I am trying to put this NHL draft year in perspective.

I have been spending the last month trying to figure out the best of the group that I haven’t had a chance to sit back and figure out of the group is really that good. I go into my fantasy league’s draft with a great young roster (average age of 23 and I won last year) so if my focus is to draft some 2007 prospects it would be to eventually replace some of my regulars who don’t maintain a high level of production. Should I be breaking my back trying to land guys Kyle Turris, Patrick Kane, Alexei Cherepanov or Angelo Esposito? Obviously there will be some fantasy-worthy players in there - but how worthy?

I am thinking about steering my draft strategy to grab current/closer NHLers like Jiri Hulder, Josh Harding, Kris Letang, Olaf Kolzig, Ryan Callahan, Cory Murphy to fill some of the wholes in the bottom part of my roster. But I wouldn’t want to do it at the expense of missing out on future stars from the 2007 draft. Obviously you can’t know my league/team situation enough to make the call for me but I would like a general impression on the 2007 first rounders as a whole would be helpful. For a guy who wants to always have a strong keeper team can I afford to miss out on these guys?

I don’t know if I explained myself very well but I would appreciate your thoughts.

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Too many leagues this year... I think I own every player somewhere.

Here\'s my impression, for what it\'s worth.

there will be some great players come out of this crop of 2007, question is will it be any of the early picks. I\'d suggest not. As this crop came to harvest, things changed drastically. Look back a year. Esposito was deemed consensus number 1, then that shifted to Logan Couture and Vasichek, and in the end it was a pint size yank who got the nod. I think this is a draft where you can take a swing... but no sure things.. Once the hype dies down, The top guys in this draft will continue to change order. Kane (too small) Turris (untested) Esposito (attitude problems) Use your top picks to scoop up a guy like Callahan, Hensick. If there\'s any of the 2007 first rounders left in later rounds take them then.. Taking any of the top picks this year is too big a risk. There are some guys who\'ve been developing under the radar and will make a mark next year.. none of the the class of 2007 will. Some never will.

What you\'re basically asking is, is it cost-effective to pursue the highest picks from this draft? The answer at this stage is no.

The three most expensive times to pursue a fantasy player are:

1. After the draft
2. After a breakout year
3. After winning a major award

The player with the highest ceiling right from \'07 was Kyle Turris. Pat Kane is close behind, and then that\'s about it. You\'d basically be chasing two players with the POTENTIAL to score 100+ points. You don\'t want to do that, not when it means you\'d have to likely trade draft picks and younger talent. The 2008, 2009 and 2010 drafts are going to be three of the greatest this league has ever seen.

Now, does that mean 2007 is useless to you as a whole? Absolutely not. With the widely-held belief that this was a weaker draft year, nobody really paid attention beyond the first round. Buy the Prospect Report if you want the full picture, but there are some very nice players to pursue- some with franchise potential. You can get them for virtually nothing.

Thanks for the advice guys.

For starters, I bought the prospect guide and read it about two hours after it got mailed out. It is going to take me a while to translate it into my draft list as I need to consider my current roster, my positional needs, team/prospects I like, etc.

In our league format we do not have a lot of room to stash prospects. That is bad because you don’t get to hold onto these guys early but is it good because as they get closer to producing in the NHL they are often still available unless they are really high profile (E/J Johnson, Backstrom, Toews).

Bugg: I really like you note about this time being a ‘buy-high’ value time for the class of 07. I really find that is true in our league. Try to trade for Patrick Kane over the summer you will have to give up a lot. Wait until he has 20 points in 55 games of his rookie season and the owner will practically give him away if you dangle a current NHL asset.

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Too many leagues this year... I think I own every player somewhere.