Darryl Dobbs

Legion Of Dobber

Draft Place: 1^st

DobberHockey Owner

1. (1) Sidney Crosby

2. (24) Marty Turco

3. (25) Chris Mason

4. (48) Ryan Whitney

5. (49) Eric Staal

6. (72) Justin Williams

7. (73) Andrej Meszaros

8. (96) Paul Kariya

9. (97) Rick Nash

10. (120) Mark Recchi

11. (121) Paul Mara

12. (144) Ladislav Nagy

13. (145) Roman Hamrlik

14. (168) Scott Hartnell

15. (169) Viktor Kozlov

16. (192) Tuomo Ruutu

17. (193) Daniel Carcillo

18. (216) Nathan Paetsch

19. (217) Michel Ouellet

20. (240) Rostislav Klesla

21. (241) Ryan Shannon

22. (264) Sean Bergenheim

23. (265) Jose Theodore

24. (288) Mike Komisarek

What was your strategy heading into the draft? Land a top goaltender and have a strong bench with solid dark horses and/or a promising rookie or two.

What pick(s) do you feel you got the biggest bargain on? I think Crosby is a good deal…at first overall. I was surprised to get Ryan Whitney – in my opinion a top three rearguard for this season at 48th overall. Staal was nice at 49th overall, but pivots are plentiful so it wasn't as surprising as you would think. The left wing is the hardest position to fill and I snagged Kariya and Nash at 96 and 97. If Nash has his usual season, then that's a good spot to pick him. If he (finally) breaks out, then he was a steal. Other good bargains – Ruutu at 192, Paetsch at 216 and Bergenheim at 264.

What pick(s) are you most unhappy with? Roman Hamrlik. Usually in drafts I have several players that are 'stolen' one or two spots before me. That particular round EJ was taken immediately before me and I was unprepared to replace him. I burned my entire 180 seconds (I took my full 90 seconds before "officially" picking Nagy because I was busy researching defensemen to replace EJ) before snagging Hamrlik. I soon discovered that Poti was available, whom I would rather have. I paid a price for arrogantly believing that EJ would get to me at 145. He went to Notch at 144

What do you figure are your team strengths? Weaknesses?

Strengths – Left wing, PIM, points, reliable goaltending, bench.
Weaknesses – Right wing, depth up the middle, depth on the blue line

In the overall draft, which players surprised you by going as early as they did? Which players surprised you by how late they went? Early: some pretty weak goaltenders went before I took Turco and Mason. Vokoun? Hasek? Other early: Budaj at 37
Late: how did Malkin make it to 13th? Kovalchuk at 31, Prospal at 274, Ruutu at 192 (injury prone or not, the guy is a multi-category stud for this year).

Steve Johnson

Notch

Draft Place: 2^nd

DobberHockey Guest Writer

1. (2) Roberto Luongo

2. (23) Jarome Iginla

3. (26) Marian Hossa

4. (47) Patrick Marleau

5. (50) Jonathan Cheechoo

6. (71) Mathieu Schneider

7. (74) Matt Carle

8. (95) Kristian Huselius

9. (98) Chris Drury

10. (119) Manny Legace

11. (122) Andrew Brunette

12. (143) Erik Johnson

13. (146) Martin Straka

14. (167) Dustin Brown

15. (170) Jack Johnson

16. (191) Miroslav Satan

17. (194) Pierre-Marc Bouchard

18. (215) Dwayne Roloson

19. (218) Jeff Carter

20. (239) Matthew Lombardi

21. (242) Brendan Witt

22. (263) Mark Bell

23. (266) Robyn Regehr

24. (287) Ales Kotalik

What was your strategy heading into the draft? Goalies were of high importance in our pool.  2 goalies start and make up 40% of our scoring compared to 18 skaters with 60% of the points.  Other than that, I wanted to make sure I took the best player available but if I could get a good player that played on a good team to help the plus minus stat, I would choose him.  5 of the 6 stats that count for skaters are offense; the odd ball was PIM's.  I made sure I stayed away from goons.  They are of no use to me

What pick(s) do you feel you got the biggest bargain on? Iginla 23rd overall, Dustin Brown in the final rounds, Kotalik 2nd last pick in the whole draft

What pick(s) are you most unhappy with? I am not unhappy with the quality players that I have, BUT, I do not like a lot of my players.  This is the first pool I have entered where I did not pick my favorite players.  In this pool, because of the strong competition I am up against, I had to pick players that I thought would help me win.  I despise having Mark Bell on my team, I do not like Huselius, and don't like Straka either

What do you figure are your team strengths? Weaknesses? Strengths – 3 starting goalies, and all offense no PIM's. My RW's will dominate. Weaknesses – PIM's…no big deal, the other guys can have them while I rack up G, A, P, SOG, and +/-.  Although I have 3 starting goalies, only one is worth bragging about but losses don't count only W, GAA, S%, and Shutouts, so I don’t care that Roloson will lose 45 games

