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We have covered a lot of ground in our 2014 fantasy hockey draft kit and we now find our self in October, just one week away from the start of the season. How exciting is that? Week one served as an introduction to the year, outlined our draft kit schedule, league setup details, and a list of important offseason changes. We kicked it up a notch in weeks two and three and provided rankings for each position - center, left wing, right wing, defense, and goalkeeper - as well as a consolidated rankings list for the upcoming season. And the fourth week looked at the breakout, sleeper, and bust candidates to watch out for this year. If you missed anything, you can find it all here:
Fake Teams 2014 Fantasy Hockey Draft Kit
We've reviewed the rankings and what to watch for coming into the season and week five is where we will concentrate on the draft itself. We covered a piece on draft strategy so that you can feel prepared for your upcoming season. Now, it's time to review some actual drafts. Today we'll review a standard snake draft and on Friday we'll review an auction draft. Hopefully they are able to help prepare you for your upcoming drafts.
Important Disclosure:
The following team managers are Fake Teams readers and fantasy hockey enthusiasts alike who have joined my league and allowed me to write about them in the context of our draft. There will be periodic updates throughout the year as we progress and I hope that you find our experiment helpful. Please keep in mind that everyone here willingly joined these leagues and are readers on this site. Everyone has different opinions and rankings, so please do not belittle anyone in the comments or otherwise. Mistakes happen. This is an experiment and a fun league and is meant to serve as a learning experience for not just the participants, but for everyone reading and otherwise involved. Please play nice.
With that said, lets look at the draft results:
Round One:
| 1 | maple laughs | Sidney Crosby(Pit - C) |
| 2 | Clowe's Bench Pass | Steven Stamkos(TB - C) |
| 3 | Feslen's Legacy | Corey Perry(Anh - RW) |
| 4 | Randy's Rad Team | Ryan Getzlaf(Anh - C) |
| 5 | Wanderers | Alex Ovechkin(Was - RW) |
| 6 | DANCEING JEFF | Tuukka Rask(Bos - G) |
| 7 | Thackery's Team | Evgeni Malkin(Pit - C,RW) |
| 8 | Clark's Crazy Team | Claude Giroux(Phi - C,RW) |
| 9 | Too Bad So Saad | John Tavares(NYI - C) |
| 10 | Jonathan's Okay Team | Henrik Lundqvist(NYR - G) |
| 11 | FletcherG's Team | Patrick Kane(Chi - C,RW) |
| 12 | four&half | Jonathan Quick(LA - G) |
There were basically no surprises here as they are all consensus first round picks. Getzlaf is earlier than consensus and I'm more bearish than consensus even, so this seems like a bit of a stretch here, but it's hard to find fault as you can certainly make an argument for him. All three top tier goalies were taken in this round and I took Quick at the end of the round thinking that the 100 point potential players had already been taken and I wasn't going to get another shot at a top tier goaltender if I let Quick go.
Round Two:
| 13 | four&half | Jamie Benn(Dal - LW) |
| 14 | FletcherG's Team | Tyler Seguin(Dal - C,RW) |
| 15 | Jonathan's Okay Team | Phil Kessel(Tor - RW) |
| 16 | Too Bad So Saad | Carey Price(Mon - G) |
| 17 | Clark's Crazy Team | Anze Kopitar(LA - C) |
| 18 | Thackery's Team | P.K. Subban(Mon - D) |
| 19 | DANCEING JEFF | Ben Bishop(TB - G) |
| 20 | Wanderers | Erik Karlsson(Ott - D) |
| 21 | Randy's Rad Team | Jonathan Toews(Chi - C) |
| 22 | Feslen's Legacy | Joe Pavelski(SJ - C,LW) |
| 23 | Clowe's Bench Pass | Taylor Hall(Edm - C,LW) |
| 24 | maple laughs | Sergei Bobrovsky(Cls - G) |
Again, not a ton of surprises, but that's to be expected as it's not easy to rock the boat with your first couple picks. Everyone wants to play it safe and make sure they have a good start. Pavelski may have been a bit of a reach, but again player preference is everything. He's in a good situation and finished as the 9th best fantasy asset last year, so you can't argue it. I grabbed Benn and the top left wing in the game with my pick. I feel pretty safe with that pick, he's a solid contributor in every category and has a point a game pace. You can tell that goalies will be at a premium with Price, Bishop, and Bobrovsky all being taken early on. This is something that I'm noting and making sure that I don't wait too long before taking a second one.
