Dobber Pro-Wales draft retrospective

[LordoftheRinks]

Going into this draft, my strategy was simple - get solid goaltending (not necessarily the "best goalies" but goalies who will see lots of action) and target those players who will contribute in lots of categories and have realistic "upside". Having fought my way to the top of the Patrick division last year - my lessons learned were: skimp on goalies at your peril and don't get dazzled by the big scoring machines. Also, I make Mental Note #1: 2 of 20 players account for 33% of my roto points.

My leading point getters last year, on the other hand, were Alex Burrows and Miko Koivu..and my goaltending was Broduer, Quick and Rask. To paraphrase the late great Herb Brooks: I'm not necessarily looking for the best players, but the RIGHT players...so, going into this draft, unless I get lucky enough to draft Ovechkin, Crosby or Malkin - I'm taking a goalie.

Round 1: Discovered I have pick 4 - OK, not the greatest (would rather be in the middle or have the 1-2 corner punch) but I'll be able to get my goaltending solidified. It's either going to be Miller or Luongo - and it's Miller time! I go with Miller because he plays for the weaker team. WTF you ask? He's the difference maker for his team and he knows it- more motivation and he knows he's the reason the team's competitive. If this was a standard Yahoo roto goalie scoring league, I'd take Luongo. With Dobber scoring (W, GAA, Saves), I feel better with Miller. He'll gets lots of starts and see lots of shots. If Buffalo and Team USA can ride him, why not me?

Round 2: Ugh! Aack! Gurgh! Almost screwed - lose my Yahoo connection just as my turn is coming up and I'm adjusting my queue. I'm taking a goalie unless Kane, Perry or Semin are available. If not, I'll snag Rinne. Doesn't happen as fate plays its cruel hand and when I get connection back I see Getzlaf got picked from queue. Could have been worse but Getz will contribute big time if he plays 75 games. Hopefully one of the top tier goalies are still there next round or I change my strategy.

Round 3: Whew! All is not lost as I grab Howard. Yes, second year curse and all of that but he sees lots of ice time and plays in front of a great team. I'll take my chances with him. Now I can focus on my skaters.

Round 4: Really want Chara this round to build my D foundation. He gets snagged (no surprise in this draft) so I'm now looking at the BPA who can contribute what I need. Kopitar is there calling my name...already have taken a center but I find him hard to resist. He'll help me everywhere except PIMs and that's the easiest cat to make up. Kopitar it is.

Centers are now set - onto the rest!

Round 5: Want a pure goal scorer - someone with potential for 35-40 goals and plays left wing. Vanek is there - he fits the bill and he's mine.

Round 6: OK, time to get that D-man who will anchor my back-end. I want a PPP and +/- contributor first - both Lidstrom and Streit are available and I'll take either. Streit is taken right before me so my decision is easy. The Swede is long in the tooth but, he still runs the PP show in Detroit.

A really bold, really savvy pick here in this round by Hellfire Chariots as he scoops up Bernier much earlier than expected. If he pulls a Rask, Justin will be laughing all the way to the bank.

Round 7: Contributors with upside - Steve Downie. If he gets 20 goals and 200 PIMs again, I'm looking like a genius. Downie has skills that are underrated - a guy like this playing with Stamkos is gold.

Round 8: Byfuglien was my target here - as a D in this league he has great value. Of course, all of the other sharks in this tank know that and he's the first off the board. Oh well, get a winger that contributes in all cats and has upside. Doan. He had an off year last year and still plays with passion - expect a little bounceback from him this year.

Round 9: Grab a winger (still chanting my mantra, "cats/upside") and I want either Neal or Backes. I go with Neal as he'll get more goals and is a LW.

Round 10: I'm feeling comfortable with my forwards and need to focus on my D. Edler and Yandle are in my queue. I go with Edler as I like his team and I really like his upside with those 'Nuks forwards.

Round 11: Wingers and defensemen continue to fly off the board. I have Subban top of my queue and holding my breath. He showed he belonged during the playoffs and with Markov on the mend, will have lots of opportunity to shine. Whispers of "Calder" "Calder" "Calder" are too enticing to pass up. Small risk, big potential reward IMO.

Round 12: Time for another winger again and have Giroux, Knuble and Huselius in my queue. Giroux is taken, Huselius = Useless, so I go with the Caps as Knuble will put up solid numbers as long as he's healthy.

