Dobber Pro Wales draft recap

[hockeyislife]

Today was the Dobber Pro-Wales division draft. I am honored and amazed to be drafting with the group of GM's in this league; there is no weak link in the bunch. Below are some of the GM's recaps of how their drafts went.

[mister_mcgoo]

Today was the Dobber Pro-Wales division draft. I am honored and amazed to be drafting with the group of GM's in this league; there is no weak link in the bunch. Below are some of the GM's recaps of how their drafts went.

er...did you mean to post something here?

[hockeyislife]

Last year wasnt a particularly stellar FH year for me; i barely survived staying in the Pro tier and wanted to make sure taht i put in a better effort this season.

I found myself with the third pick overall; personally i prefer the 5-6-7 slots but getting the 3 pick isnt terrible.

Round #1: I start with Stamkos, after Ovechkin and D.sedin go 1-2; Crosby surprisingly(to me) goes 5th overall. Now i'm going to take G with my second and third round picks.
Round #2: I'm happy taking Niemi with my pick in the second, although i was hoping for Rinne; he got scooped by Joos earlier in the round.
Round #3: I take Crawford with my third pick. Very happy wih my G; now its time to start grabbing wingers
Round #4: RW Patrick Kane is available when the fourth round comes back my way, so i snap him up. I debate about D Green for a minute, but pass for now. if he's available in five i"ll take him then.
Round #5: Green is still there when my pick is up; if he bounces back and stays healthy this is a steal. This will become a recurring theme in my draft. I watch as Jobber's snatches up RW Giroux a few picks later; this is another on going theme in the draft.
Round #6: I like Vanek as my first LW; however Joo's is thinking the same thing and takes him before me. Now i'm debating between Yandle, Keith and Duchene; I like them all, but hope that the D will be there on the way back. Duchene it is.
Round #7: Keith is there, but i have no LW's yet. I grab Lucic over Keith as he brings a little of everything to the table. Later in the round, Jobber grabs Quick as his #3G; i'm stunned that he is still available!! I had planned on grabbing my third G arounf the 10th round; i may need to re-evaluate.
Round #8: Joo's takes D Keith(bastard!!), and then my #3 G pick(Broduer) goes right before me to Trial and Error using AUTODRAFT!!! I take RW Eriksson.
Round #9: I like RW Havalt lining up beside Thornton in San Jose; if he stays healthy.....
Round #10: I need to start shoring up my D at this point, so I decide to use my next two picks on them. so long as everyone else doesnt have the same idea, i can grab a couple of good ones. Only Goligoski goes before my pick, and i happily select Karlsson.
Round #11: I add D J.Johnson here; now i need to shore up my wings and possibly grab a #3G
Round #12: I go with LW Ennis; Trial and Error makes my decison easy by selecting LW Morrow in front of me.
Round #13: Im debating between LW/RW Bourque, and C Krejci. Bourque's dual status wins out; Krejci goes two picks later to Prairie Fire
Round #14: Being three deep at LW, RW and D i add C M.Koivu; I'm hoping his numbers will get better with Heatley and Setoguchi in Minny.
Round #15: Now i'm unsure who to add; i'm debating between LW Moulson, RW Pominville and C Grabovski. Oddly, i had all three in another league last year. I like Grabovski's number's across the board better than the others. Pominville goes next, and Mouson three picks later.
Round #16: Needing to fill up my D, I add Tomas Kaberle. I see him as a hit or miss guy...hopefully he's a hit in Carolina
Round #17: Bizsmack pounces on the two guys i passed on to take Kaberle; D Timonen and C Bergeron. I mutter profanities about Biz under my breath, then look for a RW. Daniel Alfredsson is still available. For a fourth liner he's worth the risk.
In short order the three guys i'm hoping to add next disappear in quick succession; Berglund, then Hamonic and finally Hemsky; i hate everyone in nthis draft right now.
Round #18: i take Booth as my fourth LW; he definitely fits well with the "Walking Wounded" moniker i choose.
Round #19: I'm looking at filling in my last two D spots, and my bench now. Jordon staal may line-up along side Malkin; perhaps even getting wing status later in the year
Round #20 there are three bona fide starters left after my pick in 19; SMason, Backstrom and Varlamov. Mason goes first to Winning Side, then Trial and Error takes Varlamov just ahead of me. I grab Backstrom, feeling lucky to get a starter in the 20th round.
Round #21: Bouwmeester. He's a stretch, but i take him because i've always had a soft spot for him. at least i waited till a late round to make a "heart" pick
Round #22: Keeping with teh "Walking Wounded" theme, I grab RW Hejduk. as a bench guy, i could do a lot worse.
Round #23: D Bogosian.....ummm, i guess i need to have a homer pick to cheer for when i go to Jets games this winter.
Round #24: I need another bench winger; hell with this squad i could probably use a few. I take P-M. Bouchard as he has dual wing status.
Round #25: I have my last pick all lined up...no one is going to gamble on D Larsson. No one except that *&$@#!*%? BizSmack!! I curse his name until i realize i've got only 30 seconds on the clock, and no back up player. I scramble for a bench D...Montador was servicable for me last season; he's the pick.

