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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Remember, there are new pools available to play in but the players in my rankings will fall off the table as soon as the puck drops in their respective game.
Familiarize yourself with the rues and enjoy! It’s a great game! Thursday’s 12-game slate features 10-person, eight-person, six-person and plenty of three-person drafts. There are also head-to-heads and Dream Team formats to participate in.
Forward Rankings:
Mitchell Marner
TJ Oshie
The main takeaways here is that I'm looking for Washington versus Toronto to be a high-scoring affair and I'm concerned about how Dallas will do against Anaheim's red hot goaltender, John Gibson. One player not on this list to keep in the back of your mind is Clayton Keller. He got off to a slow start this season while serving as the second-line center, but he will shift back to being a first-line winger on Saturday and should be more productive in that role.
Defense Rankings:
PK Subban
Mathew Dumba
I really doubt Rielly will be the defensive scoring leader by the end of the season, but there's no question he's red hot right now. An interesting X-Factor today is Kevin Shattenkirk, who got off to a slow start this season and was a healthy scratch on Thursday. He's drawing back into the lineup and could have a nice bounce back game.
Goalie Rankings:
Remember to double check the probable starters before making any decisions. I’ve been particularly impressed by Campbell and he’s going up against Ottawa, which makes him stand out to me as a good value pick.
Now, let’s also look at some players to consider for FanDuel and DraftKings. 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).
Jack Eichel (Buffalo) – C - $7,800 FanDuel, $7,000 DraftKings
Nicklas Backstrom (Washington) – C - $6,800 FanDuel, $6,600 DraftKings
Elias Pettersson (Vancouver) – C - $5,200 FanDuel, $5,900 DraftKings
Phil Kessel (Pittsburgh) – W - $7,500 FanDuel, $6,200 DraftKings
Mitchell Marner (Toronto) – W - $6,700 FanDuel, $6,500 DraftKings
Alex DeBrincat (Chicago) – W - $6,000 FanDuel, $5,300 DraftKings
Elias Lindholm (Carolina) – W - $5,600 FanDuel, $5,600 DraftKings
Morgan Rielly (Toronto) – D - $5,700 FanDuel, $6,000 DraftKings
Justin Schultz (Pittsburgh) – D - $4,800 FanDuel, $4,300 DraftKings
Pekka Rinne (Nashville) – G - $8,800 FanDuel, $8,400 DraftKings
DeBrincat and Lindholm are two hot starters whose prices haven’t caught up yet. There are obviously a lot of high-end forwards to consider, but I was going out of my way to highlight players of particular value. You should of course feel free to take forwards like Matthews and Ovechkin if your budget allows for it.
Goaltenders
Check out the probable starters from Rotoworld here.