In the overall draft, which players surprised you by going as early as they did? Which players surprised you by how late they went? Burnsy!  To my surprise, he is not a complete moron.  Although he can't pick a winner to save his life, he did as well as my 5 year old nephew would have

Scott Cullen

The Ultimate SC

Draft Place: 3^rd

TSN.ca Contributor

1. (3) Dany Heatley

2. (22) Henrik Zetterberg

3. (27) Kari Lehtonen

4. (46) Marc Savard

5. (51) Lubomir Visnovsky

6. (70) Jay Bouwmeester

7. (75) Brad Richards

8. (94) Martin Biron

9. (99) Slava Kozlov

10. (118) Brian Gionta

11. (123) Alexander Radulov

12. (142) Barret Jackman

13. (147) Anze Kopitar

14. (166) Paul Martin

15. (171) Todd Bertuzzi

16. (190) Carey Price

17. (195) Mike Modano

18. (214) Jussi Jokinen

19. (219) Mattias Ohlund

20. (238) Brett Sterling

21. (243) Duncan Keith

22. (262) Jarret Stoll

23. (267) Andy Sutton

24. (286) Colby Armstrong

What was your strategy heading into the draft? Once I found out that I was picking third, my hope was to get a premier scorer in the first round and just build around that marquee player.  I tend to go for a balanced roster.  In my case, I got lucky and Heatley (who I expected to go second) was still available

What pick(s) do you feel you got the biggest bargain on? My best bargains were Brad Richards in the 7^th round, Anze Kopitar in the 13^th round and Mike Modano in the 17^th round.  I guess I'm happy with how I filled out my centre position.  Even Jarret Stoll in the 22^nd round is good depth at the position, I think

What pick(s) are you most unhappy with? I'm not thrilled with either of my goaltenders, though some of that is due to the very early run on goaltenders at the other end of the draft board.  I'm kind of hoping that Carey Price salvages the situation for me

What do you figure are your team strengths? Weaknesses? My strengths should be the offensive categories, as I think virtually everyone I've picked is either a proven scorer or has offensive upside. My goaltending and penalty minutes categories will be questionable.  If I'm scoring like I hope to, I may have to peddle some scoring to upgrade the goalies and PIMs.

In the overall draft, which players surprised you by going as early as they did? Which players surprised you by how late they went? Surprised at how early Selanne went.  Gaborik in the third round seemed high-risk to me.  Kolzig in the third round was a reach, but with goalies gone so early, that sort of skews that decision. I think Caps rookie Nicklas Backstrom in the 9^th round is early, even though I think Backstrom is a great prospect.  I mean, he went two picks ahead of Brian Rolston, who would be a heavy favorite to have better production this season. Surprised by Scottie Upshall and Jason LaBarbera going in the 10^th round, Beauchemin in the 12^th, Letang in the 13^th (how much PP time is he going to get when they have Whitney and Gonchar?). Sullivan in the 14^th round is odd since he's out for at least three months. It's only the 18^th round, but I was surprised by Andy Greene getting drafted.  Same goes for Martin Kariya in the 23^rd round. I was surprised that Todd Bertuzzi was available when I took him in the 15^th round.  I thought Shea Weber was great value in the 10^th round for McKeen's.  Brendan Shanahan was a good 8^th round pick. Frolov and Michalek in rounds six and seven were good value. Erik Cole in round ten was good

Gus Katsaros

McKeen’s Magic

Draft Place: 4^th

Mckeen’s Hockey

Comments: Fun draft, a good group of fellas. Looking forward to the season

1. (4) Joe Thornton

2. (21) Ray Emery

3. (28) Marian Gaborik

4. (45) Tomas Kaberle

5. (52) Dan Boyle

6. (69) Ryan Smyth

7. (76) Jason Blake

8. (93) Vesa Toskala

9. (100) Patrice Bergeron

10. (117) Shea Weber

11. (124) Lee Stempniak

12. (141) Ray Whitney

13. (148) Tom Poti

14. (165) Michal Rozsival

15. (172) Chris Neil

16. (189) Jamie Langenbrunner

17. (196) Tim Connolly

18. (213) Brent Burns

19. (220) Antoine Vermette

20. (237) Taylor Pyatt

21. (244) Shane O'Brien

22. (261) Martin Gerber

23. (268) Valtteri Filppula

24. (285) Scott Walker

What was your strategy heading into the draft? The same as always. Pick only PP QB's, even if PPP wasn't a category. Those are assist magnets. Grab a bona fide goaltender early, solidify the defense and the rest of the players will fall into place. Getting Thornton helps in assists, and Gaborik in goals. Sleepers like Stempniak and Vermette who will get top line minutes could afford some flexibility in lineup shuffles for PIM and +/- categories

What pick(s) do you feel you got the biggest bargain on? Valteri Filppula garnered some impressive praise for his work last season, and ended up playing some important minutes for the Red Wings in the postseason. He could put up career year numbers if he ends up on a scoring unit. Brent Burns also had a great final quarter and stepped it up in the playoffs. With Kim Johnnson being a bust in Minny, Burns is the #1 PP QB, and I got him with the 213th pick in the 18th round. Taylor Pyatt could end up on a line with the Twins out West and could hit 30 goals if he sticks there. Tim Connolly could be the #1 center in Buffalo, although the worry regarding a head injury makes me squeamish. Ray Whitney is a staple on every fantasy team for me. To get him in that spot (141st – 12th round) is the biggest bargain

