Sure, picking the correct players is the easiest way to dominate your draft, but there's so much more that goes into having success on that fateful day. Below are some of the most important strategies to assist you in building the best team possible on draft day.
Target Goaltenders Early and Often
I cannot stress this enough. There are only a handful of elite goalies in the NHL. Even the second and third tier of options are dwindling as more NHL teams adopt a committee approach. Having an anchor like Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers or Connor Hellebuyck of the Jets gives you a massive leg up in the competition. This is especially true in leagues with weekly lineup changes. Look at it this way – you are late in your draft, and you are filling out the final spots on your bench. Do you really need to take someone like Frank Vatrano or Charlie Coyle or any skater whose production can largely be replaced in the waiver wire throughout the course of the season? Of course not. Instead, spend that pick on one of the timeshare guys in hopes he runs away with the starting job early on. If it doesn't work out, you just drop him.
Don't "Handcuff" Goaltenders
"Handcuffing" is a very popular strategy in fantasy football when it comes to running backs. You draft both the starter and the backup, this way you are covered in the event of injury. It sounds great on paper, except
Sure, picking the correct players is the easiest way to dominate your draft, but there's so much more that goes into having success on that fateful day. Below are some of the most important strategies to assist you in building the best team possible on draft day.
Target Goaltenders Early and Often
I cannot stress this enough. There are only a handful of elite goalies in the NHL. Even the second and third tier of options are dwindling as more NHL teams adopt a committee approach. Having an anchor like Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers or Connor Hellebuyck of the Jets gives you a massive leg up in the competition. This is especially true in leagues with weekly lineup changes. Look at it this way – you are late in your draft, and you are filling out the final spots on your bench. Do you really need to take someone like Frank Vatrano or Charlie Coyle or any skater whose production can largely be replaced in the waiver wire throughout the course of the season? Of course not. Instead, spend that pick on one of the timeshare guys in hopes he runs away with the starting job early on. If it doesn't work out, you just drop him.
Don't "Handcuff" Goaltenders
"Handcuffing" is a very popular strategy in fantasy football when it comes to running backs. You draft both the starter and the backup, this way you are covered in the event of injury. It sounds great on paper, except the days of NHL goaltenders appearing in 70-plus games are gone. Heck, only three goalies (Juuse Saros, Alexandar Georgiev, and Hellbuyck) appeared in 60 games last season. The odds of any backup goaltender turning into a true workhorse and fantasy star are overwhelmingly small. Make better use of your roster spot.
Avoid Drafting Prospect Goaltenders
It's very tempting to stick a top goaltending prospect like Jesper Wallstedt of Minnesota on your bench. At some point in the not-too-distant future, he is likely to be amongst the best in the world at his position. That said, too many things would have to go right for Wallstedt to be an immediate fantasy starter. He would need both Filip Gustavsson AND Marc-Andre Fleury to fail, and then take advantage of the opportunity. Could it happen? Sure, but the odds are strongly against it and thus it's a poor strategy when drafting.
(Note: Yaroslav Askarov, now of the Sharks and formerly of the Predators fit firmly in this category prior to his trade to San Jose)
Take Advantage of Players That Were Injured Last Season
Jack Hughes was a consensus first-round pick in fantasy drafts a season ago. He went on to play 62 games. Now, he's a superstar, so you aren't likely to get a huge discount on him come draft day. But take guys like Mikhail Sergachev (34 games) and Shea Theodore (47 games). They missed a boatload of time, but unlike Hughes, you can probably get them a round of two later than they should probably be going simply because of all the time missed. Like everything else, fantasy is a recency-bias endeavor.
Pay Attention to Role Changes
Sergachev is a prime example of this. In Tampa Bay he was splitting power-play time with Victor Hedman and his fantasy ceiling was limited as a result. Now he's in Utah and is the unquestioned top defender on the team. He'll be running the No. 1 PP unit and will get all the ice time he can handle, thus increasing his fantasy potential. Tyler Toffoli may not be a "sexy" fantasy pick, but he's scored 28 goals in three of the past four seasons and is arguably San Jose's top forward, which means a ton of opportunity. Just cause a player filled a certain role last season doesn't mean it's going to happen again this time around.
Don't Bet on Aging Players Coming Off Down Years
Alex Ovechkin is on his way to becoming the greatest goalscorer in the history of the game. Evgeni Malkin has nearly 1300 career points and is a lock to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. These two guys were among the best in the sport not all that long ago. But last year's production suggests Father Time has arrived. While it's tempting to add big names to your fantasy lineup, Ovechkin and Malkin are two perfect examples of players pushing toward 40 years of age who are going to be overdrafted on name value alone. Don't make that mistake.
Use the Tiers System for Drafting
I firmly believe every fantasy manager should use this strategy in every single sport. It makes drafting a heck of a lot easier and more productive. Before your draft, divide your players into tiers by position. For example, your top forward tier might be Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, Nikita Kucherov, and Leon Draisaitl. That's five players. If you're on the clock at No. 6 and only one of those players remains, there's no chance they will be available when you pick again next. That means you should take them in that spot. Say you're deciding between a tier of five defensemen, and you will be up again in four picks. Maybe you take a forward of goaltender in that spot knowing someone in that group will make it back to you. Remember, it all comes down to the individual value YOU place on a player.
ALWAYS Draft for Upside
This is the most important one for me. NHL players get injured. Others underperform. It's the nature of the beast in all sports and will continue to be moving forward. The difference between winning and losing in fantasy is often your plan B, C or D. You should be filling your roster and bench with players, who in a perfect scenario, have an immense fantasy upside. It's a different story for skaters than goaltenders. Zach Hyman had 36 goals two years ago. He was going to be a mid-round pick in all formats last season regardless, but he was also assured a spot on Edmonton's top power-play unit alongside McDavid and Draisaitl. He responded with a 54-goal effort. It's not going to work out like that every time, but it was easy to squint and see Hyman's potential upside. Those are the types of scenarios you're looking for on draft day. If you are torn between two players, take the one you think has a higher ceiling.
