Ben Bishop (TB – G)

rattus rattus

9.

Claude Giroux (Phi – C,RW)

Edmonton Clowns

10.

Erik Karlsson (Ott – D)

The Jobbers

11.

Ryan Getzlaf (Anh – C)

Kings Landing

12.

Jonathan Quick (LA – G)

Serious Chinny

13.

John Tavares (NYI – C)

Suspirria

14.

Corey Perry (Anh – RW)

Mustangs

15.

Marc-Andre Fleury (Pit – G)

Ott Man Out

16.

Sergei Bobrovsky (Cls – G)

First Blood

 

For each of the above leagues the Eastern trend continued into the early part of the second round. In the Dobber Experts League four of the next seven picks are from the East before the draft starts to take on more of a Western vibe.

 

Round 2 (Dobber Experts League)
1.	P.K. Subban (Mon – D)	The Contras
2.	Ben Bishop (TB – G)	Eastern Edge
3.	Tyler Seguin (Dal – C,RW)	Between The …
4.	Taylor Hall (Edm – C,LW)	Edler’s Mind…
5.	Semyon Varlamov (Col – G)	Lancione’s F…
6.	Carey Price (Mon – G)	Laying the Law
7.	Phil Kessel (Tor – RW)	Fighting New…

 

In the Y-Friends and Family League, five of the next seven players selected are from the East. As you can see the reliable goaltending options from the East are a key element of the first half of round two. Similar to the Dobber Experts draft, PK Subban is taken early in the round as the next defensive option after Karlsson.

 

Round 2 (Y Friends and Family League)
1.	Patrick Kane (Chi – C,RW)	Y! – Pianowski
2.	P.K. Subban (Mon – D)	Mike Clay
3.	Anze Kopitar (LA – C)	Rotowire – B…
4.	Ben Bishop (TB – G)	Rotowire Eag…
5.	Carey Price (Mon – G)	Rotowire – M…
6.	Erik Karlsson (Ott – D)	Rotowire-Pen…
7.	Marc-Andre Fleury (Pit – G)	Rotoworld – .

 

The Dobber Pro League draft is the exception, in part because there are more participants. Again Subban keeps the Eastern dominance going to start round two; but seven of the first 10 picks in this round are from the West.

 

Round 2 (Dobber Pro League)
1.	P.K. Subban (Mon – D)	First Blood
2.	Tyler Seguin (Dal – C,RW)	Ott Man Out
3.	Jamie Benn (Dal – LW)	Mustangs
4.	Corey Crawford (Chi – G)	Suspirria
5.	Cory Schneider (NJ – G)	Serious Chinny
6.	Semyon Varlamov (Col – G)	Kings Landing
7.	Kari Lehtonen (Dal – G)	The Jobbers
8.	Taylor Hall (Edm – C,LW)	Edmonton Clowns
9.	Patrick Kane (Chi – C,RW)	rattus rattus
10.	Nicklas Backstrom (Was – C)	Goner for Conner

 

Knowledgeable poolies are likely unsurprised by the presence of Eastern Conference players early in these drafts. And when you really think about it, these are the easiest picks to make – meaning your knowledge of the Western Conference is even more important as you get deeper into your draft. For my next article (in two weeks time) I will take a deeper look at Western Conference players drafted in the middle and later rounds of the above drafts and how they are relevant to winning your hockey pool. For now, I hope you enjoyed this quick snapshot of "Eastern Supremacy" and "Western Inferiority."