Draft and develop. It’s a simple concept that, if done right, will result in long-term success.
At the pro level, and in your fantasy hockey keeper league.
The only difference is that fantasy general managers rarely see that process through. They prefer to live in the present and pursue quick fixes that help their team today rather than build slowly but surely for the future. They want that return on investment sooner than later, and aren’t willing to wait three or four years for their prospects to become impact players.
Patience is a virtue that often goes out the window in fantasy. Understandably so, with short-term solutions so readily available — even in salary-cap leagues — and the temptation to reload overnight being almost impossible to resist.
Pump and Dump
Every year we see highly touted first-round picks flipped for established stars. It has become a strategy of sorts, to purge your roster one year while stockpiling rookie draft selections, make those picks and promptly ship them out for win-now guys once the next season starts. And it has worked wonders, for the most part, with a few GMs going from bottom-five to top-five within a calendar year in our 20-team keeper league. This past season saw a team literally go from worst to first by using this method of madness, and others will inevitably attempt to follow suit now. You can’t blame them, they are playing with their hard-earned money and don’t want to watch their peers pocket it year after year. The competitive juices can only be contained for so long, a matter of months not years it would seem.
The catch being, you still need to draft well and make the most of those picks. You need to select prospects that other teams will covet. That should be easy enough with the first-rounders, but getting good value picks, or steals, in the second and third rounds — or even deeper in the draft — is essential to executing that game plan. And absolutely necessary for those who do stay the course with the hope that their prospects will eventually turn their team into a dynasty.
Worth the Wait
I’m also in a 28-team league with a much different keeper system, where at least a couple of teams are beginning to reap the rewards of their long-term vision. One roster on the verge of realizing its potential has Ryan Strome, Nikita Kucherov, Brandon Saad, Mark Scheifele, Jeff Skinner, Sasha Barkov and Leon Draisaitl among its forwards, with Morgan Rielly, Tyson Barrie, Derrick Pouliot and Ivan Provorov on defence, plus Braden Holtby in goal. Another boasts Evgeny Kuznetsov, Alex Galchenyuk, Gustav Nyquist, Jonathan Huberdeau, David Pastrnak, Bo Horvat, Seven Baertschi and Dylan Strome up front, Ryan Ellis, Ryan Murphy, Simon Despres, Brandon Gormley and Darnell Nurse on the blue line, and John Gibson between the pipes. Of course, some of those players were trade acquisitions, but they’ve done a good job of developing an impressive core around the same age.
With 18 year-round keepers on each team, the talent is spread out similar to the NHL, so you can see how those two franchises are turning into forces to be reckoned with after a few seasons as bottom-feeders. Kudos to those who can afford to suffer through lean years, although that league’s annual entry fee is only $40 in comparison to $100 for the other, so it’s easier to stomach those losses in order to cash in down the road.
I’m relatively new to that dynasty league — joined last spring — so I’m still getting a feel for things in terms of how impactful the rookie draft is, or how imperative it is to future success. It appears to be every bit as important of an element as my other keeper, where there is a direct correlation between drafting well and succeeding, both from one year to the next and in sustaining long-term competitiveness.
Trending Younger
In the dynasty league, I took over an aging team with little in the way of prospects. I foolishly traded away Filip Forsberg, who was by far the best of the bunch. I have since shipped out Erik Haula, Niklas Svedberg, Frank Corrado, Austin Watson, Kirill Kabanov, J.T. Wyman and Stu Bickel. Yes, Bickel was somehow a prospect on this team, meaning he was somehow picked in a prior rookie draft.
The only holdover still on my roster is Alexander Khokhlachev of the Boston Bruins, a forward with top-six upside who could make the jump in the next year or two. I’ve made a conscientious effort to get younger in general, acquiring the following 25-and-under players: Craig Smith, Mika Zibanejad, Jesper Fast, Tomas Jurco, Anton Lander, Hampus Lindholm, Calvin de Haan, Chris Tanev and Nikita Nesterov. Those nine newcomers replaced Jarome Iginla, Mike Fisher, Brad Boyes, Brian Gionta, Ryane Clowe, Marek Zidlicky, Dennis Seidenberg, Stephane Robidas and the now retired Martin Brodeur. All within a calendar year.
My prospect pool now consists of forwards Khokhlachev, Artemi Panarin, Sven Andrighetto, Ty Rattie, Hudson Fasching, Anton Slepyshev and Danny Kristo, plus defencemen Kristian Nakyva, Gustav Forsling and Vili Saarijarvi. I’m obviously biased, but I much prefer those 10 to the eight that I inherited, even if I’m likely to never live down that Forsberg deal. The future should be bright for that franchise.
Experiment Time
With the keeper that I helped start five years ago, the sample size has reached a point where we can draw some conclusions based on drafting history. Here are those results — by draft order, by team selections and by overall depth chart — with the 20 team names replaced by the letters A to T. This is one of those long reads, perfect for a rainy day or when you’re hanging in the hammock. I found the depth charts to be most enlightening, so if you’re pressed for time, scroll down to that section and work your way back up as time permits.
