2021 Draft Talk - Biggest Fantasy Upside?

[snaxwell]

My favourite part about my keeper league is drafting and developing prospects. I have the 1st and 4th overall picks in an uncertain draft, and I'm having a hard time projecting who would be best to take from a fantasy perspective. I love stockpiling good young defencemen, but I find they take really long to develop into fantasy studs (age 22-23 with some exceptions). I know the draft is a few months away, but I would love to get a discussion going and hear others' thoughts.

In an all-cats league I would really need any D to produce points, PP points, shots AND hits to be highly valuable, similar to my top guys on my roster now. Is that Power's game? That also makes me question Beniers' worth as well. Does he have offensive upside needed to produce points? He seems like he could be a Brady Tkachuk type and be a force in hits, shots while having moderate point production. Eklund might produce points (and mostly assists) but that's it? Guys like that (Johnny Gaudreau) aren't as valued in my league. Clarke is producing against men... so much uncertainty!

I also love me some top goalie prospects and am lacking in depth there are on my team...

Here is what I'm leaning for my top 5 in the draft from a fantasy perspective:

1 Guenther
2 Beniers
3 Power
4 Clarke
5 Eklund

[Belexus75]

on the upside i would not have Beniers there...i thing at NHL level he will be Jordan Staal kind of Cman. Im also not sure i would have Power there either.

Pure on upside, this is my top 5:

Eklund
Guenther
Hughes
Clarke
Lysell

i would also like to add that Wallstedt should be considered ...he maybe at top of this list when all is set and done but since Goalies are so hard to predict i left him out of it.

[snaxwell]

Yea I can get with that assessment of Beniers/Power. I would also strongly consider Wallstedt with my No. 4 pick.

[Belexus75]

Yea I can get with that assessment of Beniers/Power. I would also strongly consider Wallstedt with my No. 4 pick.

it would not be a bad pick imo, as long as you understand that wait is longer...minimum 3 years ...probably closer to 5

[metaldude26]

I can't advocate a high pick on a goalie, even one as universally lauded as Wallstedt. We've seen some high picks work out recently, but you're typically looking at a 5-year wait before seeing returns. And so much of what makes a goalie in fantasy is their team environment. John Gibson is one of the league's best goalies and should be in his prime. He's practically toxic in fantasy because of how bad the Ducks are. I know this is a top prospects/upside conversation, but you have to have your roster-building philosophy in place when regarding positions to draft. Wallstedt is probably the highest upside option in this draft because of what an elite goalie on a good team can do for your team, but you don't know what teams will be good in 5 years so it's hard to forecast that value. I'm starting to look at goalies in 1-2 -year increments only since value can shift so drastically from year to year.

On that front, defensemen are heavily reliant on context as well. There are drivers who can produce regardless of context, but typically you only get one or two fantasy relevant defensemen per team. For instance, Miro Heiskanen is one of the best in the world, but he's borderline fantasy relevant because he's caught behind Klingberg on a mid-tier offensive team. This from a guy who was a recent lottery pick.

Forwards are going to be your most reliable for production regardless of context, so that's where I'd place my biggest bets. For this draft, Dylan Guenther would be my #1 target with a bullet.

[PenguinHunter]

https://www.tsn.ca/owen-power-the-un...ings-1.1626057

This is what I read about Powers earlier today:

He is incredibly mobile and agile for such a big man. While he’s not considered an elite point-producing offensive talent nor is he regarded as a physically-punishing defensive or shutdown defenceman, he’s viewed as well above average in all the fundamental areas — skating, skill, hockey sense and competitiveness, as well as the ability to move the puck, get shots on goal and defend in his own zone

Therefore, I probably wouldn't consider Powers with either of those picks.