ATD 2020 Draft Summary

[ImporterExporter]

Going to resurrect something we used to do after every draft was complete. Maybe not having done one in a few years will get more people interested in doing one once the drafting is complete:

Vote for players/groups from other teams than your own.


Biggest Steal(s) of the draft:
Biggest Reach(es) of the draft:
Smartest/best strategic pick in the draft:
Biggest blunder selection of the draft:
A Player finally getting respect in the draft:
A player always taken too high, finally getting picked where he should in the draft:
A player you've discovered in this draft:
Most underrated player taken:
Most overrated player taken:
Favorite scoring line of the draft:
Favorite checking line of the draft:
Best assembled line of the draft:
Worst assembled line of the draft:
Favorite pairing of defensemen:
Most puzzling pairing of defensemen:
Team in the other conference it'd be interesting to meet in the finals:
Team in the other conference you wouldn't want to meet in the finals:
A funny/dramatic story (related to the ATD) you've learned about since the start of the draft:

---

Best selection: You cannot vote for players you own

1st round:
2nd round:
3rd round:
4th round:
5th round:
6th round:
7th round:
8th round:
9th round:
10th round:
11th round:
12nd round:
13th round:
14th round:
15th round:
16th round:
17th round:
18th round:
19th round:
20th round:
21st round:
22nd round:
23th round:
24th round:
25th round:

'Worst' Selection:

1st round:
2nd round:
3rd round:
4th round:
5th round:
6th round:
7th round:
8th round:
9th round:
10th round:
11th round:
12nd round:
13th round:
14th round:
15th round:
16th round:
17th round:
18th round:
19th round:
20th round:
21st round:
22nd round:
23th round:
24th round:
25th round:


Also, feel free to add any other comments or reflections about your experience/team this year.

Click to read more...

 

[ImporterExporter]

@ResilientBeast can lock until the drafting is complete.

 

[VanIslander]

Best selection: You cannot vote for players you own

1st round: 28th Messier
2nd round: 63rd Lalonde
3rd round: 86th Dionne
4th round: 129th Bentley
5th round: 163rd Keon
6th round: 205th Petrov
7th round: 246th Lewis
8th round: 314th Bowie
9th round: 344th Neilson
10th round: 361st Stevens

'Worst' Selection:

1st round: 40th MacInnis
2nd round: 73rd Brimsek
3rd round: 93rd Lindros
4th round: 143rd Alfredsson
5th round: 191st McDonald
6th round: 228th Fleury
7th round: 255th Josi
8th round: 315th Ward
9th round: 325th Letang
10th round: 398th Prentice

 

[ChiTownPhilly]

Rather than pretend to be a worthy arbiter of "Best" and "Worst," I'd like to use the categories 'Favorite' and 'Bravest/Boldest' picks. 'Favorite' simply means I think they're worth more than the slot selected suggests they're worth. 'Bravest/Boldest' does NOT mean "Worst." Oh, I have some thoughts as to "worst," but I'm keeping them to myself for now. 'Bravest/Boldest' simply means selections that feel a little "reach-y" to me, but still think could be defended with some innovative thinking...

Favorite
1. Bill Cook RW Renegades (33) just seems like hella value to me.
2. Aurèle Joliat LW Winnipeg (80) brings a lot of positives to that position at the back end of Rd. 2.
3. So many picks to love in Rd. 3! Mikhailov RW Shamrocks (90), Fedorov C NDG (96), Iginla RW Salt Lk (97)! But I give pride-of-place to Benedict G Carolina (114)
4. Bernie Parent G Bolshoi (147)
5. František Pospíšil D Americans (194) checks a lot of boxes for a pick just barely inside the top-200.
6. Vladimir Petrov C Saskatoon (205)
7. Mats Sundin C Salt Lake (257) was the answer to the question "how far was he gonna fall?" Too far.
8. Russell Bowie C Pittsburgh (314)- apparently, him going this late is a thing. Not understanding it, though...
9. Bob Baun D NDG (336) we have some "let's watch" clips involving him in the History parent-board. The man could play.
10. Marty Pavelich LW Valleyfield (369).

Bravest/Boldest
1. Paul Coffey D Rosebuds (26)
2. Honorable Mention to Tretiak G N Bay (52), but this Round belongs to Brian Leetch D Penguins (50)
3 (+). Zetterberg/Datsyuk Oakland (120-121) looked like the start of something interesting.
4. Tony Esposito G IceCaps (152) Seems like a "First Order of Business: GET to The Playoffs" kind of pick.
5. Brad Marchand LW Montreal (171)- I'll hang up and listen.
6. Brian Propp LW Seattle (229)
7. Duke Keats C Devils (278) Got Penalty Kill?!
8. Gary Suter D Baltimore (286)
9. Starshinov C Swamp Devils (343) FT build-around-line-challenge Win.
10. Vladimir Kostka coach N Bay (372).