Draft Order
2011
First Round
1) Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Team A
2) Ryan Murphy – Team C
3) Gabriel Landeskog – Team S
4) Ryan Strome – Team B
5) Mikael Granlund – Team C
6) Jonathan Huberdeau – Team B
7) Sean Couturier – Team S
8) Adam Larsson – Team B
9) David Rundblad – Team R
10) Vladimir Tarasenko – Team E
11) Jacob Markstrom – Team C
12) Dougie Hamilton – Team T
13) Brendan Smith – Team B
14) Stefan Elliott – Team S
15) Luke Adam – Team Q
16) Evgeny Kuznetsov – Team B
17) Marc Scheifele – Team E
18) Robin Lehner – Team C
19) Braden Holtby – Team E
20) Mika Zibanejad – Team A
Second Round
21) Brett Connolly – Team D
22) Tyson Barrie – Team A
23) Brandon Gormley – Team D
24) Jaden Schwartz – Team C
25) Jonathan Blum – Team B
26) Calvin de Haan – Team N
27) Dmitri Orlov – Team A
28) Tomas Tatar – Team F
29) John Moore – Team E
30) Linden Vey – Team R
31) Justin Schultz – Team E
32) Tyler Biggs – Team T
33) Zac Dalpe – Team N
34) Joe Morrow – Team A
35) Marc-Andre Gragnani – Team K
36) Jack Campbell – Team C
37) Martin Marincin – Team G
38) Sven Baertschi – Team B
39) Kirill Kabanov – Team F
40) Teemu Pulkkinen – Team B
Third Round
41) Jon Merrill – Team B
42) Adam Clendening – Team G
43) Joey Hishon – Team B
44) Magnus Hellberg – Team T
45) Zack Kassian – Team D
46) Ryan Sproul – Team G
47) Joe Colborne – Team I
48) Tyler Toffoli – Team F
49) Chris Kreider – Team J
50) Mark Dekanich – Team G
51) Jared Cowen – Team J
52) Brett MacLean – Team F
53) Jake Allen – Team F
54) Alexander Khokhlachev – Team B
55) Jake Gardiner – Team Q
56) Oscar Klefbom – Team S
57) Keith Kinkaid – Team G
58) Blake Geoffrion – Team N
59) Charlie Coyle – Team E
60) Dustin Tokarski – Team G
Fourth Round
61) Jeremy Morin – Team I
62) Nicklas Jensen – Team L
63) Kyle Beach – Team A
64) Simon Despres – Team R
65) Emerson Etem – Team H
66) Mark McNeill – Team O
67) Anton Khudobin – Team S
68) Louis Leblanc – Team F
69) Paul Postma – Team J
70) Taylor Beck – Team E
71) Andy Miele – Team M
72) Cody Eakin – Team T
73) Kevin Connauton – Team N
74) Duncan Siemens – Team D
75) Dylan Olsen – Team Q
76) Lance Bouma – Team P
77) Nikita Kucherov – Team G
78) Alexander Salak – Team K
79) Rocco Grimaldi – Team B
80) Slava Voynov – Team C
Fifth Round
81) Maxim Goncharov – Team I
82) Scott Harrington – Team L
83) Ty Rattie – Team A
84) Anton Lander – Team R
85) Tim Erixon – Team H
86) Scott Glennie – Team O
87) Tyler Pitlick – Team S
88) Andrei Loktionov – Team F
89) Brandon Kozun – Team J
90) David Savard – Team E
91) Darcy Kuemper – Team M
92) Curtis Hamilton – Team T
93) Jordan Schroeder – Team N
94) Stefan Noesen – Team D
95) Matt Taormina – Team Q
96) Quinton Howden – Team P
97) Tomas Jurco – Team G
98) Zack Phillips – Team K
99) Joel Armia – Team B
100) Justin Faulk – Team C
Sixth Round
101) Kirill Petrov – Team I
102) Jonas Brodin – Team L
103) Shane McColgan – Team A
104) Drew Shore – Team R
105) Matt Puempel – Team H
106) Mark Pysyk – Team O
107) Adam Henrique – Team S
108) Beau Bennett – Team F
109) Sami Vatanen – Team J
110) Brayden McNabb – Team E
111) Steffen Soberg – Team M
112) Nathan Beaulieu – Team T
113) Evgeny Grachev – Team N
114) Jared Knight – Team D
115) Ben Smith – Team Q
116) Markus Granlund – Team P
117) Richard Panik – Team G
118) Peter Holland – Team K
119) Eddie Lack – Team B
120) Gustav Nyquist – Team C
2012
First Round
1) Team O – Nail Yakupov
2) Team G – Alex Galchenyuk
3) Team P – Ryan Murray
4) Team S – Morgan Rielly
5) Team H – Mathew Dumba
6) Team J – Griffin Reinhart
7) Team G – Cody Ceci
8) Team C – Mikhail Grigorenko
9) Team E – Filip Forsberg
10) Team C – Derrick Pouliot
11) Team K – Radek Faksa
12) Team B – Slater Koekkoek
13) Team T – Hampus Lindholm
14) Team R – Zemgus Girgensons
15) Team A – Brandon Saad
16) Team G – Mark Barberio
17) Team I – Teuvo Teravainen
18) Team B – Nick Bjugstad
19) Team A – Vladislav Namestnikov
20) Team J – Jacob Trouba
Second Round
21) Team P – Brendan Gaunce
22) Team G – Cory Conacher
23) Team O – Ben Bishop
24) Team B – Jakob Silfverberg
25) Team H – Roman Cervanka
26) Team J – Olli Maatta
27) Team L – Ben Scrivens
28) Team C – Sebastian Collberg
29) Team E – Malcolm Subban
30) Team G – Martin Frk
31) Team S – Henrik Samuelsson
32) Team J – Nicolas Kerdiles
33) Team B – Mark Stone
34) Team G – Marek Tvrdon
35) Team O – Patrick McNally
36) Team F – Johan Larsson
37) Team S – Tom Wilson
38) Team C – Calle Jarnkrok
39) Team A – Andrei Vasilevskiy
40) Team A – Oscar Dansk
Third Round
41) Team E – Jarome Gauthier-Leduc
42) Team G – Martin Gernat
43) Team A – Jordan Schmaltz
44) Team B – Tomas Hertl
45) Team H – Scott Wedgewood
46) Team J – Tanner Pearson
47) Team G – Matt Finn
48) Team H – Ryan Spooner
49) Team B – Matt Donovan
50) Team G – Tyler Bunz
51) Team G – Petr Mrazek
52) Team J – Ludvig Bystrom
53) Team T – Scott Laughton
