DRAFT is back for another season of quick and exciting daily fantasy action. Their DFS platform offers poolies with a chance to participate in a format that most of us have grown very accustomed to over the years. You can compete in a live snake draft in which the participants take a player with each pick. Unlike other DFS games, this gives you the opportunity to use your knowledge to craft a team that no one else will have because the players you select cannot be chosen by your competition.
The draft is quick as you are allotted just 30 seconds per pick and you take five players. Your team is comprised of three forwards, a defenseman and a goalie.
Your strategy can be dictated by the positions being selected ahead of you. For instance, if you are going last and everyone else has a goaltender then you can wait until your last pick to make that selection. Of course, selecting players going up against weaker competition or players who are riding hot streaks are always popular strategies as well.
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There is an eight-team draft tonight as an option.
Forward Rankings
5. Tyler Seguin
7. Jamie Benn
8. John Tavares
9. Mitch Marner
11. Johnny Gaudreau
12. Sean Monahan
13. Elias Lindholm
14. Brayden Point
15. Filip Forsberg
16. Elias Pettersson
17. Jeff Skinner
18. Mike Hoffman
19. Max Domi
20. Steven Stamkos
21. Jack Eichel
22. Patrik Laine
23. Artemi Panarin
24. Ryan O'Reilly
There are plenty of choices on a busy Monday and I would go all-in and take a whole line if you are able to. The Dallas line had nine points on Sunday and you can never go wrong with the duo of Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler. The Leafs duo of Tavares and Marner is also a very good one to start with. Point has been hot of late as has the Calgary line of Monahan, Lindholm and Gaudreau. The Flames take on a tired Vegas team who played last night in Edmonton and are completing an eight-game stretch in 14 games that included a couple of long road trips. Point has been red-hot of late with 15 points in his last 10 games.
Defenseman Rankings
5. Roman Josi
6. John Carlson
7. Kris Letang
Rielly has been the top offensive defenseman this season with Chabot a close second. After the pair, you can wait until the last round before taking a blueliner as the remainder are fairly equal. Letang loses some value as Sidney Crosby is out of action and the Penguins are slumping badly.
Goaltending Rankings
2. Pekka Rinne
6. Carey Price
8. Jake Allen
There is a definite drop off after the first three goalies. The Maple Leafs have the best goalie in the NHL at this time in Andersen and while they have a tough match up with Columbus, Nashville and Rinne host Tampa Bay in a battle of the top two teams in the NHL. Hellebuyck is a good pick at three as they are in Vancouver to take on the Canucks. Hard to believe but Anderson has nine wins for Ottawa this season. Allen has been poor for most of the season and Rittich gets a chance to steal the job in Calgary from Mike Smith who he has outplayed all season.
Keep in mind that FanDuel allows you to roster nine players (2C, 4W, 2D, 1G) with a salary cap of $55,000, while DraftKings has a cap of $50,000 for nine players (2C, 3W, 2D, 1G, 1UTIL).
David Rittich (Calgary) - G - $7,600 FanDuel, $7,900 Draft Kings
Thomas Chabot (Ottawa) - D - $5,100 FanDuel, $6,200 DraftKings
Neal Pionk (New York Rangers) - D - $4,600 FanDuel, $5,300 DraftKings
Miro Heiskanen (Dallas) - D - $4,200 FanDuel, $4,600 DraftKings
Ryan O'Reilly (St. Louis) - C - $7,100 FanDuel, $6,600 DraftKings
Brayden Point (Tampa Bay) – C- $6,800 FanDuel, $6,100 DraftKings
Alexander Radulov (Dallas) - W - $6,100 FanDuel, $6,900 DraftKings
Yanni Gourde (Tampa Bay) - W - $5,800 FanDuel, $5,300 DraftKings
Sam Reinhart (Buffalo) - W - $4,800 FanDuel, $5,100 DraftKings
Kasperi Kapanen (Toronto) – W- $4,400 FanDuel, $4,700 DraftKings
Rittich has been terrific this season and has a chance to establish himself as the top gun in Calgary with a nice game tonight. Heiskanen has taken over the power play from the injured John Klingberg while Pionk is the top offensive defenseman in Dallas. Chabot is second in defense scoring in the NHL and is a real bargain in FanDuel. O’Reilly has been a stud in St. Louis while Point has been red-hot of late with eight goals and 15 points in his past 10 games. Radulov is coming off a three-point performance last night and Gourde has been strong all season. Reinhart has been playing alongside Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner and Kapanen gets top-six action on a high-scoring Toronto side. These are some bargains and when added to the studs like Ovechkin, Kucherov and Wheeler as well as Morgan Rielly should make for a good DFS side.
Goaltenders
Check out the probable starters from Rotoworld here.