Top 5 draft prospects (fantasy value)

[Duncan]

Which top 5 draftees from the past nhl draft would you pick and in what order?

I assume most people will have 5 of the following?

RNH
Landeskog
Huberdeau
Larsson
Strome
Zibanejad
Couturier
Murphy
Hamilton

[supersuk]

dibs on Huberdeau

[joel]

Are we taking in consideration our own fantasy teams or from a general point of view?

[Duncan]

just pure fantasy value based on the point system of our fantasy league. don't have to take into personal views of the drafting gms, only your own. and don't need to take into account the roster either

[Duncan]

[joel]

It's a bit tough, but I would personally rank them as follows. This is a bit more of a gut feel on leaving out guys like huberdeau and larsson in my top 5. i could miss hugely though as both could potentially be superstars.

RNH
Landeskog
Strome
Hamilton
Couterier

[joel]

Just curious to why you are asking. Are you struggling for yourself on who to go with for your early picks? (Undestable since it really is hard to pick some standouts from this pack this year).

[Duncan]

yea, there are a few names i'm toying around with but it's hard to pick 2 players in the list besides RNH who'll in all likelihood get picked 1st overall by elle...

i'm flip flopping between 3-4 guys to pick my 2 from. I still don't know who i'll pick. It could come down to a coin toss on draft day

[joel]

my concerns with huberdeau are not with his offensive upside, much like murphy i think he has pretty high upside. My concerns are more with his physical development and his rounded game skills. I worry that he could follow a development pattern similar to Turris. Sure he has a tonne of offensive upside, but that is just not enough sometimes.

my concerns with Larrson is sort of the opposite. I am not completely sold on his offensive potential. I've seen his poise and steadiness first hand and he will be a #1 dman for NJ. But will he be the scott neidermayer or the scott stevens. There isn't a lot of proof thus far that he'll be of the offensive ilk, even though he may have the tools to be one. Much like J-Bo.

[joel]

my opinions on the players tend to fluctuate on a regular basis too. so in two weeks from now it may be a very different view than now.

[jeSteR]

Had I kept the #2 pick, I would have taken Larrson for sure. In a "not as stand out" class as this one, I think that the opportunity that lies ahead for him in Jersey merits the risk. His defensive poise is exactly what will garner him more PP time IMHO

[joel]

[Duncan]

i agree on huberdeau... plus he's on florida. Although comparing him to Turris may be slightly unfair because Huberdeau put up those massive points in the Q and won memorial cup mvp honors while going into Turris' draft year, he was piling the points in the BCHL which is a much MUCH weaker talent pool. I think Huberdeau is a little safer than Turris would have been. That being said, i still wouldn't have traded a 1st + Perry for Huberdeau like Phil did for Turris lol...

Larsson, i'm not sold on his offensive upside either. And him being in NJ means he'll put up mediocre points even on the pp. He's going to be set up to succeed in NJ agreed, but being in NJ alone diminishes his fantasy value. I'd sooner have him on a team like LA where they have a glut of young talented dmen so Larsson can put up bigger points later on than mediocre 30-40 point seasons for the rest of his career in NJ. 30-40 point dmen can be had even in waiver rounds in our pool. I don't think i'd pick up Larsson 2nd overall. (Spoiler alert, although i'm pretty sure you guys already knew that)

i think besides RNH, the next 5 guys that i think have best fantasy upside are (mind you in no particular order...)
Strome
Couturier
Landeskog
Huberdeau
Murphy (ahead of hamilton only because it's fantasy upside. He's more of a subban risk type and hamilton's more of a pietrangelo imo)

then maybe larsson/hamilton after...

but like joel i'm flip flopping... 3 weeks ago, larsson was in my top 3 and Strome was out.

[joel]

i'm not sold on LA becoming a offensive powerhouse. Terry Murray has really forced them into a much more defensively responsible system than the kings of 2 years ago. I think NJ offensive future is really dependent on what DoBoer does with the team. They really need a true quarterback to be an offensive power, but they do have a lot of the tools on forward to get it down. In my opinion, more so than in LA.

I really, really like Hamilton. I think he could easily be the best two-way D out of this year's crop. Both murphy and larsson just have too many questions that need to be answered. There's no questions with Hamilton. Plus his opportunity in Boston is a great one, very good fit. (also, i would pick pietrangelo over subban) and i think murphy is much more riskier than subban. but i also think his potential pay-off is much higher too.

[joel]

also I don't necessarily equate upside to value. fantasy upside will affect their value. But their realistic chance of hitting that upside also affects their value.