54) Team H – Brendan Gallagher
55) Team S – Marcus Foligno
56) TEAM G – Anders Nilsson
57) Team O – Brian Dumoulin
58) Team B – Xavier Ouellet
59) Team B – Ivan Telegin
60) Team T – Phillip Di Guiseppe
Fourth Round
61) Team P – Mark Jankowski
62) Team G – Tim Bozon
63) Team O – Mike Reilly
64) Team S – Greg McKegg
65) Team H – Alex Chiasson
66) Team J – Scott Kosmachuk
67) Team L – Alex Petrovic
68) Team I – Mark Visentin
69) Team E – Connor Murphy
70) Team F – Reilly Smith
71) Team D – Colton Sissons
72) Team Q – Daniil Zharkov
73) Team T – Mike Matheson
74) Team R – Matt Hackett
75) Team N – Joe Cannata
76) Team M – Pontus Aberg
77) Team K – Damon Severson
78) Team C – Brock Nelson
79) Team A – Joey LaLeggia
80) Team B – Dalton Thrower
Compensation Round
81) Team L – Brandon Pirri
82) Team I – Jason Zucker
83) Team I – Max Reinhart
84) Team L – J.T. Miller
85) Team I – Stanislav Galiev
2013
First Round
1) Team J – Jonathan Drouin
2) Team L – Nathan MacKinnon
3) Team I – Seth Jones
4) Team T – Sasha Barkov
5) Team S – Elias Lindholm
6) Team R – Valeri Nichushkin
7) Team R – Sean Monahan
8) Team N – Hunter Shinkaruk
9) Team G – Kerby Rychel
10) Team O – Ryan Pulock
11) Team R – Max Domi
12) Team J – Anthony Mantha
13) Team Q – Rasmus Ristolainen
14) Team T – Darnell Nurse
15) Team G – Alexander Wennberg
16) Team L – Bo Horvat
17) Team C – John Gibson
18) Team B – Josh Morrissey
19) Team J – Shea Theodore
20) Team B – Nick Petan
Second Round
21) Team A – Curtis Lazar
22) Team B – Torey Krug
23) Team I – Boone Jenner
24) Team E – Vince Trocheck
25) Team S – Andre Burakovsky
26) Team O – Nate Schmidt
27) Team R – Samuel Morin
28) Team J – Zachary Fucale
29) Team G – Dmitrij Jaskin
30) Team N – Chris Bigras
31) Team R – Marco Mueller
32) Team B – Nikita Zadorov
33) Team E – Ian McCoshen
34) Team T – Morgan Klimchuk
35) Team N – Frank Corrado
36) Team A – Brett Ritchie
37) Team C – Johnny Gaudreau
38) Team R – Ryan Hartman
39) Team G – Tristan Jarry
40) Team A – Valentin Zykov
Third Round
41) Team L – Tyler Johnson
42) Team B – Frederick Gauthier
43) Team E – Adam Lowry
44) Team T – Dylan Heatherington
45) Team S – Jujhar Khaira
46) Team L – Emile Poirier
47) Team R – Danny DeKeyser
48) Team O – Dmitry Sinitsyn
49) Team G – Sami Aittokallio
50) Team N – Myles Bell
51) Team R – Danny Kristo
52) Team D – Adam Erne
53) Team Q – Anton Slepyshev
54) Team A – Madison Bowey
55) Team H – Joacim Eriksson
56) Team D – Eric Comrie
57) Team C – William Carrier
58) Team S – William Karlsson
59) Team O – Reto Berra
60) Team B – Niklas Svedberg
Fourth Round
61) Team L – J-G Pageau
62) Team J – Carl Soderberg
63) Team I – Jason Akeson
64) Team T – J.T. Compher
65) Team S – Pavel Buchnevich
66) Team P – Michael Sgarbossa
67) Team R – Martin Jones
68) Team G – Alex Stalock
69) Team K – Justin Bailey
70) Team D – Jordan Subban
71) Team Q – Bogdan Yakimov
72) Team A – Reid Boucher
73) Team F – Brendan Leipsic
74) Team M – Robert Hagg
75) Team C – Rickard Rickell
76) Team E – Matej Stransky
77) Team H – Matt Nieto
78) Team B – Jason Dickinson
Compensation Round
79) Team L – Anthony Duclair
80) Team J – Mattias Ekholm
81) Team P – Danny Biega
82) Team K – Tommy Vanelli
83) Team L – Jon Gillies
84) Team J – Frederik Andersen
85) Team P – Antti Raanta
86) Team K – Jacob De La Rose
2014
First Round
1) Team I – Aaron Ekblad
2) Team C – Sam Reinhart
3) Team M – Sam Bennett
4) Team P – Leon Draisaitl
5) Team K – Michael Dal Colle
6) Team T – Nikolaj Ehlers
7) Team C – William Nylander
8) Team L – Anders Lee
9) Team N – Jake Virtanen
10) Team C – Julius Honka
11) Team G – Anthony DeAngelo
12) Team J – Nick Ritchie
13) Team C – Kevin Fiala
14) Team D – Jared McCann
15) Team N – Haydn Fleury
16) Team E – Brendan Perlini
17) Team R – Kasperi Kapanen
18) Team T – Josh Ho-Sang
19) Team E – Robby Fabbri
20) Team D – Thatcher Demko
Second Round
21) Team C – Jakub Vrana
22) Team H – Shayne Gostisbehere
23) Team A – Nikolay Goldobin
24) Team A – Nikita Scherbak
25) Team A – Marko Dano
26) Team N – Adam Almquist
27) Team F – David Pastrnak
28) Team L – Kristers Gudlevskis
29) Team L – Travis Sanheim
30) Team S – Sonny Milano
31) Team G – Vaclav Karabacek
32) Team J – Trevor Carrick
33) Team L – Nick Schmaltz
34) Team N – Alex Tuch
35) Team O – Dylan Larkin
36) Team L – Kevin Hayes
37) Team S – Ivan Barbashev
38) Team H – Jori Lehtera
39) Team E – Connor Brown
40) Team O – Conner Bleackley
Third Round
41) Team B – Ville Pokka
42) Team C – Roland McKeown
43) Team J – Oliver Bjorkstrand
44) Team B – Vladislav Kamenev
45) Team C – Michael Hutchinson
46) Team T – Brendan Lemieux
47) Team C – Artturi Lehkonen
48) Team N – Adrian Kempe
49) Team D – Ryan MacInnis
50) Team A – Marcus Pettersson
51) Team G – Jake McCabe
52) Team J – Joni Ortio
53) Team C – Hudson Fasching
54) Team C – Brandon Montour
55) Team D – Eric Cornel
