Is there really much of a strategy in keeping guys or not? I have two 23 or under guys who are okay and I wouldn't mind having them but what's the alternative if I don't?
I've played keeper leagues in baseball but it's dependent on what round you picked your keeper in the previous season. I don't know how this one works.
Under 23 guys are tricky because if you don't keep one, you end up losing a keeper and end up picking late because of it. The trick is finding 3 guys you know you want to keep according to the team you want to build, or hope to and find an U23 that you'd like to keep for a few years so you don't have to think about it.
I have a few options this year with keepers but not my U23. I have Gibson as my U23 and then I had to choose from Holtby, Benn, Burns and Weber for my other 3 guys. Depending on how I want to assemble my team, this was a pretty easy choice. 3 of those 4 are top 10 fantasy choices and as much as I love Weber, the other 3 are too good to pass up. My team is built off of goalie strength this year which is a change in philosophy as I won last year going for better players and taking goalies late in the draft as they're always going to be available. Because I traded away my 7th and 8th round picks for Holtby and Gibson, I had to alter my strategy and build from the net out. I'll have a 5th and 6th and then I don't pick again until round 9. It's going to be tough but the only thing I worry about this year after winning it all is not to be relegated and with the two goalies I've got, I should be assured of that. Also, as long as I draft well with my early picks, I should be a mid tier team, possibly sneaking in to the playoffs as I always do and that's not to be cocky, it's just fact. I've been fortunate and a good enough GM to make the playoffs every year the premier league has been in existence. I finally won it all last year after pulling the Preds year after year in the playoffs.