Forget what I said about the EPSN pre-rankings. CBS's were even more screwed up, which was surprising. They're usually pretty good with that sort of thing, but they really whiffed on it this year. And, even though this is a money league, my competition seemed to be relying on the computer rankings just a little too much, for the most part. So, quite a few players I didn't expect to get on the same team ended up falling to me several rounds later than I thought they'd last.
I had the 5th overall pick in a 12-team roto money-league. Here's who I ended up with:
C: Nicklas Backstrom, WSH
C: Brad Richards, NYR
C: Henrik Zetterberg, DET
W: Daniel Sedin, VAN
W: James Neal, PIT
W: Jarome Iginla, CGY
D: PK Subban, MON
D: Jack Johnson, CLS
D: Brian Campbell, FLA
D: Andrei Markov, MON
G: Cory Schneider, VAN
G: Craig Anderson, OTT
Bench: Joffrey Lupul, TOR
Bench: James van Riemsdyk, TOR
Bench: Lubomir Visnovsky, NYI
Bench: Evgeni Nabokov, NYI
Admittedly, my goaltending is a bit weak, but I think I'll be able to manage. Due to a combination of computer rankings and roster format, goalies started flying off the board much sooner than I'd anticipated. But, with that being said, I didn't boot the position by any means. Schneider may be a bit sketchy due to the Luongo situation, but I'm banking on him finishing the year as a top 10 goalie (and top 5 in a best case scenario). Similarly, Anderson is a bit of a risk. He's by no means an elite goaltender, nor are the Senators an elite team, but he should produce well enough to get by. And, of course, there's always a chance the Islanders will trade Nabokov to a contender, which would solve my goalie problems in one fell swoop. So, there is at least some upside there.
As for the rest of my team, I'm especially happy with my forwards. I nearly took Claude Giroux over Daniel Sedin with my 1st round pick, but CBS had Giroux listed exclusively as a center, and I felt like the elite wingers would go off the board quicker (I was right), and I wanted one. But, getting Neal, Backstrom and Richards back-to-back-to-back from rounds 2-4 was insane. Neal should've gone in the top 10. Backstrom should gone in the top 15 (I had him ranked a bit lower at first due to an ankle injury, but according to reports, he's fine - so he's easily top 20, if not higher). And Richards is a top 25 pick (especially with Rick Nash at his side).
Similarly, I think I'm pretty stacked on defense as well. Subban is a beast, and Johnson has the potential to be one of the top defensemen in the league. Campbell was one last season, and Markov was one a couple of seasons ago, before he got injured. So, I'm not worried there. If I had to guess, I'd say it will be my goaltending that will either make or break me. Everything hinges on Schneider (& Anderson, to a lesser extent). If all else fails, I have Joffrey Lupul sitting on my bench, which should allow me to trade one of my elite forwards for a better goaltender, if need be. But for now, I'm going to take the wait and see approach.
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