 

[ImporterExporter]

2020 DRAFT SUMMARY:
-Don't pick players from your own rosters.


Biggest Steal(s) of the draft:
Espo (38), Malkin (85), Suchy (184), Pospisil (194), Nels Stewart (135), Lemaire (237), Imlach (401) and Sather (410). Getting a pair of coaches who oversaw dynasties outside the top 400 when coaches started going in the mid 200's. Darragh (492), Kiprusoff, (635), Ernie Russell (732)


Biggest Reach(es) of the draft:
Coffey (26), Leetch (50), Fleury (228), coaches in round 7 as you still had top pairings and scoring lines being built. Goalies jump and coaches should have fallen in a draft this size. Josi (255), Rafalksi (288), Novy (311), Anton Stastny (480), Scheifele (560)


Smartest/best strategic pick in the draft:
-Hitchman to pair with Shore.
Getting a high end #1 D in round and then getting a passable #2 in round 6 who happens to have played a long time in real life with the high end #1.


A Player finally getting respect in the draft:
-Patrick Roy
Greatest goalie ever. I'll take him in game 7 over any other player. We can talk about meta value and how it relates to goalie draft position but it's nice to see a top 10 player of all time being selected near that mark.


A player always taken too high, finally getting picked where he should in the draft:
-Alexander Ragulin
Maybe? I mean I still think he needs to fall further but he's slipped down to the mid 200's at least.


A player you've discovered in this draft:
Bobby Gould
-I cheated here by picking someone I drafted but given we focus more closely on who we draft, this was an apt name for me. Two time Selke finalist at W. Really strong PK credentials. Given those 2 bullet points and the fact he's a winger, I think he should have been picked higher than the 900's.


Most underrated player taken:
Bob Bourne
-One of my original research projects way back when. He was literally a jack of all trades player. Could play anywhere on the F line. PK'd at a high level. Was used on the point on the PP. Elite wheels and over the 4 straight Cup wins he scored 74 points in 74 games. including a team high 28 in 1983. He should go much higher.


Most overrated player taken:
Marc Andre Fleury
-He's essentially Chris Osgood but got drafted in the top 250.
Alexei Kasatanov
-Why does he go way over Pospisil?


Favorite scoring line of the draft:
Alexander Yakushev - Igor Larionov - Sergei Makarov
-How about some love for the all Euro team! This line is fantastic across the board. You have a big horse, ala Phil Espo, in Yak. He'll score a ton of dirty goals. Larionov is the glue, very strong defensively and underrated offensively. Then there's Mak. Not much needs to be said. He's the best Soviet forward of all time IMO. Played long time with Larionov. One of the most dangerous lines in the league.


Favorite 2 way scoring line:
Esa Tikkanen-Steve Yzerman-Jari Kurri
-A bit light on play making but this is a line that can put the puck in the net very well for a 40 team draft and can absolutely go power on power against other top lines, especially if those lines are weaker defensively. 3 Selke level defensive forwards on a scoring line is pretty rare to see.


Favorite pure checking line of the draft:
Craig Ramsay-Joel Otto-Dirk Graham
-Multiple Selke winners, you have an elite and 2 great defensive forwards. Physical, can PK and even Otto provides some PP value as net front presence.


Best assembled line of the draft:
Bun Cook - Frank Boucher - Bill Cook (C)
-To be able to put together one of the more dominant lines in hockey history in a 40 team, no trade draft is pretty astute with some good fortunate mixed in. Really hope Macho is ok.

Tommy Phillips - Peter Forsberg - Jaromír Jágr
-Non real life reconstruction this line seems like a fantastic fit. Forsberg can be a physical workhorse, which is his bread and butter, you have an elite defensive LW who can be trusted to cover up for Forsberg's deep ventures and Jagr's complete lack of defensive conscious but Jagr is obviously drafted for his considerable offensive acumen. This line has a ton of offensive ability with one elite and one good defensive presence.


Favorite pairing of defensemen:
Moose Johnson-Red Kelly
-High end #1 paired perfectly with a high end #2. Johnson and Kelly are both what I classify as two way defensemen. Size, speed, offense, defense, special teams, big game play, etc. Fantastic pair.


Most puzzling pairing of defensemen:
Nikolai Sologubov - Tomáš Kaberle
-I'd want to see more defense on a 2nd pairing or at least Sologubov not being the primary defensive conscious. He needs to be unleashed offensively speaking. Honestly it may be beneficial to swap he and Pospisil. Chara is an above average #1 and would be perfect cover for Sologubov to dash freely. Pospisil would give you an elite presence anchoring a 2nd pairing.


A funny/dramatic story (related to the ATD) you've learned about since the start of the draft:
Regarding Harry "Rat" Westwick:
When he married his wife Ruby Duval in February 1903, he combined his honeymoon with a team trip to Montreal. During the game, he suffered a broken ankle and watched the rest of the game from an arena seat with his bride.