56) Team P – John Quenneville
57) Team J – Jonathan-Ismael Diaby
58) Team L – Brenden Kichton
59) Team N – Petri Kontiola
60) Team H – Chris Tierney
Fourth Round
61) Team C – Jiri Sekac
62) Team I – Tobias Rieder
63) Team Q – Alex Nedeljkovic
64) Team M – Mason McDonald
65) Team K – Maxim Letunov
66) Team T – Joshua Jacobs
67) Team F – Sergey Tolchinsky
68) Team L – Brayden Point
69) Team N – Miikka Salomaki
70) Team S – Gregory Chase
71) Team G – Sven Andrighetto
72) Team J – Juuse Saros
73) Team P – John Klingberg
74) Team D – Anton Karlsson
75) Team O – Victor Rask
76) Team A – Greg Carey
77) Team R – Brett Pollock
78) Team H – Riley Barber
79) Team E – Dane Fox
80) Team B – Nick Baptiste
Compensation Round
80) Team P – Philipp Grubauer
81) Team O – Magnus Nygren
82) Team P – Andreas Athanasiou
83) Team P – Cole Cassels
2015
First Round
1) Connor McDavid – Team P
2) Jack Eichel – Team S
3) Mitch Marner – Team N
4) Dylan Strome – Team D
5) Ivan Provorov – Team G
6) Noah Hanafin – Team N
7) Matthew Barzal – Team H
8) Zach Werenski – Team J
9) Mikko Rantanen – Team K
10) Pavel Zacha – Team S
11) Lawson Crouse – Team O
12) Timo Meier – Team H
13) Kyle Connor – Team H
14) Evgeni Svechnikov – Team D
15) Jake Debrusk – Team D
16) Denis Gurianov – Team G
17) Travis Konecny – Team T
18) Ilya Samsonov – Team T
19) Anthony Beauvillier – Team O
20) Nick Merkley – Team O
Second Round
21) Brock Boeser – Team D
22) Jakub Zboril – Team P
23) Daniel Sprong – Team D
24) Thomas Chabot – Team M
25) Christian Dvorak – Team G
26) Zach Senyshyn – Team C
27) Connor Hellebuyck – Team H
28) Jeremy Roy – Team J
29) Artemi Panarin – Team N
30) Andrew Hammond – Team N
31) Joel Eriksson Ek – Team D
32) Jimmy Vesey – Team H
33) Jeremy Bracco – Team B
34) Jack Roslovic – Team P
35) Oliver Kylington – Team H
36) Noah Juulsen – Team C
37) Vince Dunn – Team S
38) Tomas Nosek – Team G
39) Colin Miller – Team L
40) Calvin Pickard – Team L
Third Round
41) Joe Hicketts – Team L
42) Mackenzie Blackwood – Team P
43) Nick Paul – Team H
44) Travis Dermott – Team S
45) Matej Tomek – Team G
46) Zach Hyman – Team N
47) Mitchell Stephens – Team S
48) Tyler Bertuzzi – Team J
49) Colin White – Team B
50) Ville Husso – Team F
51) Mitch Vande Sompel – Team G
52) Conor Garland – Team L
53) Rasmus Andersson – Team C
54) Matt Murray – Team O
55) Steve Moses – Team N
56) Brandon Hickey – Team O
Fourth Round
57) Roope Hintz – Team S
58) Nicolas Meloche – Team P
59) Jacob Larsson – Team D
60) Jordan Weal – Team H
61) Joonas Donskoi – Team G
62) Chris Wideman – Team N
63) Christian Fischer – Team M
64) Oscar Lindberg – Team J
65) Ryan Pilon – Team K
66) Dennis Yan – Team T
67) Martin Reway – Team O
68) Felix Sandstrom – Team Q
69) Michael Mersch – Team A
70) Scott Darling – Team R
71) Jansen Harkins – Team E
72) Matt O’Connor – Team F
73) Paul Bittner – Team L
74) Filip Chlapik – Team I
75) Sergei Plotnikov – Team B
76) Viktor Arvidsson – Team C
Fifth Round
77) Brandon Halverson – Team S
78) Esa Lindell – Team P
79) Dmytro Timashov – Team D
80) Mattias Backman – Team H
81) Axel Holmstrom – Team G
82) Nikita Soshnikov – Team N
83) Jordan Greenway – Team M
84) Gustav Forsling – Team J
85) Ryan Gropp – Team K
86) Graham Knott – Team T
87) Shane Prince – Team O
88) Nicolas Roy – Team Q
89) Laurent Brossoit – Team A
90) Mackenzie Skapski – Team R
91) Guillame Brisebois – Team E
92) Kevin Labanc – Team F
93) Kevin Roy – Team L
94) Kyle Capobianco – Team I
95) Zane McIntyre – Team B
96) Antoine Bibeau – Team C
Compensation Round
97) Andrey Makarov – Team T
98) Vili Saarijarvi – Team T
Team Selections
Team A (24)
2011 (7)
1) Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
20) Mika Zibanejad
22) Tyson Barrie
27) Dmitri Orlov
63) Kyle Beach
83) Ty Rattie
103) Shane McColgan
2012 (6)
15) Brandon Saad
19) Vladislav Namestnikov
39) Andrei Vasilevskiy
40) Oscar Dansk
43) Jordan Schmaltz
79) Joey Laleggia
2013 (5)
21) Curtis Lazar
36) Brett Ritchie
40) Valentin Zykov
54) Madison Bowey
72) Reid Boucher
2014 (4)
23) Nikolay Goldobin
24) Nikita Scherbak
25) Marko Dano
50) Marcus Pettersson
76) Greg Carey
2015 (2)
69) Michael Mersch
89) Laurent Brossoit
Team B (37)
2011 (14)
4) Ryan Strome
6) Jonathan Huberdeau
8) Adam Larsson
13) Brendan Smith
16) Evgeny Kuznetsov
25) Jonathan Blum
38) Sven Baertschi
40) Teemu Pulkkinen
41) Jon Merrill
43) Joey Hishon
54) Alexander Khokhlachev
79) Rocco Grimaldi
99) Joel Armia
119) Eddie Lack
2012 (9)
12) Slater Koekkoek
18) Nick Bjugstad
24) Jakob Silfverberg
33) Mark Stone
44) Tomas Hertl
49) Matt Donovan
58) Xavier Ouellet
59) Ivan Telegin
80) Dalton Thrower
2013 (7)
18) Josh Morrissey
20) Nick Petan
22) Torey Krug
32) Nikita Zadorov
42) Frederick Gauthier
60) Niklas Svedberg
78) Jason Dickinson
2014 (3)
41) Ville Pokka
44) Vladislav Kamenev
80) Nick Baptiste
2015 (4)
33) Jeremy Bracco
49) Colin White
75) Sergei Plotnikov
