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Lobbanet · 08-17-2021, 06:26 PM

Straight from Kalmar, Sweden. Say hello to (one) of the newest member or the Calgary Dragons! Darwin Koff was however at his hometown of Figeholm (743 pop) to visit his old folks and some friends still living in the village. He has some friends with small children and had to spend his day playing with their children jumping trampoline and visiting the playground. Darwin Koff might be heavily abused to watch kids whenever he is at his hometown village. It can be rough to have kids and nice to give them away whenever possible to catch your breath. However the evening was spent playing board games and drinking cheap lager beers while he watched the draft on his phone.

Before the draft he had spoken to a bunch of teams in the leauge and it felt pretty good talking to all of them. However, when Mike Izzy wrote on discord and told him about Calgary some small butterflies started to tumble in Darwins stomach and he knew that Calgary was the team he really really wanted to get drafted by. So he contacted Mike the next day and decided to tell him so, and expressed his wish to get drafted by the Calgary Dragons and his emotions about the previous talks. And shortly after that another character named Katth appeared and a decently deep discussion about craft beer and life appeared. It was a nice moment between two men that just started to talk to eachother. It felt nice for Darwin Koff.

Okay, enough with this third person bullshit, its super annoying to write like that. But yeah it felt super nice when Calgary contacted me and wanted to talk about the draft. With some other guys i talked to before the draft it felt a bit stiff and uncomfortable with the akward questions and such. So when Mike wrote to me I instantly felt that yep yep this could be something. And I have no idea how these drafts work or anything but figured I would expose myself and reveal my true agenda (draft me please).

AND THEY DID.

So freaking awesome. And all of the guys in the LR are super nice, they even got an active forum thread. If i decide to skip discord someday, or something. And the other guys they drafted, what a bunch of studs. It feels like Duncan Mackenzie is the real steal and he deserved my spot at 6th, what a guy. GMs are gonna be pissed in just a few months when they see what they passed on. And Grogu Mondusson is obviously a stud that most likely will be 2000+ TPE in a few seasons. Holy crap what a draft by Calgary, a few days after the draft it feels like I am the bum lol. But thats great, some guys to trigger eachother to get money and TPE. And just a few days before the draft they also aquired Alexis Saint Michel in a draft and it feels super nice to have someone from Vancouver here as well. It could be many seasons with Koff protecting ASM on the ice and im looking forward to it! Such a great guy in VAN and scores like nobody else! ASM ASM ASM!

And i talked to some Calgary legends, one of them @Steelhead77 Esa Parmborg expressed his feelings about creating sigs for all of us and he said the following about the most recent draft picks.

Who will be the most successful of the S61 picks?
Success can be measured in many different ways, it's not all about tpe, while tpe is obviously very important for on ice statistics, players can find success through achieving personal goals or winning championships or just getting what they want out the SHL experience. So with that in mind I think this group of Calgary draft picks will all be very successful. I strongly believe Mandosson, Koff and Mackenzie all have 2ktpe upside and even it not they will certainly reach 1800+ which is absolutely fantastic and a star player that can have tremendous success in the league and on a personal level. Very excited to watch their careers play out!

Will Grogu be a 2000+ TPE player?
Yes I think he will be. The user Kez/Muerto has all the intangeables to become a 2k player and has reached high levels before 1700+ and he seems more motivated than ever to make his first 2k player. He's made a Hall of Fame player in the past, now he will make a 2K player and I'm predicting another HOF'er with Grogu. Kez has the experience and talent to hit 2k and I think on the Dragons he will be supported and motivated to do so. We've had quite a few players hit 2k in recent seasons so I don't see any reason Grogu will not get there!

Who will take the longest to receive their jersey?
Of the Dragons draft picks I think it's fair to say 38th overall Sam Stone will probably take the longest of the 4 picks to make the team. Not because of talent level, but more so that he is on a slightly slower tpe pace and depending on what roster spots the Dragons have available in 2-3 seasons he may play a little longer in the SMJHL than the other 3 picks. That being said I'm excited about Sam Stone and think he will become a very good player, the timing more depends on what the Dragons have on the roster over the next few seasons.