 

[Sturminator]

You have a big horse, ala Phil Espo, in Yak. He'll score a ton of dirty goals.

Hey man...no offense, but this is kind of a hackneyed take. Yakushev is often compared to Esposito for mainly superficial reasons, including: a) they were their respective teams' scoring leaders in 1972; b) they are both large men who play forward.

Yakushev played nothing like Esposito, though, and I'm not at all sure that he's a good replacement for Vladimir Krutov on the old KLM line. Krutov was a guy who could score you some dirty goals, as well as a guy who would dig like crazy for you, and pass the puck when a teammate was in a better position. Yakushev was not much of a digger, and he didn't like to pass the puck all that much, either. I think he's best as the top dog on a 2nd unit in the ATD...bit of a puck hog. Putting him on a line with the superior Makarov and expecting him to fill the shoes of Krutov seems like folly to me.

As to whether Yakushev was, in fact, a guy who scored lots of "Phil Esposito goals"...meh. He'd go into high traffic areas for sure, and he was big with a long stick and a huge reach...really hard to get off the puck. Yak was really more of a dangler than a digger/goalmouth scorer type. He played sort of like Mario Lemieux if 66 had just stayed 18 years old forever.

tl;dr - in kreuzer's lineup, I'd swap Yak with Liba. That line needs a Krutov, and Yak is not a Krutov. He is also not an Esposito, though that is good for kreuzer, as an Esposito - Larionov - Makarov line would ask far too much of the Soviets from a defensive/puckwinning perspective, even if we accept, arguendo, that Esposito loses no value as a left wing.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

I'll post my own thoughts when the draft is over, but just want to comment here:

Tommy Phillips - Peter Forsberg - Jaromír Jágr
-Non real life reconstruction this line seems like a fantastic fit. Forsberg can be a physical workhorse, which is his bread and butter, you have an elite defensive LW who can be trusted to cover up for Forsberg's deep ventures and Jagr's complete lack of defensive conscious but Jagr is obviously drafted for his considerable offensive acumen. This line has a ton of offensive ability with one elite and one good defensive presence.

You think there's enough puck to go around for Forsberg and Jagr? I can't think of two recent players who held onto the puck for longer than those two. I mean, Forsberg at least is smart enough to play well off the puck when Jagr is hogging it; I just don't know if that's the best use of his talents. Who is scoring the goals off Jagr's passes, anyway?

I thought Jagr and Forsberg were both good value when drafted, but I personally would not even play them together.

IMO, Jagr is almost as hard to find a proper center for in this as Bobby Hull. It's why I always think Maurice Richard is usually undervalued in this - of that calibre of winger, he's the easiest to build a line around by far. In my opinion, at least.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Hey man...no offense, but this is kind of a hackneyed take. Yakushev is often compared to Esposito for mainly superficial reasons, including: a) they were their respective teams' scoring leaders in 1972; b) they are both large men who play forward.

Yakushev played nothing like Esposito, though, and I'm not at all sure that he's a good replacement for Vladimir Krutov on the old KLM line. Krutov was a guy who could score you some dirty goals, as well as a guy who would dig like crazy for you, and pass the puck when a teammate was in a better position. Yakushev was not much of a digger, and he didn't like to pass the puck all that much, either. I think he's best as the top dog on a 2nd unit in the ATD...bit of a puck hog. Putting him on a line with the superior Makarov and expecting him to fill the shoes of Krutov seems like folly to me.

As to whether Yakushev was, in fact, a guy who scored lots of "Phil Esposito goals"...meh. He'd go into high traffic areas for sure, and he was big with a long stick and a huge reach...really hard to get off the puck. Yak was really more of a dangler than a digger/goalmouth scorer type. He played sort of like Mario Lemieux if 66 had just stayed 18 years old forever.

tl;dr - in kreuzer's lineup, I'd swap Yak with Liba. That line needs a Krutov, and Yak is not a Krutov. He is also not an Esposito, though that is good for kreuzer, as an Esposito - Larionov - Makarov line would ask far too much of the Soviets from a defensive/puckwinning perspective, even if we accept, arguendo, that Esposito loses no value as a left wing.

While I do think you have 2 players who tended to be much more of the puck carrying type, I don't think it means that the skill and talent should be glossed over as well as the 3rd member. If you look at the entire unit in a more nuanced light, a person would see that Makarov, while usually the conductor of his line, was also one of, if not the best pure passers in Europe at the time. Smart player. Hockey can't be played as if each line is in their own time period, playing for their countries, coaches or styles. We judge players based on their resumes vs peers, we also need to mindful that the game of hockey has changed many times over many years.

