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Thread: Draft strategy

  1. #1
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    Dobber Sports Prodigy

    Default Draft strategy

    I have an upcoming startup draft. It's a 30 teams h2h cap dynasty, free league. The cap is $100M and the categories are G-A-STP-SOG-HIT-BLK-PIM-FOW / W-GAA-SVS-SV%-SHO

    We roster 4C-4LW-4RW-6D-2G-5BENCH + 35 farm. 2 goalie start minimum per weeks I have the 16th seed in the draft (snake)

    Goalies are probably going to be determinant and a little bit overpowered.

    I was thinking to draft a solid young keeper at 16 (Vasilevskiy, Hellebuyck) and maybe another young talented one in the first few rounds (Shesterkyn/Hart/Samsonov/Blackwood). I could draft the rest of my squad without worrying about that position after and would have an advantage on other teams in such a deep league.

    Is it a good strategy or should I focus on skaters? With only the 16th/44th/76th/104th in the top 100 I'm not sure I can build a strong enough skater core and compete with average goalies...

    Any thoughts are welcome!

  2. #2
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    Dobber Sports Titan

    Default Re: Draft strategy

    Yeah goalies are going to be extremely tight in this league. I have one cap dynasty that's a one-start minimum, 24-team league, and they're already tough to come by there.

    Defensemen that are valuable versus their cap hit are also very tough to find in a league this deep. I think in my first five picks here I would like to have two goalies, two Dmen, and a winger. After that the flow of the draft takes over and you just need to mine for value (of which the forwards should be plentiful).

    I mean I'm obviously also going to plug my cap league rankings here as well. Most recent version came out three weeks ago and is set up for value starting with the start of the 2020 regular season. Perfect timing. https://dobberhockey.com/2020/05/25/...rs-april-2020/
    Keep in mind though that it's just based on points only, and you can mine more value by letting John Marino slip a little farther than Dougie Hamilton, but that just means he's a hugely valuable target soon after.

    Going back to the goalies, I imagine Vasilevskiy will be gone by 16, maybe Hellebuyck and Andersen too. That being said, my first ranked goalie would be Carter Hart anyways, then maybe Shesterkin. Hart at 16 would be who I have my fingers crossed for.
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  3. #3
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    The Great One

    Default Re: Draft strategy

    Vasilevsky will be gone at 16. I wouldn't surprise me the goalie run started in the first few picks. 30 teams, start 2 goals, and 35 farm.

    [Why do I have the feeling this league is a few years away from having bottom dwellers, with no goalies, quitting. And having a next to impossible time replacing GMs in a set up where you'd have to wait 5 years to get a starting goalie, or trade your entire team to land one?]

  4. #4
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    Dobber Sports Demi-God

    Default Re: Draft strategy

    30 teams starting 2G is stupid.
    Your commissioner is going to cripple the fun-value of the league with those settings.

    But, as strategy goes - yes, you have to get goalies to compete in this format.

    BTW - I challenge you to count, but I'd bet that 5-6 out of 30 teams miss their 2 starts minimum each week.
    That rule will be changed by next season, or your commissioner will realize it should be a start 1G league... and even a 2-start minimum will be hard there.
    In the 24-team WHL, we have a 1G start position and I'd say that a team doesn't get 2 starts per week.
    It's a point-league, and we don't have a goalie-start minimum. Even when it was proposed it got shot down for these reasons mentioned.

    30-team, start 2G, 2 start minimum is just crazy... crazy.
    That's inexperience trying to push those settings.

  5. #5
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    Dobber Sports Titan

    Default Re: Draft strategy

    Yeah, to tag on with the above, if there's still time and you can get the commish to change it to a 1-start, 1-goalie slot setup, then do so. That's about the only way it can work for a 30-team league. Otherwise the league probably won't fare well in the long run.
    Associate Editor for DobberHockey (Wednesdays). Click that Ramblings button on the the menu bar!
    (No I don't have a hockey problem...)

  6. #6
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    Dobber Sports Prodigy

    Default Re: Draft strategy

    I tried HARD to get this to 1G and the vast majority was against me... go figure

    I'll try again, but not sure it will work.

    Thanks guys

  7. #7
    LuigiC173's Avatar
    LuigiC173 is offline
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    Dobber Sports Superstar

    Default Re: Draft strategy

    if it remains as is my first three picks are goalie, goalie, franchise center

  8. #8
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    The Great One

    Default Re: Draft strategy

    Quote Originally Posted by LuigiC173 View Post
    if it remains as is my first three picks are goalie, goalie, franchise center
    Or goalie, goalie, prospect goalie. Then trade the prospect goalie for a franchise center.

    And to the OP - I was trying to be polite in my original post. But my *honest* assessment is to not even bother getting invested in a league that is doomed to fair (or will require majoring restructuring, very quickly, to keep it going).

  9. #9
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    Dobber Sports Prodigy

    Default Re: Draft strategy

    Yeah, I'm 100% with you. I mostly stay for the fun of drafting, not much else to do hockey related at the moment

  10. #10
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    Dobber Sports Grand Master

    Default Re: Draft strategy

    Okay, first the good, it's a free league, so you can see how it goes.

    Is it daily or weekly starts? If it's weekly, the 2 goalie spots give you a better chance to meet minimums, but a better chance that 2 starting goalies are very powerful. If it's daily, you might be better able to cobble something together with what most would call suspect goalies.

    If it's daily, you can zig here while everyone else zags, and decide to punt goalies early - if there's nobody you like at 16. Then your plan is to get skaters, and just piece together stuff with younger backups and timeshare vets. Admittedly the size of the league does make that harder, but I'd honestly be MORE worried about defense.

    You are drafting an entire NHL's worth of players for your lineups & bench. If you get a good starting goalie, and any sort of depth, you should be okay. Owning a tandem would be nice, even Ottawa's. With that premium on goalies, they should hold value, even in the contract isn't great. However, with defenders, there are way, way more bad contracts in the NHL that you want to avoid.
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