Hey lads,

First, DC, love what you've got up here so far...about 2,500% less boring than what other sites have!

At any rate, I took a couple seasons off of fantasy puck (unsurprisingly, it's hard to find guys interested in fantasy hockey in Australia), but am back on it this year.

My buddy convinced me to jump into his dynasty league he's starting, a 12-team, 13-keeper auction draft roto league. I disagree with a few things in it, like roto (I think H2H is way more exciting), counting blocked shots, removing the auction $ values after the first year and making it a regular draft in following years, etc., but whatever, beggars and choosers.

At any rate, I'm an old hat when it comes to baseball auctions, but have never done one with hockey before, and definitely not one with keeper implications. My initial thought was to blow $175 or so on my first 13 - 15 players/1 - 2 goalies, aiming for potential keepers, and then fill out my roster with guys who are 1- or 2-category studs like Dan Girardi (236 BS, 195 hits), etc.

Does that make sense? I'm wary of how important the draft will be, because no matter what I wouldn't be keeping those first 13 I draft, but the top 5 or 6 guys will be anchors for a few years most likely.

Any tips or sleepers in a draft/league format like this would be greatly appreciated!

I have never played auction hockey either but I agree with your strategy and would likely employ something similar if I were in your position. Spend the majority of your money on acquiring a solid keeper foundation and look for cheap category specialists.

Good luck and let us know how it works out!

Yeah your strategy is sound to me. Treat it like you'd treat a baseball auction and you should be fine. My 1 big tip would be to not overspend on a keeper goalie. Let everyone else blow their wad on the Luongo's and Price's of the world and just target a couple mid-tier guys with upside (Jonas Hiller, Cam Ward types).

With no auction pricing for following years though, wouldn't it be worth it if I could get a guy like Price (extremely wishful thinking, as I think he'll be the most expensive goalie, but I'm a Habs fan) if I could be keeping him as long as I want at no cost?

IF you really want Price then go after him. But just make sure to spend hardly any money on your #2 Goalie (somebody like Mike Smith of Phoenix) could provide great value for a buck or 2...

Quick update for you guys, just finished the draft:

C:
Stamkos (68)
Plekanec (4)

LW:
Parise (19)
David Booth (1)

RW:
St. Louis (26)
Malkin (48)

F:
Heatley (12)
Semin (16)
Simon Gagne (1)

UTIL:
Gabriel Landeskog (6)

D:
Erhoff (6)
Timonen (1)
McCabe (1)
Campbell (1)
Seidenberg (1)

Bench:
Bryan Little (1)
Olli Jokinen (4)
Teddy Purcell (1)
Matt Moulson (1)
Nikita Filatov (1)
Darren Helm (1)
Hamrlik (1)

G:
Price (35)
Varlamov (4)


Blew my wad a bit on Stamkos/Malkin, but the potential of having both of them for years to come was too tempting. Need to get a centre through a trade, also considering a couple guys on the wire like Brooks Laich or Stoll at the expense of Helm, Olli Jokinen or Filatov, as well as a third goalie. Thoughts?

19 for Parise and 12 for Heatley? I think you're doing alright. I like Voracek and Frolik as cheap upside picks on the wing.

Final team after draft and a few tweaks, prices next to players:

C: Stamkos (68)
C: Plekanec (4)
LW: Parise (19)
LW: Brooks Laich (FA)
RW: St. Louis (26)
RW: Malkin (48)
F: Heatley (12)
F: Semin (16)
F: Simon Gagne (1)
UTIL: David Booth (1)
D: Erhoff (6)
D: Timonen (1)
D: McQuaid (FA)
D: Campbell (1)
D: Seidenberg (1)
G: Price (35)
G: Varlamov (4)
B: Al Montoya (FA)

Bench:
Kyle Okposo (FA)
Bryan Little (1)
Gabriel Landeskog (6)
Teddy Purcell (1)
Matt Moulson (1)
Hamrlik (1)



I'm going to be weak on FOW, HITS and BS I think, but am talking to a couple owners to see if I can work on that. What do you guys think?

Hey man sorry for such a late reply but yeah I really like your team. You stole Parise, Heatley and Semin IMO and it's okay to overpay for studs like Stamkos and Malkin. Then spending a grand total of $6 on Plekanec, Gagne and Booth was awesome.. Defenseman are weak but skimping on them is always my philosophy. Just make sure to be diligent in your pursuit of Defensive upgrades. Guys will pop up throughout the season who are better than McQuaid/Cambell/Seidenberg so stay on top of it.