Round 13: I specifically want a decent LW this round and target Versteeg. Not crazy about his team, but I like his situation and upside. He'll get every opportunity with the Buds and he will definitely be a contributor on my team at LW.

Round 14: I really need another D this round but there are still #1 centers available. One thing I have learned in this draft, is that the guys you want will go off the board much earlier than expected. With that in mind, I move up Carlson to the top spot in my queue. Somewhat of a risk, but big upside on D - and there aren't many of those left on the board. My D so far is Lidstrom, Edler, Subban and now Carlson. I'm starting to feel warm and fuzzy.

However, that feeling changes when Ott is taken during this round as a C. Somewhat of a surprise given the wings still available, but he scores goals and gets PIMs. I had him on wish list for a following round...

Round 15: Need one more LW and the pickings are slimmer and slimmer. Not thrilled with the remaining options (Kunitz, Brunette, Tanguay). Kunitz has some upside (IF he stays healthy) as it's either him or the kitchen sink on Sid's line. Kunitz completes my LW compliment of: Vanek, Neal, Versteeg, Kunitz

Round 16: Same as above, only now the RW. Could go with a D at this point but have a guy in mind I'm confident will there next round. Really want someone with 30 goal potential and plays on a solid team. Setoguchi started to turn the corner last year...and has the potential to hit 30 again. As a 4th RW, he's worth the pick. My RW lineup: Downie, Doan, Knuble, Setoguchi

Round 17: This is the round I wanted Ott but he and Elvis left the building during Round 14. I'll go Ott-lite with Dubinsky. He could center the big line in NY. He could get moved to wing. He could be standing next to that nude cowboy guy in Times Square scalping tickets. Upside with an edge. Not too worried if he doesn't pan out as there's still plenty of Cs available that have his scoring numbers or better.

Round 18: Need to wrap-up my D - still have my 2 under the radar guys that no one has touched (yet)...I pull the trigger on Boychuk. Don Cherry loves him more than Blue and he'll get plenty o' opportunities on a solid B-team, maybe even getting paired with the big man. A huge offensive machine in the AHL and he showed some of that with the Bs last season.

Round 19: Time to grab that final d-man - Wisniewski. He's a BAB risk but he's in a great situation this year on the Island. Has some offensive skill, will see PP time and he goes nutso every so often. Perfect 6th defenseman! My D-men: Lidstrom, Edler, Subban, Carlson, Boychuk, Wisniewski. Given that I didn't focus on defense early on - I'm relatively happy. Hey, with this group, go big or go home!

Round 20: At this stage, it's the usual suspects that are remaining...unless you can sort the sh** from shinola. Peter Regin for example...if he continues to build on last year's season...and he plays with Spezza and Alfie...if he's LW eligible...lots of ifs, but lots of upside too. Hey, it's round 20!
Centers: Getzlaf, Kopitar, Dubinsky, Regin

Round 21: Is it the beer? Is it the stress of maintaining nearly 3 hours of focus? I decide I need a back-up goalie (better late than never)...and look at the board. All that's really left are the pylons and cigar store indians. And...some Ruski named Bobrovsky. But guess what??? He plays for the Flyers...and Flyer goalies go down more often than the hookers in Kensington. Plus, this kid has some skill...much more than the Boosh and more upside than Michael Leighton. An injury away...

Goalies: Miller, Howard, Bobrovsky

Round 22: Definitely it's the beer in retrospect. Anyway I still need to fill the bench - Stealers Wheel is playing on the radio "Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right...here I am, stuck in the middle..." Yes, it is a vision. Pick a LW - Andrew Ladd is the least funny clown available on left wing.

Round 23: The jokers on the right are just too...well, they're jokers. So I go up the middle and find Peverly in the open. He's the Peverly hillbilly but he always puts up points.

Round 24: Back to the jokers...several neanderthals and crotchety old men are seen mingling with the remaining jokers. But, behold, back in the infirmary, hiding behind the x-ray machine I find Justin Williams - yes, that two-time 30 goal scoring Justin Williams. What else is one to do when scraping the barrel?

Round 25: Finally, the end is here. I'll take a D at this point. Not because I want one, but I know at some point I'll need this spare tire. Chris Russell is available and I loathe him less than Flip'im the bird Kuba. Plus he'll see PP time with Columbus - they don't trust him enough to play anything else. Bench: Ladd, Peverly, Williams, Russel, Bobrovsky

It's done! Very intense and very competitive draft with a really good, really savvy bunch of GMs. Overall, I'm pleased. If my team stays healthy, we will compete. Hopefully Herb Brooks will be pleased too -if not, to quote Herb, my team will end up looking like a bunch of "monkeys trying to hump a football".

