Top 10 Prospect Picks From a Dynasty League

Tom Collins

2020-10-19

Usually at this time of year, fantasy general managers have finished their drafts and already making crazy assumptions about the first few weeks of the season. (That third liner has eight points in three games! Should I drop Sidney Crosby for him?)

However, COVID-19 has pushed everything around. Now, many fantasy GMs are gearing up for prospect drafts. I'm in a dynasty league consisting of Dobber Hockey Forum members. We finished our five-round prospect draft last week.

A bit of background about the league: There are 24 teams, and each roster consists of three centres, three left wingers, three right wingers, three forwards, six defensemen and a goalie. We have six reserve spots and 15 minor league spots. By the time our pro draft is done and the season is underway, that's 960 players already on teams. We also have three injured reserve spots, so the waiver wire gets pretty thin. Drafting is key in this league to replenishing your squad.

The league is head-to-head, with points assigned in each category. For example, goals and assists are each worth one point, with a power-play point worth an extra 0.5 points. There are also points for plus/minus, blocked shots, shots, hits, PIM, and faceoffs, plus goalie categories. The team with the most overall points at the end of the week wins and has a record of 1-0.

Below are the top 10 picks from our prospect draft and why the players were selected where they were. It might help you try to figure out what your fellow GMs in your fantasy leagues may be thinking. I don't go into too much detail on each prospect, as the writers at Dobber Prospects, plus the Dobber 2020 Fantasy Prospects Report, do a much better job than I do.

1. Alexis Lafreniere, drafted by Dryden Eagles (metaldude26)

While metaldude26 is a huge fan of Quinton Byfield, he says Lafreniere is as close to a sure thing as you'll find, and will immediately be a top-50 fantasy forward. "Lafreniere is the most decorated prospect since Crosby, the most NHL-ready prospect since Matthews and the most insulated by elite talent since Lafleur," said metaldude26. He's not alone in that thinking. There is a thread on the Dobber forums keeping track of prospect drafts, and Lafreniere has gone first in all 17 drafts recorded on there as of Sunday night.

2. Quinton Byfield, drafted by Windsor Spitfires (Pengwin7)

With three picks in the top 11, Pengwin sorted prospects into tiers, and simply took the best one of who was left for each of his picks. In this case, his top tier had two prospects: Lafreniere and Byfield. Most everyone else has the same tier, but there have been a few surprises out there. Cam Robinson, managing editor of DobberProspects.com, has Byfield ranked number one, and has done so since at least last December. In the draft thread, Byfield slipped as far as fourth in one draft.

3. Marco Rossi, drafted by James Bay Cougars (InForAPenny)

This is one of those picks where his draft position is much lower than his fantasy upside. Going ninth to Minnesota in the NHL draft, it may seem that InForAPenny slightly reached for the CHL's leading scoring in this spot, but many fantasy prospect experts believe Rossi may be the third-best player of the draft. InForAPenny said that it was down between Rossi and Lucas Raymond for his pick, and believes that Rossi has a higher floor in our league.

4. Tim Stutzle, drafted by Fort Frances Muskies (Burgundy)

Before the draft, Burgundy was ready to trade down as he thought Stutzle was going third overall, and believes the next tier of prospects are pretty close in value. However, once the top three picks were made, and adding to the fact he already has Brady Tkachuk, Burgundy kept the pick and drafted the Senator that could easily be Tkachuk's linemate in a couple of years.

5. Lucas Raymond, drafted by Markham Waxers (praba)

How high was praba on Raymond? He had Raymond ranked fourth on his list before the NHL draft "and I couldn’t have picked a better landing spot for him in Detroit." He tried trading up to draft Raymond, but knew Raymond was his as soon as Rossi went third overall. Praba believes Raymond will end up as the second-best winger from the 2020 draft.

6. Cole Perfetti, drafted by Windsor Spitfires (Pengwin7)

Again, Pengwin7 took the best player left of his tiers. Perfetti may wind up as the second-best centre out of this draft. One of his rare abilities is that he's a centre who can score goals or be a playmaker. He is also one of the smartest players in the draft. He's been going as high as fourth in some prospect drafts, so this could be seen as a bit of a steal for some fantasy owners.

