Cage Match Tourney – The Biggest Risers/Fallers

Rick Roos

2015-07-08

JohnCarlson

Vote on the Top Yahoo! Fantasy Hockey Player Riser and Faller (Draft Position, Year Over Year)

Free agency craziness has subsided and temperatures where you live are likely on the rise. But for those who planned on taking a fantasy hockey breather right around now – think again! It's time for the summer Cage Match Tournament!

You'll be voting to decide which NHLer's fantasy hockey draft position will increase the most in 2015-16 compared to 2014-15, as well as that player's counterpart, namely who'll see his draft position drop the most. In the end, we'll match the players you voted as biggest riser and biggest faller against each other, to see just who will have the biggest draft position change among all NHLers.

As with past tourneys, before we get to the players you'll actually be voting on (six brackets – three for risers and three for fallers), I'll go over the "ground rules." Be sure to read them so you can make the most of your vote! And lest you think this will be just a purely fun exercise, it'll also have a fantasy benefit, as after seeing the astute opinions of your fellow DooberHockey readers you'll be able to better predict where to slot these players in your own upcoming drafts.

Ground Rules

1) Skaters only, and just the top 200 Yahoo fantasy hockey draft picks from 2014-15

I've only included skaters who were drafted among the top 200 picks in 2014-15 Yahoo leagues. Why limit it? A good number of DobberHockey readers are in shallow leagues where fewer than 200 players are even owned, so this way everyone should be familiar with all the players. And I didn't include goalies because there weren't enough substantial risers or fallers to comprise a full bracket.

2) Base your voting on a league that counts G, A, +/-, Hits, PPP, SOG as equally weighted categories

While of course all of you play in a wide variety of leagues with different formats (Roto, H2H) and categories (multi-cat, points only, etc.), we have to ensure everyone is on the same voting page. Thus, we'll use equally weighted skater categories from the 2014-15 DobberHockey Expert League: Goals, Assists, +/-, Hits, Power Play Points (PPP), and Shots on Goal (SOG). Of course these categories won't align completely with those that went into 2014-15 Yahoo fantasy drafting, but they go beyond points only without getting into more obscure categories that aren't featured in most multi-cat leagues. Long story short, this can't be perfect, but I believe it's a good compromise.

3) Value the players as you would for a one year league (not a keeper)

You should treat this like you're drafting for a one year league, not a keeper, as if you look at the entire universe of fantasy leagues the reality is most aren't keepers. Plus, this way we can include veterans and youngsters alike.

4) Vote objectively

While you're likely to be tempted to vote for a player who really helped or hurt your team in particular, be sure to cast your vote objectively, rather than subjectively. In other words, to ensure the best results, vote with your head rather than your heart.

How Voting Will Work

Risers and fallers will each have three brackets – Center, Wingers, and Defensemen. Note that each bracket doesn't have the same exact number of players in it; and for players who were eligible both as a center and one or more winger positions, I either slotted them into whichever position would best help balance the number of players per categories or, if possible, to the position they mainly play.

You'll vote for one player in each bracket, with the top vote getter from each bracket – plus the three other highest vote totals from among the three risers brackets and three fallers brackets- advancing to round two (i.e., the quarterfinals), where the remaining six "risers" will face off, as will the six "fallers" who're left. Then in two weeks, we'll have the top two vote getters from the six risers meeting in the risers finals, and the same things happening with the six fallers. The lone survivor among the risers will then battle the lone survivor among the fallers, to crown an overall champion.

Per Dobber, all voting will take place in the Hockey Hockey Hockey area of the Forum. I'll put a direct link to vote for each bracket after the list of players in that particular bracket. Lastly, note that players are listed in each bracket with their 2014-15 Yahoo average draft position after their name, and in descending order of 2014-15 average draft position.

Aaron Ekblad (176.3 average draft position) – Most poolies had penciled in Ekblad for a "learning curve" type of rookie campaign, only to see him nearly hit the 40 point mark. Of course some still might be wary of the dreaded d-man sophomore slump, particularly since the last time a rearguard posted 39+ points in his first two seasons while still a teenager was Phil Housley more than 30 years ago.

