Ever wonder why the same person ends up winning the league year after year after year? It’s because he knows what he’s doing, and knows how he’s going to end up doing it. Drafting for any fantasy league is a tricky task which some handle with ease, while some spend countless hours researching to try to find out who will be the best to choose. There is no set way to go, but there are different ways to go about it which will ultimately be successful. After being in the top 3 of every fantasy hockey league I’ve been in for the last 4 years, I can safely say that these tricks/hints can help lead you to fantasy greatness.
Draft Philosophy- There are countless philosophies used when drafting in leagues. My personal philosophy is to draft 1 player per position until I have 1 player to fill each position, and from then on its drafting the best available. Every sport has certain positions that are deeper than others, in hockey it’s the center position. The only time you should open a draft with a center is if he’s a game changer like Sidney Crosby, Henrik Sedin, or Joe Thornton. If there are no game changers available, start out by drafting a right wing. There are only about 10 legitimate right wings in the NHL, and it’s the position with the least depth out of all. From there, I would draft a defenseman, because after the top 5 or 7 offensive defensemen, the point totals drop considerably. Everybody has a different philosophy, and everything changes when you find your draft order, and see what everyone before you has done. The most important thing is to know what you want, and know what you’re going to do, and what’s most important when drafting.
Win the Bottom of the Draft- Any yahoo coming in off the street can draft well in the beginning of the draft; that’s why god invented pre-draft rankings. However, it takes serious knowledge of any sport to be able to draft well in the bottom of the draft, and ultimately, this is what could make or break your team. Keeping in mind the players that are underappreciated or the ones that are ranked low due to an injury riddled season, can put your team over the top. This past season, Steven Stamkos went undrafted in one of my leagues, and he ended up tying for the Rocket Richard. Another example would be a player like Mike Comrie. This year, he’s slated to play with Sidney Crosby on the Penguins top line. He’s had two previous 30 goal seasons, but he’s so underappreciated that very few people will draft him. Even though Sidney Crosby has only meshed with 3 wingers in his entire career, Comrie is definitely worth a low round pick.
Stay away from bad teams- If your league only records points, then this shouldn’t matter. However, if your league’s scoring is deeper, and includes plus/minus, among other things, you can’t afford to pick players from bad teams. If you do, you will automatically lose plus/minus every single week. I usually pay attention to a team’s off season moves to try to figure out where they will land in the standings. This year, for me at least, Carolina, Edmonton, and New York (both teams) are going to be off limits for me. None of these 4 teams have much to offer in terms of fantasy relevance. Granted, there’s Hemsky, and the Staals, but it isn’t worth it to be a top 3 team, while being the worst team in the league in any statistic.
Have a Go To Guy- This is something that I find to be fairly important when drafting. You have to find a player that you like, worthy of a draft choice, but isn’t one of the best in the league. Players like Sidney Crosby and Dany Heatley aren’t very good ‘go to’ guys. This is because you cannot draft Crosby unless you have a favorable draft position, and Heater can be anywhere from a 1st rounder to a 3rd, depending on the depth of your league, and you don’t want to choose a go to guy when there are better choices available. The ideal go to guy, is a guy who is very underrated, on a team very few people hear about or is on a team full of superstars, and has a high potential. My personal ‘go to guy’ is James Neal of the Dallas Stars. He has the potential to score 30 goals, not very well known, and most importantly is another guy that can help you win the bottom of your draft. Originally, my ‘go to guy’ was Sean Avery, but when Gary Bettman decided Avery had to be neutered, he not only removed his manhood but also his fantasy viability.
KNOW THE SPORT- This is by far the most important thing in any fantasy league. In order to be most successful, you have to know the sport, and regularly keep up with the news and injury updates. If you draft Crosby and Pronger, and Pronger decides to deliver the peoples elbow unto Crosby’s forehead, and Sid gets a concussion and Pronger a suspension, there is no warning message on fantasy leagues that say to drop them both, or not to play them. Following the sport allows you to keep up with what’s going on, and to drop/add appropriately, or at least to know not to start Sid and Pronger.
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