Overall, it was a solid draft. yes, this is a team that could spend as much time on IR as on the ice; but if it stays healthy it could possibly challenge for the lead.
only time will tell....

[smack]

Like HIL said, it was a really tough draft. I had the 2nd pick so I knew what I was going to do:

1) Daniel Sedin - Not a hard decision after AO went #1, needed that elite LW.
2) Nash - I'm not a big fan of his but with his dual eligibility and with the snipers going, I just went with him planning on hopefully taking Fleury with my next pick.
3) Fleury - I like him and I think a healthier Pittsburgh will only make him that much stronger. Easy pick.
4) Chara - I wanted to get that #1 dman out of the way early and Chara is just a monster in these roto leagues. Again, no brainer.
5) Hiller - Most of the goalies I've wanted were being taken and I'm not worried about the vertigo and think Anaheim will be scary this year. Not my first choice for #2 but I'm ok with it.
6) Backes - Maybe I took him a bit early here but I like that they gave him the captaincy and he's great for some PIM.
7) Hall - wanted Yandle here and was thrown off when he was taken so ended up with Hall who was next on my LW list.
8) Myers - Took Myers here for no reason other than I see a nice bounce back here for him and I think Buffalo can be MUCH better this year.
9) Pietrangelo - Decided to go back to back with D here cause if Pietrangelo just plays a little better than last year, then he'll be scary good.
10) Spezza - Needed my first centre and needed some assists as I've built up mostly some G,+/- and PIMS so far. Not bad in the 10th round.
11) Cammalleri - Yeah, he was in my queue but it came to my pick much quicker than I thought so that's who I got. Not what I wanted but whatever, no excuses.
12) Ribeiro - Why not some more assists? He's not a star but he's good for 50+ assists.
13) Okposo - This was just pure hope. I'm hoping he'll be healthy this year and I needed a RW badly here. Crossing my fingers.
14) Markov - I know he has he injuries, I'm not fooling myself but in the 14th round, I don't think I could pass him up, right?
15) Voracek - Wanted another RW and he was in the best of the bunch after Purcell was taken right before. I wasn't done with my Flyers so I take:
16) Timonen - For my 5th dman, I'm really happy with this guy. Great peripheral guy and hoping a healthier Pronger can help him.
17) Patrice Bergeron - Taking my 3rd centre in the 17th round and I get Bergeron. Thrilled. Best case scenario.
18) Setoguchi - Want to take my last starting RW and he's good for shots and I know he's on the 1st line so a worthwhile risk, imo. But, I lost my connection for a few minutes and on the next pick. . .
19) Eberle - Yeah, not the guy as I wanted on my bench but again, my fault.
20) Brian Campbell - Was looking for my 6th starting D and saw he's available. Will get lots of minutes in Florida so I'm hoping for the best here.
21) Pavelec - So I forgot about the 3rd goalie, I know. I'm ok with him. Hopefully I'll never have to use him but if I ever do, at least he'll be good for saves.
22) Steen - 50pt guy for the 4th centre. Meh. Pray Backes gets C eligibility.
23) Leino - Was looking for a bench LW and when I saw he was available was praying he would fall to me. 23rd rounder who will probably see some time in my starters.
24) Olli Jokinen - Not happy with my centres so far so I decide to take the guy who's killed me many years in my keepers. Just figuring out how he'll do it here.
25) Larsson - Poor HIL. Normally he'd have probably got him but I've taken Larsson in all my 1 year pools and always in the last round. For that reason, he'll be cut.