Round Three:
| 25 | maple laughs | Chris Kunitz(Pit - LW) |
| 26 | Clowe's Bench Pass | Corey Crawford(Chi - G) |
| 27 | Feslen's Legacy | Antti Niemi(SJ - G) |
| 28 | Randy's Rad Team | Logan Couture(SJ - C,LW) |
| 29 | Wanderers | Nathan MacKinnon(Col - C,RW) |
| 30 | DANCEING JEFF | Patrick Sharp(Chi - C,LW) |
| 31 | Thackery's Team | Marc-Andre Fleury(Pit - G) |
| 32 | Clark's Crazy Team | Kari Lehtonen(Dal - G) |
| 33 | Too Bad So Saad | Shea Weber(Nsh - D) |
| 34 | Jonathan's Okay Team | Semyon Varlamov(Col - G) |
| 35 | FletcherG's Team | James Neal(Nsh - LW,RW) |
| 36 | four&half | Cory Schneider(NJ - G) |
The barrage on goaltenders continued in the third round with six of the twelve picks being goalies. I was lucky and despite the fact that everyone clearly knows the man crush that I have on Schneider, I was still able to get him. He was a bit of a reach when compared to Yahoo!'s ADP, but a discount compared to where I ranked him. Having two goalie's right off the bat means that I can concentrate on the other positions now. Lost in the goalie fever was the fact that some very solid offensive contributor's were picked in this round. Kunitz and Sharp have very high floors and MacKinnon has the potential to be a first/second round pick. These could be steals. Also, I didn't notice during the draft, but I should have noticed that the beginning of the second tier defensemen began a little early with Weber and it might be a sign to grab D soon.
Round Four:
| 37 | four&half | Nicklas Backstrom(Was - C) |
| 38 | FletcherG's Team | Pekka Rinne(Nsh - G) |
| 39 | Jonathan's Okay Team | Zach Parise(Min - LW) |
| 40 | Too Bad So Saad | Max Pacioretty(Mon - LW) |
| 41 | Clark's Crazy Team | Patrick Marleau(SJ - C,LW) |
| 42 | Thackery's Team | Matt Duchene(Col - C,LW) |
| 43 | DANCEING JEFF | David Backes(StL - C,RW) |
| 44 | Wanderers | Gabriel Landeskog(Col - LW) |
| 45 | Randy's Rad Team | Duncan Keith(Chi - D) |
| 46 | Feslen's Legacy | Drew Doughty(LA - D) |
| 47 | Clowe's Bench Pass | Kris Letang(Pit - D) |
| 48 | maple laughs | Eric Staal(Car - C) |
We had a couple steals in this round due to the goalie grab in the last round. Parise and Duchene could be the type of value picks that win leagues and are great picks at this position in the draft. I reached for Backstrom as most people knew I might and I heard a lot of chatter and cursing in the chat box after my two selections which always brings about a warm fuzzy feeling for me. Despite reaching for Schneider and Backstrom, the consensus seemed to be that they were good picks and frustrating for the other owners. I didn't pick up on the potential run of defensemen that might start and by the end of the round I was getting worried as they started to come off the board. I like having a strong group of defensemen and there is quite a while until my next pick. I was surprised to see Letang being taken this high. He certainly has the talent, but recent injury history has many, including me, backing off of him at the draft. I probably would have waited a couple rounds before selecting him, but if he can stay healthy he is certainly worth the pick.
Round Five:
| 49 | maple laughs | Ryan Miller(Van - G) |
| 50 | Clowe's Bench Pass | Wayne Simmonds(Phi - RW) |
| 51 | Feslen's Legacy | Mike Smith(Ari - G) |
| 52 | Randy's Rad Team | Jeff Skinner(Car - LW,RW) |
| 53 | Wanderers | Henrik Zetterberg(Det - C,LW) |
| 54 | DANCEING JEFF | Patrice Bergeron(Bos - C) |
| 55 | Thackery's Team | Jason Spezza(Dal - C) |
| 56 | Clark's Crazy Team | Martin St. Louis(NYR - RW) |
| 57 | Too Bad So Saad | Marian Hossa(Chi - RW) |
| 58 | Jonathan's Okay Team | Pavel Datsyuk(Det - C,LW) |
| 59 | FletcherG's Team | Rick Nash(NYR - LW,RW) |
| 60 | four&half | Alex Pietrangelo(StL - D) |
To my surprise there were no more defensemen taken in this round until my pick and I made sure to capitalize n what I felt were the best available blue liners. I was stuck between Pietrangelo, Yandle, and Byfuglien, but went with the two higher ADP's hoping that I could get Byfuglien at the next turn. A couple more goalie's didnt interest me much as I already had two very solid options in net, but I will have to consider a backup and given the strong numbers I anticipate from my current goaltending duo, I would like to get a respectable third so that they don't pull my ratios down. I want to outright win all the goaltending categories every week. Datsyuk may have been an interesting pick since he had just been injured and was already expected to miss 4-5 weeks and the start of the regular season. He was already a round behind his ADP, but he probably could have waited a little longer before taking him given the injury news.
