When to draft G

[sacdechips]

Hey guys,

I am in a one year ligue. There are 10 teams and stats for G are W, GAA, SV%, SHO (30 G should be originally drafted. There are 8 categories for offense).

Last year, there were so many surprises in G (Thomas, Rinne, S. Mason, Clemenson, Hiller, ...) that I wonder if I should wait the 8th, 9th or 10th round before drafting my 1st G, hoping to pick up a surprise late in the draft or in the waivers early in the season (the surprise of this year could be Osgood, Turco, Giguere, Quick, Halak, any backup of a solid team).

Do you think it is to much of a gamble?

[mapletreemarty]

It depends on the type of league you are in and how many goalies you start... I'm assuming you're starting at least 2 goalies. I'd be looking to grab your first goalie in the first two rounds. However always draft best player available, as you can easily trade a marquee name for a better goaltender than you could have had with that pick originally

I understand what you're getting at in terms of picking up a surprise for this season, however in a 10 team league that shouldn't be your first option. You need a solid option and than can take more of a gamble later on in the draft.

[NYR9394]

Hey sacdechips,

No,no,no....even if offense is 2/3 of the categories, that doesnt mean you basically forego drafting a goalie until 3rd tier goalies and backups are all that's left. And a guy like Steve Mason coming along two years in a row for you to scoop up early in the year is hard to believe. Guys like Osgood, Turco and Giguere will be taken because of their pedigree and bounceback year possiblity. They may not be taken in the 2-3-4 rounds, but they will surely be taken by 8-9-10.

Point blank: If you dont have a stud #1, you will not make the playoffs. It's that simple. Leaving it to chance assures that you'll be on the outside looking in. I would look to draft my first goalie in one of the first 2 rounds. That way you assure youself a top tier goalie. Depending on who you draft, you may only have to wait until the 5th round to draft another. Trust me, you do not want to leave goaltending to chance, even if it's 1/3 of the categories. It's basically giving those categories away.

[sacdechips]

Thanks for your advices. I hear you and I think I will draft a G in the 1st round (hopefully Luongo or Brodeur) and then wait until the 8th or 9th round to pick my second G and the 18th or 19th round to pick my third one.

I think there are so many injuries to G these days, that at least 1 or 2 backups will have a good run this year (backup of SJ, DET, BOS, ... that won't be drafted). If I pick them up first in the waivers (and have a good offense since I drafted late G), I could win the pool.

[NYR9394]

Cool. I feel more confident with you drafting a bona fide #1 early so that the rest of your goalies dont have to play above their heads in order to make up the difference that your #1 was going to lack.


I probably wouldnt draft my #2 that late either. It's a very risk/reward plan. Good luck with it. At least you know your offense could be stacked. Just pray for no really bad injuries or you'll be totally pissed and screwed.

[WestCoastSteez]

With only 2 starters competing for 5 categories, goalies seem to be extremely valuable. Outside of picks 1-2-3 who should be always reserved for the 'big 3', a goalie should be taken 4th. My league has farely similar rules to yours and I ended up with Luongo with the 4th overall pick, and then nabbed Turco and Smith as my #2 and #3 in the 9th and 14th rounds. You may find yourself a little short of offensive punch lacking a true 'stud' offensive guy, but you can still piece together a pretty solid core going after the 2nd tier multi-cat guys. Ex. would me the core I put together of Parise/M.Richards/Carter/Kopitar/Kane/Ryan/Elias. You may not win any categories with a core like this (except for SHP and maybe +/-) but you should be very competitive in each, and with a guy like Luongo competeing for you, you should also take many of the Goalie categories.

-Cheers