What pick(s) are you most unhappy with? Langenbrunner. Only because I made that pick with my finger hovering over Carey Price. Thought he would last so I took the chance on the Devils winger. Price was picked right after that. I could have waited another round or two for Stempniak, but I like his potential. 30 goals is feasible. He's Andy Murray's little project and could flirt with 40 goals if he continues his progress. Gaborik. Not because of the player, but I think I might have picked him early. His injury prone body doesn't give me a sense of 50 goal potential.

What do you figure are your team strengths? Weaknesses? Without having played a game, goaltending is the weakest. The Ottawa Senators are the class of the East and will be once again next season, so Emery is a bona fide pick. Toskala is a standout goaltender, with elite skills, pushed out of SJ due to the contract for Nabokov. He will do well in Toronto, but if he splits duties with Raycroft, he may not get enough quality starts to make it worthwhile to have him in the lineup. Gerber doesn't help the goaltending situation, he's insurance due to Emery's off season surgery. Strengths are all out offense. I drafted prime, top-six wingers/centermen, and focused on #1 PP QB's. Despite the lack of toughness, Niel, O' Brien, and Weber all have good PIM potential

In the overall draft, which players surprised you by going as early as they did? Which players surprised you by how late they went? Selanne went really early, and Scott Niedermayer went around where I expected. I thought that some picks were pretty early. The lack of LW talent after the stars made for a lot of late picks that could pan out. Alexei Ponikarovsky could flirt with 30 goals given some PP time, as well as a regular shift. he didn't go until very late

Jim Gunther

Sticks & Stones

Draft Place: 5^th

DobberHockey Senior Writer

Comments: I was not happy with the 5th pick. I knew I would be susceptible to a jump on goalies and I was. Let’s hope I can still survive. I think JP did the best in the draft. He and the others at the end of the snake manipulated us all by taking 2 goalies first and then while we at the front of the draft were scrambling for 2 starting goalies, he was able to pick up  legitimate scoring forwards (O. Jokinen,

St. Louis, Cammalleri, Semin, etc)

1. (5) Jaromir Jagr

2. (20) Tomas Vokoun

3. (29) Thomas Vanek

4. (44) Joe Sakic

5. (53) Rick DiPietro

6. (68) Maxim Afinogenov

7. (77) Teemu Selanne

8. (92) Brendan Shanahan

9. (101) Nicklas Backstrom

10. (116) Tomas Holmstrom

11. (125) Johan Holmqvist

12. (140) Sami Salo

13. (149) Kristopher Letang

14. (164) Christian Ehrhoff

15. (173) Joe Corvo

16. (188) Christopher Higgins

17. (197) Chris Phillips

18. (212) Glen Murray

19. (221) Robert Lang

20. (236) Gary Roberts

21. (245) Marek Malik

22. (260) Pavel Kubina

23. (269) Bobby Ryan

24. (284) Travis Moen

What was your strategy heading into the draft? My overall strategy was to pick offensive players that were at least triple threat (high in points, high +/-, high in SOG, high in PIM). I also wanted to go for more forwards first (meaning points) and get defensemen for +/- and PIM later on in the draft. When the managers in the 8th, 9th, & 10th slot started taking 2 goalies on their first two picks, they were trying to manipulate the draft. It worked- Kolzig was taken before Kovalchuk! At that point I wanted to secure 2 goalies that would start all of their games and then continue on as planned

What pick(s) do you feel you got the biggest bargain on? I felt Selanne was worth a gamble in the 7th round. There are a few good signs he may still play. If he does play that will be huge for me. If not, I’m hoping Shanahan scores big time now that he has a legitimate second line center (Drury) to play with

What pick(s) are you most unhappy with? I admitted during the live draft I accidentally took Pavel Kubina instead of Kuba. I also ran out of time and got Bobby Ryan who I did not want. While he is a youngster with talent, he may not get much playing time

What do you figure are your team strengths? Weaknesses? My team should have a high +/-. On paper I should have a very strong offensively powered team (with or without Selanne). Vokoun could end up being a very solid goalie in Florida. I’m not thrilled with DiPietro and Holmqvist as my 2nd and 3rd goalies, but they should start many games. My weakness is PIM. I took Travis Moen late hoping to get some help, but it may not be enough

In the overall draft, which players surprised you by going as early as they did? Which players surprised you by how late they went? I was surprised to see Lundqvist go 7th overall. I was hoping he would be available in the second round. Pavelski and Zajac are great late round picks. Many people maybe surprised I took Kris Letang (D) that early, but if he does get playing time he will produce

Chris Burns

Third Degree Burns

Draft Place: 6^th

DobberHockey Senior Writer

Comments: High speed draft full of very knowledgeable contestants. If you blinked you missed your guy, and there was bitching and moaning on almost every pick from the guy who was up next. Looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