Round Six:
| 61 | four&half | Keith Yandle(Ari - D) |
| 62 | FletcherG's Team | Jimmy Howard(Det - G) |
| 63 | Jonathan's Okay Team | James van Riemsdyk(Tor - LW) |
| 64 | Too Bad So Saad | Dustin Byfuglien(Wpg - RW,D) |
| 65 | Clark's Crazy Team | Alexander Steen(StL - C,LW) |
| 66 | Thackery's Team | Steve Mason(Phi - G) |
| 67 | DANCEING JEFF | Zdeno Chara(Bos - D) |
| 68 | Wanderers | Brian Elliott(StL - G) |
| 69 | Randy's Rad Team | Braden Holtby(Was - G) |
| 70 | Feslen's Legacy | Ryan Johansen(Cls - C,RW) |
| 71 | Clowe's Bench Pass | Daniel Sedin(Van - LW) |
| 72 | maple laughs | Jordan Eberle(Edm - RW) |
As I already mentioned, I grabbed Yandle instead of Byfuglien and as you can already see, big Buf didn't make it back to me. Despite 'reaching' for Bufuglien, I think this is a very good pick and the right time to take him. Sucks to me thinking I could hype him up all preseason and then hope that he's forgotten about. Writing can suck sometimes when people start to use it against you. Elliot was a target third goalkeeper for me, but that strategy was clearly shot with a good pick in the sixth round. The Wanderers will want to handcuff him with Allen just in case, but he's a good goalie with an elite defensive team who is getting more starts this year. You have to like that situation. Johansen's contract issues still haven't been sorted out, but I liked him to the tune of an early fourth round pick before it became apparent that this was going to drag along and he wasn't coming to camp. The jury will be out on this pick, but it could be a huge steal if Johansen shows no ill effects when he returns.
Round Seven:
| 73 | maple laughs | Bobby Ryan(Ott - LW,RW) |
| 74 | Clowe's Bench Pass | Jaroslav Halak(NYI - G) |
| 75 | Feslen's Legacy | Milan Lucic(Bos - LW) |
| 76 | Randy's Rad Team | Thomas Vanek(Min - LW,RW) |
| 77 | Wanderers | Scott Hartnell(Cls - LW) |
| 78 | DANCEING JEFF | Jakub Voracek(Phi - RW) |
| 79 | Thackery's Team | Joe Thornton(SJ - C) |
| 80 | Clark's Crazy Team | Ryan McDonagh(NYR - D) |
| 81 | Too Bad So Saad | David Krejci(Bos - C) |
| 82 | Jonathan's Okay Team | Ryan Kesler(Anh - C,RW) |
| 83 | FletcherG's Team | Jeff Carter(LA - C,RW) |
| 84 | four&half | Marian Gaborik(LA - RW) |
The picks are still fairly close to the consolidated ADP, but there is starting to be little differentiation between players as the tiers start to grow. Here is where you start targeting players that compliment your earlier picks. Maybe you address a category that you don't currently have a strong presence in or maybe you overload a category and try to take a stranglehold on it. I still like to look for high point totals and so Gaborik seemed like an obvious choice to me. I am a believer in the post season chemistry that he had last year and am just hoping he can stay healthy. McDonagh may have been a bit early chosen with the 80th pick, there are some defensemen I'd prefer over him still, but he has potential here as well.
Round Eight:
| 85 | four&half | Oliver Ekman-Larsson(Ari - D) |
| 86 | FletcherG's Team | Victor Hedman(TB - D) |
| 87 | Jonathan's Okay Team | Henrik Sedin(Van - C) |
| 88 | Too Bad So Saad | Blake Wheeler(Wpg - RW) |
| 89 | Clark's Crazy Team | Jarome Iginla(Col - RW) |
| 90 | Thackery's Team | Evander Kane(Wpg - LW) |
| 91 | DANCEING JEFF | Mark Giordano(Cgy - D) |
| 92 | Wanderers | Kevin Shattenkirk(StL - D) |
| 93 | Randy's Rad Team | Christian Ehrhoff(Pit - D) |
| 94 | Feslen's Legacy | Torey Krug(Bos - D) |
| 95 | Clowe's Bench Pass | T.J. Oshie(StL - C,RW) |
| 96 | maple laughs | Niklas Kronwall(Det - D) |
The first two picks are defensemen that I would prefer over McDonagh in the last round, but are almost indistinguishable between the two of them in terms of fantasy relevance this year. I knew I wanted a strong defense and in order to do that, I needed to make another pick before my third tier defensemen were gone. However, I made a mental error in taking Ekman-Larsson when I already had Yandle. It's not the end of the world to have two defensemen on the same team, but I generally prefer not to. Hedman, the guy I should have taken, was taken right after and as I commented in the chat about my mistake, I started making trade plans with Fletcher to swap the two of them. Full disclosure, we made the swap the day after the draft so I am a bit happier now, as I believe he should be as well. At this point I'm really happy to have three defensemen as seven came off the board this round. It's nice being ahead of the curve.