I'm praying my goalies and centres will hold up. Otherwise, it's goin' to be a long season.

[angelofharlem]

I thought I'd use this draft as an opportunity to take Hockey Pool Geek's Draft Guru for a test drive. Let me first say that I've been digging into HPG for the past few weeks and I'm supremely impressed. It's been a critical tool in all my draft prep this season, and the rankings I generated using HPG and Dobber's Projection played a huge role in shaping my team today. But... with a minute and a half drafting time limit today, I gave up on the Draft Guru after about 13 picks. I just couldn't keep up with entering all the picks with so little time; it gave me no time to analyze things and plot my next picks. But I do think the Draft Guru would be an amazing tool for a more leisurely live draft.

I found myself picking last in the first round and getting back-to-back picks at the turn, which I prefer to being in the top half of round 1. I'm terrified to be left with weak goaltending, which tends to happen if you're near the top of the draft order (though less so today, when we ended up with only 10 teams rather than the expected 12).

Rounds 1/2: Price, Parise

I knew I wanted a goalie and a winger with my first two picks. Price was actually my top rated goalie going in. The way I see it, there are probably half a dozen goalies who will fall in the 38-42 win range. Of those goalies, I think Price will have one of the lowest GAA's, and I expect him to be among the top two in saves. I could easily see him leading the league in starts, which is critical in a weekly start pool. Parise may have been a bit of a reach given that he's coming off a major injury, but I wanted a LW and I couldn't make a case for anyone being better than him at this slot. He should be good for 40 goals and 300 shots.

Rounds 3/4: Carter, Halak

Carter's dual eligibility as a C/RW was very attractive to me. In hindsight, my other RW aren't as strong as I'd like, so I anticipate playing him on the wing a lot. I wanted to round out my goaltending tandem now, rather than waiting another 20 picks with fingers crossed. I like Halak and the Blues to win a lot more this season, and he should be a workhorse.

Rounds 5/6: Letang, M. Richards

Pleasantly surprised to find Letang still available at the 50th pick, with 5 D-men taken ahead of him. He was tops on my D wish list heading into the draft. I already knew I planned to deploy Carter as a winger, so it was time to add a centre, and I like Richards' all-around contributions.

Rounds 7/8: Burrows, Phaneuf

I'm happy with these picks, but it was the first time in the draft I didn't really get what I wanted. Had my eye on Hartnell and Boyle, but they were taken in the 6 picks ahead of me. I'm hoping Phaneuf's late season improvement last season carries over to this year.

Rounds 9/10: Edler, Doan

I was excited to land Edler, as I really believe he's the heir apparent to Ehrhoff as the QB of the league's best powerplay. But Doan wasn't really on my radar. With two picks remaining before mine, I was deciding between Kessel and Brown as my RW pick, only to see them both selected out from under me. Doan's a decent consolation prize, but all the more reason for me to use Carter on the wing - I don't see Doan as a first line option.

Rounds 11/12: Skinner, Hornqvist

In my prep I had Skinner down as a dual C/RW - I'm pretty sure he had dual eligibity on Yahoo a week ago. Now he's just showing up as a C, but I'm hoping the RW gets added soon. I love that flexibility. Nevertheless, RW was still concerning me so I shored it up with Hornqvist. Not expecting heroics, but his SOG will be nice.

Rounds 13/14: Gagne, Giordano

I had an eye on Brooks Laich, but he got nabbed just ahead of me. IF Gagne can stay healthy, I think he could rekindle his chemistry with Richards - and if so, I'll get double the benefit. As for Giordano, I had him ranked much higher and was thrilled to land him as my #4 D-man. I think he's highly underrated and brings a nice mix of assists, PIM and PP production.

Rounds 15/16: McDonald, Stafford

I had made a conscious effort to save my centres for later in the draft, but I felt now was the time to add one. McDonald was alone at the top of my C list, with a pretty big drop-off to the next C on my list. The fact that a couple other GM's cursed this pick was pleasing, and Andy Mac has been given winger eligibility in the past, so here's hoping. Stafford... meh. I'm not totally sold on him yet, but I narrowly picked him over Gionta, who went a few picks later.

