seventieslord
Student Of The Game
I always wondered what it might look like if we were able to follow up the ATD with an equal-sized MLD. This year, between the MLD, AAA, AA, A, B and C drafts we picked 28 full teams of players (plus two, if you include the add/drops, for a total of 702). This is a little simulation of what the rosters would look like if we did just that. I did this in two phases: one that didn't take much thought, and one that did.
In phase one I simply began drafting all the players taken this year, in order, and placing them on all 28 teams in order, in a snake format. I placed the players where I assumed they'd end up falling on a depth chart. When I ended up with a situation where a team had, for example, two scoring LWs and it was the list said they should take a third, I simply took the next appropriate player for them, and that scoring LW would go to the next team that needed them.
I did this until the end of the C draft. It was all list-based but it took a little more work than it sounds like, because I had to place some good two-way and checking line players from the MLD down on 3rd/4th lines, and leave room on the scoring lines for players from the A/B/C drafts who I knew would merit a spot by the end. I didn't draft a backup goalie to any team until all teams had a starter.
After this was completed, I went through the lineups and made sure that as many scoring lines as possible had one player who could provide some level of intangibles (defense, physicality). Then I took a look at the "glue guys" and made sure that the ones with the best offensive potential ended up on first lines, and the next best scorers were on second lines. Then I did this with all of the more "one dimensional" scorers (typically two per scoring line). Third lines were completed with two-way play in mind: the best defensive players, the "next best" offensive players with some defensive game, and the "next best" glue guys who couldn't quite make a scoring line. 4th lines are mixed bags: next best defensive players, PK specialists who you just can't get away with calling "two-way", goons who can take a regular shift, a few guys who couldn't make scoring lines but were too good offensively to sit as spares, and so on. On the defensive corps I tried to go with two guys I'd class as offensive, two defensive, and two two-way. With the necessity to make seven assistant coaches, I chose a few weaker head coaches as well as a few who have good assistant coach resumes. One player was missed - I'm not sure who.
I then took a final look at all the rosters, combing through for the odd first liner and second liner who could be swapped, 2nd liners and 3rd liners who could be swapped, and players who were listed as spares but had a strong enough case to usurp a starter. In the end, spares were made up of defensemen of all types (Offensive, defensive, two-way) whom I just couldn't make room for, centers/rovers with no intangibles and not quite enough offense to even get on a 4th line, one dimensional checkers without the offense or defense of bottom six regulars, and players who were arguable starters but whose multi-positional ability made them sure to play a lot despite being listed as spares nonetheless. As much as the positions of the spares would allow, I made sure each team had a spare center, a spare defensemen and two spare wingers. Ten teams had two defensemen and a winger. The seven teams with an assistant coach had three spares - except for two, who made room for a 26th name (because of the two add/drops from the AAA). There are 107 spares and since we drafted 100 in the C draft, you'd expect most of them would end up as spares, but it didn't end up that way - it was only about half.
Stay tuned for all of the rosters.
In phase one I simply began drafting all the players taken this year, in order, and placing them on all 28 teams in order, in a snake format. I placed the players where I assumed they'd end up falling on a depth chart. When I ended up with a situation where a team had, for example, two scoring LWs and it was the list said they should take a third, I simply took the next appropriate player for them, and that scoring LW would go to the next team that needed them.
I did this until the end of the C draft. It was all list-based but it took a little more work than it sounds like, because I had to place some good two-way and checking line players from the MLD down on 3rd/4th lines, and leave room on the scoring lines for players from the A/B/C drafts who I knew would merit a spot by the end. I didn't draft a backup goalie to any team until all teams had a starter.
After this was completed, I went through the lineups and made sure that as many scoring lines as possible had one player who could provide some level of intangibles (defense, physicality). Then I took a look at the "glue guys" and made sure that the ones with the best offensive potential ended up on first lines, and the next best scorers were on second lines. Then I did this with all of the more "one dimensional" scorers (typically two per scoring line). Third lines were completed with two-way play in mind: the best defensive players, the "next best" offensive players with some defensive game, and the "next best" glue guys who couldn't quite make a scoring line. 4th lines are mixed bags: next best defensive players, PK specialists who you just can't get away with calling "two-way", goons who can take a regular shift, a few guys who couldn't make scoring lines but were too good offensively to sit as spares, and so on. On the defensive corps I tried to go with two guys I'd class as offensive, two defensive, and two two-way. With the necessity to make seven assistant coaches, I chose a few weaker head coaches as well as a few who have good assistant coach resumes. One player was missed - I'm not sure who.
I then took a final look at all the rosters, combing through for the odd first liner and second liner who could be swapped, 2nd liners and 3rd liners who could be swapped, and players who were listed as spares but had a strong enough case to usurp a starter. In the end, spares were made up of defensemen of all types (Offensive, defensive, two-way) whom I just couldn't make room for, centers/rovers with no intangibles and not quite enough offense to even get on a 4th line, one dimensional checkers without the offense or defense of bottom six regulars, and players who were arguable starters but whose multi-positional ability made them sure to play a lot despite being listed as spares nonetheless. As much as the positions of the spares would allow, I made sure each team had a spare center, a spare defensemen and two spare wingers. Ten teams had two defensemen and a winger. The seven teams with an assistant coach had three spares - except for two, who made room for a 26th name (because of the two add/drops from the AAA). There are 107 spares and since we drafted 100 in the C draft, you'd expect most of them would end up as spares, but it didn't end up that way - it was only about half.
Stay tuned for all of the rosters.
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