Round Nine:
| 97 | maple laughs | Kyle Okposo(NYI - RW) |
| 98 | Clowe's Bench Pass | James Wisniewski(Cls - D) |
| 99 | Feslen's Legacy | Kyle Turris(Ott - C) |
| 100 | Randy's Rad Team | Bryan Little(Wpg - C,RW) |
| 101 | Wanderers | Jonathan Bernier(Tor - G) |
| 102 | DANCEING JEFF | Ryan O'Reilly(Col - C,LW) |
| 103 | Thackery's Team | Matt Niskanen(Was - D) |
| 104 | Clark's Crazy Team | Ryan Suter(Min - D) |
| 105 | Too Bad So Saad | Patric Hornqvist(Pit - RW) |
| 106 | Jonathan's Okay Team | Mike Green(Was - D) |
| 107 | FletcherG's Team | Gustav Nyquist(Det - C,RW) |
| 108 | four&half | Frederik Andersen(Anh - G) |
Some decent picks in this round, but it was getting close to that time where I needed to select a third goalkeeper if I wanted someone I could trust. Given the elite level numbers I expect out of Quick and Schneider, I wanted someone with a good GAA and SV%. Unfortunately they were all gone, but I also had my eye on the tandem of Andersen and Gibson. Together they will provide good dependable numbers. It hurts having four goalies on the roster, but I want to sweep goalies this year, so it had to be done. These picks took some off guard as they didn't expect me to take another goalie so early and had banked on these two being available later on. Sorry guys. There were some good picks here, but I'm not big on the Turris or Green picks for reason's I've outlined in my articles beforehand.
Round Ten:
| 109 | four&half | John Gibson(Anh - G) |
| 110 | FletcherG's Team | Dan Boyle(NYR - D) |
| 111 | Jonathan's Okay Team | Cam Fowler(Anh - D) |
| 112 | Too Bad So Saad | Roberto Luongo(Fla - G) |
| 113 | Clark's Crazy Team | Jonas Hiller(Cgy - G) |
| 114 | Thackery's Team | Alexander Semin(Car - LW,RW) |
| 115 | DANCEING JEFF | Brandon Saad(Chi - LW,RW) |
| 116 | Wanderers | Dion Phaneuf(Tor - D) |
| 117 | Randy's Rad Team | Andrew Ladd(Wpg - LW) |
| 118 | Feslen's Legacy | Clarke MacArthur(Ott - LW) |
| 119 | Clowe's Bench Pass | Tomas Hertl(SJ - LW) |
| 120 | maple laughs | Tyson Barrie(Col - D) |
I've already alluded to my Gibson pick to handcuff Andersen and this is a favourite strategy of mine to grab them together at the turn around the 100th pick. I may well drop one through the year as it's tough to hold four goalies, but I'll wait to see what situation comes out of Anaheim first and I'll be left with three solid goalies. I love the Saad pick here, even if it was a touch early compared to the consensus average and even if it did annoy me as I wanted him with my next pick. Goalies and defensemen are coming off the board and I'd like to think that I've helped start a run on them which is fine with me as I feel quite good about my roster in those positions. All the more forwards to leave for me later on.
Round Eleven:
| 121 | maple laughs | Brian Campbell(Fla - D) |
| 122 | Clowe's Bench Pass | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins(Edm - C) |
| 123 | Feslen's Legacy | Brent Burns(SJ - RW,D) |
| 124 | Randy's Rad Team | Chris Kreider(NYR - LW) |
| 125 | Wanderers | John Carlson(Was - D) |
| 126 | DANCEING JEFF | Alex Goligoski(Dal - D) |
| 127 | Thackery's Team | Justin Faulk(Car - D) |
| 128 | Clark's Crazy Team | Mark Streit(Phi - D) |
| 129 | Too Bad So Saad | Brad Marchand(Bos - LW) |
| 130 | Jonathan's Okay Team | Brent Seabrook(Chi - D) |
| 131 | FletcherG's Team | Brandon Dubinsky(Cls - C,LW) |
| 132 | four&half | Brad Richards(Chi - C,LW) |
The defensemen continue to fly off the board with another seven of them in the eleventh round. I wasn't expecting them to be quite this fast and furious and I was a bit worried as to who would be left for my fourth defenseman. Nugent-Hopkins and Kreider are young talented players with lots of reign and opportunity. They could be steals, but they'll need to prove it first. Carlson and Goligoski are my favourite blue line picks of the group as Carlson's role is continuously expanding for the Capitals and he shoots like crazy and Goligoski is playing with a new, revamped, and exciting Stars team. I jumped on Richards a bit early as I'm expecting big things out of him this year with the Blackhawks and think he's a real value at this spot in the draft.
