Just check some of the draft lists on the "Post your 2023 draft" thread.
Sawchyn is consistently going ahead of Lombardi in leagues with both available.
I think the consensus would lead you to take Sawchyn.
I've read a lot of people that are big on him.
(I wasn't in range to draft him... so I haven't had research to form an opinion on him. Maybe others do.)
When in doubt... the DobberProspects pages with Upside/NHLcertainty are... really good.
Reference those and you can usually make a pretty informed decision.
As much as I have fallen for Lombardi because of this thread,
I think you might want to go with Sawchyn.
I think with all the players moving on from Seattle, he will be the go to guy
And he will score at a high pace in the W this year.
And his value will sky-rocket because of it.
On the other hand Lombardi scored at a great pace this year in the OHL.
But he will have to move on from the OHL this year.
So he might not score at as great of pace in the AHL.
And fantasy owners have major recency bias.
So when they look at Sawchyn scoring in the W,
he could hold more trade value then Lombardi.
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^Agree with this.
Sawchyn will also be back in WHL this year and put up HUGE numbers.
That usually really helps the player's trade value in leagues.
Lombardi will be playing AHL.
As rookie, his stats should be low and DET is loaded in NHL-forwards.
He's quite roadblocked in the near-term and he'll probably - at best - get 2nd line minutes with Grand Rapids.
(He's not owned in most leagues - so take Sawchyn - "watchlist" Lombardi - and if Lombardi happens to put up big rookie AHL numbers... just be prepared to jump on him.)
Thanks guys. Great advice as always!
He's struggling a bit points wise in his rookie season (16p in 45 games), along with Kasper, Mazur and Söderblom, but that's to be expected I suppose.
Yep he's pretty blocked in GR right now. But they're playing great as a team so I don't suspect this to change this year. Unless Berggren is moved.