7. Yaroslav Askarov, drafted by Montreal Canadiens (newfcollins)

This was my pick, and I came into the draft with two needs: A top-notch goalie and superstar offensive players. I went into the draft with Corey Crawford and Pekka Rinne as the two netminders on my roster, and Alex Nedeljkovic and Veini Vehvilainen in the minors. As I also had the 10th and 15th overall picks, I decided to select the draft's top netminder and then use the other two picks on offense (as I don't believe Askarov would have been around at 10). I hope that after seeing the success of Carter Hart, NHL teams will be more willing to give potential stud goalies starts earlier in their career instead of waiting until the goalie is 26 years old.

8. Alexander Holtz, drafted by Amsterdam Red Lights (rataylor22)

While the selection of Askarov made this an easier choice, rataylor believed this draft had a clear top seven, and they were all forwards. In the end, it came down to Holtz or Jamie Drysdale, and went with the last remaining forward from his top-seven tier. The long-time Dobber forum member values forwards higher than defensemen, "both due to projectability and timeline." Many, including rataylor22, believe that Holtz can be the best goal scorer from this class.

9. Jamie Drysdale, drafted by Tampere Polar Bears (Jouko-Pouko)

One thing I've noticed in this pool the last couple of years is the lack of defensemen drafted early. This year saw only had two defensemen drafted in the top 25. Last year also saw two defensemen in the top 25. It was pretty similar in our 2017 prospects draft. Jouko-Pouko says this was the easiest selection and there wasn't anyone else to consider. "A future top-pair d-man who runs the PP and puts up a lot of points — that’s perfect in a points-heavy league like this," he said.

10. Jack Quinn, drafted by Montreal Canadiens (newfcollins)

This was my second pick in the top 10. As mentioned earlier, I needed offense. Quinn was the most offensive player left on the board. He scored 50 goals in the OHL this past season, one of only seven draft-eligible players to hit that mark in the past 20 years. He should be one of the best goal-scorers in this draft year, and with Buffalo reaching, will be given every opportunity to prove it wasn't a mistake.

For the curious, here are the full results of the first round:

1. Alexis Lafreniere, drafted by Dryden Eagles (metaldude26)

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2. Quinton Byfield, drafted by Windsor Spitfires (Pengwin7)

3. Marco Rossi, drafted by James Bay Cougars (InForAPenny)

4. Tim Stutzle, drafted by Fort Frances Muskies (Burgundy)

5. Lucas Raymond, drafted by Markham Waxers (praba)

6. Cole Perfetti, drafted by Windsor Spitfires (Pengwin7)

7. Yaroslav Askarov, drafted by Montreal Canadiens (newfcollins)

8. Alexander Holtz, drafted by Amsterdam Red Lights (rataylor22)

9. Jamie Drysdale, drafted by Tampere Polar Bears (Jouko-Pouko)

10. Jack Quinn, drafted by Montreal Canadiens (newfcollins)

11. Seth Jarvis, drafted by Windsor Spitfires (Pengwin7)

12. Anton Lundell, drafted by Dryden Eagles (metaldude26)

13. Rodion Amirov, drafted by North London Nationals (VintageVibe)

14. Hendrix Lapierre, drafted by Great Lakes Sibes (brakli)

15. Dawson Mercer, drafted by Montreal Canadiens (newfcollins)

16. Connor Zary, drafted by Markham Waxers (praba)

17. Dylan Holloway, drafted by North London Nationals (VintageVibe)

18. Jake Sanderson, drafted by Amsterdam Red Lights (rataylor22)

19. Noel Gunler, drafted by Fort Frances Muskies (Burgundy)

20. Brendan Brisson, drafted by North London Nationals (VintageVibe)

21. Jacob Perreault, drafted by James Bay Cougars (InForAPenny)

22. Lukas Reichel, drafted by Lake Valley Thunder (FirstRoundPick)

23. Jan Mysak, drafted by Markham Waxers (praba)

24. Mavrik Bourque, drafted by Dryden Eagles (metaldude26)

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