Round Twelve:
| 133 | four&half | Roman Josi(Nsh - D) |
| 134 | FletcherG's Team | Jonathan Drouin(TB - LW) |
| 135 | Jonathan's Okay Team | Alexander Edler(Van - D) |
| 136 | Too Bad So Saad | Andrei Markov(Mon - D) |
| 137 | Clark's Crazy Team | Jaromir Jagr(NJ - RW) |
| 138 | Thackery's Team | Jack Johnson(Cls - D) |
| 139 | DANCEING JEFF | Loui Eriksson(Bos - LW,RW) |
| 140 | Wanderers | Radim Vrbata(Van - RW) |
| 141 | Randy's Rad Team | Jason Garrison(TB - D) |
| 142 | Feslen's Legacy | Jacob Trouba(Wpg - D) |
| 143 | Clowe's Bench Pass | Anton Khudobin(Car - G) |
| 144 | maple laughs | Justin Schultz(Edm - D) |
I grabbed my final starting defenseman early in the twelfth round as I started to get scared that I would't be left with anyone I liked. Josi continues to progress alongside Weber with the Predators and I'm expecting him to continue to get better. If nothing else, he should be a safe pick. The reign of defense continued with seven more defenseman going. I'm not concerned about it anymoer as I'm done with my blue line, but it does make me wonder what other teams are left starting. I know I have a strong D which makes me happy as I think this is a significant advantage to own with the forward depth available out there. Drouin could be a steal as I had him ranked around 100th and he may be back on time for the start of the regular season. Try to capitalize on this in your drafts as well, but be careful not to let him drop too far.I was hitting myself a bit for letting him past me. Khudobin might be the other steal here. His Yahoo! rank is 91st and he is expected to take on a larger role this year than he did last year. If he can remain consistent, even on a poor team, this might be steal of the draft.
Round Thirteen:
| 145 | maple laughs | Ondrej Pavelec(Wpg - G) |
| 146 | Clowe's Bench Pass | Cody Franson(Tor - D) |
| 147 | Feslen's Legacy | Jason Pominville(Min - RW) |
| 148 | Randy's Rad Team | Slava Voynov(LA - D) |
| 149 | Wanderers | Paul Stastny(StL - C) |
| 150 | DANCEING JEFF | Marek Zidlicky(NJ - D) |
| 151 | Thackery's Team | Joffrey Lupul(Tor - LW,RW) |
| 152 | Clark's Crazy Team | Vladimir Tarasenko(StL - RW) |
| 153 | Too Bad So Saad | David Perron(Edm - LW,RW) |
| 154 | Jonathan's Okay Team | Johan Franzen(Det - LW,RW) |
| 155 | FletcherG's Team | Jay Bouwmeester(StL - D) |
| 156 | four&half | Evgeny Kuznetsov(Was - C,LW) |
This round is more well known for being the first of your bench rounds where risks are taken in the hope of finding a late gem. That said, there is something to be said for taking Mr. reliable and Pominville and Stastny are just that - great consistent value picks. I kept up the lottery ticket nature of the round by taking Kuznetsov who could have a wide range of outcomes in Washington. If he plays on the top line, this is a steal, but if not then we'll have to see how I feel about it later.
Round Fourteen:
| 157 | four&half | Valeri Nichushkin(Dal - RW) |
| 158 | FletcherG's Team | Seth Jones(Nsh - D) |
| 159 | Jonathan's Okay Team | Josh Harding(Min - G) |
| 160 | Too Bad So Saad | Jaden Schwartz(StL - LW) |
| 161 | Clark's Crazy Team | Dougie Hamilton(Bos - D) |
| 162 | Thackery's Team | Derek Stepan(NYR - C) |
| 163 | DANCEING JEFF | Alex Stalock(SJ - G) |
| 164 | Wanderers | Nazem Kadri(Tor - C) |
| 165 | Randy's Rad Team | Jhonas Enroth(Buf - G) |
| 166 | Feslen's Legacy | Andrew Shaw(Chi - C) |
| 167 | Clowe's Bench Pass | Ales Hemsky(Dal - RW) |
| 168 | maple laughs | Matt Moulson(Buf - LW) |
Nichushkin continued my lottery picks, although I feel more confident in him than I do in Kuznetsov due to his year's seasoning last year. I don't like the Harding pick as he'll be out for two or three months with his broken foot and there is no guarantee he gets the job back when he returns. He should be left for the waiver wire right now. The other injured player, Stepan is a great pick however. Well after his ADP, this is a value pick that can be stashed on IR for later with reasonable certainty of resuming his regular role on the top line when he returns. Stalock is an interesting pick and I'm surprised that Feslen didn't grab him to handcuff Niemi. Too early for him maybe? Could be a great speculative grab here though. Also really like the Hemsky pick. As long as he stays healthy he'll be a good contributor on the Stars second line.