Rounds 17/18: Pitkanen, Pacioretty

Pretty happy to have a guy of Pitkanen's calibre as my #5 D-man. Pac was one of 4 LW's I was considering here, and I picked him because he seemed to have the most chance of exceeding my expectations.

Rounds 19/20: Souray, S. Mason

Souray makes a great 6th D-man this year I think. If nothing else, he should provide lots of bombs from the point on the PP, and he'll be highly motivated after last season's debacle - provided he can stay healthy. Mason... uggh. I endured a painful year and a half with him in my keeper league before finally unloading him, so I'm not a fan at this point. But he doesn't figure to get many starts for me behind Price and Halak, and as a #3 G, he'll do. I'm a little wary of Dekanich coming up behind him, but the other G on the board at this point all had their own question marks.

Rounds 21/22: Erat, Connolly

Two Preds are probably two too many if they aren't named Rinne or Weber, but there weren't a lot of RW options that interested me at this point, and Erat is at least consistent. Connolly is not a player I had planned on taking, but I found it endlessly amusing that the Leafs' 1st line centre was still on the board in Round 22, so I just had to take him. Ahhh, Leaf fans...

Rounds 23/24: Clitsome, Penner

Chose Clitsome over Gragnani. As good a prospect as Gragnani is, I'm not sure he's going to get enough PP time this season with Myers and the $60-million man in front of him. I'm hoping Clitsome can fend off Savard and Russell to nail down a spot on PP1 in Columbus. Penner... another guy I had no intention of taking. But in round 24 I took a flyer, hoping he clicks on the Kopitar line.

Round 25: Seguin

He wasn't really on my radar, but when Seguin was sitting there for my last overall pick, I figured he had way more upside than anyone else on the board. I figure I'll give him a couple months, and if there's no sign of a breakout, I'll pick up someone who's more steady.

Final Analysis: Though there are a few picks I wasn't thrilled to make, I think I achieved most of my objectives. My goaltending should be very strong, and I've got 5 potential 30-goal scorers. My defence looks solid. And I'm very pleased that most of the roster should be solid plus players. Last season my plus/minus killed me, thanks to 3 Oilers, an Islander, Jack Johnson and Erik Karlsson. That shouldn't be a problem this season.

I'm still not thrilled with my RW. It looks okay on paper, but when I use Carter as a centre, no one else stands out as a RW for me. Hopefully Skinner will get his eligibility, and then I'll feel a lot better about it.

My weakest stat will probably be PIM. I've got a few guys who will contribute some, but it's conceivable that no one breaks 100. This is something I may need to address on the waiver wire.

I haven't looked closely at anyone else's roster yet, but I think this team should be competitive, and I'm looking forward to a great season with a bunch of quality GM's. Good luck to all!

[sixhands]

Hey everyone,

I am also thrilled to be in the Pro Division (entry winner ), my goal is to "not finish last!"

I was unable to make the start of the draft and therefore the first 18 rounds for me were auto picked.

The ironic thing for me was that when I logged in, I looked at my team and went ... yup ... yup ... yup ... yup etc. to all the guys I probably would have picked anyway.

I picked the last 7 rounds and got some of the guys that I wanted.

Frolik
Varlamov
Rundblad
Kennedy
Martin

Overall, I am happy with this team and look forward to the upcoming season.

Good luck everyone.

Dave

[rooneypoo]

I was at position 6 of 11 (team 7 being a dummy team), so I had what I consider to be a tough draft spot. I like being at the ends (either), so I can scoop up two plays in quick succession, and this is the first time in a long while where I wasn't there. I found it made picking harder.

Anyway, on to my draft:

1) My #1 centre, MALKIN, falls in my lap. I had planned on picking Crosby if he had reached me (but not over Malkin). Normally, I hate picking C with my #1 pick, but there are 3 guys I'm willing to make exceptions for.

2) Goalie all the way here. Luongo and Rinne go right in front of me, but I'm happy with BRZYGALOV as my #1 goalie.

3) Winger all the way here. I scouted the Yahoo situation this year, and knew that Datsyuk and Zetterberg were both listed as LWs this year. DATSYUK becomes my #1 LW.

