Congratulations on joining a fantasy hockey league! Now the fun begins. With your fantasy hockey draft approaching, excitement is in the air—but it can also feel overwhelming. Today, we’ll break down the fantasy draft process and hopefully simplify it for you. We’ll explore draft strategy tailored for one-year fantasy hockey leagues, focusing on head-to-head formats, as rotisserie and cumulative points leagues have declined in popularity in recent years.
Know Your League’s Scoring System
Understanding your league’s scoring system is crucial. The inclusion or exclusion of certain categories can significantly impact player rankings.
Points Only
This is the simplest type of fantasy hockey pool. Just draft the players most likely to score the most points. While it seems straightforward, many teams still falter during the draft. Standard scoring systems usually award one point for a goal and one point for an assist, with no bonus for power-play points. Goalies typically score three points for a win (sometimes two) and one point for a shutout.
In points-only pools, players like Mitch Marner, RW, Toronto Maple Leafs, become more valuable.
Multi-category (Multi-cat)
In my opinion, multi-cat leagues are the most enjoyable. Standard categories for skaters often include goals, assists, power-play points, shots, hits, and blocks. Many fantasy hockey pools have moved away from penalty minutes, which used to heavily influence draft positions. The more peripheral categories your pool includes, the lower the value of pure scorers like Marner and Kyle Connor, LW, Winnipeg Jets.
Pay attention to the number of goalie categories in your league. Most standard pools have three or four categories: wins, goals-against average, save percentage, and usually shutouts. A wildcard category could be saves.
Let’s consider a sample league setup with all the skater categories mentioned above (goals, assists, power-play points, shots, hits, blocks, and penalty minutes). That’s seven skater categories.
For this example, we’ll use three goalie categories: wins, goals-against average, and save percentage. This gives us 10 categories in total, with 30% of them being goalie-specific.
Compare this to a league that also includes shutouts and saves. Now, goalies account for five of 12 categories, or 42%. Most leagues start 9-12 forwards and 4-6 defensemen, with only two goalies.
If two out of 13-18 roster starters control 42% of the categories, goalies become more important, and you’ll need to draft them earlier. Similarly, the more ‘banger’ categories (like hits and blocks), the earlier you should draft point-producing multi-cat skaters.
Fantasy Hockey Draft Strategy
The First-Round
I have a few simple rules for the first round:
Don’t Get Fancy.
Don’t Reach for Your Favorite Player.
Don’t Draft a Defenseman. Unless your pool tracks extra categories for defensemen, even someone like Cale Makar should be a second or third-round pick.
Ignore Youth in a One-Year Pool. Don’t go overboard trying to own Connor Bedard, C, Chicago Blackhawks. Be realistic.
For example, if you’re drafting fifth and can choose between David Pastrnak, RW, Boston Bruins, Auston Matthews, C, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Leon Draisaitl, C, Edmonton Oilers, do you honestly believe Bedard will outscore any of them? Maybe, but it’s safer to take the guaranteed production. The first round isn’t the place to take big risks—you can’t win your pool in the first couple of rounds, but you can certainly lose it.
Early-Round Strategy (Rounds 1-3)
Expect one or two goalies to be drafted in the first round. Igor Shesterkin, G, New York Rangers, is the only one I’d consider in the first round. The importance of goalie categories in your league will dictate how early goalies should be drafted.
Strategy 1: Draft a Forward, a Defenseman, and a Goalie.
Strategy 2: Build from the Net Out. Draft two goalies and a top defenseman.
Strategy 3: Load Up on Offense. Draft three forwards.
I favor the third strategy. While this approach often means missing out on defensemen like Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks, or Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers, you might still land players like Adam Fox, New York Rangers, or Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning, in the fourth or fifth round.
Mid-Round Strategy (Rounds 4-9)
This is not the time to take big risks—let other owners reach.
Strategy 1: Draft to Fill Positions.
Likely a continuation of your first-round strategy. If you drafted two goalies, now focus on forwards.
Strategy 2: Draft Second- or Third-Tier Goalies Before the Goalie Run.
Strategy 3: Draft a Top Defenseman and a Second-Tier Goalie on a Strong Team. Otherwise, focus on forwards.
If you find yourself in a draft with me, you’ll likely see me using strategy three. After eight rounds, I usually have six forwards, one defenseman, and one goalie, unless a player unexpectedly falls or the categories heavily favor defensemen or goalies.
The Late Mid-Rounds (Rounds 10-15)
Start rounding out your roster. By this point, you’ve probably noticed you’ve neglected a position like right-wing or defense. You’ll need to spend a pick or two targeting these positions.
