Targets for first few rounds?

[Carlito99]

Hey all, I'm in a keep 3 league (my keepers are Benn - LW, McDavid - C, Subban - D). All teams required to keep 3. In the first few rounds of actual drafting, what do you think I should be targeting? I was thinking the first 2 rounds should be a RW if one is available by the time my turn comes around, and a goalie since I'm not keeping one


High end RW:
Wheeler - I had him and I'm not keeping him, so he may be up there
Simmonds - owner hasn't decided if he's keeping him
MacKinnon
Neal (does he deserve being drafted as high as he is this year?)

Higher drafted goalies not being kept:
Schneider
Crawford
Gibson (maybe)
Lundqvist
One of Rinne or Rask will be available

Or at this point, other elite D such as Letang, OEL should be available too. Any thoughts on what to target for the first 3-4 rounds? I figured C is easier to come by later on, so I shouldn't target too many of them early. Thanks!

[Axeman33]

If those types of D are going to be available, why are you keeping Subban?

Who are your other options for keepers other than Wheeler?

[Carlito99]

If those types of D are going to be available, why are you keeping Subban?

Who are your other options for keepers other than Wheeler?

Haha I dunno, I asked for opinions on keepers last year and consensus seemed to be those 3, but that is a valid point... Actually Letang may not be available, but OEL would have been for sure since I have him, and possibly Josi. Weber will be there, Doughty is a maybe

Here is how my roster ended up at the end of last season, so all are available for keeping:

LW - Benn, Steen, Schwartz
C - McDavid, Barkov, Carter, Dubinsky
RW - Wheeler, Perron (LW)
D - Subban, OEL, Ghost, L. Schenn
G - Crawford, Mrazek, Bobrovsky, Darling

[Axeman33]

Haha I dunno, I asked for opinions on keepers last year and consensus seemed to be those 3, but that is a valid point... Actually Letang may not be available, but OEL would have been for sure since I have him, and possibly Josi. Weber will be there, Doughty is a maybe

Here is how my roster ended up at the end of last season, so all are available for keeping:

LW - Benn, Steen, Schwartz
C - McDavid, Barkov, Carter, Dubinsky
RW - Wheeler, Perron (LW)
D - Subban, OEL, Ghost, L. Schenn
G - Crawford, Mrazek, Bobrovsky, Darling

Considering it's a 2G league, I'd be keeping Crawford over Subban. Hell, I'd have kept OEL over Subban but that's me.

[Carlito99]

Hm maybe this warrants a new discussion entirely! I am now doubting things and should probably figure this out for sure before coming up with a strategy lol. On my way to start a thread in the keeper section...

[NordiqueFan]

since goalie worth nealry 40 percent of your stat i take a goalie first

[Eskimo Brother]

I can see the argument for Crawford, but based on the league settings I probably would still keep a D, either Subban or OEL. Personally I side with Subban over OEL as they put up similar stats, but the +/- is a big swing.

As for who to target. Simmonds will be a beast. He's a great look. You also don't want to wait on G. Is that really the list of the best available goalies?

[Carlito99]

I can see the argument for Crawford, but based on the league settings I probably would still keep a D, either Subban or OEL. Personally I side with Subban over OEL as they put up similar stats, but the +/- is a big swing.

As for who to target. Simmonds will be a beast. He's a great look. You also don't want to wait on G. Is that really the list of the best available goalies?

We don't count +/-, so that should be fine

Um yeah those goalies are the ones that should be available (for the higher drafted guys). Ones likely being kept are Holtby, Price, Bishop, one of Rask/Rinne, Quick, Jones

Add Gibson to list of guys available, he's not being kept for sure

[Eskimo Brother]

We don't count +/-, so that should be fine

Um yeah those goalies are the ones that should be available (for the higher drafted guys). Ones likely being kept are Holtby, Price, Bishop, one of Rask/Rinne, Quick, Jones

Add Gibson to list of guys available, he's not being kept for sure

My fault sorry, not sure where I pulled that out of. If you still have those guys plus Gibson/Allen/Elliott/Bob/Talbot, then I think you'll be okay in net, so yes, I go with the Dman.

[GSD]

I am in a keep 3 too. I am looking at wheeler, but wing (Rw or Lw) is the way to go. Crawford will get you more wins.

[RizzeeDizzee]

My only advice is to be sure you redraft Dubinsky - he's likely a top 50 player with these settings but probably can be grabbed with closer to the 100th pick.

[Carlito99]

My only advice is to be sure you redraft Dubinsky - he's likely a top 50 player with these settings but probably can be grabbed with closer to the 100th pick.

Thanks everyone. I think I've decided on Subban as my 3rd keeper, so that has me starting with C, LW, D. For the first 3 rounds I'm thinking I'd like to get a RW, G, and maybe another high-end D (in no particular order - depends what's up there). After that, yeah guys like Dubinsky, Backes, Kesler, Lucic, Phaneuf, etc. will be what I'm hoping for!

[Starstruck]

It seemed to me (at least given the positional eligibilities on Yahoo this year) that elite RW players are few and far between. You may not pick one 1st overall, but monitor them because their quality can drop off a cliff fairly quickly.

[Carlito99]

It seemed to me (at least given the positional eligibilities on Yahoo this year) that elite RW players are few and far between. You may not pick one 1st overall, but monitor them because their quality can drop off a cliff fairly quickly.

Ya that's what got me to start thinking about potentially keeping Wheeler over Subban, because there would be a few good d-men available but not many RW. I'm still leaning toward Subban after talking with a few you tho. I agree - after looking at who is being kept... The only RW that would probably go in the first round or 2 after keepers will be Wheeler, Simmonds, MacKinnon, Neal. After that, there is a pretty big gap, and later on a few rounds late will come guys like Toffoli, Voracek, Sharp, Saad, etc. So I'm hoping to land Wheeler, Simmonds, or MacKinnon (possibly Neal, but does he deserve to go this high?).