95) Zane McIntyre
Team C (34)
2011 (9)
2) Ryan Murphy
5) Mikael Granlund
11) Jacob Markstrom
18) Robin Lehner
24) Jaden Schwartz
36) Jack Campbell
80) Slava Voynov
100) Justin Faulk
120) Gustav Nyquist
2012 (5)
8) Mikhail Grigorenko
10) Derrick Pouliot
28) Sebastian Collberg
38) Calle Jarnkrok
78) Brock Nelson
2013 (4)
17) John Gibson
37) John Gaudreau
57) William Carrier
75) Rickard Rakell
2014 (11)
2) Sam Reinhart
7) William Nylander
10) Julius Honka
13) Kevin Fiala
21) Jakub Vrana
42) Roland McKeown
45) Michael Hutchinson
47) Artturi Lehkonen
53) Hudson Fasching
54) Brandon Montour
61) Jiri Sekac
2015 (5)
26) Zach Senyshyn
36) Noah Juulsen
53) Rasmus Andersson
76) Viktor Arvidsson
96) Antoine Bibeau
Team D (23)
2011 (6)
21) Brett Connolly
23) Brandon Gormley
45) Zack Kassian
74) Duncan Siemens
94) Stefan Noesen
114) Jared Knight
2012 (1)
71) Colton Sissons
2013 (3)
52) Adam Erne
56) Eric Comrie
70) Jordan Subban
2014 (5)
14) Jared McCann
20) Thatcher Demko
49) Ryan MacInnis
55) Eric Cornel
74) Anton Karlsson
2015 (8)
4) Dylan Strome
14) Evgeni Svechnikov
15) Jake Debrusk
21) Brock Boeser
23) Daniel Sprong
31) Joel Eriksson Ek
59) Jacob Larsson
79) Dmytro Timashov
Team E (23)
2011 (9)
10) Vladimir Tarasenko
17) Marc Scheifele
19) Braden Holtby
29) John Moore
31) Justin Schultz
59) Charlie Coyle
70) Taylor Beck
90) David Savard
110) Brayden McNabb
2012 (4)
9) Filip Forsberg
29) Malcolm Subban
41) Jarome Gauthier-Leduc
69) Connor Murphy
2013 (4)
24) Vince Trocheck
33) Ian McCoshen
43) Adam Lowry
76) Matej Stransky
2014 (4)
16) Brendan Perlini
19) Robby Fabbri
39) Connor Brown
79) Dane Fox
2015 (2)
71) Jansen Harkins
91) Guillame Brisebois
Team F (16)
2011 (8)
28) Tomas Tatar
39) Kirill Kabanov
48) Tyler Toffoli
52) Brett MacLean
53) Jake Allen
68) Louis Leblanc
88) Andrei Loktionov
108) Beau Bennett
2012 (2)
36) Johan Larsson
70) Reilly Smith
2013 (1)
73) Brendan Leipsic
2014 (2)
27) David Pastrnak
67) Sergey Tolchinsky
2015 (3)
50) Ville Husso
72) Matt O’Connor
92) Kevin Labanc
Team G (39)
2011 (9)
37) Martin Marincin
42) Adam Clendening
46) Ryan Sproul
50) Mark Dekanich
57) Keith Kinkaid
60) Dustin Tokarski
77) Nikita Kucherov
97) Tomas Jurco
117) Richard Panik
2012 (12)
2) Alex Galchenyuk
7) Cody Ceci
16) Mark Barberio
22) Cory Conacher
30) Martin Frk
34) Marek Tvrdon
42) Martin Gernat
47) Matt Finn
50) Tyler Bunz
51) Petr Mrazek
56) Anders Nilsson
62) Tim Bozon
2013 (6)
9) Kerby Rychel
15) Alexander Wennberg
29) Dmitrij Jaskin
39) Tristan Jarry
49) Sami Aittokallio
68) Alex Stalock
2014 (4)
11) Anthony DeAngelo
31) Vaclav Karabacek
51) Jake McCabe
71) Sven Andrighetto
2015 (8)
5) Ivan Provorov
16) Denis Gurianov
25) Christian Dvorak
38) Tomas Nosek
45) Matej Tomek
51) Mitch Vande Sompel
61) Joonas Donskoi
81) Axel Holmstrom
Team H (24)
2011 (3)
65) Emerson Etem
85) Tim Erixon
105) Matt Puempel
2012 (6)
5) Mathew Dumba
25) Roman Cervanka
45) Scott Wedgewood
48) Ryan Spooner
54) Brendan Gallagher
65) Alex Chiasson
2013 (2)
55) Joacim Eriksson
77) Matt Nieto
2014 (4)
22) Shayne Gostisbehere
38) Jori Lehtera
60) Chris Tierney
78) Riley Barber
2015 (9)
7) Matthew Barzal
12) Timo Meier
13) Kyle Connor
27) Connor Hellebuyck
32) Jimmy Vesey
35) Oliver Kylington
43) Nick Paul
60) Jordan Weal
80) Mattias Backman
Team I (16)
2011 (4)
47) Joe Colborne
61) Jeremy Morin
81) Maxim Goncharov
101) Kirill Petrov
2012 (5)
17) Teuvo Teravainen
68) Mark Visentin
82) Jason Zucker
83) Max Reinhart
85) Stanislav Galiev
2013 (3)
3) Seth Jones
23) Boone Jenner
63) Jason Akeson
2014 (2)
1) Aaron Ekblad
62) Tobias Rieder
2015 (2)
74) Filip Chlapik
94) Kyle Capobianco
Team J (30)
2011 (5)
49) Chris Kreider
51) Jared Cowen
69) Paul Postma
89) Brandon Kozun
109) Sami Vatanen
2012 (7)
6) Griffin Reinhart
20) Jacob Trouba
26) Olli Maatta
32) Nicolas Kerdiles
46) Tanner Pearson
52) Ludvig Bystrom
66) Scott Kosmachuk
2013 (7)
1) Jonathan Drouin
12) Anthony Mantha
19) Shea Theodore
28) Zachary Fucale
62) Carl Soderberg
80) Mattias Ekholm
84) Frederik Andersen
2014 (6)
12) Nick Ritchie
32) Trevor Carrick
43) Oliver Bjorkstrand
52) Joni Ortio
57) Jonathan-Ismael Diaby
72) Juuse Saros
2015 (5)
8) Zach Werenski
28) Jeremy Roy
48) Tyler Bertuzzi
64) Oscar Lindberg
84) Gustav Forsling
Team K (14)
2011 (4)
35) Marc-Andre Gragnani
78) Alexander Salak
98) Zack Phillips
118) Peter Holland
2012 (2)
11) Radek Faksa
77) Damon Severson
2013 (3)
69) Justin Bailey
82) Tommy Vanelli
86) Jacob De La Rose
2014 (2)
5) Michael Dal Colle
65) Maxim Letunov
2015 (3)
9) Mikko Rantanen
65) Ryan Pilon
85) Ryan Gropp
Team L (27)
2011 (3)
62) Nicklas Jensen
82) Scott Harrington
102) Jonas Brodin
2012 (4)
27) Ben Scrivens
67) Alex Petrovic
81) Brandon Pirri
84) J.T. Miller
2013 (7)
2) Nathan MacKinnon
16) Bo Horvat
41) Tyler Johnson
46) Emile Poirier
61) J-G Pageau
79) Anthony Duclair
83) Jon Gillies
2014 (7)
8) Anders Lee