1. (6) Alexander Ovechkin

2. (19) Pavel Datsyuk

3. (30) Olaf Kolzig

4. (43) Daniel Briere

5. (54) Martin Havlat

6. (67) Alexander Frolov

7. (78) Milan Michalek

8. (91) Derek Roy

9. (102) Petr Sykora

10. (115) Jason LaBarbera

11. (126) Markus Naslund

12. (139) Brian Campbell

13. (150) Cory Stillman

14. (163) Cristobal Huet

15. (174) Rob Blake

16. (187) Igor Grigorenko

17. (198) Ryan Malone

18. (211) Keith Ballard

19. (222) Mike Van Ryn

20. (235) Tom Preissing

21. (246) Paul Ranger

22. (259) Steve Bernier

23. (270) Brendan Morrison

24. (283) Jordan Leopold

What was your strategy heading into the draft? I figured that this would as difficult a draft as I’d ever been in, and I was right. Therefore, I decided that I would try and take the best player available until a run on a certain position started. The run on goalies came very quick and by the time I could make my next pick, I pretty much had to take Kolzig in round 3. All in all I am happy with my team, and am not upset that I didn’t place any emphasis on getting high end defensemen

What pick(s) do you feel you got the biggest bargain on? Ovechkin sliding to 6 was a surprise, and I think that Bernier at 259 could prove very valuable. Michalek at 78 and Roy at 91 could also end up being bargains

What pick(s) are you most unhappy with? Kolzig at 30 disgusts me. There was a big run on goalies and I sort of panicked, however all is not lost if Washington shows the improvement that they should. Havlat at 54 could also be costly if his injury history continues. I also will need a resurgence in Vancouver with both Naslund and Morrison on my team. If they can return to a point per game pace I will definitely have a powerhouse set of forwards.

What do you figure are your team strengths? Weaknesses? I feel I have one of the best set of forwards in the draft. My defenders will be average as I didn’t make a move to acquire any of the elite choices. My weakness will definitely be my goaltending unless Kolzig has a monster year, Huet maintains his number one status, and Labarbera steals the number one job in Los Angeles.

In the overall draft, which players surprised you by going as early as they did? Which players surprised you by how late they went? Our entire third round is full of studs that are usually found in the late first and early second round. This is due to the goalie fest in round 2, but also made for some great players still being around in the 5t and 6^th rounds.

Russell Miller

The Comish

Draft Place: 7^th

DobberHockey Contributor

Comments: Once we got the time issue sorted out, the draft went very quickly.  Too quickly in the beginning for me.  I like to keep track of everyone's picks; it helps me identify who needs what from round to round.  At a glance I can tell if someone needs a goalie or defenseman and I can decide whether or not to take one a little earlier because I may not get a shot at that player when it comes back to my pick. 

1. (7) Henrik Lundqvist

2. (18) Vincent Lecavalier

3. (31) Ilya Kovalchuk

4. (42) Sergei Gonchar

5. (55) Bryan McCabe

6. (66) Mats Sundin

7. (79) Keith Tkachuk

8. (90) Wade Redden

9. (103) Brian Rolston

10. (114) Nathan Horton

11. (127) Andrei Markov

12. (138) Mike Knuble

13. (151) Martin Erat

14. (162) Bill Guerin

15. (175) Josh Harding

16. (186) Jason Arnott

17. (199) Dustin Penner

18. (210) Brent Seabrook

19. (223) Mike Smith

20. (234) Alexei Ponikarovsky

21. (247) Mike Fisher

22. (258) Phil Kessel

23. (271) Craig Rivet

24. (282) Todd White

What was your strategy heading into the draft? My strategy going into the draft was to have strong goaltending.  I'm sure you'll hear that from almost everyone.  With 40% of the categories controlled by 2 players, strong goaltending is a must.  I failed to accomplish this.  Of course Lundqvist is a stud, but I didn't get a second starter.  I compensated by taken two half goalies!  By that I mean, they will contribute greatly in half the categories (GAA and SV%).  I may falter a little in the Wins category and because Shutouts are a low volume category it wont' hurt me as much.  If my two back ups (Harding MIN/Smith DAL) get more playing time, I'll do very well. If not, I think I'll still end up no worse than middle of the pack in goaltending. Other than strong goaltending, I created a personalized ranking system with our specific scoring categories.  I tried to get a balanced team within all our categories.  Players that contributed in multiple categories are obviously better than just single or double category contributors.  I tried not to let age be too much of a factor.  With this being a one year pool, I didn't want to rank unproven rookies too high.

What pick(s) do you feel you got the biggest bargain on? My biggest bargain might be Kovalchuk 31st overall or McCabe in the 5th round.  I also like Rolston in the 9th (tons of shots) and if Todd White can come through for me in ATL, then my last pick will look pretty good.