4) I decide immediately after that pick that I don't want a situation like last year, where my goaltending sucked hard, so I resolve on another goalie. I play it safe with THOMAS as my #2 goalie, passing on Brodeur and Quick.

5) At this point I know I need a RW. And I know that RW in Yahoo this year is not so strong. I'm hoping Kane reaches me, but no. I grab GIROUX as my #1 RW instead, passing on Gaborik.

6) Time for my first D. I hesitate on Yandle for some time, but pick DOUGHTY as my #1 D. As soon as I make that pick, however, I start to get nervous about the SOG / PIM situation.

7) Just as I start to worry about the PIM/points guys, four -- Kesler, Backes, Lucic, and Hartnell -- all drop in quick succession. This is why I hate being in the middle. What the hell, I figure, there's still Clowe, Burrows, and Downie, and one of them has to last another round. I snag QUICK as my #3 goalie, not because I need goaltending, but because he's far and away the most valuable player on the board. I'll either have the best goaltending in this league, or I'll move one for a king's random. Even as I make the move, tho', I'm not really liking it.

8) Clowe, Burrow, Phaneuf, and Downie all go. I can't believe it. 7th & 8th rounds kill me. I settle on a D, and I'm aiming for Keith, who gets scooped up right in front of me. I pick ENSTROM, angry.

9) I'm eying a RW shooter here all the way, but apparently so is everyone else: Eriksson, Steward, and Selanne all go, with Selanne being taken (again) right in front of me. I search over my list again looking for the highest potential guy, and grab ROY, my 2nd centre. With 2 Cs & 3 Gs in the first 9 rounds, I know I'm imbalanced. I'm also still not liking my SOG & PIM situations: the first I abandon as a lost cause; the second I plan to make up for with guys like Simmonds, Avery, Peckham, Carcillo, and McQuaid.

10) I finally get my #2 RW in HORTON, passing on Jagr largely because I know I need some PIMs. Horton's +/-, too, I figure, will help me. I hate letting Karlsson pass, and sure enough, he goes next round.

11) I'm eying Neal and Benn; when Neal goes, my decision is easy: BENN becomes my #2 LW.

12) In search of more shots and goals, I look over the list again and land on STASTNY as my #3 C. Liking my centre depth at this point, disliking my lack of D. Gotta fix that.

13) In search of D help, I pick the best one available at this point, as far as I can see: SEABROOK becomes my #3 D. Not a big fan, from a fantasy perspective, but I couldn't commit to Campbell or Wizniewski.

14) The PIM situation is making me really nervous, so I reach for SIMMONDS as my #3 RW. His situation in PHI should help with the PIM.

15) I grab MOULSON as my #3 LW, in search of more goals and SOG.

16) I'm planning McDonald here all the way, but he gets snapped up. I review my D situation and decide, most reluctantly, on CARLE as my #4 D. No G, SOG, or PIM help from that guy, but D pickings are getting very slim and I can't commit to Campbell still.

17) At this point, I figure, whatever, time to start the contingency plans. I draft ANDERSON as my #4 goalie, thinking that while he might not get a lot of wins, he's going to see a lot of games and a lot of pucks. And if he backstops like late last year, I'm set. Anderson makes Quick or Thomas moveable.

18) When Hamonic goes, I commit to a pure goon: CARCILLO becomes my #4 LW.

19) I review my list again, looking for more potential point production. I know he's hurt, but I also know he'll probably play the whole year with either Parise or Kovalchuk: ZAJAC becomes my #4 C.

20) Still hoping to make up PIM ground, I grab AVERY as my #5 LW. I need 30 / 150 out of him to be a success. When Peckham goes latter in the round, I know that I've missed my guy.

21) In search of still more G / SOG, I go back and forth between Jones and Vrbata, but settle on VRBATA as my #4 RW. Again, like Carle, not a big fan, but someone has to play on the top line and top PP unit in PHO.

22) With Peckham and Carkner gone, I grab MCQUAID as my #5 D. Good PIM / +/- stats, but not much else.

23) At this point, I pretty much consider my draft done. I have McBain in my sights, but then I stop up, decide to take a chance, and snag ELLIOTT as my #6 D. Rundblad has gone before, but that's OK -- I watch the Sens, and I don't see him making the team out of camp.