28) Kristers Gudlevskis
29) Travis Sanheim
33) Nick Schmaltz
36) Kevin Hayes
58) Brenden Kichton
68) Brayden Point
2015 (6)
39) Colin Miller
40) Calvin Pickard
41) Joe Hicketts
52) Conor Garland
73) Paul Bittner
93) Kevin Roy
Team M (10)
2011 (3)
71) Andy Miele
91) Darcy Kuemper
111) Steffen Soberg
2012 (1)
76) Pontus Aberg
2013 (1)
74) Robert Hagg
2014 (2)
3) Sam Bennett
64) Mason McDonald
2015 (3)
24) Thomas Chabot
63) Christian Fischer
83) Jordan Greenway
Team N (26)
2011 (6)
26) Calvin de Haan
33) Zac Dalpe
58) Blake Geoffrion
73) Kevin Connauton
93) Jordan Schroeder
113) Evgeny Grachev
2012 (1)
75) Joe Cannata
2013 (4)
8) Hunter Shinkaruk
30) Chris Bigras
35) Frank Corrado
50) Myles Bell
2014 (7)
9) Jake Virtanen
15) Haydn Fleury
26) Adam Almquist
34) Alex Tuch
48) Adrian Kempe
59) Petri Kontiola
69) Miikka Salomaki
2015 (8)
3) Mitch Marner
6) Noah Hanafin
29) Artem Panarin
30) Andrew Hammond
46) Zach Hyman
55) Steve Moses
62) Chris Wideman
82) Nikita Soshnikov
Team O (23)
2011 (3)
66) Mark McNeill
86) Scott Glennie
106) Mark Pysyk
2012 (5)
1) Nail Yakupov
23) Ben Bishop
35) Patrick McNally
57) Brian Dumoulin
63) Mike Reilly
2013 (4)
10) Ryan Pulock
26) Nate Schmidt
48) Dmitry Sinitsyn
59) Reto Berra
2014 (4)
35) Dylan Larkin
40) Conner Bleackley
75) Victor Rask
81) Magnus Nygren
2015 (7)
11) Lawson Crouse
19) Anthony Beauvillier
20) Nick Merkley
54) Matt Murray
56) Brandon Hickey
67) Martin Reway
87) Shane Prince
Team P (21)
2011 (3)
76) Lance Bouma
96) Quinton Howden
116) Markus Granlund
2012 (3)
3) Ryan Murray
21) Brendan Gaunce
61) Mark Jankowski
2013 (3)
66) Michael Sgarbossa
81) Danny Biega
85) Antti Raanta
2014 (6)
4) Leon Draisaitl
56) John Quenneville
73) John Klingberg
80) Philipp Grubauer
82) Andreas Athanasiou
83) Cole Cassels
2015 (6)
1) Connor McDavid
22) Jakub Zboril
34) Jack Roslovic
42) Mackenzie Blackwood
58) Nicolas Meloche
78) Esa Lindell
Team Q (12)
2011 (5)
15) Luke Adam
55) Jake Gardiner
75) Dylan Olsen
95) Matt Taormina
115) Ben Smith
2012 (1)
72) Daniil Zharkov
2013 (3)
13) Rasmus Ristolainen
53) Anton Slepyshev
71) Bogdan Yakimov
2014 (1)
63) Alex Nedeljkovic
2015 (2)
68) Felix Sandstrom
88) Nicolas Roy
Team R (20)
2011 (5)
9) David Rundblad
30) Linden Vey
64) Simon Despres
84) Anton Lander
104) Drew Shore
2012 (2)
14) Zemgus Girgensons
74) Matt Hackett
2013 (9)
6) Valeri Nichushkin
7) Sean Monahan
11) Max Domi
27) Samuel Morin
31) Marco Mueller
38) Ryan Hartman
47) Danny DeKeyser
51) Danny Kristo
67) Martin Jones
2014 (2)
17) Kasperi Kapanen
77) Brett Pollock
2015 (2)
70) Scott Darling
90) Mackenzie Skapski
Team S (28)
2011 (8)
3) Gabriel Landeskog
7) Sean Couturier
14) Stefan Elliott
34) Joe Morrow
56) Oscar Klefbom
67) Anton Khudobin
87) Tyler Pitlick
107) Adam Henrique
2012 (5)
4) Morgan Rielly
31) Henrik Samuelsson
37) Tom Wilson
55) Marcus Foligno
64) Greg McKegg
2013 (5)
5) Elias Lindholm
25) Andre Burakovsky
45) Jujhar Khaira
58) William Karlsson
65) Pavel Buchnevich
2014 (3)
30) Sonny Milano
37) Ivan Barbashev
70) Gregory Chase
2015 (7)
2) Jack Eichel
10) Pavel Zacha
37) Vince Dunn
44) Travis Dermott
47) Mitchell Stephens
57) Roope Hintz
77) Brandon Halverson
Team T (25)
2011 (6)
12) Dougie Hamilton
32) Tyler Biggs
44) Magnus Hellberg
72) Cody Eakin
92) Curtis Hamilton
112) Nathan Beaulieu
2012 (4)
13) Hampus Lindholm
53) Scott Laughton
60) Phillip Di Guiseppe
73) Mike Matheson
2013 (5)
4) Sasha Barkov
14) Darnell Nurse
34) Morgan Klimchuk
44) Dylan Heatherington
64) J.T. Compher
2014 (4)
6) Nikolaj Ehlers
18) Josh Ho-Sang
46) Brendan Lemieux
66) Joshua Jacobs
2015 (6)
17) Travis Konecny
18) Ilya Samsonov
66) Dennis Yan
86) Graham Knott
97) Andrey Makarov
98) Vili Saarijarvi
Overall Depth Chart
Team A
Forwards
Marko Dano-Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-Brandon Saad
Curtis Lazar-Mika Zibanejad-Brett Ritchie
Nikolay Goldobin-Vladislav Namestnikov-Nikita Scherbak
Michael Mersch-Reid Boucher-Ty Rattie
Valentin Zykov-Shane McColgan-Kyle Beach
Greg Carey
Defencemen
Tyson Barrie-Madison Bowey
Dmitri Orlov-Jordan Schmaltz
Marcus Pettersson-Joey Laleggia
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Laurent Brossoit
Oscar Dansk
Team B
Forwards
Mark Stone-Ryan Strome-Jonathan Huberdeau
Jakob Silfverberg-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Tomas Hertl
Teemu Pulkkinen-Nick Bjugstad-Sven Baertschi
Joel Armia-Nick Petan-Sergei Plotnikov
Alexander Khokhlachev-Joey Hishon-Rocco Grimaldi
Nick Baptiste-Colin White-Jeremy Bracco
Jason Dickinson-Frederick Gauthier-Vladislav Kamenev
Ivan Telegin
Defencemen
Adam Larsson-Torey Krug
Nikita Zadorov-Josh Morrissey
Brendan Smith-Jon Merrill
Slater Koekkoek-Ville Pokka
Xavier Ouellet-Matt Donovan
Jonathan Blum-Dalton Thrower
Goaltenders
Eddie Lack
Zane McIntyre
Niklas Svedberg
Team C
Forwards
Gustav Nyquist-Mikael Granlund-Jaden Schwartz
Brock Nelson-Sam Reinhart-Johnny Gaudreau
