DRAFT TIME!!!!!!
The league draft is now being live-blogged…….
I can only imagine what LS has planned for his draft but hey this works.
Picks from Round 1:
1. Roenick’s Dream — Joe Thornton
2. Project Mayhem — Sidney Crosby
3. Brindamoursnose — Dany Heatley
4. Bosstrottssmity — Rick Dipietro
5. Stevens — Martin Brodeur (DUH!)
6. Ogre — Roberto Luongo
7. Pogo — Evgeni Malkin
8. bbbarrasso — Marian Hossa
9. shoes — Jarome Iginla
10. Danada — Jason Spezza
11. Vampiret — Sean Avery (he’ll win PIMS :P)
12. Money — Alexander Ovechkin (Amazed he went that late)
Some analysis from Round 1:
It is hard to go wrong with picking anyone in Round 1 unless you pick Sean Avery. Even Rick Dipietro (a risky pick) is worth taking a shot on. The surprise may have been Ovechkin going 12th. For some reason, I just saw him going higher..maybe 7th or 8th the latest. Crosby went 2nd instead of 1st…Thornton went #1 instead. Luongo and Brodeur going mid first round sent a few waves thru the draft that would be felt later…as you will see the goaltending talent thinned out quick.
Rounds 2-4:
These rounds can make or break you. So why did I take Backstrom and Lundqvist (2 goalies)? Simple….goaltending is a big chunk of winning most weeks. Getting a stranglehold there can never hurt. With Ogre having some tough goaltending…you have to fight fire with fire. Chris Pronger was a steal in Round 3 while Nick Lidstrom may have gone a bit early in Round 2. Yes you can’t go wrong with either but Pronger just is a 5 tool fantasy player with the complete package. Lidstrom will pile up numbers but no Pims. Kovalchuk and Lecavlier also went in Round 2…..great time to pick them honestly. Money’s combo of Kipper, Savard, and Cheechoo make you take notice. Money is going to be a big player and contender in this league for the playoffs and the title.
Rounds 5-9:
The true “middle” rounds…..a ton of slick picks in here…including Visnovsky in the 7th….and Timmonen in the 9th (which was surprising to a point). Alexander Radulov went in the 9th round and yes everyone knows he can score but can he play the whole season? If he can he can easily produce a point a game. Rick Nash went in the 8th round…which wasn’t that suprising but if he can stay healthy…he can have a big impact on Ogre’s team. Andy McDonald went in the 9th…another nice pick indeed. A lot of teams went on potential in these rounds and some gambles like Tkachuk, Richards, and Souray were picked. The steal of these rounds may have been Eric Staal but only time will tell on that.
The Later And Final Rounds:
The rounds where everyone takes a dartboard and starts firing till something hits the target or sticks to a donkey’s butt. Just look at some of the players that went late…you will find some former fantasy studs in there. Guys like Cam Ward (2006 Conn Smythe winner), Brian Rolston (a solid player last year went 12th round)….just to name a few. When finding out news that Langenbrunner may be out awhile with a groin injury again..I took a flier on David Clarkson for my last pick…he is a great, promising looking power forward with skill. Hopefully that gets harnessed out…the Devils will need it. Danada picking Stempniak in the 12th may also prove to be one of the best steals of this draft. It was also part of the reason why I picked Kariya late…I know he will be on that line and will score. What stunned me most was Scott Gomez going in the 11th round…I wasn’t going to pick him (for obvious reasons) but I was sure someone would pick him up in the middle rounds at the latest. Maybe some really do feel he was overrated in Jersey’s “system”.
Early Winners:
The season hasn’t started so anything could happen. But on paper, I can see Money, Pogo, Ogre, and Brindamour being major contenders. Their picks were for the most part solid. I think I can definitely compete with these guys and so can Danada as well. This is going to be a very interesting league either way. It will be hard to pick a winner and as of now I can’t honestly say.
Early Losers:
Vamp took some risky picks and that’s an understatement…he will have a lot of work to do in the FA market. Taking too many Kings can be a problem. Bosstrotts will take a hit for taking Dipietro first especially in a division as stacked as the Atlantic. Being goalie heavy in a league is one thing…being defensemen heavy is another. That could be a huge problem later.
Well one thing is for sure…this was a very interesting and different draft. I want to thank everyone for showing up and as the season starts…look for updates on the blog as to how all the teams are doing right up until we crown a champion. Have a good weekend!