What pick(s) are you most unhappy with? Most unhappy with not getting a second starting goalie.  As for my picks, I'm not really unhappy with any of them.  I was most disappointed when Bugg took Pronger right in front of me in the 4th round – that one hurt.  I was hoping to take O.Jokinen as I had him ranked very high with our scoring format, but I couldn't pass up Kovalchuk.  I already had Lecavalier at center and hoped that he would make it back, but he didn't.

What do you figure are your team strengths? Weaknesses? I hope my team strength is balance.  I tried to take multiple category players, especially in penalty minutes and shots.  Generally those stats are predictable, unlike plus/minus.  The shooters are the shooters, the tough guys play tough.  To all those guys who took goons – you wasted your picks!  Experience tells me you can't WIN your pool with a goon on your roster.  They are strictly a one category player.  That's why it's important to get your penalty minutes from your talented guys (McCabe/Tkachuk/Tucker/Avery).

In the overall draft, which players surprised you by going as early as they did? Which players surprised you by how late they went? I was hoping that Shanahan would last longer, I had him ranked pretty high and was hoping to see him slide.  Other picks I thought were great for where they went:  Bertuzzi 15th round, Glen Murray 18th round, Satan 16th round, Rozsival 14th round, Recchi 10th round, R.Blake 15th round (pen mins/shots), Huet 14th round and S. Niedermayer 17th round.  I have a feeling that a lot of us were thinking of it around the time he was taken. Picks I thought were too early:  Fleury 12th overall, Selanne 7th round (if he doesn't retire, it's a minor bargain), Backstrom WSH 9th round (for this year, strictly 2 category guy Assist, Points), Barret Jackman 12th round and Letang 13th round.

Matt Bugg

Bugg’s Brigade

Draft Place: 8^th

DobberHockey Senior Writer

1. (8) Miikka Kiprusoff

2. (17) Niklas Backstrom

3. (32) Simon Gagne

4. (41) Chris Pronger

5. (56) Scott Gomez

6. (65) Michael Nylander

7. (80) Milan Hejduk

8. (89) Kimmo Timonen

9. (104) Brenden Morrow

10. (113) Scottie Upshall

11. (128) Drew Stafford

12. (137) Francois Beauchemin

13. (152) Jordan Staal

14. (161) Andrei Kostitsyn

15. (176) Joni Pitkanen

16. (185) Niklas Kronwall

17. (200) Yanic Perreault

18. (209) Andy Greene

19. (224) Darryl Sydor

20. (233) David Koci

21. (248) Derek Boogaard

22. (257) Stephen Weiss

23. (272) Nikolai Zherdev

24. (281) Raffi Torres

What was your strategy heading into the draft? Use the pyramid approach. At the top of the pyramid are goalies, since they're in short supply and the elite ones can win you a pool; next up are the LW's, since few elite players play at that position; next was defensemen, then right wings, and then of course centers

What pick(s) do you feel you got the biggest bargain on?

    Chris Pronger, 41st overall- 100 PIM, 50+ point rearguard.

    Scott Gomez, 56th overall- Jagr's center. 'Nuff said.

    Michael Nylander, 65th overall- Ovechkin's center. 'Nuff said.

    Brendan Morrow, 104th overall- 100 PIM, 65+ point LW.

    Scott Upshall, 113th overall- Finished last year with 13 points in 18 games

What pick(s) are you most unhappy with?  

    Miikaa Kiprusoff, 8th overall- I was torn between him and Brodeur. Still not sure.

    Nicklas Backstrom, 17th overall- Lecavalier was still on the board. Oops.

    Jordan Staal, 152nd overall- SH% freakishly high as a rook; skipped over Wellwood.

    Milan Hejduk, 80th overall- On the wrong side of the annual good/bad season cycle

What do you figure are your team strengths? Weaknesses? Strengths- Backstrom and Kipper give me near-infallible goalie points. Pronger, Timonen, Beauchemin, Pitkanen, Kronwall, Greene and Sydor is probably the best group of defensemen in the pool. Stafford, Kostitsyn, Staal, Pitkanen, Weiss and Zherdev are all high-reward players who could put me over the top. Boogaard and Koci are elite PIM guys. Weaknesses- Too many question marks. Will Nylander's age catch up with him? Will Gomez fail on Broadway? Will Nik Kronwall get hurt? How about Simon Gagne? Goalies play in the same division, and thus will play each other eight times. The rest of that division also happened to get better- perhaps much better

In the overall draft, which players surprised you by going as early as they did? Which players surprised you by how late they went? Surprise Fallers- Nick Lidstrom, Round 3. Anze Kopitar, Round 13. Nathan Horton, Round 10. Martin St. Louis, Round 4. Ilya Kovalchuk, Round 5, Antoine Vermette, Round 19. Eric Staal, Round 5. Surprise Risers-  Henrik Lundqvist, 7th overall. MA Fleury, 12th overall. Evgeni Nabokov, Round 2. Peter Budaj, Round 5