Round Fifteen:
| 169 | maple laughs | Nail Yakupov(Edm - RW) |
| 170 | Clowe's Bench Pass | Tobias Enstrom(Wpg - D) |
| 171 | Feslen's Legacy | Troy Brouwer(Was - RW) |
| 172 | Randy's Rad Team | Craig Anderson(Ott - G) |
| 173 | Wanderers | Jake Allen(StL - G) |
| 174 | DANCEING JEFF | Valtteri Filppula(TB - C,LW) |
| 175 | Thackery's Team | Niklas Backstrom(Min - G) |
| 176 | Clark's Crazy Team | Jonathan Huberdeau(Fla - C,LW) |
| 177 | Too Bad So Saad | Mikko Koivu(Min - C) |
| 178 | Jonathan's Okay Team | Ryan Callahan(TB - RW) |
| 179 | FletcherG's Team | Dustin Brown(LA - LW,RW) |
| 180 | four&half | Alex Tanguay(Col - LW,RW) |
The Wanderers did well to handcuff Elliot with Allen here and Backstrom could be a great pick as the potential Wild starter. I'm surprised Kuemper wasn't picked in this draft, Thackery may want to look into handcuffing Backstrom as it remains up in the air who will take that starting role. Koivu is a great depth pick who is super consistent and reliable for your bench. Tanguay is a late round pick in nearly all of my drafts as I think he'll really excel on the top two lines with the Avalanche this year. You also have to love the dual eligibility.
Round Sixteen:
| 181 | four&half | Tyler Toffoli(LA - RW) |
| 182 | FletcherG's Team | James Reimer(Tor - G) |
| 183 | Jonathan's Okay Team | Martin Hanzal(Ari - C) |
| 184 | Too Bad So Saad | Erik Johnson(Col - D) |
| 185 | Clark's Crazy Team | Ben Scrivens(Edm - G) |
| 186 | Thackery's Team | Justin Williams(LA - RW) |
| 187 | DANCEING JEFF | Craig Smith(Nsh - C,RW) |
| 188 | Wanderers | Mikael Granlund(Min - C) |
| 189 | Randy's Rad Team | Chris Stewart(Buf - RW) |
| 190 | Feslen's Legacy | Eddie Lack(Van - G) |
| 191 | Clowe's Bench Pass | Michael Cammalleri(NJ - C,LW) |
| 192 | maple laughs | Patrik Elias(NJ - C,LW) |
Count me as a believer in the young guns this year as I'm taking a chance with Toffoli as well. He really stepped it up in the playoffs last year and I'm sold. Most teams are picking positions where they lack depth towards the end here and are aiming to gain roster flexibility. I'll finish with three potential options at center and four each at left wing, right wing, defense, and goaltender which should give me the flexibility I need to be competitive. I may want to lose a goalkeeper and add a center or defenseman, but that can wait for now.
The full rosters are below. Take a look through and let me know where the stronger teams are and why you like them. I hope I'm among them, but I'm finding it very difficult to draft this year when everyone else knows my rankings and strategy. Hopefully I can manage my team to a win this year despite this. Tell me your thoughts below.
Final Rosters (use the scroll bar at the bottom for the teams on the right):
| maple laughs | 1 | Sidney Crosby (Pit - C) | Clowe's Bench Pass | 2 | Steven Stamkos (TB - C) |
| 24 | Sergei Bobrovsky (Cls - G) | 23 | Taylor Hall (Edm - C,LW) | ||
| 25 | Chris Kunitz (Pit - LW) | 26 | Corey Crawford (Chi - G) | ||
| 48 | Eric Staal (Car - C) | 47 | Kris Letang (Pit - D) | ||
| 49 | Ryan Miller (Van - G) | 50 | Wayne Simmonds (Phi - RW) | ||
| 72 | Jordan Eberle (Edm - RW) | 71 | Daniel Sedin (Van - LW) | ||
| 73 | Bobby Ryan (Ott - LW,RW) | 74 | Jaroslav Halak (NYI - G) | ||
| 96 | Niklas Kronwall (Det - D) | 95 | T.J. Oshie (StL - C,RW) | ||