Makarov, in my estimation would be a great defensive/neutral zone transition player with the ability to feed Yakushev upon entering the offensive zone. Let Yak do his thing and Makarov can use his skating to find time and space, which in turn is going to keep the D tight. Larionov is really a perfect player to C these 2 as he doesn't need to be involved nearly as much offensively. And there is obviously chemistry already with Mak. I think Mak is more than enough play making for the line on the whole and is talented/smart enough to not have the puck on his stick as much as he did in real life. Yak thrived in the slot. He was a big man and wasn't a softie by a long shot. Yes, you're asking him to go an extra gear as far as the grinding goes but that's were coaches and leadership will go a long way in getting folks to adapt, even if just slightly, from their "normal" routine. In a 40 team team draft, with no ability to maneuver, skips happening, etc, I think it's a fantastic effort to create a European super line, if you will, that sees real life chemistry across the board. It's not as easy to put lines together when you're going with a very specific draft strategy (picking all Euro's).

I do miss your vocabulary Sturm. I've not heard hackneyed used in a long, long time. I feel ashamed that I've said hootenanny more than once but not hackneyed.

I'll post my own thoughts when the draft is over, but just want to comment here:

You think there's enough puck to go around for Forsberg and Jagr? I can't think of two recent players who held onto the puck for longer than those two. I mean, Forsberg at least is smart enough to play well off the puck when Jagr is hogging it; I just don't know if that's the best use of his talents. Who is scoring the goals off Jagr's passes, anyway?

I thought Jagr and Forsberg were both good value when drafted, but I personally would not even play them together.

IMO, Jagr is almost as hard to find a proper center for in this as Bobby Hull. It's why I always think Maurice Richard is usually undervalued in this - of that calibre of winger, he's the easiest to build a line around by far. In my opinion, at least.

I think you need to factor in the 3rd line mate. And in this case I love the fit. Just my opinion of course.

The brilliance of the line is that Phillips covers up for Forsberg being a Tasmanian devil in the offensive zone. Like the response above, I think when you're talking about a fantasy draft, especially of this size and no ability to move, the fit is probably going to stretch from what we've been accustomed to seeing in recent years. Jagr can still carry the puck into the zone, and as someone who was adept at passing work combinations with Forsberg. Puck in a corner? Forsberg goes in, Phillips covers up top and vice versa as both of those guys can be counted on for plus defensive awareness. Jagr was a damn good goal scorer as well. A guy who could score anywhere, in any manner. 50+ at the height of the DPE and 62 season high/766 career. I think this group has strong hockey IQ (Jagr strictly offensive) and that counts for something.

Don't sleep on the physicality of the line either. Jagr wasn't throwing big checks but he was a massive body and wore down folks when he had the puck. Forsberg would just rocket launch his body into people every night, all over the ice. IIRC Phillips was at least a solid fore checker (he was elite as a back checker) but I'll brush up on him shortly.

 

[Sturminator]

IMO, Jagr is almost as hard to find a proper center for in this as Bobby Hull. It's why I always think Maurice Richard is usually undervalued in this - of that calibre of winger, he's the easiest to build a line around by far. In my opinion, at least.

This is a good point. Jagr is a challenge to center. When I did the shadow draft at pick #19, I thought long and hard about drafting Jagr there instead of Nighbor. I ultimately decided that they were close enough in terms of absolute value that the difference in flexibility made Nighbor the more attractive pick to me.

aside: this is also probably the reason that Gordie Howe has had much more success in the ATD than either Gretzky or Lemieux. Flexibility (especially as it pertains to picks early in the draft) has always been underrated in the ATD.

 

[overpass]

This is a good point. Jagr is a challenge to center. When I did the shadow draft at pick #19, I thought long and hard about drafting Jagr there instead of Nighbor. I ultimately decided that they were close enough in terms of absolute value that the difference in flexibility made Nighbor the more attractive pick to me.

aside: this is also probably the reason that Gordie Howe has had much more success in the ATD than either Gretzky or Lemieux. Flexibility (especially as it pertains to picks early in the draft) has always been underrated in the ATD.

Jagr, Hull, Guy Lafleur, and other puck-dominant wingers needed to have a centre who can play without the puck, IMO. That often means a converted winger or a player who can play both wing or centre. For example, Jagr had his best season when centred by Martin Straka, who played most of his career apart from Jagr as a winger. Lafleur performed best when centred by Lemaire, who played some wing in his first few seasons. Hull never really clicked with Mikita, because they both liked to carry the puck--he was better with Phil Esposito and Bill Hay, who didn't need to carry the puck.

See this quote from Ron Wilson about the 2010 US Olympic team in Craig Custance's book about coaches. Patrick Kane is another player of this type -- a "center playing the wing" who plays better with a center who doesn't need the puck.
Wilson initially wanted Paul Stastny to play on a line with Patrick Kane but saw right away that it wasn't going to work out. Both players liked to have the puck.

"Patrick Kane wants the puck all the time. He's a center playing the wing," he says. "The first game we had them together there was no chemistry at all."

The chemistry instead developed between Ryan Kesler and Kane.