Jakub Vrana-William Nylander-Kevin Fiala
Zach Senyshyn-Mikhail Grigorenko-Viktor Arvidsson
Jiri Sekac-Rickard Rakell-Calle Jarnkrok
Hudson Fasching-Sebastian Collberg-Artturi Lehkonen
William Carrier
Defencemen
Justin Faulk-Slava Voynov
Derrick Pouliot-Ryan Murphy
Julius Honka-Brandon Montour
Noah Juulsen-Rasmus Andersson
Roland McKeown
Goaltenders
Robin Lehner
John Gibson
Michael Hutchinson
Jacob Markstrom
Jack Campbell
Antoine Bibeau
Team D
Forwards
Brett Connolly-Dylan Strome-Zack Kassian
Adam Erne-Jared McCann-Brock Boeser
Evgeni Svechnikov-Joel Eriksson Ek-Jake Debrusk
Daniel Sprong-Ryan MacInnis-Anton Karlsson
Stefan Noesen-Colton Sissons-Jared Knight
Eric Cornel-Dmytro Timashov
Defencemen
Brandon Gormley-Jacob Larsson
Duncan Siemens-Jordan Subban
Goaltenders
Eric Comrie
Thatcher Demko
Team E
Forwards
Vladimir Tarasenko-Filip Forsberg-Robby Fabbri
Charlie Coyle-Marc Scheifele-Adam Lowry
Taylor Beck-Vincent Trocheck-Brendan Perlini
Jansen Harkins-Connor Brown-Dane Fox
Matej Stransky
Defencemen
Justin Schultz-David Savard
Brayden McNabb-John Moore
Connor Murphy-Ian McCoshen
Guillame Brisebois-Jarome Gauthier-Leduc
Goaltenders
Braden Holtby
Malcolm Subban
Team F
Forwards
Tomas Tatar-Reilly Smith-Tyler Toffoli
David Pastrnak-Beau Bennett-Johan Larsson
Brendan Leipsic-Andrei Loktionov-Sergey Tolchinsky
Kevin Labanc-Louis Leblanc- Brett MacLean
Kirill Kabanov
Defencemen
None
Goaltenders
Jake Allen
Ville Husso
Matt O’Connor
Team G
Forwards
Nikita Kucherov-Alex Galchenyuk-Tomas Jurco
Kerby Rychel-Alexander Wennberg-Dmitrij Jaskin
Sven Andrighetto-Denis Gurianov-Christian Dvorak
Joonas Donskoi-Cory Conacher-Richard Panik
Tomas Nosek-Vaclav Karabacek-Axel Holmstrom
Martin Frk-Tim Bozon-Marek Tvrdon
Defencemen
Anthony DeAngelo-Ivan Provorov
Cody Ceci-Martin Marincin
Adam Clendening-Ryan Sproul
Jake McCabe-Mark Barberio
Matt Finn-Mitch Vande Sompel
Martin Gernat
Goaltenders
Petr Mrazek
Keith Kinkaid
Dustin Tokarski
Alex Stalock
Anders Nilsson
Tristan Jarry
Matej Tomek
Sami Aittokallio
Mark Dekanich
Tyler Bunz
Team H
Forwards
Brendan Gallagher-Ryan Spooner-Matt Nieto
Alex Chiasson-Jori Lehtera-Emerson Etem
Matt Puempel-Chris Tierney-Riley Barber
Timo Meier-Matthew Barzal-Kyle Connor
Nick Paul-Jordan Weal-Jimmy Vesey
Roman Cervanka
Defencemen
Mathew Dumba-Tim Erixon
Shayne Gostisbehere-Oliver Kylington
Mattias Backman
Goaltenders
Connor Hellebuyck
Scott Wedgewood
Joacim Eriksson
Team I
Forwards
Jason Zucker-Teuvo Teravainen-Boone Jenner
Tobias Rieder-Joe Colborne-Filip Chlapik
Jeremy Morin-Max Reinhart-Jason Akeson
Stanislav Galiev-Kirill Petrov
Defencemen
Aaron Ekblad-Seth Jones
Kyle Capobianco-Maxim Goncharov
Goaltenders
Mark Visentin
Team J
Forwards
Chris Kreider-Carl Soderberg-Tanner Pearson
Anthony Mantha-Jonathan Drouin-Nick Ritchie
Oliver Bjorkstrand-Oscar Lindberg-Tyler Bertuzzi
Brandon Kozun-Nicolas Kerdiles-Scott Kosmachuk
Defencemen
Sami Vatanen-Jacob Trouba
Olli Maatta-Jared Cowen
Mattias Ekholm-Paul Postma
Griffin Reinhart-Shea Theodore
Zach Werenski-Jeremy Roy
Ludvig Bystrom-Gustav Forsling
Trevor Carrick-Jonathan-Ismael Diaby
Goaltenders
Frederik Andersen
Joni Ortio
Zachary Fucale
Juuse Saros
Team K
Forwards
Michael Dal Colle-Jacob De La Rose-Mikko Rantanen
Justin Bailey-Peter Holland-Radek Faksa
Maxim Letunov-Zack Phillips-Ryan Gropp
Defencemen
Damon Severson-Tommy Vanelli
Ryan Pilon-Marc-Andre Gragnani
Goaltenders
Alexander Salak
Team L
Forwards
Nathan MacKinnon-Tyler Johnson-Anders Lee
J.T. Miller-Kevin Hayes-Brandon Pirri
Anthony Duclair-Bo Horvat-Nicklas Jensen
Brayden Point-Nick Schmaltz-Emile Poirier
Kevin Roy-J-G Pageau-Paul Bittner
Conor Garland
Defencemen
Jonas Brodin-Alex Petrovic
Colin Miller-Travis Sanheim
Scott Harrington-Joe Hicketts
Brenden Kichton
Goaltenders
Ben Scrivens
Calvin Pickard
Jon Gillies
Kristers Gudlevskis
Team M
Forwards
Christian Fischer-Sam Bennett-Jordan Greenway
Andy Miele-Pontus Aberg
Defencemen
Thomas Chabot-Robert Hagg
Goaltenders
Darcy Kuemper
Mason McDonald
Steffen Soberg
Team N
Forwards
Hunter Shinkaruk-Mitch Marner-Jake Virtanen
Artemi Panarin-Steve Moses-Nikita Soshnikov
Alex Tuch-Adrian Kempe-Zach Hyman
Jordan Schroeder-Zac Dalpe-Miikka Salomaki
Evgeny Grachev-Petri Kontiola-Blake Geoffrion
Myles Bell
Defencemen
Noah Hanafin-Calvin de Haan
Kevin Connauton-Frank Corrado
Haydn Fleury-Chris Bigras
Chris Wideman-Adam Almquist
Goaltenders
Andrew Hammond
Joe Cannata
Team O
Forwards
Nail Yakupov-Dylan Larkin-Lawson Crouse
Nick Merkley-Victor Rask-Anthony Beauvillier
Conner Bleackley-Mark McNeill-Scott Glennie
Shane Prince-Martin Reway
Defencemen
Ryan Pulock-Mike Reilly
Mark Pysyk-Brian Dumoulin
Nate Schmidt-Magnus Nygren
Patrick McNally-Brandon Hickey
Dmitry Sinitsyn
Goaltenders
Ben Bishop
Matt Murray
Reto Berra
Team P
Forwards
Jack Roslovic-Connor McDavid-Leon Draisaitl
Lance Bouma-Mark Jankowski-Markus Granlund
John Quenneville-Cole Cassels-Andreas Athanasiou
