OPPF Draft 2020 - Draft Thread 2

BenchBrawl

Registered User
Jul 26, 2010
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6 ballots received.

Montreal Maroons – Montreal Wanderers 3-4
1st star Jacques Plante, 2nd star Mario Lemieux, 3rd star Jean Béliveau

Voters:
@ChiTownPhilly
@Habsfan18
@Hawkey Town
@tony d
@vadim sharifijanov
@TheDevilMadeMe

Wow, I can't believe it. I was pretty sure IE had this one in the bag ; not only his team was great, but he really brought it!

I'm proud of the lineup I assembled, but this was a tough road to the title.

@ImporterExporter honestly the best team you've build IMO. You deserved to win just as much if not more than me.
 

BenchBrawl

Registered User
Jul 26, 2010
30,844
13,628
Also, thanks to all the voters. You guys are the backbone of these drafts. No voters, no process, no competition, no game.
 

TheDevilMadeMe

Registered User
Aug 28, 2006
52,271
6,980
Brooklyn
6 ballots received.

Montreal Maroons – Montreal Wanderers 3-4
1st star Jacques Plante, 2nd star Mario Lemieux, 3rd star Jean Béliveau

Voters:
@ChiTownPhilly
@Habsfan18
@Hawkey Town
@tony d
@vadim sharifijanov
@TheDevilMadeMe

Most obvious 3 stars ever (though I had them in a different order). Benchbrawl's skaters were easily the best in the draft, led by his 1-2 punch at C, but Plante was a big advantage in goal.

This one could have gone either way. (IE's skaters weren't too shabby either, of course).

I know this draft isn't the same as the main ATD, but IE is definitely the GM who has come closest to winning the most without breaking through. Past GMs in that boat have eventually broken through (EagleBelfour, arrbez) as long as they stick around (I was certain Nalyd Psycho would win eventually, but he seemed to find other interests before that happened).
 

BenchBrawl

Registered User
Jul 26, 2010
30,844
13,628
Most obvious 3 stars ever (though I had them in a different order). Benchbrawl's skaters were easily the best in the draft, led by his 1-2 punch at C, but Plante was a big advantage in goal.

This one could have gone either way. (IE's skaters weren't too shabby either, of course).

I know this draft isn't the same as the main ATD, but IE is definitely the GM who has come closest to winning the most without breaking through. Past GMs in that boat have eventually broken through (EagleBelfour, arrbez) as long as they stick around (I was certain Nalyd Psycho would win eventually, but he seemed to find other interests before that happened).

I agree IE is a strong contender for the "next GM to break through".

@BenchBrawl

Congrats bud! I figured from the conclusion of the draft that nobody would have been able to overcome Mario and Jean and that top 3 on the blueline. You had the best team without a doubt.

I do enjoy this version immensely.

Thanks man! You had a great team. I didn't feel mine was better by much. Perhaps my team was "sexier".

Yeah this version is awesome.
 

BenchBrawl

Registered User
Jul 26, 2010
30,844
13,628
I'm curious, is it the first time Mario Lemieux and Paul Coffey win a championship in this section (at least ATD or OPPF)?

If I'm right, this was long overdue.

Edit: On second look, Mario won a championship in that weird ass PTD2014, when there were two champions (one determined by GM voting, the other by a main board poll). @TheDevilMadeMe won the GM voting segment I believe, and he had Mario Lemieux (again, just scanning from the old threads, which are not always clear).

I remember finishing 2nd in both GM voting and main board poll in that bizarre draft, but the rest is really vague (except QPQ winning the main board poll easily because he picked big names like Gretzky and Crosby or something like that).
 
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Hawkey Town 18

Registered User
Jun 29, 2009
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Chicago, IL
Looking back, the Final 4 teams probably had the 4 best Montreal value picks in the draft...

Beliveau 5th Round
Morenz 6th Round
Plante 6th Round (one pick after Morenz)
Robinson 8th Round

Perhaps an argument could be made that Lafleur in the 8th Round also belongs in that group


EDIT: There were some great Montreal value picks in the later rounds, but they weren't large impact players like the above guys. For example, I think my pick of Henri Richard in the 17th round was very good value, but he's an average 2nd line Center, an important piece, but not at the level of a 1st line C/#1 D/elite goaltender
 
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BenchBrawl

Registered User
Jul 26, 2010
30,844
13,628
Looking back, the Final 4 teams probably had the 4 best Montreal value picks in the draft...

Beliveau 5th Round
Morenz 6th Round
Plante 6th Round (one pick after Morenz)
Robinson 8th Round

Perhaps an argument could be made that Lafleur in the 8th Round also belongs in that group


EDIT: There were some great Montreal value picks in the later rounds, but they weren't large impact players like the above guys. For example, I think my pick of Henri Richard in the 17th round was very good value, but he's an average 2nd line Center, an important piece, but not at the level of a 1st line C/#1 D/elite goaltender

Good observation. Not sure if there's a causation there, but intuitively, nailing your Montreal pick is important if not crucial.

