Who should I draft with my first pick? (easy rep!)

[kbro]

Team & draft position are both in my signature. As you can see I draft in this round (7th) then not again until twice in the 9th.

My top options are as follows:

Available Goalies - Brodeur, Lindback, Elliott, Nabokov, Varlamov, Pavlevic, Theodore
Note: While I have Halak, and Elliott would be great to complete the handcuff, I'm leaning strongly towards Brodeur.

Available Forwards - Thornton, Eriksson, Wheeler, Voracek, Pavelski, Pacioretti, J. Staal, Moulson, Elias, etc
Note: Due to the depth of talent here, I think I'm better served grabbing a goaltender of defenseman instead.

Available Defense - Boyle, Yandle, Wisniewski, Johnson, Streit, Enstrom, Campbell, Subban
Boyle is tempting here, as is Subban due to his PIM potential.

Available "multi-cat" stakers - Subban, Phaneuf, Clowe, Marchand, Dubinsky, Malone, Clarkson, Foligno, Stewart, Simmonds, Ott
As you can see from my roster, I already have a ton of scoring. Players with great +/- and PIMs will be a big asset for me. There seems to be a lot available here still though. Perhaps I can wait until my next picks to load up on these types of guys.

Anyhow, who do you think I should take? Brodeur? Elliott? Thornton? Eriksson? Boyle? Subban? Someone else?

Thanks in advance, and I'll rep all replies!

[StrongArms]

I think you can wait to pickup Elliott later on in the draft. Nobody will be grabbing him too early.

top 3 names that pop out at me considering your league cats are

Eriksson
Voracek
Subban

[Axeman33]

My top options from the names you have listed would probably be:

Thornton
Eriksson
Wheeler

In that order.

[Lixxiq]

Well, I'm pretty sure no one will agree with me but nevertheless:

I'd go with Jordan Staal here.

He'll play in line 1 with his brother Eric and PP1. Finally. He's still just 24 yrs old.

In a keeper league I wouldn't even consider Brodeur with Lindback f.e. available.

Otherwise I'd take Voracek, Eriksson.

[TheWhale]

I would take eriksson here

[lucifer316]

if you want a goalie i would go with varlamov brodeur is getting old and its starting to show varlamovs numbers will be closer to brodeur than many people realize hell they were probably closer last season than people realize

forward you have to go with thornton and defenseman you would have to choose boyle i would think

only you know how these guys tend to draft so you know if there will be a run on goalies in the first couple of rounds or defensemen or if the majority go forwards excluding teams with specific needs

one thing i will say though is that your goaltending is weaker than your forwards and defense and in a 12 team league if everyone is carrying at least 3 goalies some are relying on backups

we dont know the splits halak will get so if his number of starts is between a starter and a backup having another backup could well kill you in the cumulative stats

so i would probably pick varlamov if i were you if there ends up being a run on goalies you could end up screwed

[manetzj]

I would grab Eriksson; follow up with Jor.Staal & Subban.

[TheBoneweasel]

if i'm you, im taking one of:

Varlamov in net

Phaneuf on D, but an argument could be made for subban. either could easily be a keeper at the end of the season.

I'm not going to be the guy who takes the chance on brodeur. As a general rule of thumb i personally like to take the "safe" picks. Varly beats brodie easily there. That said, those D-men both have a ton of potential, and i'd take Phaneuf.

[Pengwin7]

I would take Dan Boyle.
In a 6F/4D pool, defensemen have considerable value.
Boyle is a rock-solid player and the SJ PP is always excellent.

With all of the young emerging defensemen, it gets lost that Boyle is a consistent top fantasy defenseman, probably a top 15D every year.

[kbro]

Thanks all! I'm in the process of getting the rep out.

A little info on goalies that have been drafted - 23 goaltenders have been selected so far, and 1 team has 3 goaltenders. That leaves 2 teams that will certainly be drafting a goaltender, likely before my 9th round picks. I can cross my fingers that they leave Elliott on the board until later, but if not I suppose one of Varlamov, Brodeur, and Lindback will be available.

I agree that Brodeur is in decline, but I think the Devils will be a strong team again this year, probably more defensive minded than last season, and I certainly see him as a more proven keeper than Varlamov and Lindback. Given that this is a semi-keeper and not a full keeper, I see him as a slightly safer bet right now.

I think I've narrowed it down to Eriksson, Subban, or Boyle. I have a feeling I'll be able to get a goalie later, I see Eriksson's production as similar to Thornton's, only with more goals and from the wing. Boyle apparently played part of last season with a broken foot, and he's a solid option. I like Subban's PIMs and potential a lot more than how Phaneuf has been trending, though adding a bona fide goaltender in Toronto could really help his +/-.