I drafted right smack dab in the middle at #7. Usually I prefer to draft closer to the turn but I'm happy with how things went. Still trying to come up with a good team name, feel free to help me decide over in this thread.
As always, guys were being sniped left, right and center ahead of my picks, but I was able to snag a lot of good value picks from guys that fell. Usually I tend to focus more on scoring but this year I feel like I've wound up with a much more well rounded team. I've been in the RHRS since it's inception and last year was the first year I made the podium (finishing second). I feel with some smart trades and waiver wire management (and a little luck), I can pull off the win this year.
Let's get to the recap:
1. (7) Victor Hedman (TB - D) - I really wanted one of Burns/Hedman here but figured they'd be gone and had settled on Seguin being my likely target. When Burns went at #5, I figured Hedman was next but luckily he ended up falling to me. Pretty stoked to have a potential 70-point D-man who contributes across the board to build my team around.
2. (20) Patrik Laine (Wpg - RW) - Round 2 I was definitely targeting a goalie. As I watched my top 3 in Vas/Bob/Helle go at the start of Round 2, I prayed Andersen would fall to me as he was the last goalie I had in that top tier. Of course, LOTR snags him ahead of me but that meant I was gift-wrapped Patty Laine who has the potential to score 50+ this year. They've said he is going to see increased ice time which could result in 300 SOG too. Laine should be a point-per-game player this year. I'll take it.
3. (33) Tuukka Rask (Bos - G) - The Tier 2 goalies started to go here and I knew I had to get one quick as goalies always thin out quickly in the RHRS. Came down to Rask and Dubnyk, but Rask has the much stronger team, plus it allowed me to take one of my favorite players on my favorite team without really having to reach for him. I figured I could draft Halak later and nail down all 82 Bruins games which meant if I could snag one more solid starter and a 1A or 1B goalie I should be competitive in the goalie categories.
4. (46) Joe Pavelski (SJ - C,RW) - There was a bit of a goalie/d-man run going on which saw some great Fs slide to Round 4. I watched my queue empty of Subban, Fleury, Murray, Allen, Talbot, Eichel, Ghost, Tarasenko. That was seriously painful, but it meant that RHRS favorite Joe Pavelski fell to me. Across the board production with some FWs from the wing. This pick shifted my strategy a bit as in past years I've failed to take advantage of the FWs from a winger by not having strong enough Cs. So I decided to target some of the top remaining Cs in the next few rounds.
5. (59) Carey Price (Mon - G) - Goalies were getting pretty sparse, I was going to either go C or Raanta here but temek snagged Raanta at the start of the round and Shoeless sniped Scheifle 2 picks ahead of me. I don't expect Price to be huge in wins, but he should bounce back to well above league average in all other categories. He could prove to be a steal if Montreal over-performs expectations and stays even relatively competitive this year.
6. (72) Ryan O'Reilly (StL - C) Was targeting one of the Washington Cs here but Kuzy and Backstrom went within the four picks ahead of me. I figured I would target the two Blues Cs instead figuring I could snag O'Reilly this round and hoping Schenn would fall to me in Round 7.
7. (85) Zach Werenski (Cls - D) - After my last pick, I had Schenn and a whole bunch of D-men in my queue. Watching the run on D (Carlson, Hamilton, Jones, Risto all went between my picks), I figured I was all set to draft Schenn and have the two St Louis Cs I craved. Nope! In comes Shoeless to snipe me again. I bitterly resolve myself to taking OEL whose +/- killed me in the Dobber Pro league last year but dooley89 snags him. Time drags on and I panic in the last few second and snag Werenski who I'm high on but not as much as I'm high on Patches who goes immediately afterwards to LordoftheRinks. Seriously, I don't think he waited 3 seconds to hit draft after my pick.
8. (98) Ryan Getzlaf (Anh - C) - Time to return to targeting Cs. Getz should have a bounce back year if he can stay healthy. His value was seriously depressed here due to last years injury.