| 97 | Kyle Okposo (NYI - RW) | 98 | James Wisniewski (Cls - D) | ||
| 120 | Tyson Barrie (Col - D) | 119 | Tomas Hertl (SJ - LW) | ||
| 121 | Brian Campbell (Fla - D) | 122 | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edm - C) | ||
| 144 | Justin Schultz (Edm - D) | 143 | Anton Khudobin (Car - G) | ||
| 145 | Ondrej Pavelec (Wpg - G) | 146 | Cody Franson (Tor - D) | ||
| 168 | Matt Moulson (Buf - LW) | 167 | Ales Hemsky (Dal - RW) | ||
| 169 | Nail Yakupov (Edm - RW) | 170 | Tobias Enstrom (Wpg - D) | ||
| 192 | Patrik Elias (NJ - C,LW) | 191 | Michael Cammalleri (NJ - C,LW) | ||
| Feslen's Legacy | 3 | Corey Perry (Anh - RW) | Randy's Rad Team | 4 | Ryan Getzlaf (Anh - C) |
| 22 | Joe Pavelski (SJ - C,LW) | 21 | Jonathan Toews (Chi - C) | ||
| 27 | Antti Niemi (SJ - G) | 28 | Logan Couture (SJ - C,LW) | ||
| 46 | Drew Doughty (LA - D) | 45 | Duncan Keith (Chi - D) | ||
| 51 | Mike Smith (Ari - G) | 52 | Jeff Skinner (Car - LW,RW) | ||
| 70 | Ryan Johansen (Cls - C,RW) | 69 | Braden Holtby (Was - G) | ||
| 75 | Milan Lucic (Bos - LW) | 76 | Thomas Vanek (Min - LW,RW) | ||
| 94 | Torey Krug (Bos - D) | 93 | Christian Ehrhoff (Pit - D) | ||
| 99 | Kyle Turris (Ott - C) | 100 | Bryan Little (Wpg - C,RW) | ||
| 118 | Clarke MacArthur (Ott - LW) | 117 | Andrew Ladd (Wpg - LW) | ||
| 123 | Brent Burns (SJ - RW,D) | 124 | Chris Kreider (NYR - LW) | ||
| 142 | Jacob Trouba (Wpg - D) | 141 | Jason Garrison (TB - D) | ||
| 147 | Jason Pominville (Min - RW) | 148 | Slava Voynov (LA - D) | ||
| 166 | Andrew Shaw (Chi - C) | 165 | Jhonas Enroth (Buf - G) | ||
| 171 | Troy Brouwer (Was - RW) | 172 | Craig Anderson (Ott - G) | ||
| 190 | Eddie Lack (Van - G) | 189 | Chris Stewart (Buf - RW) | ||
| Wanderers | 5 | Alex Ovechkin (Was - RW) | DANCEING JEFF | 6 | Tuukka Rask (Bos - G) |
| 20 | Erik Karlsson (Ott - D) | 19 | Ben Bishop (TB - G) | ||
| 29 | Nathan MacKinnon (Col - C,RW) | 30 | Patrick Sharp (Chi - C,LW) | ||
| 44 | Gabriel Landeskog (Col - LW) | 43 | David Backes (StL - C,RW) | ||
| 53 | Henrik Zetterberg (Det - C,LW) | 54 | Patrice Bergeron (Bos - C) | ||
| 68 | Brian Elliott (StL - G) | 67 | Zdeno Chara (Bos - D) | ||
| 77 | Scott Hartnell (Cls - LW) | 78 | Jakub Voracek (Phi - RW) | ||
| 92 | Kevin Shattenkirk (StL - D) | 91 | Mark Giordano (Cgy - D) | ||
| 101 | Jonathan Bernier (Tor - G) | 102 | Ryan O'Reilly (Col - C,LW) | ||
| 116 | Dion Phaneuf (Tor - D) | 115 | Brandon Saad (Chi - LW,RW) | ||
| 125 | John Carlson (Was - D) | 126 | Alex Goligoski (Dal - D) | ||
| 140 | Radim Vrbata (Van - RW) | 139 | Loui Eriksson (Bos - LW,RW) | ||
| 149 | Paul Stastny (StL - C) | 150 | Marek Zidlicky (NJ - D) | ||
| 164 | Nazem Kadri (Tor - C) | 163 | Alex Stalock (SJ - G) | ||
| 173 | Jake Allen (StL - G) | 174 | Valtteri Filppula (TB - C,LW) | ||
| 188 | Mikael Granlund (Min - C) | 187 | Craig Smith (Nsh - C,RW) | ||
| Thackery's Team | 7 | Evgeni Malkin (Pit - C,RW) | Clark's Crazy Team | 8 | Claude Giroux (Phi - C,RW) |
| 18 | P.K. Subban (Mon - D) | 17 | Anze Kopitar (LA - C) | ||
| 31 | Marc-Andre Fleury (Pit - G) | 32 | Kari Lehtonen (Dal - G) | ||
| 42 | Matt Duchene (Col - C,LW) | 41 | Patrick Marleau (SJ - C,LW) | ||
| 55 | Jason Spezza (Dal - C) | 56 | Martin St. Louis (NYR - RW) | ||
| 66 | Steve Mason (Phi - G) | 65 | Alexander Steen (StL - C,LW) | ||
| 79 | Joe Thornton (SJ - C) | 80 | Ryan McDonagh (NYR - D) | ||
