Prospect Advice

[scdakotart2000]

In a 20tm keeper league, with a 17 player active roster, 5 reserves, and 30 minor slots, I have a question. How deep do you go on prospects and is there any general rule of thumb? I generally keep all slots filled, but what is some good guidance on the type of player(s) to target. I know the obvious, I am talking deep targets. I have some players that aren't projected to reach the NHL until 20-21 or after. There is not a lot of info about some of them. I know it's a total crap shoot, but is it a bad move to roster/target these fringe players hoping for a hidden gem in the rough? Or would it be better to target closer/older players that may not project to be as good, but be viable sooner?

[als_revenge]

I find your question too vague to provide anything of value. It would be easier if you qualified this with examples of players that fit each category.

Also, I think the answer to your question could depend on the status of your pro team. If your team sucks and won't be competitive for years, then I'd rather go the boom/bust route. If you have a very decent team that is competitive, then viable players that can help can be more valuable.

[Sulla]

Personally I always have full squads but a few of those spots are rotatable where don't tie myself to them but happy to drop them at a whiff of a better thing.

re how I fill them it is usually grade A's or guys that are close with nothing in between. That way you always have tradable assets to off set your pro team (as you can tell I always try and play to win and hate rebuilds that could be longer than a year or two as everyone wants to get rid of vets with a few years left). Regardless of what anyone says a young guy who makes a splash in his first few games will always be over paid for so the acquiring GM can play the 'yeah I saw something in him...' Card and that's what I try and take advantage of.

If if there is a b grade prospect that you are waiting a few years on they are bottom of my list to acquire or use but that's just my preference

[Jouko-Pouko]

I usually try to keep a nice balance - some amount of guys who are close to the NHL but have less upside, some guys who are long-shots to get there but could have very good upside, and then a bunch of guys who are between these two ends. Especially when you have 30 roster spots, don't go crazy with just one type of prospects in there - be open to all options.

Personally I always have full squads but a few of those spots are rotatable where don't tie myself to them but happy to drop them at a whiff of a better thing.

I totally agree with this. There are always new guys coming out of nowhere, so make sure you're leaving yourself with some room to add them when needed.

[Sulla]

It's probably the best piece of advice I can offer, and is one I need to listen to myself more often, as it is really easy to not want to drop anyone but sometimes it is the best move

[Jouko-Pouko]

It's probably the best piece of advice I can offer, and is one I need to listen to myself more often, as it is really easy to not want to drop anyone but sometimes it is the best move

Yeah. In my primary league (GDHL in my signature), in February 2015 I added some kid called Artemi Panarin, and in July 2015 I added some kid called Colton Parayko. Both were total unknowns at the time and free agents available to anyone but I acted quickly to get them before others knew about them. I lost Eric Cole and Austin Madaisky because of them but I can't say I have any regrets about that...

[Sulla]

But Eric Cole has been... Oh yeah...

ill ll always remember learning this the hard way when Kiprusoff emerged and as opposed to dropping someone I tried to do a 2 for 1 and by the time I did he had gone and I lost to his owner on the finals of my h2h! Showing my age now lol

[bergman]

It's kind of like the stock market... Weigh the risk, reward, and that will determine the opportunity cost of owning them you'd be willing to "pay".

Since you get to hold 30, as long as the potential upside matches the wait time and risk, you should be able to hit a few home-runs on some further-out guys if you hold enough of them. The hard part is knowing when to drop them or replace them if they're not improving along the trend you'd like to see out of them.

With a 22-man roster, your league probably doesn't hold many bottom-6 players, unless they have potential to be top-6. Any prospect you can find to pick up, who isn't already taken, and is also only about a year out from cracking the NHL roster, is probably not going to project well as a top-6 guy, in my opinion. So there's no point of holding them.

If it were me, I'd be using 20-25 of those minor slots on long-term prospects that for whatever reason could really pan out. And 5-10 on safer guys.

[Mr. Guru]

I'll always try to have one or two high end prospects.....and then fill the rest with pure offense, boom or bust types.