Duke Riley

Duke Power

Draft Place: 9^th

FSN.ca & DobberHockey Contributor

1. (9) Martin Brodeur

2. (16) Dominik Hasek

3. (33) Nicklas Lidstrom

4. (40) Daniel Alfredsson

5. (57) Philippe Boucher

6. (64) Kevin Bieksa

7. (81) Sheldon Souray

8. (88) Daymond Langkow

9. (105) Chris Kunitz

10. (112) Erik Cole

11. (129) Jonathan Toews

12. (136) Michael Ryder

13. (153) Kyle Wellwood

14. (160) Steve Sullivan

15. (177) Fredrik Modin

16. (184) Manny Fernandez

17. (201) Brad Boyes

18. (208) Peter Forsberg

19. (225) Jan Hlavac

20. (232) Peter Mueller

21. (249) Adrian Aucoin

22. (256) Alexei Kovalev

23. (273) Martin Kariya

24. (280) Travis Zajac

What was your strategy heading into the draft? Make sure that I get two really good goalies and four quality defensemen. I studied the rules and found that guaranteeing high points in the goaltending categories is better because you need fewer players to rank high in those categories and gather points. Defensemen that help your team are in short supply every year. I wanted to make sure that my top four defensemen helped me in SOG, PIM and then Points. Then I focused on my forwards. SOG is a solid category to focus on since most of those with high SOG are goal scorers. So I picked my forwards base on that first then picked the best player available. I didn't get hung up on big names where some of those are at the end of their careers. Instead I tried to pick sleepers and then if they don't pan out I can pick up a free agent that surprises when other teams are stuck waiting for their "big name" guys to come around

What pick(s) do you feel you got the biggest bargain on? Travis Zajac who I picked with my last pick – #280 overall. He could be the number one centre on Jersey. If not, he'll be number two centre

What pick(s) are you most unhappy with? I'm not really unhappy with anybody but I have number of guys that could fall short of my expectations such as Kyle Wellwood, Martin Kariya, Jan Hlavac, Peter Mueller and Adrian Aucoin

What do you figure are your team strengths? Weaknesses? My team's strengths are goaltending and flexibility at forward. My weakness is that I don't have the 2 or 3 big time scorers where I'm going to get all my points

In the overall draft, which players surprised you by going as early as they did? Which players surprised you by how late they went? I was surprised that  Olaf Kolzig went in the 3rd round at number 30, one pick before Ilya Kovalchuk. There was a run on goaltenders at the time but that seems high. Also, Teemu Selanne at 77 in the 7th round is high because he may not even play; not sure what the strategy there was. There were a number of players that fell through the cracks, the most notable were Ladislav Nagy in the 14th round at 144 and Alexei Kovalev in the 22nd round at 256. Nagy had an off year but he's going to be playing with some skill guys in LA with Kopitar and Cammalleri. As for Kovalev, the Habs do have a hard time scoring but he plays on the top line and sees a ton of PP time

Jon Press

JP

Draft Place: 10^th

JapersRink.com

1. (10) Jean-Sebastien Giguere

2. (15) Ryan Miller

3. (34) Olli Jokinen

4. (39) Martin St. Louis

5. (58) Michael Cammalleri

6. (63) Alexander Semin

7. (82) Alex Tanguay

8. (87) Paul Stastny

9. (106) Sergei Zubov

10. (111) Pavol Demitra

11. (130) Marc-Andre Bergeron

12. (135) Jason Pominville

13. (154) David Legwand

14. (159) Marek Zidlicky

15. (178) Saku Koivu

16. (183) David Vyborny

17. (202) Scott Niedermayer

18. (207) Ilya Bryzgalov

19. (226) Ben Eager

20. (231) Mike Ribeiro

21. (250) Mike Commodore

22. (255) Kim Johnsson

23. (274) Vaclav Prospal

24. (279) Jarkko Ruutu

What was your strategy heading into the draft? With four of the ten scoring categories being goalie categories (and likely only 3 of the 24 players on any given team being goalies), I went in wanting two stud goalies right off the bat.  Also, picking at either end of a snake draft (I was 10th) you're in no position to react to runs on certain positions, but you can start 'em, so my strategy with my first two picks was to draft goalies and hope to make some of the guys picking after me panic b/c they had either one or no goalies.  I was hoping one of the top tier guys (Luongo, Brodeur, Kipper or Lundqvist) would fall to me, but I was fine taking Jiggy and Miller. Past that, since there is no separate category for D points, I figured I'd go with the best available skater with each pick, blue liners be damned, then use the D spots to compensate for shortcomings in PIMs and/or +/- (I strayed a bit on this part of my strategy).  Basically, I figured I'm better off with an 80-point forward and a 30-point D than a 50-point D and a 50-point forward. This was the first time I've ever done a draft that has requirements for each of LW, RW and C (previously I've been in Leagues that lump all forwards together), so I butchered that a little bit and ended up weak down the left side.