Definitely picking Béliveau was my 2nd most important decision, after choosing to go with Coffey with my 3rd round pick. With Coffey that meant I only burned weak franchises with my first three picks (Pittsburgh, NYI and Edmonton), but it also meant I wouldn't get a true #1D. It was a gamble.
 

BenchBrawl

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Jul 26, 2010
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What was special about the Béliveau pick was that I already had Lemieux. This gave me what is probably the greatest center combo that has ever been drafted, in any draft.

I don't think anybody ever drafted Gretzky-Lemieux (I certainly tried in my first draft ever ATD2011, causing much consternation) or Gretzky-Béliveau.

I think I prefer Lemieux-Béliveau anyway :
  • It's a RHS/LHS combo
  • Both are tall and big
  • They fit well on a devastating PP
  • Béliveau brings more of an all-around game than if you have Gretzky-Lemieux.

In a nutshell, they might the greatest center combo possible.
 
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BenchBrawl

Registered User
Jul 26, 2010
30,844
13,628
Looking back, the Final 4 teams probably had the 4 best Montreal value picks in the draft...

Beliveau 5th Round
Morenz 6th Round
Plante 6th Round (one pick after Morenz)
Robinson 8th Round

Perhaps an argument could be made that Lafleur in the 8th Round also belongs in that group


EDIT: There were some great Montreal value picks in the later rounds, but they weren't large impact players like the above guys. For example, I think my pick of Henri Richard in the 17th round was very good value, but he's an average 2nd line Center, an important piece, but not at the level of a 1st line C/#1 D/elite goaltender

I think Henri is a better value pick, but it depends what caliber of player you picked at some key juncture when elite MTL players were available.

Looking at the Finalists from the four OPPF drafts (2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020):

Champion/Finalist

2016: Lafleur/Plante *(7 teams draft)
2018: Dryden/Roy *(12 teams draft)
2019: Morenz/Henri *(12 teams draft)
2020: Beliveau/Plante *(12 teams draft)

I recall the Lafleur pick in 2016 was a late-draft steal (or at least good value). I vaguely recall @TheDevilMadeMe getting Morenz in extremis last year, but I might confuse it with another draft. Not sure about the Dryden pick.

The 2016 draft was fundamentally different, because at 7 teams you're guaranteed one of Rocket, Beliveau, Lafleur, Morenz, Robinson, Roy or Plante (with Dryden in the mix as a goalie option).
 
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TheDevilMadeMe

Registered User
Aug 28, 2006
52,271
6,980
Brooklyn
I'm curious, is it the first time Mario Lemieux and Paul Coffey win a championship in this section (at least ATD or OPPF)?

If I'm right, this was long overdue.

Edit: On second look, Mario won a championship in that weird ass PTD2014, when there were two champions (one determined by GM voting, the other by a main board poll). @TheDevilMadeMe won the GM voting segment I believe, and he had Mario Lemieux (again, just scanning from the old threads, which are not always clear).

I remember finishing 2nd in both GM voting and main board poll in that bizarre draft, but the rest is really vague (except QPQ winning the main board poll easily because he picked big names like Gretzky and Crosby or something like that).

I literally remember nothing about the PTD. :laugh:
 

TheDevilMadeMe

Registered User
Aug 28, 2006
52,271
6,980
Brooklyn
Looking back, the Final 4 teams probably had the 4 best Montreal value picks in the draft...

Beliveau 5th Round
Morenz 6th Round
Plante 6th Round (one pick after Morenz)
Robinson 8th Round

Perhaps an argument could be made that Lafleur in the 8th Round also belongs in that group


EDIT: There were some great Montreal value picks in the later rounds, but they weren't large impact players like the above guys. For example, I think my pick of Henri Richard in the 17th round was very good value, but he's an average 2nd line Center, an important piece, but not at the level of a 1st line C/#1 D/elite goaltender

Yes, nailing the Montreal sweet spot is definitely a major part of building winning teams in this format, it seems.

I'd love to move to a different number of teams in the future to see that Montreal sweet spot change.
 

TheDevilMadeMe

Registered User
Aug 28, 2006
52,271
6,980
Brooklyn
I think Henri is a better value pick, but it depends what caliber of player you picked at some key juncture when elite MTL players were available.

Looking at the Finalists from the four OPPF drafts (2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020):

Champion/Finalist

2016: Lafleur/Plante *(7 teams draft)
2018: Dryden/Roy *(12 teams draft)
2019: Morenz/Henri *(12 teams draft)
2020: Beliveau/Plante *(12 teams draft)

I recall the Lafleur pick in 2016 was a late-draft steal (or at least good value). I vaguely recall @TheDevilMadeMe getting Morenz in extremis last year, but I might confuse it with another draft. Not sure about the Dryden pick.

The 2016 draft was fundamentally different, because at 7 teams you're guaranteed one of Rocket, Beliveau, Lafleur, Morenz, Robinson, Roy or Plante (with Dryden in the mix as a goalie option).

I actually drafted Morenz in a similar position last year as I did this year. But last year, other Montreal stars - in particular Beliveau and Robinson (who were the 2 best value picks this year) went earlier, so Morenz was the best value pick last year.

Edit: I'm not including the goalies in my above evaluation - I always view them separately from skaters in ATDs, much like coaches actually.
 
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