Time to share rounds 4 – 7 of our scouts' all-prospect draft in this Sunday's Ramblings…

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Last week I wrote about the DobberProspects Fantasy Hockey League, and shared rounds 1 – 3 of the ultimate prospect draft, with rosters managed by our expert team scouts. There weren't too many shockers in the early rounds, but lots of players slid up and down the draft list based on differences in our writers' valuations. This week, I'm excited to share with you rounds 4 through 7 of this draft, where teams have really started showing their scouting prowress, with lots of unpredictable picks, both with steals and…interesting choices. We love discussing our teams and opinions, so dont hesitate to use the comments box to let us know who you think were the best and worst selections so far! 

Round 4

Lots of solid picks still on the board for our scouts in Round 4. Rattie, Motte, Pokka, McCarron, and Point will all be very good deals at their respective positions, with Point having the biggest upside to be a real steal (or, of course, the opposite). My selection of Connor Brown was my first gamble on high scoring upside, as my picks in previous rounds were all picks I felt as safe bets to become strong contributors, but not necessarily the highest risk/reward available.

Round 5 

Round 5 may be remembered as the first round where real steals started appearing, specifically near the end of the round. I dont feel that any picks came off as being too much of a reach, but Barbashev and Compher could look like diamonds in the very near future (both should get NHL looks this year). Given how slowly goalies have been drafted, and that most good prospects in this position were already taken, getting Husso at the end of the round was great pick.

Round 6

I anticipated a significant talent drop-off somewhere between rounds 6-8, and it seems to have begun here in the sixth. till lots of notable prospects being taken off the baord, but not many with the high upside or imminent impact that will really shake up our fantasy season. Some talented goaltenders still years from an NHL impact were taken in Comrie, Stolarz, Blackwood, and Ullmark – it appears that this was the round where our scouts started realizing that drafting a goalie costs alot less than trying to trade for one once they have developed.

Round 7

Things got fun in Round 7, and I tried desperately to trade back into the round after losing my pick in a previous trade. I did this in an attempt to snag high-upside fallers Perlini, Ho-Sang, or Merkley; once these excellent picks were off the board I stopped harassing my comrades and waited patiently for the next round. Unfortunately for Minnesota – fantasy hockey is a cruel and unforgiving past-time…if you don't want to sacrifice a pick you gotta make it on time!

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So, what do you think of our scouts' decisions so far? Discussing draft strategy and results is the reason all of us are working hard here at DobberProspects, and we are always excited to talk on the message boards here or on twitter! The writers have been using the twitter hashtag #DPFHL to track our progress, so feel free to jump into these conversations or just follow along.

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As always, thank you for reading and best of luck in your upcoming drafts! Only a few more weeks until the start of the greatest sporting season on Earth!

Hayden Soboleski

@soboleskih