Season Position: 3

Analysis:

The Aviators have a team of players that have been in ZHPL for a very long time. KimJongSkill is a probe league veteran, along with Cubs, ProfessorX, and Reputed. As for potential question marks, that could lie with CaptWack who was a solid probe league player back in the day but hasn’t played in a very long time, or SidtheKid who is skater locked. As long as these probe league veterans can play well together, they will do well in this league.

Steal of the Draft: Reputed

A solid goalie that can easily stop probe scoring chances. As long as he is on the right server he will dominate. This was a steal as one of the later goalie picks.

Potential Over Draft: CaptWack

There is too much in question with Wack. Nobody has any idea if he will even play. If he does, this will be a great pick. If he doesn’t, this will be a hugely wasted pick.

First off Kurt, you have been away from Zealot Hockey for a very long time. What made you want to come back for a ZHL season?

I think I was asking myself this same question this morning before the draft. Really just came down to it working best with my schedule. I’ve been in europe consistently since I left ZHL, so I never fully left. Might as well call me Alexander Radulov, I’m chasing the only trophy I don’t have in my cabinet at this point. Probably won’t get it, but a man can dream.

The ZHL and ZHPL draft are completed. In ZHL you were taken in the auction draft for $375, and in ZHPL you were taken 2nd overall behind the, from what I heard, great Alerteyes. What do you think of your two teams?

Honestly, I’ve been having to ask everyone else what to think from my teams. Its weird coming back and seeing names I don’t recognize, and seeing old names I do recognize but far more skilled now. My perception is really awful about the teams but ultimately I think I’ll play well with both of my teams. I’m give it my all to be the best player I can for them, and play to my skillset when called upon. Bonus points for being on a team with Rush again tho, that kid is misunderstood I feel like. Gr8 kid.

Which team, one from each league, do you like the best on paper?

Difficult question. I like Vapours team in zhl a lot. I think putting guys that have performed well late during seasons on one team should provide some nice fireworks. And in probe I really like the team you’re on, any team willing to draft my boii 1st overall deserves some hardware 😉

Which was the biggest draft steal in your opinion?

Oh wow you’re not holding back. For me, it might be Logik for 200 going to Vapours team. The reason is because that team had a deep need for offense at that point in the draft. And Logik is essentially the lingking of EU. Very good at scoring, I think he fills a need for them on east when Peter can’t play the best. Got him for a bargain.

What are your thoughts on the auction draft in general?

Well I think it ran pretty smoothly for the most part. They did a great job of picking the owners this season I think. This style of draft doesn’t work with clueless owners. So good job on Mets for making this work out so well. I’m sure we’ll know for sure how good it was once the season gets under way.

What would you like to say to the community now that you are making a comeback out of North American retirement?

I just want to say it’s only game. Y u heff 2 b mad? I really want to say I’m looking forward to seeing everyone that I’ve been missing for so long. Hopefully I don’t dissapoint my new teammates. I wish you all the best of luck in the season to come.

What NHL player best describes and showcases your style of gameplay?

That’s a really difficult question. I’ve taken so many roles throughout my many seasons it’s hard to pick 1 player in particular. But the one thing that has been consistent is my passing ability. I love to utilize all my players around me as best as possible. I’m not known for finishing goals and superb defense. I’m known for my supporting abilities, with that I’d say I could probably compare my abilities to one of my favorite players Jamie Benn. I’m usually looking to create opportunities for my teammates rather than myself. Also I’m never afraid to drop the glove.

Would you ever go horseback riding with me?

Yea ofc, just set a date and make it happen. I need to vacation to Canada sometime in the future.

Lastly, what is the best life advice that the legendary Kurt can offer the community?

Best advice is to simply never give up. Half of life is just showing up and trying. The difference between the master and the novice is that the master has failed more times than the novice has actually tried.