This is where I often target a player like MacKenzie Weegar, D, Calgary Flames. He’s a multi-cat wizard, though after a career year, he might be on more radars.
My main strategy in these rounds is to let the draft come to me. Look for the fallers. For example, Erik Karlsson, D, Pittsburgh Penguins, might start slipping.
The Final Rounds (Rounds 16+)
If you need to swing for the fences, this is the time. The last round, or the last couple of rounds, is where you can take those risks.
However, I’ve become more of a believer in another strategy over the years—drafting veterans with safe floors. Players like Vladimir Tarasenko, RW, Detroit Red Wings, Troy Terry, LW/RW, Anaheim Ducks, or Tyler Seguin, C/RW, Dallas Stars, might be available at this stage.
These players offer a much safer floor than rookies or sophomores like Logan Cooley, C, Arizona Coyotes, or Macklin Celebrini, C, San Jose Sharks.
Fantasy Hockey Draft Tips
Unicorns
Certain players require significant draft adjustments in multi-cat pools. If your pool counts both hits and penalty minutes, further adjustments are needed.
For example, without hits and penalty minutes, Brady Tkachuk, LW, Ottawa Senators, is an early-mid-round pick. With these categories included, he’s a fringe first-rounder. Understand that players like this are unicorns. JT Miller, C/LW, Vancouver Canucks, was the only other player last year to produce 50-plus points with 200-plus hits.
Tkachuk is a rare breed who can provide 80 points, 300 shots, 300 hits, and 100 penalty minutes. This used to be Alexander Ovechkin’s, LW, Washington Capitals, bread and butter, but age has started to impact his stats.
In the early rounds, when drafting forwards, focus on offensive categories. Only 15 forwards produced 90 points last year, whereas 23 players had 200 or more hits. Don’t overthink it—most skater categories favor offense.
Limit Category-Deficient Players
If Mitch Marner or Kyle Connor are available, it’s hard to pass on them. High-end point producers are a must-own, even if they leave your hits and penalty minute categories lacking.
However, don’t completely ignore peripheral categories. It’s frustrating to give up a category every week. Once you get into the middle rounds, aim for balanced players.
Defensemen Must Block
You won’t get blocks from forwards, so if your defensemen don’t block, you’re essentially forfeiting this category all season.
This is why I’m willing to pass on Makar and Hughes—they limit peripheral stats. I prefer players like MacKenzie Weegar, Darnell Nurse, D, Edmonton Oilers, and others of that ilk.
Ideally, your defense will produce 40-plus points, 150-plus hits, shots, and blocks. It’s a tall order, but essential.
Avoid, or at Least Limit, Rookies and Sophomores
In a one-year league, young players can be alluring, but they don’t produce like veterans. If you want to take a flyer in the late rounds, someone like Johnny Gaudreau, LW, Columbus Blue Jackets, or Jonathan Huberdeau, Calgary Flames, is a safer option. Their floor is 55-60 points, which is likely the ceiling for a rookie or sophomore.
Only Draft Stud Goalies in Early Rounds
The only goalies worth drafting in the first few rounds are Igor Shesterkin, Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders, Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins, Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars, and perhaps Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning.
If you miss out on these goalies, it’s okay—there are 27 other teams with goalies to draft from.
Do try to draft a true number one goalie, such as Stuart Skinner, Edmonton Oilers, Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey Devils, or Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers.
When drafting a goalie tandem, ensure they’re from a team that consistently wins games. For example, the Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to be competitive in the Atlantic Division, but they may limit Joseph Woll’s starts. In this scenario, owning both Woll and Anthony Stolarz becomes essential to maximize your goaltending points.
Don’t Be a Homer
Draft with your head, not your heart.
One of the cardinal rules of fantasy hockey is not to draft players solely from your favorite team. This is the quickest way to derail your fantasy season. If a player from your favorite team falls to you in the appropriate draft range, by all means, select him. But don’t prioritize players just because you’re a fan of the team.
If you’re playing just for fun, you might want to load up on players from your favorite team—but if you’re playing to win, this strategy is fundamentally flawed.
The Logic Behind the ‘Homer’ Rule
Drafting heavily from one team not only shows bias but also leaves your roster exposed. If that team goes through a slump or has a light schedule week, your fantasy performance will suffer. A balanced, well-rounded roster is key to long-term success. Try to limit your roster construction to no more than three players from any single NHL team.
Looking Ahead: Dynasty and Limited Keeper Leagues
This guide covers strategies for single-year leagues. Dynasty and limited keeper leagues require a different approach. Stay tuned for a companion article in the coming weeks, where we’ll dive into the nuances of drafting for these formats.
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