Click here to vote for bracket #1

Bracket #2 – Defensemen Fallers

Zdeno Chara (76.1 average draft position) – Although the reality is Chara, at age 38, will be leaned upon more now that Dougie Hamilton is gone, poolies will have a hard time seeing past his dismal 2014-15.

Matt Niskanen (93.8 average draft position) – If you needed any convincing that Sekera's draft stock would rise quite a bit, look no further than Niskanen, who was a similarly high profile singing from last season. But after Niskanen's production fell back to earth with a crashing thud in 2014-15, expect his draft spot to plummet.

Dan Boyle (107.0 average draft position) – Most poolies will realize that Boyle's output from 2014-15 was made worse by an early season injury that took the wind out of his sails. But that likely will also shine a spotlight on the fact that his production was already waning before coming to the Rangers.

James Wisniewski (107.6 average draft position) – While he's getting a bit of a fresh start in Carolina, his complete and utter flop in Anaheim will be enough to drive down his draft position, especially when coupled with his advancing age and ever-present injury concerns.

Christian Ehrhoff (109.8 average draft position) – Combine Ehrhoff's draft stock having been inflated last season due to signing with Pittsburgh, with his terrible production there and (like Wisniewski) his advancing age and injury risk, and you can count on the net result being him picked much later.

Brian Campbell (118.9 average draft position) – Although Campbell's 27 points in 2014-15 don't look too terrible on paper, his drop in production is as bad if not worse than Boyle's. And with Ekblad's emergence, Campbell's draft stock could take sizeable hit.

Alex Goligoski (124.6 average draft position) – With two Stars defensemen (John Klingberg, Trevor Daley) scoring at a 45+ point pace last season, Goligoski stands to be seen as an afterthought, or at least not a sure enough bet to be picked at anything close to where he was grabbed in 2014-15 fantasy drafts.

Alexander Edler (130.8 average draft position) – While Edler rebounded to 31 points after his 2013-14 disaster, it's likely not enough to keep poolies from waiting longer to draft him for this upcoming season.

Click here to vote for bracket #2

Bracket #3 – Center Risers

Kyle Turris (106.6 average draft position) – Although his 64 points might not immediately jump out, astute poolies will remember his point per game production over the final three months of the season and factor that into drafting him much earlier for 2015-16.

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Filip Forsberg (118.6 average draft position) – While Forsberg had the opposite type of season as Turris in that he trailed off as the campaign went on, chances are his overall success will be enough for poolies to confidently select him a lot earlier this time around.

Derek Stepan (156.5 average draft position) – His low draft spot last year had more to do with the knowledge that he'd miss the first month of 2014-15 than it did with concern about him being able to produce. And considering he tallied only two fewer points in 2014-15 than in 2013-14 despite playing in 14 fewer games, expect a healthy climb in draft position for 2015-16.

Derick Brassard (161.6 average draft position) – As the season went on, Brassard was woven more and more into the Ranger offense. And because Brassard can be counted on for 2+ SOG and 1+ Hit per game, he's a valuable asset at center in leagues with the settings we're focusing upon.

Sean Monahan (164.4 average draft position) – Simply put, he played (and produced) at a level well above what poolies are used to seeing from a 19 year old. And although there's some question as to whether his two-way abilities will impede him from becoming a point per game guy, there's no doubt he'll be picked much earlier on your league's 2015-16 draft day.

Carl Soderberg (164.5 average draft position) – Poolies will see Soderberg as a breakout waiting to happen, with the idea being if he could post 49 points in a 66 game stretch for Boston at the end of 2013-14 and beginning of 2014-15, there's no telling what he could do in a top six role for the Avs.

Tyler Johnson (177.5 average draft position) – A case could be made for Johnson as the biggest feel good fantasy story among skaters for 2014-15. The question is whether poolies think he's for real, what with Steven Stamkos still the face of the franchise and Johnson having cooled off toward the end of last season, including a stretch of only seven points in 15 games during March and April.

Mike Ribeiro (187.2 average draft position) – While Ribeiro hurts a fantasy team with his poor SOG, he's shown he can produce in Nashville, where he just re-signed.

Click here to vote for bracket #3

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