This is THE Winning Team!

A group of 10 hockey geeks got together and we threw together our teams for what is now the 3rd annual hockey draft.  The formats and fees had changed a fair bit from year 1 to year 2, but this year stayed relatively similar to last year.  We decided to implement a 2 defensemen rule, so everyone had to pick at least that many.  It added a little wrinkle which was nice.  A couple of the participants are new, as we lost a couple guys but we gained a few to replace them.  My buddy Jason is always in for any kind of sports betting pool, and this year my brother Ian got involved.  Everyone ponied up $100 (I got in for half due to my last place finish in 2012), then 6 out of the 10 of us put an extra $50 in a winner take all side pot.  I figured this made sense as I had saved the same $50 on the entry fee.  I stand to win $1000 if I take first place out of the 10 teams, which is a $700 pay out, plus the $300 that accumulated in the side pot.  I managed to get a few players that I really like, a few that I took gambles on (but still like the player), and a few where despite not loving the guy, I had to go with them due to "value".  Allow me to run down my team for your amusement.

I got the 10th pick out of 10 teams which meant I also got the 11th pick in the snake format.  This led to me waiting 18 picks before having my turn come up again.  This is the result.


1st Pick (10th Overall) DANIEL SEDIN Vancouver Canucks (TSN #3 LW)
ESPN: 53 pts
TSN: 47 pts

For anyone that knows me well, my time consumed cheering the Oilers is only rivalled by the amount of time I spend cheering against the Vancouver Canucks.  There is no one I love to hate more then the Sedin boys.  By the time I was picking at 10 the usual suspects Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin, Stamkos and Henrik Sedin were all gone and despite my reluctance I could not pass up on Daniel Sedin.  He is just too consistent to not take here in this spot as it reduces the stress level a bit.  I watch a lot of Canucks hockey, and after a season of cheering for Burrows it will be another season of cheering for points from Vancouver's top line.  This pick allowed me to gamble a bit with my next one.

2nd Pick (11th Overall) TYLER SEGUIN Boston Bruins (TSN #2 RW)
ESPN: 39 pts
TSN: 43 pts

I am really excited about this pick.  I know a few guys were surprised about how early he went but with my position in the draft order it was either now or never for me in this spot.  I knew that he wasn't going to still be there at #30 when I got to pick again, and I have read a number of articles predicting a huge breakout year.  He spent the lockout in Switzerland tearing the league apart.  He played the Spengler Cup for Canada, contributing to a team that won the tournament handily.  His Bruins are an elite team with plenty of talent to surround him with.  This pick will likely make or break my result for the season.

3rd Pick (30th Overall) PHIL KESSEL Toronto Maple Leafs (TSN #3 RW)
ESPN: 46 pts
TSN: 42 pts

Ugh.  I hate the Leafs just as much as I hate the Canucks, but Kessel is going to score if the Leafs are winning, losing or otherwise.  I thought it would be fun to have the top dog off of both of my least favorite teams, especially when Kessel had no business being available at #30.

4th Pick (31st Overall) HENRIK ZETTERBERG Detroit Red Wings (TSN #9 LW)
ESPN: 41 pts
TSN: 40 pts

5th Pick (50th Overall) MATT MOULSON New York Islanders (TSN #16 LW)
ESPN: 37 pts
TSN: 34 pts

6th Pick (51st Overall) JAKUB VORACEK Philadelphia Flyers (TSN #16 RW)
ESPN: 38 pts
TSN: 34 pts

7th Pick (70th Overall) RAY WHITNEY Dallas Stars (TSN #15 LW)
ESPN: 38 pts
TSN: 35 pts

8th Pick (71st Overall) JORDAN STAAL Carolina Hurricanes (TSN #27 C)
ESPN: 41 pts
TSN: 32 pts

9th Pick (90th Overall) TOMAS PLEKANEC Montreal Canadiens (TSN #18 C)
ESPN: 32 pts
TSN: 37 pts

10th Pick (91st Overall) NAIL YAKUPOV Edmonton Oilers (TSN #25 LW)
ESPN: 25 pts
TSN: 31 pts

11th Pick (110th Overall) PATRIK ELIAS New Jersey Devils (TSN #13 LW)
ESPN: 39 pts
TSN: 36 pts

12th Pick (111th Overall) OLLI JOKINEN Winnipeg Jets (TSN #96 Overall/Center)
ESPN: 46 pts
TSN: 30 pts

13th Pick (130th Overall) DUNCAN KEITH Chicago Blackhawks (TSN #152 Overall/Defencemen)
ESPN: 28 pts
TSN: 26 pts

14th Pick (131st Overall) CHRISTIAN EHRHOFF Buffalo Sabres (TSN #173 Overall/Defencemen)
ESPN: 24 pts
TSN: 24 pts

15th Pick (150th Overall) JIRI HUDLER Calgary Flames (TSN #189 Overall/Right Wing)
ESPN: 34 pts
TSN: 23 pts


I got a number of guys who dropped quite a bit due to age and/or guys just not liking the players.  I would say that Whitney, Elias, Plekanec and Jokinen fall into this category.  My last pick I panicked a bit after David Perron and Derek Stepan went right ahead of my pick, leaving me to take a super longshot on Hudler.  If he ends of playing lots of with Iginla I could look like a genius, if not, well I care not to think about that.  For fun, let's compare my team to Ian's team.  He was picking in the middle with the 5th slot.

Daniel Sedin/                Steve Stamkos

Tyler Seguin/                Rick Nash

Phil Kessel/                  Louie Erikkson

Henrik Zetterberg/       Gabriel Landeskog

Matt Moulson/             David Krejci

Jakub Voracek/           Jeff Skinner

Ray Whitney/               Dustin Byfuglien

Jordan Staal/                Brad Marchand

Tomas Plekanec/          Andrew Ladd

Nail Yakupov/              Tomas Fleischmann

Patrik Elias/                   TJ Oshie

Olli Jokinen/                  Justin Schultz

Duncan Keith/               Chris Stewart

Christian Ehrhoff/          Tyler Ennis

Jiri Hudler/                    Matt Read