How come Calgary gambled with Darwin Koff?
I wouldn't call it a gamble, we think he is a lock and he's already fitting in great so we're thrilled with the pick. As to why management made the selection I can say that Head GM Mike Izzy was very impressed with him in scouting and identified some intangeables that lined up with the kind of player and people the Dragons look to bring in. First off Darwin Koff has a great attitude and showed a genuine interest in joining Calgary. He also displayed a great sense of humor throughout the season on the boards and could bring a lot of fun to the Dragons room. Next he fits the Dragons age group of members and is a chef in real life. Everyone knows the Dragons are big on food and have a legendary food channel on discord. So this was a natural fit. That and the player is earning tons of tpe and is on a fantastic pace. There was nothing not to like about Darwin Koff, he was not a gamble at pick 6. He's a lock!

How many draftees are cursing their fate with a smile? (entire class)
Haha it's hard to say, most of these players are new and are open to any team and will give their new teams a chance, as they should. So I will stick to our rivalry and say that anyone drafted to Edmonton is probably cursing their fate with a smile, eventually they will realize that Calgary owns the battle of Alberta and Edmonton is just a 2nd rate team now. They used to be good under Tez but that was a long time ago.

Why did Calgary aquire multiple picks?
I think Calgary aquired multiple picks because they are in a bit of a transition between older players and younger. New management identified that they probably had to start building up the next core of the team and get that in place while they still had high tpe assetts to move. Also I think management identified this as a strong draft class and knew they could get a major haul with multiple first round picks. Turned out to be a great move by new GM's Mike Izzy and Katth. As a former GM I'm very impressed with their recent moves.

How come Duncan Mackenzie dropped?
Personally I felt Duncan was a top 10 talent and I think the only reason he was available at pick 18 was because this was a very strong draft class, or everyone else just had their heads up their asses! Jk, there were lots of great options in round 1 and some teams make connections and decisions for different reasons, some look at tpe when it's close and I think Mackenzie was around #15-20 in tpe on draft day, so that could be a reason he was available at the end of round 1. Personally I would have taken him much earlier than 18 if we had another top pick, but I'm thrilled we got him. He was a must-draft for us and is already exceeding his draft position and I think GM's will regret passing on him. Their loss is our gain because Mackenzie like Mandosson and Koff is going to be a star!

The prospect pool of this class really seem like a nice bunch of guys with heart and soul. I cant wait to play with all of them.

[Image: ETLV01vWsAI-UVx.png%3Alarge]

That brings me to think about the Vancouver 4th line and what we might to have to do this upcoming season, we have lost Ako Zile so we need to fill one roster spot upwards at a minimum. That brings me to think about my current line with Strawberry and Barry, we might be split up and one or two of us might have to play on the third line. Makes me shiver to even think about it. And I tried to encourage Strawberry Sailfish to think about it and step up, it didnt end up to well.

[Image: ef0bb3e02b4eeedbddc192ee1232c877.png]

[Image: ef0bb3e02b4eeedbddc192ee1232c877.png]

I can't blame him for his choice, since i do enjoy a few beers myself and to be honest dont like to train on my own. We are currently trying to settle this 4th line mess and hopefully it will be solved before the next season starts. I will try my best to force Strawberry Sailfish and Barry B Benson to training camp. It should be a challenge. But I have my hopes on Barry atleast.

// Darwin Koff

@Muerto @DarkCanuck29 @TML99 @~~Mike Izzy~~ @Katth

Steelhead77 · 08-17-2021, 06:54 PM

Great article!

You've been an awesome fit in Calgary!

Darwin Koff is going to be a star!

Dragonite

---> ParmBorg Highlights <---

#1 All-Time SHL Goal & Point Scorer
- First 2,000 TPE Player in SHL History -
- First 400 Goal Scorer in SHL History -
- Only 500 Goal Scorer in SHL History -
- First GM to Win 5 & 6 Challenge Cups -
Esa Anrikkanen Award - SMJHL ROY - Est. S34
Vidrik Onoprienko Award Winner - S45

Dragonite