And you know what, I think Gordie Howe has a bit of this in his game as well. He liked to carry the puck like a center and had the green light from his coach to roam a lot more than other forwards of his era. Alex Delvecchio (who played mostly as a winger before he centered Howe) played off Howe's roaming and took the winger or center role as needed. Guyle Fielder, the great minor-league playmaking center, played a bit with Gordie Howe in his brief NHL stint with Detroit, and it didn't work at all because they both needed the puck. I wouldn't just plug Gordie in alongside any center and expect to get the most out of both of them.

There may be a bit of a question mark about Jagr and Forsberg clicking because they are both used to dominating the puck. But they might be fine -- both spent some time playing with other superstar linemates during their careers.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Jagr, Hull, Guy Lafleur, and other puck-dominant wingers needed to have a centre who can play without the puck, IMO. That often means a converted winger or a player who can play both wing or centre. For example, Jagr had his best season when centred by Martin Straka, who played most of his career apart from Jagr as a winger. Lafleur performed best when centred by Lemaire, who played some wing in his first few seasons. Hull never really clicked with Mikita, because they both liked to carry the puck--he was better with Phil Esposito and Bill Hay, who didn't need to carry the puck.

See this quote from Ron Wilson about the 2010 US Olympic team in Craig Custance's book about coaches. Patrick Kane is another player of this type -- a "center playing the wing" who plays better with a center who doesn't need the puck.
Wilson initially wanted Paul Stastny to play on a line with Patrick Kane but saw right away that it wasn't going to work out. Both players liked to have the puck.

"Patrick Kane wants the puck all the time. He's a center playing the wing," he says. "The first game we had them together there was no chemistry at all."

The chemistry instead developed between Ryan Kesler and Kane.

And you know what, I think Gordie Howe has a bit of this in his game as well. He liked to carry the puck like a center and had the green light from his coach to roam a lot more than other forwards of his era. Alex Delvecchio (who played mostly as a winger before he centered Howe) played off Howe's roaming and took the winger or center role as needed. Guyle Fielder, the great minor-league playmaking center, played a bit with Gordie Howe in his brief NHL stint with Detroit, and it didn't work at all because they both needed the puck. I wouldn't just plug Gordie in alongside any center and expect to get the most out of both of them.

There may be a bit of a question mark about Jagr and Forsberg clicking because they are both used to dominating the puck. But they might be fine -- both spent some time playing with other superstar linemates during their careers.

Forsberg absolutely has the game to play off the puck. And he's smart enough to do it.

I think some are overly rigid in their views on how a player could play given the right circumstances. This is a fantasy draft. There are so many more variables in a randomized draft that making sure each little detail is lined up perfectly, is an effort in madness.

You have everything you would want from an offensively dominant line. Elite defensive presence who can chip in offensively and be sure to cover up the ventures of the other 2 players. You have an extremely physical guy in Forsberg who can do work in the high traffic areas. There is nothing to suggest Forsberg couldn't excel in a puck retrieval and distributor (given that was his game anyway) role once offensive zone entry is gained. Jagr is Jagr. He can absolutely carry the puck on this line and work magic with Foppa. Yes, Jagr isn't a pure goal scorer, but he's still elite. Watching him and Forsberg on the cycle would be something to behold IMO.

 

[MadArcand]

Most puzzling pairing of defensemen:
Nikolai Sologubov - Tomáš Kaberle
-I'd want to see more defense on a 2nd pairing or at least Sologubov not being the primary defensive conscious. He needs to be unleashed offensively speaking. Honestly it may be beneficial to swap he and Pospisil. Chara is an above average #1 and would be perfect cover for Sologubov to dash freely. Pospisil would give you an elite presence anchoring a 2nd pairing.

Hm, I never thought of Sologubov as particularly offensively oriented? Seems like Pospíšil in the O/D ratio really.

As for Forsberg being a puck hog, I don't really remember him as such when playing for Sweden.

 

[Sturminator]

Biggest Steal(s) of the draft: Viktor Tikhonov - round 17, pick #657 [I loathe Tikhonov, but he's much better than this, especially in a draft where there's a run on coaches and Imlach gets picked around pick #400]

Biggest Reach(es) of the draft: Fred Shero - round 7, pick #274 [Scotty Bowman going in the 7th round is a lot more defensible than Fred Shero]

Smartest/best strategic pick in the draft: Tim Kerr - round 15, #538 [This pick cemented the Swamp Devils as one of my favorites to win this year]

Biggest blunder selection of the draft: I'm sure it was a coach

A Player finally getting respect in the draft: dunno

A player always taken too high, finally getting picked where he should in the draft: Turgeon?

