50 - MARK SCHEIFELE'S HOMETOWN DISCOUNT RIGHTS - DALLAS STARS - As we are on the verge of everyone's favourite time of year, BRHL GMs are lining up their artillery and prepping their strategies for the all-out war to improve their franchises. Both Sumit and Toby have made it crystal clear they will be gunning hard for Scheif, but that doesn't include whatever other creepers and lurkers are waiting in the weeds. We know that Sumit has the early edge over most GMs because of crazy amounts of cash-on-hand, but there is another advantage in these sweepstakes we are forgetting, and that's who can actually sign him at a slight discount. Let's see if Junya tries to utilize this over the next week or two, or lets the opportunity slither on by.
49 - MORITZ SEIDER - PHILADELPHIA FLYERS - I debated lots between Seider and Dahlin here, but in the end I went with the D-man who was slightly younger and with higher DF, as this is the BRHL and that's all folks care about. He is a little hard on the pocketbook, but has 8 years left of total team control for my boy Tony. Also, if we ever decided to be fun and incorporate an overall rating for players... depending on how you constructed it... he would be at or near the top among defenders every single season. He is the product of a Steve Yzerman/Anthony C. drafting masterclass, despite what all the haters said at the time.
48 - LEON DRAISAITL - LOS ANGELES KINGS - I couldn't leave Drai off of the list, but it is hard to justify a super high spot for him with just 3 seasons remaining on his current deal. It's also a little on the expensive side based on the old mathematics, but not a terrible price tag as this whole cap structure thingy goes up. He seemingly has finally found a home with the Kings, but he's been passed around like a hot potato before this in our league, so you never know what Rumpy will do once Drai nears the end of his current contract. I found his multi-positional eligibility especially helpful when I was making a run at glory a couple years back.
47 - ADAM FANTILLI - VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS - Just like the Seider/Dahlin debate I had, I wrestled with having Will Smith here rather than Fantilli. At the end of my spirited, internal debate, as skilled as Smith is, Fantilli should be a better sim player. Besides his tantalizing upside, he's bigger, stronger, hits way more, and has a cooler name. There are tons of super skilled/offensive players in the NHL/BRHL like Smith, but without a major secondary skill set, they seem to end up having slightly less value in the long run. Especially when they have a down season and/or their first big contract kicks in, and you realize you want a bit more out of your stars. Fantilli for the win here, in a tight battle for the last young forward spot on this list.
46 - LOGAN COOLEY - WINNIPEG JETS - Just as expected, the 3rd overall selection in the 2022 NHL draft (and 1st overall in our hearts and 2023 one) has not disappointed. Given the lack thereof of his faceoff-winning abilities, I'd prefer him to be also eligible on the wing, but you can't win em all. His two-way game has evolved nicely, and he is fun to watch live. He can skate like the wind, is surrounded by tons of talent in Utah, and is only 22 years old. Tons to like here.
45 - PATIENCE AND THE ABILITY TO GRIND OUT TRADES - VEGAS, WINNIPEG, TORONTO, SAN JOSE, etc - This is definitely an asset and trait that many of our GMs are lacking. Although sometimes it can work against a GM, as they can miss out on a great trading opportunity, lately I've seen it really benefit those who are willing to grind things out a bit. I thought Garrett did fantastic in unloading Jake McCabe, as cash is hard to come by this time of year, and I'm still a big Joakim Kemell fan. Doc wrung every last bit of value he could out of me in our Mitch Marner trade (which coincidentally included the aforementioned Cooley), Sumit killed it somehow in his Tavares-exodus deal, and Joe too can grind it out with the best of them. The best way to win a trade is to pull off a spur-of-the-moment deal... I'm convinced of that... but it's going to bite you in the butt if you can't also battle it out in the dirty trenches.
44 - KIRILL KAPRIZOV - UTAH MAMMOTH - Always in the NHL Hart Trophy conversation, Kaprizov is the kind of player that can put a sim team over the top. It didn't work out perfectly in Buffalo, which shocked me, so Joel quickly took the opportunity to try to bring him to Utah. At $12.1 million per, he's not a bargain, but still has 4 full seasons left on the contract, so Joel (or Joel and someone else) will still have a few kicks at the can with Kirill the Thrill leading the charge.
43 - BRADY TKACHUK - SEATTLE KRAKEN - Hard to decide between the two Tkachuks who is more annoying... or should I say valuable... so the easy answer is to go with the younger bro. Especially seeing as Matthew's discipline level/rating is basically just as bad anyway. Neither are defensive studs, but both can certainly score, and Brady is even more physical and gritty. It will be interesting to see what happens to his production in Florida. Rex certainly hopes it can be taken to another level. The raise he's due in our league is quite reasonable too, and very appealing the following season for his 5-year deal, unless he somehow signs a new real-life contract early just to complicate things for Rex.
42 - QUINN HUGHES - TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS - I do not love his BRHL contract, and the fact he'll be a UFA early, and BRHL GMs do not love offensive D men a ton, but you cannot ignore what Quinn has done, and what he will continue to do for the 5 years of control he has left. I believe he has the highest passing and puck handling of any D-man in the sim this season. So, Garrett should have a lethal PP thanks to Hughes. He is a bit of a casualty of our new system for rating one's skating, but I'm sure that won't slow down his production.
41 - LEO CARLSSON - ANAHEIM DUCKS - Here we go! Where do we start with this one? Poor Dev. Carlsson broke the RFA calculator when I inputted his future BRHL earnings after Briere's massive offer sheet. The real-life and sim reality of this player, though, is one of absolute eliteness... if that's a word. I see him as a future top 10 rated player, but the question is, will it be with Dev's Ducks, or will he engineer a sign-and-trade to maximize this asset's value? I don't think the RFA calculator comes into play here. I think it comes down to a sign-and-trade, or he just lets him go to the open RFA market and matches what comes in. I debated not even ranking him because this story could end sadly, but he's got so much potential that in a follow-up ranking, he might be the biggest riser.
BRHL TOP 50 ASSETS RANKING
TORONTO (GARRETT) - 2
VEGAS (JOE) - 2
WINNIPEG (DOC) - 2
ANAHEIM (DEVON)
DALLAS (JUNYA)
LOS ANGELES (RUMPY)
PHILADELPHIA (TONY)
SAN JOSE (SUMIT)
SEATTLE (REX)
UTAH (JOEL)