Hi all,

Been active in pools for 20 something years but joined my first keeper this season. I drafted 13th in a 14 team league. Most goalies had departed prior to my first pick and fearing the worst, I took Rask and Ward with the 13th and 16th overall picks. Most high end forwards were gone before I picked again in the 3rd. Please take a look at my team and maybe offer up some advice on how I should approach the upcoming season. Most vets worth anything are gone but there are some rookies available still. I drafted with the intent of winning this season. (As we all do, lol) Players are 4C, 4LW, 4RW, 6D, 2G and 6 bench. Cats are as follows: G, A, Pts, +/-, PIM, PPP and SOG and for goalies they are W, GAA, SV, SV% and SHO. As you can see, this league is waited towards tenders and that is the approach I took, hoping to win more cats there and maybe pick up a cat or two in offensive categories. So here's my team and thanks in advance to anyone that has an opinion to offer.

Datsyuk - C/LW
Deshairnais - C
Stepan - C
Roy - C
Zetterberg - C/LW
Kunitz - LW
Whitney - LW
Prospal - C/LW
Gaborik - RW
Purcell - RW
Downie - LW/RW
Dorsett - RW
Ekman-Larsson - D
Kulikov - D
Bogosian - D
Nikitin - D
Quincey - D
Bench
Peverly - C
C.Smith - C/RW
Scheifele - C

Rask - G
Ward - G
Vokoun - G
Reimer - G
Lehner - G

Some players available on the waiver wire include Ryan Murray -Cbj, McBain-Car, Johansson - Was, Burmistove - Win, Frattin - Tor, Nyqyist - Det, Strome - NYI, Grigorenko - Buf, forsberg - Was, Ryan Murphy - Car, Khudobin - Bos, Lack - Van, Backman - Dal, Tokarski - TB, Fasth - Ana.

And just to let you know, At this point I do not plan on keeping the following beyond this season (if they last that long on my team) Whitney, Prospal, Downey, Peverly and Vokoun. My forwards are fairly old but expect to get 2-4 decent years out of Zetts, Dats and Gabby before age takes its toll (hopefully). But that will be subject to change due to performance and/or trade offers I can drum up.

Welcome to the forums!!!

In a 14-team league, I think you should be looking at a top 5 finish. I like this team quite a bit. Grabbing 2G in a 14-team league with a 7/5 category split is a smart move.

Is this H2H or roto?
Is this a full keeper? (Keep ALL your players... or just some)

I think the balance among your skater group is very good with a few goons mixed in. I know this team doesn't have any big names at forward or defense... but I think it will do just fine.

With SV being a category, I like you holding 5G. Great move.

The only move I'd make is to consider rostering that 6th defenseman.
Maybe a goon like Stu Bickel. If it is a full keeper (or "dynasty") you might consider dropping Peverley... if it is a partial keeper, I might consider dropping Scheifele.

Overall, it was a nice draft, I think you'll be happy with this team for the next 3-5 years.

Thanks for the response Pengwin7. It is a H2H and full keeper league.

I grabbed Scheifele thinking that he'll line-up at Center and/or RW down the road. Either position will need some work in 2-3 years. I'm also considering nabbing Strome for the same reason but at the same time, I don't want to weaken what scoring I have available for this season. Gabby should start the season on the IR so I'll look at a replacement then.

I was considering adding a 6th D-man but felt a 50-60 point forward should produce more than a 30-40 point D-man, even if I have to bench him sometimes.

Overall, very good team. When you are at the end of the pack, it's never a bad idea. I did in a 20 team league and took Price and Ward. My offense took a bit of a hit, but my goaltending is solid. Your tending should be very solid as well.

I would look at possibly handcuffing Khudobin to Rask. If Rask goes down to injury, having the other BOS netminder could save your season. I would consider dropping one of your other tenders. Perhaps Vokoun. If you are going to have a backup goalie, might as well be one that's the back up of your #1.

__________________
Ultimate Dynasty League
16 Team Dynasty League H2H: G, A, P, PPP, SHP, +/-, PIM, SOG, W, L, GAA, SvPct, SHO

C: Stamkos, Getzlaf, Carter
LW: Ovechkin, Kovalchuk, Brown
RW: Iginla, Pavelski, Horton
D: Byfuglien, J.Johnson, Goligoski, Hedman, Hamonic
U: Mueller
G: Schneider, Hiller,
B: E. Johnson, S.Kostitsyn, Neil, Biron, Giguere
IR:
Prospect: Nail Yakupov, Tangradi

__________________________________________________ ___________________________
UHL Dynasty St. Louis Blues
...a bad team trying to rebuild...

Funny you mentioned Khudobin AR. I was kinda thinking the same thing. I was thinking of grabbing him once my IR spots open (Gaborik probably won't be ready for about a month, assuming we start soon). Then when Gabbys due to return, I'll have some options on who to let go or trade before activating him based on performance.