A player you've discovered in this draft: Flash Hollett [sorta]

Most underrated player taken: Ivan Hlinka - round 13, pick #491

Most overrated player taken: Reg Noble - round 6, #208 [somebody sell me on what makes this guy in any way superior to Baldy Northcott]

Favorite scoring line of the draft: Foyston - Barry - Bathgate

Favorite checking line of the draft: Noble - Lepine - Dillon [I give Reg Noble a hard time, but this is an incredible checkingline here]

Best assembled line of the draft: Heatley - Fedorov - Nevin [love, love this line, and both Heatley and especially Nevin were taken at good value]

Worst assembled line of the draft: Cook - Boucher - Cook [reuniting great real-life units is always a good idea, but not at the cost of drafting Bun Cook in the 7th f***ing round. Bun Cook should never, ever be selected before Dean Prentice, and Prentice went more than 100 picks later]

Favorite pairing of defensemen: Brewer - Weber [waiting until the 3rd round to draft your first defenseman is hard. This is an awesome top pairing, anyway]

Most puzzling pairing of defensemen: Tinordi - MacInnis [would rather not see Al babysitting such a vastly inferior partner here]

---

Best selection: You cannot vote for players you own

1st round: Ted Lindsay [all-around wingers are underrated in the early rounds]
2nd round: Dickie Moore [see above]
3rd round: no standout picks in round #3
4th round: Sweeney Schriner [seems like he always is?]
5th round: Adam Oates [sneaky good pick given where they got him in relation to other centers]
6th round: Jimmy Thomson [like him about as well as any defenseman drafted since Art Coulter]
7th round: Dany Heatley [this may seem strange, but the positional flexibility Heatley offers is actually quite valuable]
8th round: Bernie Morris
9th round: Bob Pulford [What on earth happened here? Not sure I've ever seen Pulford so undervalued before. He was taken after a bunch of LWs who aren't in his league]
10th round: Phil Kessel [he's empty points, sure, but way too many of them to fall to the 10th round]
11th round: Glen Sather [smart time to move on an offensive-minded coach]
12nd round: Bob Nevin
13th round: Ivan Hlinka
14th round: Vladimir Vikulov
15th round: Camille Henry/Tim Kerr [elite PP specialists are totally worth it at this point to teams that can use them well]
16th round: Ron Stewart
17th round: Viktor Tikhonov
18th round: Ed Sandford
19th round: Ernie Russell
20th round: Yvon Lambert
21st round: Bobby Schmautz
22nd round: Jaroslav Pitner
23th round: Alexander Almetov
24th round: --
25th round: --

'Worst' Selection:

1st round: Steve Yzerman
2nd round: Brian Leetch
3rd round: Turk Broda
4th round: Sergei Zubov
5th round: Vladimir Konstantinov [really, papershoes? C'mon man...you know you could have waited on Vladdy]
6th round: M-A Fleury
7th round: Pat Lafontaine
8th round: Bernie Federko
9th round: Teppo Numminen [I love Tepppo, but not here]
10th round: Edgar Laprade [lots of bad picks in this round, actually]
11th round: Wally Stanowski
12nd round: Ed Jovanovski
13th round: Al Iafrate
14th round: huh?
15th round: no standout bad picks
16th round: Mario Marois
17th round: meh
18th round: Jan Erixon
19th round: hard to find obvious bad picks beyond a certain point
20th round: --
21st round: --
22nd round: --
23th round: --
24th round: --
25th round: --

 

[MadArcand]

Biggest Reach(es) of the draft: Fred Shero - round 7, pick #274 [Scotty Bowman going in the 7th round is a lot more defensible than Fred Shero]

Happens when you've decided to draft a theme team and don't like any other of the five options that would even fit the criteria...

 

[Johnny Engine]

Happens when you've decided to draft a theme team and don't like any other of the five options that would even fit the criteria...

A team with entirely Eastern European ancestry? What have you got on Benedict? A quick search shows William Benedict being born in Gatineau and Fanny Benedict (nee Pull) coming from England, so is he the only exception?

Curious because I also drafted a theme team, and like yours, nobody has called me on it yet.

 

[MadArcand]

A team with entirely Eastern European ancestry? What have you got on Benedict? A quick search shows William Benedict being born in Gatineau and Fanny Benedict (nee Pull) coming from England, so is he the only exception?

Curious because I also drafted a theme team, and like yours, nobody has called me on it yet.

Team Slavic players. I decided to do that after I picked Benedict already (and had this been a trades-allowed draft, I'd trade him for Broda). Then again, his name can pass, but it's of obvious Latin origin that passed into all kinds of languages. Plus since my wife's English and he's half-English, I decided to headcanon him into honorary member by association anyway.