24) McBain is still waiting for my on my swing back around, so MCBAIN becomes my #7 D.

25) I take a flyer on UPSHALL as my #5 RW, hoping for some decent G / PIM numbers.

Overall, I like my forward corps, love my goaltending, and am not enthusiastic about my D. I expect to do well in the A, PPP, +/-, W, SV, & GAA categories, decently in the G category, and potentially to struggle much of the year with SOG and PIM. I like my odds, however, of using a goalie or two to get help.

[GMGates]

I knew this was going to be really tough competition, but I went with my heart.

1. (7) Marcus Foligno LW
2. (16) John McFarland LW
3. (29) Jared Staal RW
4. (38) Victor Rask C
5. (51) David Toews C
6. (60) Blake Kessel D
7. (73) Chet Pickard G
8. (82) Calvin Pickard G
9. (95) Brody Sutter C
10. (104) Brett Sutter LW
11. (117) Brendan Ranford LW
12. (126) Philip McRae C
13. (139) Gabriel Bourque LW
14. (148) Ryan Flynn RW
15. (161) Ryan Parent D
16. (170) Ryan Thang LW
17. (183) Mike Testwuide RW
18. (192) Stefan Noesen RW
19. (205) Chris Summers D
20. (214) Adam Polasek D
21. (227) Mark Katic D
22. (236) Sean Zimmerman D
23. (249) Taylor Beck LW
24. (258) Boone Jenner C
25. (271) T.J. Brodie D

Very pleased with this team, especially Ryan Thang getting that goal last night.

I'm pumped for the season ahead!

Who wouldn't be? Nick Foligno, Phil Kessel, Jonathan Toews, Eric Staal, Tuukka Rask ... oh wait...

[joos]

Chose 7th overall (1 dummy infront of me)

My strategy.... goalies first, high scoring players, solid +/- guys and a few PIM guys

1. (8) Henrik Lundqvist G
- Easy choice... one of the best goalies to take
2. (15) Pekka Rinne G
- I thought I should grab a winger here but decided to just lock up my goalies... I would probably take a winger if I could do this again
3. (30) Jarome Iginla RW
- Tried to avoid centers and Iggy was exactly what I was looking for.
4. (37) Eric Staal C
- Couldn't pass up Staal here... fits my strategy as I needed another high SOG/goal guy
5. (52) Shea Weber D
- With 6 D, needed to address this, got a stud @ the back end
6. (59) Thomas Vanek LW
- At this pt, I needed a LW and Vanek again was a good goal/SOG guy
7. (74) Ryane Clowe LW
- With most of the multi-cat guys I wanted (lucic, hartnell etc) gone, I had to take him, plus a solid LWer
8. (81) Duncan Keith D
- Was going to go another way but when I glanced @ who was left on D... Had to take Keith
9. (96) Joe Pavelski C
- Drafted him hoping he will get RW status... very underrated... high SOG
10. (103) Vincent Lecavalier C
- Couldn't pass him up at this point, decent all around stats with some good upside
11. (118) Jaromir Jagr RW
- First big gamble but I feel its pretty safe.
12. (125) John Carlson D
- Good all around d-man who I need to help in the +/- cat as well
13. (140) Brooks Laich LW
- Good +/- and another LWer.
14. (147) Ryan Suter D
- Missed a few guys I wanted but more than happy with Suter. Another good +/- guy
15. (162) Ian White D
- My darkhorse lol, should be solid and the hope of playing with Lidstrom will definitely be good
16. (169) Brian Gionta RW
- SOG/goals... that is all
17. (184) Patrik Berglund C
- Needed pts and PPPs at this point, Berglund is a solid guy with sleeper written all over him
18. (191) Dennis Seidenberg D
- Kinda a random pick... but hey, good +/-
19. (206) Brandon Prust LW
- Here comes the PIM with some decent pts
20. (213) David Clarkson RW
- Bounce back from him... cant be much worse than last yr
21. (228) Matt Carkner D
- PIM again...
22. (235) Jussi Jokinen LW
- I was a little surprised to see him still here... definitely an underrated guy
23. (250) Bryan Little RW
- Sleeper pick...
24. (257) Brian Boyle C
- Good overall stats
25. (272) Michal Neuvirth G
- Sure why not.