What pick(s) do you feel you got the biggest bargain on? Obviously if Scott Niedermayer plays, grabbing him in the 17th round was a steal.  If not, no big loss.  Demitra in the 10th could be nice

What pick(s) are you most unhappy with? I drafted Marek Zidlicky and Kim Johnsson, apparently forgetting that it's 2007

What do you figure are your team strengths? Weaknesses? My scoring and goaltending should be very solid, and since that's basically 7 of 10 categories (+/-, PIMs and SOG), I should be alright out of the gate, especially if Ben Eager picks up some of my PIM slack

In the overall draft, which players surprised you by going as early as they did? Which players surprised you by how late they went? I was surprised that Iginla, Hossa and Kovalchuk went as late as they did and that Kolzig went as high as he did.  Phillipe Boucher in the 5th is a reach too, in my opinion

Jeff Angus

Angus

Draft Place: 11^th

DobberHockey Senior Writer

1. (11) Jason Spezza

2. (14) Evgeni Nabokov

3. (35) Cam Ward

4. (38) Daniel Sedin

5. (59) Brian Rafalski

6. (62) Henrik Sedin

7. (83) Zach Parise

8. (86) Ryan Getzlaf

9. (107) John-Michael Liles

10. (110) Andy McDonald

11. (131) Corey Perry

12. (134) Ales Hemsky

13. (155) Wojtek Wolski

14. (158) Brad Stuart

15. (179) Brett Clark

16. (182) J.P. Dumont

17. (203) Chris Clark

18. (206) Sergei Samsonov

19. (227) Mark Streit

20. (230) Eric Belanger

21. (251) Ian Laperriere

22. (254) Jaroslav Spacek

23. (275) Ryan Suter

24. (278) Fredrik Norrena

What was your strategy heading into the draft? Strong forwards and goalies.  I waited until later to get my defensemen because I had a few sleepers I figured would slip into the later rounds

What pick(s) do you feel you got the biggest bargain on? Rafalski, he will be extremely productive on the Red Wings.  Henrik Sedin also slipped pretty far and he is going to be near the top for assists once again.   I also think Ward is going to have a strong bounce back season, although the 'Canes defense is limiting his potential

What pick(s) are you most unhappy with? Belanger and Spacek.  I was rushed with these two picks as my queue list was emptied right before I was up.  Both have some upside, but I'm not a fan of either player really

What do you figure are your team strengths? Weaknesses? Strengths are definitely center and left wing.  My RW is a bit shallow, and my defense needs a few guys to step up.  My goaltending is good, not great

In the overall draft, which players surprised you by going as early as they did? Which players surprised you by how late they went? I'm in so many drafts I don't know if there were any huge surprises in this one.  It is always interesting to try and guess when the position runs begin.  Defensemen didn't start going until later, which was pretty weird.  I picked later on and wanted a dominant forward (Spezza) and an elite goalie (Nabokov), and by the time my pick was up again, most of the top level defensemen were already gone.

Tim O’Brien

Lanky522’s Hitmen

Draft Place: 12^th

DobberHockey Contributor

Comments: It was a fun time and I'm extremely confident with my chances for this upcoming season, and I'm happy to be part of something that will hopefully help some of you fantasy junkies out there

1. (12) Marc-Andre Fleury

2. (13) Evgeni Malkin

3. (36) Dion Phaneuf

4. (37) Peter Budaj

5. (60) Sean Avery

6. (61) Patrik Elias

7. (84) Zdeno Chara

8. (85) Shane Doan

9. (108) Nikolai Khabibulin

10. (109) Rod Brind'Amour

11. (132) Darcy Tucker

12. (133) Alexei Zhitnik

13. (156) Patrick Kane

14. (157) Ed Jovanovski

15. (180) Ryane Clowe

16. (181) Mike Comrie

17. (204) Marco Sturm

18. (205) Ron Hainsey

19. (228) Dainius Zubrus

20. (229) Cory Murphy

21. (252) Michal Handzus

22. (253) Eric Brewer

23. (276) Donald Brashear

24. (277) Joe Pavelski

What was your strategy heading into the draft? My strategy heading into the draft was highly dependent on what draft position I ended up with.  My main goal was to solidify my goaltending as much and as soon as possible since we start 2 goalies a day and goalie stats comprise of 40% of the total points whereas we start 18 skaters a day and they only comprise of 60% of the total points in the pool. After I saw that I had the last overall draft choice in the first round, I considered it a mixed blessing because unlike Dobber (who was in a similar position to me with back to back picks at the other end of the draft), I wouldn't feel "obligated" to take Crosby or one of the other "big name" guys.  I also got the highest waiver priority number because of my draft position (another bonus). After I solidified my top goalie in Fleury, I just tried to fill other positions before taking a quality 2nd and hopefully 3rd goalie.  I found that as I was trying to fill my second wing position in the 5th round that the pickings were already greatly diminished.  It was at this point that I decided to take Avery and make a run for dominating the penalty minute, goals, and shots on goal stat categories.  I already had Malkin and Phaneuf, so I was looking pretty good already in the pim and goals stats, but everything I did, and everyone that I picked through the rest of the draft were picked largely due to my attempt to solidify these three categories.  I decided on this strategy, because many of the "stud" players in terms of  assists were also already gone by this point. As a further strategy, I wanted to accumulate as many players as possible that could likely receive additional position eligibility under the yahoo! fantasy system.  I have found that average players that can be played in multiple spots on a fantasy roster can be nearly as valuable later on as good players that can only be played in one position (you can often play more players on a given game night).  I feel fairly confident that my players such as Malkin, Avery, Elias, Clowe, Zubrus, Brashear, and Pavelski may all end up with additional position availabilities at some point in the season.