[The Comish]

Great reads guys! Like I said earlier, toughest draft I've ever taken part in.

This was my second Pro draft, the first one taking place the day before. In the other Pro draft I drew the first overall pick (to the calls of "fix"). I HAD to take Ovechkin first. Doing that sets in motion a certain strategy. I ended up with LW, G, D, D, D, G and only took my first C in round 14.

I wanted to pick in a different position for this draft to try a different strategy. The Hockey Gods were with me on draft day, I ended up picking 12 of 13! Yay!

Rounds 1 & 2 - Not a whole lot you can plan for when you are picking 12th overall, so I was just waiting to see what fell to me. I was initially thinking at least one stud goalie because there would be a lot of picks until my 3rd pick. That was before Mike Green fell into my lap. With six starters at D, I couldn't pass up the most dominant fantasy D out there. I was overjoyed. For my second pick, I thought, definitely get a stud goalie. the jobbers took Bryzgalov on the corner, so I was left with Jimmy "I don't trust you yet" Howard, Lundqvist or Kiprusoff at goaltender. One option that was left was Nicklas Backstrom (Wsh) was still on the table. Normally I loathe taking a C this high, but when you factor in +/-, PPP and the fact he should hit triple digits in points, I couldn't resist taking him (although it took me nearly the full 1:30).

Rounds 3 & 4 - Because I passed on taking a goalie with my first two picks, I was thinking goalie, goalie. Of course seven goalies were taken after my 2nd round pick. That left me with Cam Ward and Tomas Vokoun. I know, two decent goalies stuck on average to potentially bad teams, but with our scoring including Saves, these guys should be just fine. With weekly starts, you can't mess around taking the chance on platoon situation goalies (Ott, Tor, Phi, SJ, NYI, TB, Wsh to name a few).

Rounds 5 & 6 - Time to start looking at the wings. Was looking at LW/C-Sharp and LW-Cammalleri. Then blammo, Sharp was off the board four picks in front of me. I was drooling at the opportunity to snag Cammalleri, but he got Smacked with the pick in front of mine. Thanks guys. Not liking what was "Left" on the board and seeing RW as very deep, I decided to go with C Paul Stastny. BPA IMO. I had a difficult time deciding my round 6 pick. It came down to Mark Streit, Phil Kessel or Ales Hemsky. The deciding factor was that there were still plenty of very good D on the board and I just don't trust Hemsky to stay healthy. I also have a bazillion Assists with Backstrom and could use some Goals, so I went with Kessel.

Rounds 7 & 8 - A whole bunch of top D went off the board, but I still didn't have any LW. I was eyeballing Hartnell, but blammo blew that up for me. That "Left" Ryane Clowe who will help in the PiM department. I need a little help there because I have too many sweethearts so far in my lineup. With my next pick I wanted to take the next best D available before all the 50 pointers are gone. I went with Tomas Kaberle. Please play forward this year Tomas!

Rounds 9 & 10 - Was looking at Backes, but Smack got me again. Ended up taking an underrated LW in Brooks Laich, who will contribute in +/-, PPP and SOG in addition to 60 points. Wanted a D next and Keith Yandle's superior +/- and SOG won out over Enstrom and his upcoming minus rating. I kinda regret this move in hindsight and hope that my instincts were right.

Rounds 11 & 12 - Funny story time. I had five guys pegged in my queue and had a very hard time prioritizing. Enstrom who I passed over the round before, Krejci, Pominville, C.Giroux and Gionta. With the Savard news all over the place, I decide that Krejci will be the guy who steps up and produces on the number one line, so I take him now. Then the jobbers proceed to take Enstrom and Pominville, leaving me to choose between Brian Gionta and Claude Giroux. I choose the former primarily because of the superior SOG. Giroux goes with the very next pick to Smack!

Rounds 13 & 14 - While waiting, I'm loading my queue with Jordan Staal and Martin Havlat, both who would look good on my team, but joos scoops them both with his picks! I settle for another underrated veteran in Jamie Langenbrunner. He had 19 PPP and 228 SOG last season. I couldn't pass on C Tomas Plekanec to round out my pivots. Seriously, he had 70 points last year. That also gives me three guys with the first nameTomas.