[Karhgath]

I drafted first; I hate that and I had nightmare about last year where my tandem of Rask and Gustavsson.... how can I say it delicately... well, let's just say I ended up with 20 wins for the whole year!! And Garon became my no1 goalie........

The draft was much "easier" this year. Not that it was easy, but I had to scramble for a pick only a few time, and beside Smack who pick before/after me, I didn't get sniped hard like last year where my whole queue of 6 players would go poof in the 6 picks before me.

1) Ovechkin. Again this year. Yeah, he had a down year (I'll take a 80+pts down year any day), but with Crosby still not sure (I'd take him at 7-8 max) and me usually not being that high (for a 1st overall pick) on Malkin, I had no choice. While I love Sedin and Stamkos, they are not 1st overall pick. Maybe they'll be next year. I, however, hesitated taking Price here, but I knew I was overreacting from last year. Ovie it is!

2-3) Miller and Ward. What did I say about overreacting? With the King, Price, Luongo, Rinne, Bryz, Niemi gone, I went with the best available. Not trusting Thomas to repeat (oh, he'll be good, just not repeat his exploits), I passed some offense but secured (barring any injuries) the net. Ward is great in W/Saves leagues and Miller is Mr. Consistency.

4-5) Getzlaf and Subban. I was eyeing G/PIM, but with Staal, B.Richards, Kane and Chara(damn you Smack!) gone, I had to start a D run to secure some offense later. Also I might sink with him, but I like Getzlaf as my #1 C. Subban.... I'm not sure. I think everyone are wayyy too high on him (and I'm a habs fan), but we'll see. I just can't see him staying at 100+ PIM with Martin behind the bench.

6-7) Briere and Yandle. Ok, this is where it might come back to haunt me. RW is not that great this year, so I needed to secure one. Giroux? Gone. Heatley? Gone. Gaborik? Gone. Backes? Gone. On the plus side, Briere is also C! Yandle... well... I once again picked a D that probably will slow down. Why? Green, Weber, Letang, Doughty are gone.

8-9) Sharp and Stewart. What is my strategy this year? I need to think about that, BPA is all good and fancy but it's Roto. Solid in goal already, I went with my usual G/SOG/PPP focus while balancing the rest. PIM can be won later in the draft, I just have to watch my +/- and the A comes easily. Stewart is RW also.

10-11) Neal and Streit. Looking over at my LW, I see only Ovie. I need to give him some backup and Neal is the best bet here. There is a PIM rush with Doan, Ott, Pronger, Horton all gone. I will get to that later. Streit is a very good pick in round 11 I think.

12-13) Plekanec and Callahan. Ok, this is the round where I might lose. I alreay got 5 potential 30+ G, so I can live with Pleky's Assists. Callahan, well... Morrow, Dubinsky, Carlson, E.J., Benn all gone, I needed an overall cat guy. Both sould also be good for 20 G and 200+ SOG. You cannot go wrong with 20/200 at this point.

14-15) Bieksa and Purcell. The D run killed me. Whitney, Seabrook, Giordano, Wisniewski, Suter, Fowler, Markov gone. Bieksa is a band-aid, but I like his grits. Purcell, well, I gambled and passed Voracek and Pominville. Might be a big error.

16-17) Wideman and E.Kane. I had McDonald in my crosshair when I picked Purcell, but he's gone. Wideman played well after being traded, so I can throw the dice on him. E.Kane... well, in terms of G/SOG, he could get me the 20/200 I'm looking for. And I need a LW bad. Oh, what do I see? Backstrom(G) is still around? No one rushing to pick a G? I'll wait for my 3rd goalie.

18-19) MacArthur and Malone. I needed a bit of grit and LW. Sullivan was a great bick by Prairie. Carcillo went, Neil, Booth, Setoguchi (Smack!!!). I need a D but with Hamonic, Liles, Pitkanen, Seidenberg gone...

20-21) Cleary and Peckham. Damn, Backstrom went right before me and Smack picked Campbell!! Shouldn't have waited. I also missed that Pavelec was still available, so I went with a possible 20G scorer and got some well needed PIM at D.

