NLL Insider

And they’re off…

We here at NLL Insider had our fantasy draft this past Tuesday, Jan. 3rd.

It was a few things: a battle of wits, a test of courage and an examination of mental strength. Oh yeah, and a bunch of technologically incapable writers attempting to operate a computer program other than Microsoft Word.

Here’s how it all played out.

The Pecking Order:

1. The Check Republic (Lauren Ward)
2. Who owns the Chiefs? (Brian Shanahan)
3. Steal Your Faceoff (Bob Chavez)
4. Waterloo Wannabees (Chris Hall)
5. Gary Colemans (John Jiloty)
6. The Van Buren Boys (Paul Tutka)
7. Albuquerque Isotopes (Kevin Fixler)
8. bob mcmahons afro (Ted Jenner)

Rounds 1 & 2:

1. John Grant, Jr. (ROC)
2. Lewis Ratcliff (CGY)
3. Dan Dawson (POR)
4. John Tavares (BUF)
5. Scott Evans (ROC)
6. Jeff Zywicki (SJS)
7. Shawn Williams (ROC)
8. Tracey Kelusky (CGY)

9. Gavin Prout (COL)
10. Colin Doyle (SJS)
11. Dan Carey (COL)
12. Pat Maddalena (NYT)
13. Blaine Manning (TOR)
14. Aaron Wilson (TOR)
15. Josh Sanderson (TOR)
16. Luke Wiles (SJS)

The biggest surprises to me in the first-two rounds were that Zywicki went so early, and that Prout and Doyle didn’t go in the first. In fact, I’d call the latter two an early steal that late – even if it was only in the start of the second round. Tutka still defends his early pick of Zywicki because he firmly believes the third-year man will have a great year. I’m sure Zywicki will do just fine, but I don’t think his 2008 will justify a No. 6 overall selection. The ball will just have to be spread around way too much in San Jose this year for him to surpass his previous two years’ totals. I won’t knock Tutka too hard however, because he might have my favorite team name – I love Seinfeld! – and because he nabbed up Carey – another third-year player that I do believe is destined for consistent league greatness – early in the second round.

Otherwise, I believe everything pretty much shook out the way it should have. Grant, Jr. was the consensus No. 1, and the rest are all elite scoring forwards. After the first two weeks, Manning at No. 13 overall to Chris Hall’s Waterloo Wannabees may end up being the best second-rounder of our entire draft. We’ll have to see if he is able to maintain that 8 point (4, 4) pace from Week 2.

Rounds 3 & 4:

17. Casey Powell (NYT)
18. Ryan Boyle (NYT)
19. Gary Rosyski (SJS)
20. Mike Accursi (EDM)
21. Ryan Benesch (TOR)
22. Shawn Evans (ROC)
23. Kaleb Toth (CGY)
24. Athan Iannucci (PHI)

25. Dean Hill (MIN)
26. Ryan Ward (MIN)
27. Dan Teat (BUF)
28. Mark Steenhuis (BUF) (First T)
29. Brian Langtry (COL)
30. Derek Malawsky (POR)
31. Kevin Dostie (BUF)
32. Scott Ranger (CGY)

Again, not too many shockers. From the Titans, I thought Casey Powell went a bit early, but that Boyle went late. Iannucci at No. 24 – exactly where I projected him by the way – to T-Jen and bob mcmahons afro might turn out to be the best pick of the entire draft. I think Jiloty stretched to take the transition man Steenhuis at No. 28, but he had one thing right, someone will have to step up for the Bandits if they’re going to compete in the East with the injuries to Greenhalgh and Bucktooth. I thought Dostie would have been a better pick in that spot, but Shanny and his “Slap Shot” Chiefs keyed in and Autopicked him to perfection three spots lower.

Lauren admitted to taking Ranger earlier than she probably should have, but explained that she is expecting him to post maybe his best season yet. Perhaps, but I’ll still bet that her and the Republic are in for a reality Check…

Rounds 5 & 6:

33. Sean Pollack (MIN)
34. Chris Gill (EDM)
35. Steve Toll (ROC) (2nd T)
36. Lindsay Plunkett (CHI)
37. Dan Marohl (PHI)
38. Mike Hominuck (MIN)
39. Jamie Shewchuk (COL)
40. Josh Sims (COL) (3rd T)

41. SJS Goaltenders
42. COL Goaltenders
43. BUF Goaltenders
44. Craig Point (MIN) (1st Rookie)
45. TOR Goaltenders
46. Ryan Powell (POR)
47. Jimmy Quinlan (EDM)
48. Merrick Thomson (PHI) (2nd Rookie)

I felt that Chavez took Toll early, but that at least he got one of the Top-4 transition men in the league, and the one on the best offensive roster. We’ll have to wait and see how that plays out for him. Jiloty wisely snagged Marohl really late. I considered drafting him as early as No. 26 in the fourth round, but thought Ward – only the second pick from the Swarm’s potent and underrated roster – would do me and the Isotopes a bit better.

