Originally published Nov. 16, 2020, fantasy expert Murray Townsend breaks down the fantasy hockey season into four key stages and how to do your pre-draft homework.
If you're a huge fantasy fanatic and wish to participate in multiple leagues, you need to do your homework and stay organized.
Murray Townsend, The Hockey News' long-time fantasy expert, breaks down the fantasy season into four stages: Preparation, Actual Draft, Strategy and During the Season.
To prepare, make sure you actually have a list and don't auto-draft. It's okay to have a list different from your opponents'; in fact, that's probably a good thing.
For the draft itself, Townsend believes elite forwards should be prioritized, then defensemen and goalies. He writes:
"There are, of course, strategies in a draft, but not for the first two rounds. You take the best scoring forward when it’s your turn. Not a defenseman and certainly not a goalie...
The third or fourth round is a good time to go after high-scoring defensemen. There’s only so many of them, and you need one or two of the top ones...
Get an elite defenseman in the third round – and another in the fourth if there’s still a top one available. They’ll be listed below available forwards in projected scoring but they’re more valuable at that point because you need defensemen in your lineup and you won’t get a comparable blueliner later, while you will at forward.
Then pick goalies in the next two rounds. You might not get the very best, but you’ll get good ones...
So, by the sixth round of your 16-round draft you’ve got two elite scorers, two elite-scoring D-men and two solid goalies. That’s the core of your team."
For strategy, be mindful of ADP (Average Draft Position) and use that to your advantage if there's a player you like but is being taken later than usual in drafts.
And during the season, make sure you keep an eye on the waiver wire.
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