Re: 2020/21 Rocky Horror Roto Show
2021 Team Name Update: The s-Purge(thanks to Spurgeon coming aboard)
Was late getting prepped for the draftthis year and never did solidify a full strategy. Instead, tried tostick to a couple of “priorities” and go with what fell to me (avery dangerous plan in this league).
This is the BEST draft I get to be apart of every single year. Unbelievably shrewd GM's with a widevariety of drafting strategies. SO. MUCH. FUN. (and so tough)
STRATEGY:
Forwards: Scoring scoring scoring.Wanted as many top point-getters as I could land early, feeling likeif covid took out a star, I'd have a really tough time replacingthose scoring cats on the wire. The decision to stick with 65 GP/slotmeans we've got an additional 36 games at each position to cover, sodepth has added importance in my eyes this year.
Defense: Full flip from my usual scriptof solidifying D early. Instead, found some low-ranked guys I waskeen on so was willing to wait on D quite a bit.
Goalies: Just didn't have a plan here.Had no idea how this group was going to approach goalies this year,as with our 65 GP per slot cap and dense sched I'm not sure anyonecan max out. Told myself to prioritize ratios, but only if there wasa run on Gs early, or else wait til later than usual.
FYI like Comish, I basically had guyssnagged every single round in front of me, so won't list them all.Just know there were maybe 3-4 rounds where the guy I “most”wanted fell to me.
PICKS:
Round 1 – C – Crosby – He was ina group of about 5 guys I figured might be there (and basically allwent right around me)
Round 2 – C – Aho – He was the“other” in the 5 who didn't go. So high on CAR waxing theirdivision this year.
Round 3 – L/R – Laine – Wasn't mytop pick for sniper but I'm comfortable landing him here.
Round 4 – C – Point – Lovegetting him (fits strategy) but don't love having 3 Cs in my first 4picks.
Round 5 – G – Sorokin – Turns outthe league was high on drafting goalies early, so I had to jump inhere or put myself in a brutal hole. I'm a believer that he's forreal and will not only post fantastic “Trotz-Korn” ratios butwill wind up stealing the NYI net by the end of the year.
Round 6 – G – Bobrovsky – Ipanicked lol. My queue got decimated in the 8 picks between mine andas the pick timer wound down, I convinced myself that I was draftingBob of 4 years ago.
Round 7 – D – Provorov – LatestI've waited to draft a D in this league (ever) and happy to get hisacross-the-board coverage here.
Round 8 – L/R – Teravainen – Backto the CAR & point-getter well.
Round 9 – L/R – Hoffman – Notbad, but not great. Was unsure I'd get the G/SOG guys I wanted laterso pulled the trigger (maybe a bit earlier than I should have).
Round 10 – G – Dubnyk – About 4rounds earlier than I wanted to go – but that's how the draft wasplaying out. Feel like SJ is in for rebound in their division (andquite bummed I missed out my targeted SJ skater picks) and hopingDubie is up for it.
Round 11 – D – Werenski – Morethan happy landing Zach here. Between him and Provo, hoping for asneaky goal-boost from my back-end
Round 12 – L/R – Fiala – Debatedhard between him and Kaprizov here but went with the more knownquantity. I'm not as down on Minny as others seem to be.
Round 13 – L/R – Bjorkstrand –Super thrilled to land OB here. Think he was ranked too low on Yahooand feeling confident he'll return value here.
Round 14 – C – K.Hayes – Jumpedtoo early for him, but because I'd been ignoring C for a while, wasfeeling a bit pressured to lock up my starting 4. Think there mightbe some upside if he sticks with Giroux and can find consistent PPminutes.
Round 15 – D – P.K.Subban –Wanted him as my 6th D as in prior years he was a sneakysource of PIMs along with his scoring. Obviously need scoring toreturn at least a bit (since he's my 3rd D now) but if hecan deliver even an “average” points year, feeling like hisperipherals will return value.
Round 16 – C/L – Hintz – A guy Iwas targeting this season. FOW from the wing and should seeconsistent top-six minutes.
Round 17 – D – Spurgeon – Happyto snag him here and hoping the captaincy doesn't mess with his solidfloor output-wise. Typically get massacred in BLKs so he was a guy Ihad in mind this year.
Round 18 – C/L – J.Hughes –Expect progression this year, and while I feel like I've lived up tomy “get scoring” priority... also am really starting to feel likeI'm massively missing HITs in my lineup.
Round 19 – G – Quick – Saw astarter left and knowing LA has a strong off-night sched, decided tocommit. Didn't realize Driedger was still available (to handcuff Bob)and when he went a few picks later it was time to re-fill the wineglass.
Round 20 – C/L – Stephenson –Vegas C1 to start the year (and FOW from the W) so hoping for adecent little run (before he's eventually usurped by C.Glass... who Iplan to grab later anyways)
Round 21 – L/R – K.Kapanen –Worth the risk considering I have Sid. Don't expect huge numbers, butif he remembers to “skate fast and give puck to Crosby” I'd bethrilled with a career year of non-primary assists.
Round 22 – D – Shattenkirk –Clearly needing D still and while I don't particularly care for theANA PP, I do like their off-night sched. Hoping that an increase inmins will help bump numbers across-the-board.
Round 23 – D – M.Lehtonen – Wortha swing here, as I still needed D and I think he'll be running PP2. Idon't expect TOR to keep the units separated all year (with JT &Nyl on PP2) – but if they do, he could be a nice surprise.
Round 24 – C/R – Bjugstad – CodyGlass all cued to go and... right before me. Thanks Temek. Will rollthe dice on Bjug staying healthy and in the top-six for as long as hecan.
Round 25 – G – Oettinger – Justhappened to catch my eye as I was trying to find some late gems. Ifthey don't ride Khudobin hard until Bish gets back, Jake couldprovide some Ws and decent ratios when (if) he sees the net.
Round 26 – D – Romanov – We're inthe added (covid) bench rounds now and while there are a fewperipheral-heavy D still available (my original plan), I figuredafter his reviews in camp, and current PP2 role on a team that Ithink will have 3 lines score evenly... he's a decent early-seasongamble.
Round 27 – D – J.Lauzon – Inearly took Lauzon 5 rounds ago as I love his role to open the yearand he caught my eye last year as a potential peripheral-heavy guy ona good team.
SUMMARY: Fairly happy with myteam and feel like I executed my (loose) strategy well. I'm clearlygoing to be in need of addressing a few cats (HIT in particular) buthoping with some shrewd wire moves and trades I can slowly remedythat over the season.
ROSTER:
C – Crosby, Aho, Point, Hayes,
R – Laine, Hoffman, Bjorkstrand,Kapanen, Bjugstad
L – Teravainen, Fiala, J.Hughes,R.Hintz, C.Stephenson
D – Provorov, Werenski, Subban,Spurgeon, Shattenkirk, M.Lehtonen, A.Romanov, J.Lauzon
G – I.Sorokin, Bobrovsky, Dubnyk,Quick, J.Oettinger
RHRS, Yahoo, 12-team, Roto
PQMC, Yahoo, 12-team, Keep 11, H2H
Taro Tsujimoto Draft League, Fantrax, 6-team, pts-only (*2018 draftees or later only)
Hanson Bros., Fantrax, 10-Team, Keep 8, weighted scoring
Black & Blue, Fantrax, 12-Team, Dynasty, H2H weighted
The Dream Team League, Fantrax, 14-Team, Dynasty, H2H
On Frozen Ponds, Fantrax 10-Team, Dynasty, Roto
"When I do not know who I am I serve you, and when I do know who I am, you and I are one." - Hanuman-ji