The story of Round 6 was the rush on goaltenders, and the selection of two rookies. I had suggested in my draft preview that the 6th round is really where you should target the top-flight goaltenders, but definitely didn’t expect half of the round’s picks to go to the netminders. Luckily, I had the second pick of the round, and grabbed the goalie unit I expect the most from this season - Colorado. If Nash goes down or struggles with reported back issues, Levis will seamlessly step in. Really, I think Levis could be starting anywhere else in the league, and that together, they are the best one-two punch in the NLL – a 1.a. and 1.b., if you will.

The editor in chief’s (Jiloty) selection of Point as the first rookie off the board caught me off guard just slightly, because mark my words, I’m picking Thomson as the Rookie of the Year. Nice selection, Lauren. He has the most opportunity to step into a leading role with the rebounding Wings, in need of more offensive threats.

The Rest of the Picks:

Rounds 7 & 8:

49. Ken Millin (ROC)
50. Jason Clark (CHI)
51. Chris Panos (CHI)
52. Scott Stewart (POR)
53. Geoff Snider PHI) (4th T)
54. Callum Crawford (SJS)
55. Bill McGlone (CHI)
56. Jordan Hall (NYT) (3rd Rookie) (5th T)

57. Nenad Gajic (COL) (6th T)
58. Dan Stroup (EDM)
59. Frank Resetarits (SJS) (4th Rookie)
60. Brendan Mundorf (NYT)
61. Jason Wulder (COL)
62. Mat Giles (CHI)
63. Jake Bergey (PHI)
64. CHI Goaltenders

Rounds 9 & 10:

65. Jamie Taylor (TOR)
66. Mike McLellan (NYT)
67. Brodie Merrill (POR) (1st D)
68. Kasey Beirnes (TOR)
69. PHI Goaltenders
70. Chad Culp (MIN)
71. Cory Bomberry (BUF)
72. Josh Wasson (CHI)

73. Delby Powless (BUF)
74. Jim Veltman (TOR) (7th T)
75. Jeff Ratcliffe (NYT)
76. Kyle Wailes (PHI)
77. Jeff Shattler (CGY)
78. EDM Goaltenders
79. Curt Malawsky (CGY)
80. Thomas Montour (CHI)

Rounds 11 & 12:

81. Jon Harasym (TOR)
82. AJ Shannon (EDM)
83. Ben Prepchuk (EDM)
84. Peter Morgan (POR)
85. Dane Dobbie (CGY) (5th Rookie)
86. Kevin Olson (EDM)
87. Craig Conn (BUF)
88. Cam Sedgwick (SJS)

89. Sean Greenhalgh (BUF)
90. Kelly Hall (CGY)
91. Jason Crosbie (PHI)
92. Randy Daly (EDM)
93. Kyle Goundrey (CGY)
94. Spencer Martin (POR)
95. CGY Goaltenders
96. Billy Dee Smith (BUF) (2nd D)

Early Predictions:

While Lauren’s punerific Check Republic is a preseason favorite of Chris Hall – mainly because she landed the reigning MVP Grant – I and several other Insiders are picking the Gary “John Jiloty” Colemans as the most intriguing team, for having the largest upside. He took a lot of risks in the draft by taking Steenhuis so early – one of two transition players on his roster (Snider the other) – as well as two untested rookies, yet still snuck the Philly Goaltenders onto his roster in the ninth round.

Aside from Chavez’s promise to “take it one game at a time” and Shanny’s choice to use the Autodraft (can anyone else say ‘cop-out’?), things in our league look like they’ll be competitive, and chock full of smack talk. If they’re anything close to the banter between Jenner, Tutka and Chavez already, then we’ll all be at each other’s throats by the end of the fantasy season.

Closing Notes:

In future columns, I will post weekly Sleepers, a Start ‘Em/Sit ‘Em and Reader’s E-mails to hopefully help the rest of you fantasy geeks decide who to put into your lineup. So be on the lookout for all of those next week, and start preparing your questions now!

In the meantime, my best advice for Week 1 of fantasy is to dress your studs – your Top-5 runner selections, even if you really like the match-up between one of your later draft picks and their opponent for the week. There’s a reason you took these guys, give them a chance to succeed for you before you show them the door.

Hope everyone had a fantastic draft, and I’ll see you next Thursday!

Rate This Story:

(3 votes, average: 3 out of 5)

 Loading ...