4th Overall Pick - Dynasty League - Help

[5andagame]

Hey guys, new to the forum here. The gist is this, I have 4th overall pick in upcoming draft. I already know that Hughes, Kakko, Turcotte are going 1, 2, 3. I’m trying to decide between Byram and Cozens for my pick.

The way I understand it is that after Turcotte, the rest of the top 10 forwards are pretty similar and you basically go with your gut based on team, NHL readiness, etc. Having said that, I like Cozens and think Buffalo is going to be really good in a couple years and the idea of having him on a line with Eichel for the next decade is pretty intriguing.

The more I hear about Byram though sounds like the kid is going to be an absolute stud and Colorado looks primed to be good now and for the foreseeable future. So if I bypass him and take a F, am I going to seriously regret that down the road?

Points only league plus +/- with F and D having same scoring values.

Would love to get some perspectives on this.

[joeb323]

I would lean towards Bryam. All the stuff I’ve read on him suggest he’s got the potential to become an elite dman. I also see Colorado developing into a legitimate contender for the next few seasons and he’s likely going to be a big part of that when he’s ready for the NHL.

Looking at your D it would be a good idea to grab a top D prospect as a bunch of your guys are aging

Edit: I would also seriously consider Makar with your 4th pick. Makar vs. Bryam is an interesting debate

[5andagame]

Makar’s already gone in my league. This is mainly for the 2019 draft class along with the leftovers from prior years.

That’s kind of the way I’m leaning too. My current D is definitely far from young and I feel like the consensus is that I’ll still get a fairly solid F with my #15 pick, just probably not Cozens.

[DocMcPuffin]

If you need D, have to go with Byram. Like you said, there should be a decent F at 15, and also, Byram put up more goals than Dach. So the offense is there.

[stevegamer]

If you can't trade down, I'd draft for need, which means Byram. Yes, you can fill your needs via trade, but just getting him in the pipeline helps your position.

I really would prefer a trade down, though, depending on what the sweetener is.

[5andagame]

Thanks for the responses so far everyone!

It’s funny to think that 2 days ago I would have said with confidence that I’d be picking Cozens and now I’m definitely leaning more towards Byram.

I think one of the hardest parts for me is that I value Cozens higher than most of the rest of the world but can I really justify #4 pick for him? Already considered trading down but once I started going down the Byram rabbit hole, the kid looks like a legitimate stud and I feel like I’d be remiss to pass on him, especially with an aging D core, not to mention the relative parity in the top 15-ish Fs not named Hughes, Kakko or Turcotte.

[burespaghetti]

I'm kinda piggy backing onto this as I'm in a similar situtation with 5th overall (not for the league in sig). After Hughes, Kaako, Turcotte, Byram, how would people rank in a mutli-cat:

Dach
Cozens
Podkolzin
Zegras

It appears dobbers guide has Dach and Podkolzin ranked higher than the rest (I don't want to give specifics, go buy the guide!), but what's do hockey minds out here say?

[Russian Rocket 10]

If you can't trade down, I'd draft for need, which means Byram. Yes, you can fill your needs via trade, but just getting him in the pipeline helps your position.

I really would rpefer a trade down, though, depending on what the sweetener is.

This! You can definitely use Byram to help inject some youth into your D core.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm kinda piggy backing onto this as I'm in a similar situtation with 5th overall (not for the league in sig). After Hughes, Kaako, Turcotte, Byram, how would people rank in a mutli-cat:

Dach
Cozens
Podkolzin
Zegras

It appears dobbers guide has Dach and Podkolzin ranked higher than the rest (I don't want to give specifics, go buy the guide!), but what's do hockey minds out here say?

Nice avatar!

[5andagame]

It appears dobbers guide has Dach and Podkolzin ranked higher than the rest (I don't want to give specifics, go buy the guide!), but what's do hockey minds out here say?

The general consensus I’ve seen out there is that Dach is rated slightly higher than the rest of that F tier but I think it more comes down to who you personally like based on the team they were drafted to, that team’s current/projected farm system, and the player’s NHL readiness.

I think Podkolzin is a bit of a dark horse. Kid has a lot of talent but the Russia factor always makes me leery these days. He does sound pretty committed about coming over here though but it’ll be at least a couple of years. You also have the Vancouver factor where they tend to botch every good prospect they have (I’m from Van so I’ve seen it firsthand) but they may actually be turning a corner here. I’ll believe it when I see it.

As I posted above, I like Cozens but that’s more based on my gut and the fact that I think Buffalo is going to be a real good team in the next 2-3 years. The Eichel factor was probably the straw that sways my vote and the fact that he could be getting a look with the Sabres sooner than later.

[TheDard]

I would take Byram over Cozens. Especially in the case of your defence. It would give you a top defenceman to build your d-core going forward.

Should Dach be there at #15, do not hesitate to take him. I've been lucky enough to watch him play the last 3 seasons here in Saskatoon.

[5andagame]

Should Dach be there at #15, do not hesitate to take him. I've been lucky enough to watch him play the last 3 seasons here in Saskatoon.

I would take any of those names at 15 but I won’t be holding my breath. The way Dach’s been talked about, I would be shocked if he wasn’t taken in top 8.

[DocMcPuffin]

I'm kinda piggy backing onto this as I'm in a similar situtation with 5th overall (not for the league in sig). After Hughes, Kaako, Turcotte, Byram, how would people rank in a mutli-cat:

Dach
Cozens
Podkolzin
Zegras

It appears dobbers guide has Dach and Podkolzin ranked higher than the rest (I don't want to give specifics, go buy the guide!), but what's do hockey minds out here say?

Going off what I've read, Podkolzin seems to be the better multi-cat player out the 4 you mentioned, but there are many different opinions about them out there.

[stevegamer]

My advice to the guy picking 5th is the same as to the guy picking 4th. If you have multiple basically equal options, trade down if possible. Figure out where you think the desired talent drops off, and look right around that pick.