9. (111) Sean Couturier (Phi - C) - I really don't know why a guy who had 74-points last year and shoots the puck a lot from the C position fell this far. He seems to be falling in a lot of drafts. But I think he produces at least close to what he did last year. Top line C on a competitive team in Round 9 seems like good value to me. I was pretty stoked when I saw Skinner still on the board but of course, dooley89 continued to be a source of frustration and got him just ahead of me.
10. (124) Semyon Varlamov (Col - G) - Yet another round where my queue got emptied in between picks. Happens a lot with these managers haha. Watched Schwartz, Johansen, Guentzel, Rielly and Krug come off the board. I also watched a few goalies that I had ranked lower than Varly going so I figured I better snag my third G. Goalie strategy falling in to place, now just need to make sure I get the Bruins handcuff.
11. (137) William Nylander (Tor - C,RW) - I understand that the season starts in two days and Nylander still doesn't have a contract, but this guy has so much talent and is on a stacked offensive team. Should provide good value once he signs on. i can't imagine he misses more than a couple of games (if any).
12. (150) Chris Kreider (NYR - LW) - Not a fan of the Rangers this year but Kreider is one of the last few major multi-cat guys left on the board. Plus I hadn't drafted a LW yet. Kreider as my top-LW stings a little.
13. (163) Jaroslav Halak (Bos - G) - Is this a reach? This feels like a reach, but in a league where all but the very bottom of the goalies get drafted, I wanted to make sure I had all 82 games from a strong team. Would love to know if any of the other managers were consider Halak at this point. Considering the next goalies off the board were Griess, Mrazek, Kinkaid, it might not have been as off the board as I felt it was. Watched some quality D go off beford my next pick that could have shored up a weak spot for me though.
14. (176) Travis Konecny (Phi - LW,RW) - By this point I still only had 1 LW and 2 D. It was time to rectify that. horrorfan sniped Meier 2 picks ahead of me (probably the steal that stung the most all draft). Konecny is a solid contributor across the board so I'm comfortable with this pick.
15. (189) Pat Maroon (StL - LW) - This felt like a bit of a reach at the time too but I see a few others have mentioned that they had him queued up at this point. The potential if he sticks on that top line in St Louis is HUGE!
16. (202) Paul Stastny (VGK - C) - Another C who I don't understand how he is falling so far in drafts. Should get big minutes in Vegas with quality linemates. Happy to snag him at this point and give me the 4 quality Cs I was hoping for to allow me to slot Pavelski at wing.
17. (215) Erik Johnson (Col - D) - D pickings were getting slim at this point, time to load up on the dirty stats with Erik Johnson. May be a good thing that Shoeless once again sniped the top of my queue when he look Elias Lindholm as I really shouldn't have continued to punt D at this point. EJ as a third D feels kind of gross to be honest.
18. (228) James Neal (Cgy - RW) - I kicked the D can far enough down the road already, why not kick it further. Neal should provide some great value at this pick. Pretty sure it LOTR who wasn't too happy with this one.
19. (241) Jake DeBrusk (Bos - LW)
20. (254) Charlie Coyle (Min - C,RW) - Debrusk was filling a positional need while Coyle was just another player who inexplicably fell in this draft. Pretty happy to snag two players who could challenge 50-points while producing solid numbers across the board at this stage of the draft. Both have the potential for even more if guys ahead of them on their teams suffer injuries.
21. (267) Will Butcher (NJ - D)
22. (280) Esa Lindell (Dal - D)
23. (293) Martin Necas (Car - C)
24. (306) Stephen Johns (Dal - D)
25. (319) Kailer Yamamoto (Edm - RW) - Needed to fill my D out here. Butcher and Lindell should provide good value for as late as I got them although I'd prefer to have them as 5/6 not 4/5. Taking a chance on some young rookies in Necas and Yamamoto. I like taking fliers on guys like that late in these drafts because if they stick, they can pay huge dividends but if they don't it provides roster flexibility to make WW moves. Last year I snagged Boeser, William Karlsson and Colin Miller from the WW early in the season and they paid huge dividends.
All in all, I feel like my team is solid but not spectacular. It will definitely need some tweaking. I think most skater categories will be middle of the pack while my I have a good chance at being near the top in the goalie categories. Here's to an always interesting season in the RHRS. Looking forward to it gents.