EDIT: I see you have Team Canadiens? Totally didn't know Gonchar ever played for them.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Biggest Reach(es) of the draft: Fred Shero - round 7, pick #274 [Scotty Bowman going in the 7th round is a lot more defensible than Fred Shero]

Most overrated player taken: Reg Noble - round 6, #208 [somebody sell me on what makes this guy in any way superior to Baldy Northcott]

Favorite scoring line of the draft: Foyston - Barry - Bathgate

I was the one who took the first coach - Bowman - and I should explain the context:

1) I was banned from the site and a bit out of the loop/fed up, and was making my picks via FB (thanks seventieslord).
2) The 40 teams format makes you very vulnerable to "runs on X and Y", and we saw goalies get taken way earlier than usual this year. I thought this could happen with coaches too and I'd be stuck with the 29th best coach or something.
3) Related to #2, I gambled that by pulling the trigger, I would create a big run on coaches, boosting the value of my Bowman pick (it didn't work).
4) I tried to create a Marchand-Crosby-Bergeron line prior to taking Bowman, and was called out severely for it, so my initial strategy for that team was destroyed when I had to split them (making my Bergeron pick overvalued). I had to try something else, and I had it on record that Bowman was a huge fan of both Crosby and the Marchand-Bergeron combo.

Northcott: Not sure if Noble is overrated, but I think Northcott is underrated regardless. He brings elite defense and physicality without sucking offensively. He should go higher. Just as useful as a 3rd wheel in the Top 6 or as a solid 3rd liner on a checking line.

Foyston - Barry - Bathgate is nice, but that line was created before: 2nd line of Rob's team in 2016.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Foyston-Barry-Bathgate is a nice offensive line but it's going to give up a good # of goals the other way.

Just saying.

 

[Johnny Engine]

Team Slavic players. I decided to do that after I picked Benedict already (and had this been a trades-allowed draft, I'd trade him for Broda). Then again, his name can pass, but it's of obvious Latin origin that passed into all kinds of languages. Plus since my wife's English and he's half-English, I decided to headcanon him into honorary member by association anyway.

EDIT: I see you have Team Canadiens? Totally didn't know Gonchar ever played for them.

13 points in 45 games at the end of his career. He's not exactly Serge Savard, but he meets the criteria and is a good #3 power play specialist in this thing!

 

[Habsfan18]

Curious because I also drafted a theme team, and like yours, nobody has called me on it yet.

Believe me, I caught on early and I love it.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Worst assembled line of the draft:

Cook - Boucher - Cook [reuniting great real-life units is always a good idea, but not at the cost of drafting Bun Cook in the 7th f***ing round. Bun Cook should never, ever be selected before Dean Prentice, and Prentice went more than 100 picks later]

This makes absolutely, unequivocally, no sense.

One, Dean Prentice (the one NOT in the HOF) doesn't exactly have a sterling resume to make that claim and two, more importantly, chemistry should matter in hockey, A LOT. More so than many other sports.

But let's dig deeper.

In a 40 team draft Cook went 273.

Too high? Maybe very slightly. Looking at the past draft history, no, he wasn't really THAT over drafted. Certainly not enough to warrant labeling the line "worst assembled in the draft" which is a slap in the face to the entire group and the GM who put it together without the ability to trade. I'm not deducting points for "meta-value and mathematical shenanigans" in this case and honestly, the pick wasn't some sort of egregious reach. The line has a higher end defensive presence at C who happens to be an elite passer of the puck and big game player. You have one of the best pure goal scorers in history and high end physical presence. You have a player who could and did do the glue work for the line.

Past draft history:

2019 - 306 (20 teams)
2018 - 304 (24)
2017 - 216 (25)
2016 - 216 (26)
2015 - 185 (32)
2014 - 206 (28)
2013 - 199 (32)
2012 - 221 (32)
2011 - 210 (40)

Should he ideally go in the 300's in a draft this size? Yeah, probably so. He was over drafted in the past, but again, there seems to be no justification for shitting on one of the most prolific real life trios of all time.

 

[Habsfan18]

Biggest Steal(s) of the draft: Jacques Lemaire. I also really like Espo at 38th overall.

Biggest Reach(es) of the draft: Marc-Andre Fleury, Al MacInnis

Smartest/best strategic pick in the draft: Not necessarily smartest/most strategic, but I love that Macho Man was able to reunite that Cook-Boucher-Cook line. And I like that nabby reunited the Stastny trio.

Biggest blunder selection of the draft: Bob Chrystal (sorry nabby). I mean, would he even go in the AAA draft if we did one?

A Player finally getting respect in the draft: Let me think on that one

A player always taken too high, finally getting picked where he should in the draft: Pierre Turgeon strikes me as a guy that likely used to go much higher but I’d have to look back.

A player you've discovered in this draft: Gustav Jaenecke

Most underrated player taken: I think both Vladimir Martinec and Dave Keon were both nice value.

Most overrated player taken: Marc-Andre Fleury (considering where he was taken)

Favorite scoring line of the draft: Krutov - Abel - Lafleur...&..Yakushev - Larionov - Makarov.. I like Foyston - Barry - Bathgate as well.

Favorite checking line of the draft: Gainey - Jarvis - Westfall

Best assembled line of the draft: Hay - Kennedy - Kane

Worst assembled line of the draft: Not sure I really understand Burrows - MacKinnon - Brown but I could be missing something..