22-23) Brassard and Foster. Brassard isn't good for my +/- but at round 22 he's good to round out my C. I had rundblad in my queue for 2 rounds, but he went right before me. Foster is hurt so I'll have to start without him, but healthy he'll be a solid 6-7th D.

24-25) Franson and Oshie. Last 2 picks. I need a D to start the season beside Foster, and Franson is good for that. Oshie is there as a backup. It was him or Seguin, now I wished I took Seguin. I had Olli Jokinen in sight but Smack again sniped him. That was a steal.

Then I realised, DOH, I forgot about my 3rd G. Oh well. Some flyers are available to bid on later tho, we'll see. Injuries are alway a risk.

My Steals: Streit (11), Wideman(16).
Not much else, and not as good as: Sullivan(18), Backstrom(20), O.Jokinen(24) and some others.

Overall? Better than last year, but then, with 3-4 fewer teams, everyone should have a better squad. I should stay in the run for the goalie stats barring injuries, and I should win G/SOG/PPP, plus I have a good +/- and ok PIM. since most of my PIM will come from my D, I am also at an advantage there and can get a goon on the wire. Some squads are really good so I'll need to be wise on the wire. I won the entry league 2 years ago that way, so I know I can do it again, it is just much harder now.

[ultrawhiteness]

This is the 2nd year in a row where I figured I would pick goalies late. Unfortunately it's also the 2nd year in a row I forgot about the weekly lineup changes (as opposed to daily). Oh well, I've never been able to work the bid schedule into my weekly routine anyway. Here is my high-powered, starter-deficient team:

1. Ilya Kovalchuk - LW/RW, gives me flexibility on which wingers I target later. Shoots, scores, racks up PPP.

2. Martin St. Louis

3. Henrik Zetterberg

4. Alex Semin - as you can see, while everyone else was (rightly) panicking about goalies, I was stockpiling offensive wingers. Will it work?

5. Marian Gaborik - this is getting ridiculous now.

6. Joe Thornton - in the 6th round?

7. Dan Boyle

8. Brent Burns - I've got the Sharks PP on lockdown.

9. Dustin Brown - Regret this pick, in hindsight. Someone convince me that Brown is actually as valuable in roto leagues as HPG and Frozenpools keep claiming... because there are a still bunch of quality RWs I could get later for my 4th spot. Oh well, I guess with Semin/Gabby I need to count on some lost games.

10. Chris Pronger - Why is he falling in drafts? I must have missed some news. Roto-stud, no?

11. Tuukka Rask - This is where my strategy gets a little strange...

12. Jon Bernier - See? Anyway, if Thomas or Quick get hurt my team will get a huge boost.

13. Couture - Just my 2nd C.

14. Dwayne Roloson - Round 14, first starter. Knew he'd drop and am quite pleased with myself.

15. Peter Mueller - High-reward pick. IR spots are made for this.

16. Joe Corvo

17. Travis Hamonic - Figured I'd see what all the buzz was about.

18. Steve Sullivan - Someone in the chat thought this was a great pick. Wish I'd taken Chris Kunitz instead.

19. Brad Marchand - Great multi-cat C, might even get wing status.

20. Cory Schneider - Add Vancouver as a great team I could maybe inherit the goaltending to.

21. Mike Smith - Round 21, second starter. This could actually be underrated. Smith played his best under Dave Tippett in Dallas, and Tippett and the Coyotes made Bryzgalov look like a 60 million dollar man.

22. Derek Stepan - meh.

23. Tomas Fleischmann - meh.

24. Jon Ericsson - meh. First month of season is always good for a surprise Dman to emerge, and I'll still actually be paying attention. $100 bid?

25. RNH - Actually had Samuelsson queued until the Nuge's name came up in the draft chat.

Full team:

LW - Kovalchuk, Zetterberg, Mueller, Sullivan
C - Thornton, Couture, Marchand, Stepan
RW - St. Louis, Semin, Gaborik, Brown
D - Boyle, Burns, Pronger, Corvo, Hamonic, Ericsson
G - Roloson, Smith
Bench - Rask, Bernier, Schneider, Fleischmann, Nugent-Hopkins

Rolling the dice, baby!

[angelofharlem]

Wow, I'm liking Yahoo's positional updates today. Got the dual eligibility I was hoping for with Skinner and McDonald, and Doan was given LW to boot. Very nice!