Post by Vegas Golden Knights on Oct 7, 2021 9:38:15 GMT -6
Las Vegas, NV - Shockwaves reverberated throughout the Golden Knights organization, as Tom Jervis was named as the new General Manager of the squad, only a few years removed from the birth of the team. The PFHL may be a brand new league and Vegas will be sporting a brand new roster, but this GM has been around for quite some time. He is a founding member and current Commissioner of the 16 year old Perennial Hockey League, along with a long time member of the Virtual Hockey League. He was rewarded with the Seattle franchise recently in the VHL and navigated the expansion draft successfully....hopefully.
Mr. Jervis accolades include 6 Clarence S. Campbell Trophies, 2 Jack Adams Trophies, 1 President's Trophy and 1 Stanley Cup Championship that was achieved in the PHL in 2017. This is a person who has vast experience in sim hockey and he will need it for the inaugural PFHL Dispersal Draft. The Golden Knights are blessed with the 2nd overall pick, which means they will be able to snag an elite player, however the wait for subsequent picks will be long and great care will be needed to ensure the team does not miss out on some valuable assets. If the incorrect path is taken, it will be tough to course correct with so many players being taken in between picks. The new GM explained to me his core strategy when it comes to drafting.
"Value, Value, Value. The plan is to just take the most valuable asset each pick and go from there. Virtually every GM out there will be trading once this thing is over, and if you have weaknesses or need to shore up a position, if you have valuable assets to trade, that can help you fix those problem areas."
When asked who he was looking at, the GM did not give too much away
"We'll see...I don't think San Jose even knows 100% who they are taking yet. It's an exciting, new experience. Salary certainly comes in to play. There are so many factors, I don't think I'll make a final decision until shortly before the draft begins. We'll certainly have our rankings in order but the top of the draft will be hotly debated."
I also asked Tom if he was considering moving down from #2, since there were a lot of teams interested in trading up.
"No, I don't think we'll be doing that. We were pretty happy to get #2. We feel like we can really control out destiny with this pick instead of having our strategy dictated to us. Certainly, those teams that pick after us will have a say in what we do in the 2nd & 3rd round but the piece we get in the 1st will be a foundational piece around we can build the franchise."
No matter what happens, the Golden Knights certainly have a GM who matches the community. He's a gambler who's won some and lost some but he's never afraid roll the dice.
