Draft Strategy - 12 Categories

[shook81]

A 9 Team Roto League with the following settings:

12F, 6D, 2G, 8BN (252 total players)
G, A, +/-, PIM, PPP, SHP, SOG, SH%, W, GAA, SV%, SHO

If I draft in the middle or end and the top tier of goalies are gone (Luongo, Kipper, Lundqvist, Brodeur), should I focus on dominating the offensive categories and pickup solid but unspectacular goalies like Legace and Ward later on? Or grab the top two remaining goalies and go from there? I know drafts have a way of creating their own unique dynamics that are difficult to predict, but what would you do given this scenario?

[Shoeless]

In your case I would buy Dobber\'s guide and read it quickly - especially the section on drafting goalies in a 1 year league. I know this might sound flippant but trust me - it is not! He tells you what to do in your scenario.

You might look at it this way - 11% of your starting positions are responsible for 33% of your scoring categories - the quality of your goalies is pretty important.

[shook81]

I bought the draft kit and prospects sheet on Friday and have read both (plus the September 21st update) extensively. I agree that goalie quality is very important in our league setup (last years winner rode Brodeur to victory despite a slightly above average skating team).

I think it cleared up some doubt about selecting a goalie in the first round...I think I was a little uncertain of how Fluery could be considered in the same tier as Kipper and Lundqvist...when the latter two have superior GAA and SV%. Thanks for your comments...

[shook81]

Here\'s another question posed for this same league (which now has 10 owners)...

Yahoo\'s default rankings have several defensemen very high in the rankings...like Pronger and Whitney (25th and 27th respectively). In the expert league draft within Dobber\'s guide the first defensemen were not picked until the 3rd round (33rd and 36th respectively...Lidstrom and Phaneuf).

However, on Dobber\'s point projections we don\'t see our first defensemen until the 50th and 55th spot (Gonchar and Whitney)...so here\'s my question.

In a league where all skaters (F & D) accrue stats in the same cats, is it necessary to draft defensemen higher than their projections? In the past I have said that every good fantasy hockey team starts with Gonchar...meaning that getting a high scoring d-man is key. But I am now starting to reconsider...and am thinking of \"going cheap\" on the d-men.

My rationale is this...the point disparity between the top d-men and the average fantasy-caliber d-man is not as great and the point disparity amongst the top and average forwards. I have not compiled any stats to verify this...it\'s just a thought.

It should be said that I am not expecting to fill my roster with Joe DiPentas...but rather under the radar guys such as Magnus Johansson, Corey Murphy, Braydon Coburn, and Nathan Paetsch...and maybe a Tom Poti earlier if I was able.

I noticed Dobber took his first D 48th overall...and it was Whitney.

[shook81]

Okay, so the draft was held last night...and surprisingly I received the number 1 pick. I had to amend my strategy quickly as there was a massive goalie run (as I suspected) and almost all of the top goalies were gone by the time it came back around to me so I shifted towards an offensive-inspired team. I\'m worried about my goalies not competing and falling short in SHP.

12F, 6D, 2G, 8BN
G, A, +/-, PIM, PPP, SHP, Shots, SH%
GAA, SV%, W, SO

Here\'s my picks in order:
1. (1) Sidney Crosby
2. (20) Olli Jokinen
3. (21) Ilya Kovalchuk
4. (40) Chris Mason
5. (41) Ryan Whitney
6. (60) Marc-Andre Fleury
7. (61) Sergei Gonchar
8. (80) Alexander Semin
9. (81) Derek Roy
10. (100) Shea Weber
11. (101) Michael Nylander
12. (120) Brenden Morrow
13. (121) Kevin Bieksa
14. (140) Saku Koivu
15. (141) Todd Bertuzzi
16. (160) Manny Legace
17. (161) Alexander Radulov
18. (180) Antoine Vermette
19. (181) Tom Poti
20. (200) Ryane Clowe
21. (201) Mikko Koivu
22. (220) Cory Murphy
23. (221) Ryan Malone
24. (240) Brent Seabrook
25. (241) Vaclav Prospal
26. (260) Michal Handzus
27. (261) Ales Kotalik
28. (280) Magnus Johansson

There are lots of available forwards and defensemen I would consider:
Jussi Jokinen (Dal - F)
Alexander Steen (Tor - F)
Peter Mueller (Pho - F)
Marco Sturm (Bos - F)
Mikael Samuelsson (Det - F)
Todd White (Atl - F)
Michel Ouellet (TB - F)
Ben Eager (Phi - F)
Martin Rucinsky (StL - F)
Mark Bell (Tor - F)
Taylor Pyatt (Van - F)
Paul Gaustad (Buf - F)
Travis Zajac (NJ - F)
Daniel Cleary (Det - F)
Martin Lapointe (Chi - F)
Mike Komisarek (Mon - D)
Kim Johnsson (Min - D)
Chuck Kobasew (Bos - F)
David Krejci (Bos - F)
Karel Pilar (Atl - D)
Petr Kalus (Min - F)
Brett Sterling (Atl - F)
Jaroslav Hlinka (Col - F)
Kristopher Letang (Pit - D)
David Koci (Chi - F)
Tobias Enstrom (Atl - D)
Martin Hanzal (Pho - F)
Nathan Paetsch (Buf - D)
Erik Christensen (Pit - F)
Radek Bonk (Nsh - F)
Robert Nilsson (Edm - F)
Brad Stuart (LA - D)
Sergei Samsonov (Chi - F)
Niklas Kronwall (Det - D)
Sean Bergenheim (NYI - F)
Dan Fritsche (Cls - F)
Andrew Ladd (Car - F)
Paul Martin (NJ - D)
Patrick O\'Sullivan (LA - F)
Braydon Coburn (Phi - D)
Daniel Carcillo (Pho - F)
Darryl Sydor (Pit - D)
Frantisek Kaberle (Car - D)
Marcel Hossa (NYR - F)
Bill Thomas (Pho - F)
Ryan Shannon (Van - F)
Andrei Kostitsyn (Mon - F)
Ryan Callahan (NYR - F)
Tomas Fleischmann (Was - F)

Not so many goalies:
Chris Osgood (Det - G)
Jonas Hiller (Ana - G)

Any help or suggestions you can provide would be greatly appreciated!