Favorite pairing of defensemen: Lidstrom - Langway.. Hitchman - Shore.. Suchy - Chelios

Most puzzling pairing of defensemen: Sologubov - Kaberle

---

Best selection: You cannot vote for players you own

1st round: Doug Harvey (even at 5, I always love him going so early. Such a great option to build around - on the ice anyways)

2nd round: Frank Boucher

3rd round: Patrick Kane

4th round: Vladimir Martinec

5th round: Dave Keon

6th round: Roy Conacher

7th round: Pat Stapleton

8th round: Russell Bowie

9th round: Ace Bailey

10th round: Frank Finnigan

11th round: Tony Leswick

12nd round: John Madden

13th round: Ivan Hlinka

14th round: Jean Pronovost

15th round: Camille Henry

16th round: Taffy Abel

17th round: Jamie Macoun

18th round: Doug Risebrough

19th round: Mike Ridley

20th round: Riley Hern

21st round: Ross Lonsberry

22nd round: Harry Westwick

23th round: Alexander Almetov

'Worst' Selection: (not necessarily all bad, just my least favorite from each round. Don’t take it personally)

1st round: Al MacInnis

2nd round: Brian Leetch

3rd round: Henrik Zetterberg

4th round: Sergei Zubov

5th round: Doug Wilson

6th round: Marc-Andre Fleury

7th round: Pat Lafontaine

8th round: Wayne Cashman

9th round: Teppo Numminen

10th round: Marian Gaborik

11th round: Wally Stanowski

12th round: Mike Richards

13th round: David Backes

14th round: Mark Scheifele

15th round: Rejean Houle

16th round: Mario Marois

17th round: Rick Meagher

18th round: Fredrik Olausson

19th round: Ted Irvine

20th round: Dmitri Kristich

21st round: Bob Chrystal

22nd round: Loui Eriksson

23rd round: Jozef Stumpel

 

[RustyRazor]

Can I inquire as to which defensemen would've been better value at #50 over Leetch? As my first time doing this, I saw Leetch was drafted at #56 the year before and #57 five years ago in a 32 team draft. Has the consensus that he's consistently over-drafted? Or maybe a better question is, who would've been available 60 picks later that would've provided similar skills that he does?

I'm fine admitting that it wasn't an ideal pick, as I painted myself into a corner going with Hall in the first round. Going into the draft, I wanted to draft a top goalie, a center, and a defensemen (in some order) with my first three picks -- that plan of course didn't last. Looking a the drop-off of tiers of players, at the time I made the pick I thought going d-man in the second was better than waiting until the third.

I'm just wondering what I'm missing regarding Leetch is it when he was picked? or the d-men that were also available at the time?

 

[Habsfan18]

Can I inquire as to which defensemen would've been better value at #50 over Leetch? As my first time doing this, I saw Leetch was drafted at #56 the year before and #57 five years ago in a 32 team draft. Has the consensus that he's consistently over-drafted? Or maybe a better question is, who would've been available 60 picks later that would've provided similar skills that he does?

I'm fine admitting that it wasn't an ideal pick, as I painted myself into a corner going with Hall in the first round. Going into the draft, I wanted to draft a top goalie, a center, and a defensemen (in some order) with my first three picks -- that plan of course didn't last. Looking a the drop-off of tiers of players, at the time I made the pick I thought going d-man in the second was better than waiting until the third.

I'm just wondering what I'm missing regarding Leetch is it when he was picked? or the d-men that were also available at the time?

It’s not so much that I don’t like Leetch - because I do. But considering who was still on the board, I didn’t like the pick itself.

It was the fact that Earl Seibert, Sprague Cleghorn, Tim Horton, Bill Gadsby and Duncan Keith were all available. I would have personally taken all 5 before Leetch. But that’s just me. I could maybe see Leetch before Keith and not think too much of it, but no way should he go before the other 4, at least that’s how I view it.

I suppose it depends what kind of player you’re looking for as well, and the roster fit. But value wise I think Leetch was drafted over better options there.

 

[Namba 17]

Foyston-Barry-Bathgate is a nice offensive line but it's going to give up a good # of goals the other way.

Just saying.

From Barry's bio:
"Marty Barry, Larry Aurie, and Herb Lewis give the Red Wings one of the best forward lines in the game. It is not only a high scoring array, but one of the finest defensive combinations".
"Barry, big and strong and a hard worker, is as fine a playmaker as he is a defensive player".
From Foyston's bios:
"Foyston's work on offense and defence, his checking, skating, and shooting were of a class that fully justified his selection as the most valuable player in Pacific coast hockey".
"He shoots well and checks cleanly and hard".
"one of the best all-around hockeyists."
"Foyston was fast as a streak and his back checking and all round playing featured the game".
"In Foyston, Aurie and Johnny Sheppard, Detroit has a hook-checking barrier in front of their main defence that is hard to beat".
So, it seams to me, that Foyston was pretty good defensively and Barry was at least defensively responsible. I think, that's enough for the 1st line.