Rounds 15 & 16 - I knew that LW has the shallowest pool of talent this year and I only had two of my four LW spots filled. The talent was draining quickly, so I scooped up a guy who had 61 points and 25 PPP last year, but little else in Andrew Brunette. I figure I have enough decent plus/minus guys to offset his potentially bad numbers. My next pick was fun. I checked the guy picking behind me (the jobbers) and noticed he only had one LW (Kovalchuk), that's why I took Brunette first, but when the jobbers didn't take a LW with either of his two picks, I decided to put the boots to him a little and chose Ryan Malone hoping that the new situation in TB will benefit him. Plus he is no slouch in the PiM department. Good luck jobbers! Note: He ended up with Moulson and T.Ruutu (edit: I incorrectly wrote J.Jokinen), who should be just fine.

Rounds 17 & 18 - Was torqued to see Ryan Whitney (doulos) and especially Del Zotto (UW) go earlier in the round. Then I was really steamed when Kubina went right in front of me (again Smack, really? C'mon man!). I settled for Cam Barker and then took the BPA in C Alex Steen.

Rounds 19 & 20 - I ended up getting the guy I passed on earlier, thinking he'd still be around with my next pick and thankfully he was. Brent Burns was that pick. I'm hoping he can recover his form from a couple of years ago, but right now it's just hope. Then I rounded out my D corps with Tom Gilbert.

Rounds 21 & 22 - Missed out on Horcoff (doulos) and was going to take a chance with Souray, but St.John's Capitals scooped him. I ended up settling for another veteran in Vinny Prospal. I always prefer established players over hyped up rookies at least in one year pools. My next pick was a little iffy in my opinion. With the return of Hudler, I'm not sure taking Todd Bertuzzi was a good pick, but his ancillary numbers last year seduced me.

Rounds 23 & 24 - Took a couple shots in the dark with Mikhail Grabovski and believe it or not Joe Corvo. That Hurricane blueline sure is crowded though. WTF is management doing bringing back Babchuk AND Corvo when they've already got Pitkanen and a budding young stud in McBain? I see Corvo's role as reduced, but should things not go well, the coach has confidence in Corvo because it's the same coach that gave him over 25 minutes per game.

Round 25 - Last chance to make an impact, so like most everyone else, I took a darkhorse. Mine was Artem Anisimov or as my buddy calls him Isaac Asimov! Is it Science Fiction to believe he'll center the number one line? Maybe, maybe not.

Awesome draft guys and thanks again for all your write ups. Too bad first is already decided.

[rooneypoo]

I kinda figured you were out to get me with that Brunette pick, Comish. Curses!

Still, all things considered and in hindsight, my LW is not as absolutely horrible: Kovalchuk, T. Ruutu (and not J. Jokinen--I wish!), Moulson, Sullivan, and Hagman. Ruutu, Moulson, and Hagman are all shooters -- 20 goals, 40-50 points, and 200+ SOG a piece seems like a reasonable expectation for each. Sullivan could be a big steal -- or he (and Ruutu) could be IR'd all year long.

Considering my depth at other positions (especially RW and D), I can live with the shortcomings at this one position. I also think I have an underrated goaltending quartet. I'm guessing that one of those OTT goalies is going to pay off for me huge, considering where I drafted them.

[The Comish]

I kinda figured you were out to get me with that Brunette pick, Comish. Curses!

Still, all things considered and in hindsight, my LW is not as absolutely horrible: Kovalchuk, T. Ruutu (and not J. Jokinen--I wish!), Moulson, Sullivan, and Hagman. Ruutu, Moulson, and Hagman are all shooters -- 20 goals, 40-50 points, and 200+ SOG a piece seems like a reasonable expectation for each. Sullivan could be a big steal -- or he (and Ruutu) could be IR'd all year long.

Considering my depth at other positions (especially RW and D), I can live with the shortcomings at this one position. I also think I have an underrated goaltending quartet. I'm guessing that one of those OTT goalies is going to pay off for me huge, considering where I drafted them.

I agree, you aren't crazy bad at LW considering. I also think Sullivan was a great gamble. The Brunette pick wasn't really about you, it was because you only had 1 LW, I thought you would take at least 1 with your picks. I only had two at the time and didn't want to get scooped on Brunette. Now the Malone pick, that one was an attempt to put you behind the 8-ball!