What pick(s) do you feel you got the biggest bargain on? I actually feel as though I had a tremendous draft, and I thought that most of my guys were relative steals where I drafted them (for one reason or another). I was however, very happy with the following picks though:

a) Khabibulin as my 3rd goalie in the 9th round.  I think with the improved Chicago team he will have a tremendous year, and he adds some stability (hopefully) to my otherwise young goalie core.

b) Hainsey with my 18th pick and Murphy with my 20th pick.  These guys filled out my defensive requirements and could both very well get 45 or more points (which is tremendous to have at this point in the draft).  Hainsey will most likely be the trigger man on the Columbus power play, and after already conceding the plus/minus stat category, he makes a great pick for goals, points, penalty minutes and shots on goal.  Murphy could get as many as 50 points.  He's a wild card to me, but I have a solid defensive core to counter balance any possible bust.  I really think that this could end up being the best pick of the 20th round when the season's over though (that includes the likes of Mueller, Belanger, and Lombardi… all of whom I'm also very high on for this season).

c) Handzus with my 21st pick.  I think he'll get at least 60 points this year (as long as he stays healthy), and while most people were picking up goons and other depth players, I was still snagging offensive threats with my late round picks.

d) Eric Brewer as my 22nd pick.  He's the go to guy if Johnson stumbles a bit.  If he doesn't stumble he'll still be a crucial defender on a team lacking other solid defensive fantasy options.  Either way, he's good for 30 points and 70 penalty minutes.  Not bad for my 7th (bench) defender.

e) Donald Brashear with my 23rd pick.  Unlike many of the "goons" taken, Brashear will likely play pretty close to the full 82 games (barring an unforeseen injury).  He'll very seldom be a healthy scratch, which is good for fantasy owners (there's nothing more frustrating that deciding to play your goon and then have him not play in the game).  Also, there's an outside shot that he could land on one of the top two lines for stretches of the season and possibly one of the power play units.

e) Pavelski with my 24th (Last) pick.  I got a great prospect with 70 point potential who will likely play with Thornton and Cheechoo in the last round.  Nearly everyone else was taking sleepers and dark horses at this point, while I landed (someone who is in my opinion) a very legitimate fantasy option who should/could have gone much sooner.

What pick(s) are you most unhappy with? I'm not really unhappy with any of my picks.  There was no point where I made a pick because the time was ticking that I had a bad feeling in my gut about.  I was a little bit unhappy when M-A Bergeron went two picks before me in the 11th round, but I think Zhitnik (who I got in the 12th round) is a fairly comparable substitute.  Mueller went a few picks before me in round 20, which was also somewhat aggravating as he was my next pick for the center position, but I am pretty happy with who I got as an alternative (Handzus) a few picks later

What do you figure are your team strengths? Weaknesses? My team strengths will almost definitely be goals, penalty minutes, shots on goal, wins, and shutouts (both Fleury and Budaj are huge underdogs for shutouts in my mind, as both teams drastically improved their grit and defense in the off-season).  My team's weaknesses are plus/minus (I gave up on that one, lol), and assists.  I will do fairly well I think (middle of the pack) in Points, GAA, and Save%

In the overall draft, which players surprised you by going as early as they did? Which players surprised you by how late they went? I was greatly surprised to see Dion Phaneuf (and other defenders for that matter) slip so far in the draft.  With the required positions for players (6 of which are reserved for defenders), I was SHOCKED, to see ZERO defenders picked in rounds one and two.  Phaneuf is a stud in this format, because he helps in EVERY scoring stat category. I was also surprised to see left wings slip so much (especially Ovechkin at 6th overall and Malkin at 13th overall).  Malkin was a huge shock, as not only is he listed as left wing (the hardest position to fill in this sort of pool), but he also has a great shot at getting dual position eligibility at some point which is HUGE because most stars don't grant their fantasy teams this help/possibility. On the flip side, I was also surprised to see the following guys go as early as they did:

a) Selanne going in the 7th round.  I'm all for sleepers, but for a guy who hasn't even committed to playing yet and will likely miss at least camp (and have injury problems because of missing camp), I don't think it's worth taking him this early.  I think he should have fallen to about the point were Niedermayer did (Round 17), because a lot of good players were taken after Selanne and it's a wayyyy risky move in my mind to take a guy this early in the draft who may or may not play over a guy who is still good and will help your team a lot (who you know will play).

b) LaBarbara going in the 10th round when there were still other goalies on the board who were almost guaranteed to get more starts.  I like LaBarbara as a sleeper this year, but I think in this format, I would've gone with Huet, Fernandez, Roloson, or even Harding (who I believe can steal the starting job by mid-season) before LaBarbara.  In the end, it didn't matter because too much though, as Burnsy (who took Labarbara) got Huet a few rounds later