| 90 | Evander Kane (Wpg - LW) | 89 | Jarome Iginla (Col - RW) | ||
| 103 | Matt Niskanen (Was - D) | 104 | Ryan Suter (Min - D) | ||
| 114 | Alexander Semin (Car - LW,RW) | 113 | Jonas Hiller (Cgy - G) | ||
| 127 | Justin Faulk (Car - D) | 128 | Mark Streit (Phi - D) | ||
| 138 | Jack Johnson (Cls - D) | 137 | Jaromir Jagr (NJ - RW) | ||
| 151 | Joffrey Lupul (Tor - LW,RW) | 152 | Vladimir Tarasenko (StL - RW) | ||
| 162 | Derek Stepan (NYR - C) | 161 | Dougie Hamilton (Bos - D) | ||
| 175 | Niklas Backstrom (Min - G) | 176 | Jonathan Huberdeau (Fla - C,LW) | ||
| 186 | Justin Williams (LA - RW) | 185 | Ben Scrivens (Edm - G) | ||
| Too Bad So Saad | 9 | John Tavares (NYI - C) | Jonathan's Okay Team | 10 | Henrik Lundqvist (NYR - G) |
| 16 | Carey Price (Mon - G) | 15 | Phil Kessel (Tor - RW) | ||
| 33 | Shea Weber (Nsh - D) | 34 | Semyon Varlamov (Col - G) | ||
| 40 | Max Pacioretty (Mon - LW) | 39 | Zach Parise (Min - LW) | ||
| 57 | Marian Hossa (Chi - RW) | 58 | Pavel Datsyuk (Det - C,LW) | ||
| 64 | Dustin Byfuglien (Wpg - RW,D) | 63 | James van Riemsdyk (Tor - LW) | ||
| 81 | David Krejci (Bos - C) | 82 | Ryan Kesler (Anh - C,RW) | ||
| 88 | Blake Wheeler (Wpg - RW) | 87 | Henrik Sedin (Van - C) | ||
| 105 | Patric Hornqvist (Pit - RW) | 106 | Mike Green (Was - D) | ||
| 112 | Roberto Luongo (Fla - G) | 111 | Cam Fowler (Anh - D) | ||
| 129 | Brad Marchand (Bos - LW) | 130 | Brent Seabrook (Chi - D) | ||
| 136 | Andrei Markov (Mon - D) | 135 | Alexander Edler (Van - D) | ||
| 153 | David Perron (Edm - LW,RW) | 154 | Johan Franzen (Det - LW,RW) | ||
| 160 | Jaden Schwartz (StL - LW) | 159 | Josh Harding (Min - G) | ||
| 177 | Mikko Koivu (Min - C) | 178 | Ryan Callahan (TB - RW) | ||
| 184 | Erik Johnson (Col - D) | 183 | Martin Hanzal (Ari - C) | ||
| FletcherG's Team | 11 | Patrick Kane (Chi - C,RW) | four&half | 12 | Jonathan Quick (LA - G) |
| 14 | Tyler Seguin (Dal - C,RW) | 13 | Jamie Benn (Dal - LW) | ||
| 35 | James Neal (Nsh - LW,RW) | 36 | Cory Schneider (NJ - G) | ||
| 38 | Pekka Rinne (Nsh - G) | 37 | Nicklas Backstrom (Was - C) | ||
| 59 | Rick Nash (NYR - LW,RW) | 60 | Alex Pietrangelo (StL - D) | ||
| 62 | Jimmy Howard (Det - G) | 61 | Keith Yandle (Ari - D) | ||
| 83 | Jeff Carter (LA - C,RW) | 84 | Marian Gaborik (LA - RW) | ||
| 86 | Victor Hedman (TB - D) | 85 | Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Ari - D) | ||
| 107 | Gustav Nyquist (Det - C,RW) | 108 | Frederik Andersen (Anh - G) | ||
| 110 | Dan Boyle (NYR - D) | 109 | John Gibson (Anh - G) | ||
| 131 | Brandon Dubinsky (Cls - C,LW) | 132 | Brad Richards (Chi - C,LW) | ||
| 134 | Jonathan Drouin (TB - LW) | 133 | Roman Josi (Nsh - D) | ||
| 155 | Jay Bouwmeester (StL - D) | 156 | Evgeny Kuznetsov (Was - C,LW) | ||
| 158 | Seth Jones (Nsh - D) | 157 | Valeri Nichushkin (Dal - RW) | ||
| 179 | Dustin Brown (LA - LW,RW) | 180 | Alex Tanguay (Col - LW,RW) | ||
| 182 | James Reimer (Tor - G) | 181 | Tyler Toffoli (LA - RW) |
To all of the draft day participants, thank you for joining the league with me. I'm really looking forward to playing the season through and seeing what happens. Feel free to comment below and defend some of your picks or weigh in on the draft day results.
Good luck drafting your own teams this year, I wish you all success!
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