Quinton Howden-Brendan Gaunce-Michael Sgarbossa
Defencemen
Ryan Murray-John Klingberg
Jakub Zboril-Esa Lindell
Nicolas Meloche-Danny Biega
Goaltenders
Antti Raanta
Philipp Grubauer
Mackenzie Blackwood
Team Q
Forwards
Luke Adam-Ben Smith-Nicolas Roy
Anton Slepyshev-Bogdan Yakimov-Daniil Zharkov
Defencemen
Rasmus Ristolainen-Jake Gardiner
Dylan Olsen-Matt Taormina
Goaltenders
Alex Nedeljkovic
Felix Sandstrom
Team R
Forwards
Valeri Nichushkin-Sean Monahan-Max Domi
Kasperi Kapanen-Zemgus Girgensons-Ryan Hartman
Linden Vey-Anton Lander-Drew Shore
Danny Kristo-Brett Pollock
Defencemen
Danny DeKeyser-Simon Despres
David Rundblad-Marco Mueller
Samuel Morin
Goaltenders
Martin Jones
Scott Darling
Mackenzie Skapski
Matt Hackett
Team S
Forwards
Gabriel Landeskog-Elias Lindholm-Jack Eichel
Marcus Foligno-Sean Couturier-Adam Henrique
Andre Burakovsky-Sonny Milano-Tom Wilson
Pavel Buchnevich-Pavel Zacha-Ivan Barbashev
Tyler Pitlick- William Karlsson-Henrik Samuelsson
Greg McKegg-Jujhar Khaira-Gregory Chase
Mitchell Stephens-Roope Hintz
Defencemen
Morgan Rielly-Oscar Klefbom
Joe Morrow-Stefan Elliott
Travis Dermott-Vince Dunn
Goaltenders
Anton Khudobin
Brandon Halverson
Team T
Forwards
Scott Laughton-Sasha Barkov-Nikolaj Ehlers
Brendan Lemieux-Cody Eakin-Travis Konecny
Morgan Klimchuk-Josh Ho-Sang-J.T. Compher
Phillip Di Guiseppe-Dennis Yan-Graham Knott
Tyler Biggs-Curtis Hamilton
Defencemen
Dougie Hamilton-Hampus Lindholm
Darnell Nurse-Nathan Beaulieu
Mike Matheson-Vili Saarijarvi
Joshua Jacobs-Dylan Heatherington
Goaltenders
Ilya Samsonov
Magnus Hellberg
Andrey Makarov
Prize Money Winners
2011
Regular Season
1) Team C – $350
2) Team B – $200
3) Team K – $150
4) Team G – $50
Playoffs
1) Team B – $150
2) Team P – $100
3) Team C – $50
2012
Regular Season
1) Team B – $600
2) Team A – $400
3) Team C – $300
4) Team K – $100
Playoffs
1) Team N – $250
2) Team K – $150
3) Team A – $50
2013
Regular Season
1) Team B – $600
2) Team H – $360
3) Team E – $260
4) Team C – $100
5) Team M – $50
6) Team F – $40
Playoffs
1) Team B – $250
2) Team E – $150
3) Team H – $60
C) Team C – $50
2014
Regular Season
1) Team B – $600
2) Team E – $360
3) Team H – $260
4) Team R – $100
5) Team A – $50
Playoffs
1) Team H – $250
2) Team R – $150
3) Team E – $60
C) Team T – $50
2015
Regular Season
1) Team C – $600
2) Team B – $360
3) Team I – $260
4) Team L – $100
5) Team F – $50
Playoffs
1) Team B – $250
2) Team C – $150
3) Team A – $60
C) Team O – $50
Total Winnings
Team A – $560
Team B – $3,010
Team C – $1,600
Team D – None
Team E – $830
Team F – $90
Team G – $50
Team H – $930
Team I – $260
Team J – None
Team K – $400
Team L – $100
Team M – $50
Team N – $250
Team O – $50
Team P – $100
Team Q – None
Team R – $250
Team S – None
Team T – $50
Making Sense Of It All
As you can see, Team B has been a dominant force in nearly doubling the next-closest competitor in prize money. Team C ranks second, followed by Team H, Team E and Team A.
It’s no coincidence that those five teams also boast some of the best rookie draft rosters. They have ruled the draft both in quantity and quality, especially Teams B and C. They have picked more steals than busts over the years, and a lot of that has to do with selecting the best player available and not drafting based on current roster needs or rolling the dice on long-shot prospects. That rule of thumb applies to all levels of hockey, and Dennis Schallenberg did a good job covering the reasons to “Draft for Talent, Trade for Need” in real life. The same goes for fantasy.
There does seem to be power in numbers based on this experiment. The more picks you make, the more prospects you can pawn off for immediate improvements. In other words, the more chips you have in play when the ensuing season starts.
Worth noting, Teams A to G represent the seven original GMs remaining in this 20-team league. Teams H to T have experienced ownership changes to varying degrees. Only four of the 20 teams have yet to win any prize money through five seasons, which means 16 teams have earned some return on their investment. That speaks to the parity of this league, even if Team B has been in a league of its own to date.
Everybody else is playing catch-up, and Team B had another solid showing in this year’s rookie draft, which should help in prolonging its competitiveness. But that championship run has to come to an end sooner or later, and this could be the year. Some of the teams that have drafted extremely well in recent years, including a few that have yet to collect a payout, are primed to climb the standings and poised to take home a payday — possibly at the expense of Team B. Stay tuned to see how the upcoming season plays out in Fantasy World.
Larry Fisher is a sports reporter for The Daily Courier in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. Follow him on Twitter: @LarryFisher_KDC.