2016 Fantasy Hockey Draft Rankings
2016 Fantasy Hockey Draft Rankings
My 2016 Fantasy Hockey Draft Rankings are here! There are many things to consider before looking at these rankings. Fantasy hockey is like any other fantasy sport. The most important thing to understand in your fantasy league is your leagues scoring and format. Does your league offer points for PIM’s, shots, hits, blocked shots? Do you have to start a certain amount of wingers based on the side they play? Do you just play a certain amount of forwards? How many defensemen do you play? How many goalies?
Knowing your league scoring system can show you which players are valuable. A good example of this would be Wayne Simmonds and Dustin Byfuglien. Those two players have increased value in the fantasy league I play in because of hits and PIM’s. They end up with more fantasy points than their peers who have similar goals and assists totals due to their high number of PIM’s and hits. These rankings are based off my fantasy leagues scoring settings which give partial points for shots, hits, PIM’s, blocked shots and plus minus.
LEFT WINGERS-LW
2016 Fantasy Hockey Rankings powered by FantasyProsECR ™ – Expert Consensus Rankings
ADP – Average Draft Position
There are a couple of very talented LW’s you can draft. Alex Ovechkin is going to be one of the most reliable and easy to predict players in the draft. He has scored 50 goals in three straight seasons. Ovechkin will be useful regardless of your leagues scoring format. Ovi could lead all of the NHL in goal scoring! If you have a chance to draft Ovi, do yourself a favor and draft him.
Jamie Benn, Johnny Gaudreau, Artemi Panarin, and Filip Forsberg are other excellent LW. Max Pacioretty, Taylor Hall and Brad Marchand are a couple of other LW’s who I believe will have very good seasons. I have put little notes on all of the Top 100 players in the rankings.
Right Wingers-RW
2016 Fantasy Hockey Rankings powered by FantasyProsECR ™ – Expert Consensus Rankings
ADP – Average Draft Position
Patrick Kane may end up being the top player in fantasy hockey. Kane was the only player to break 100 points last season. Other impressive RW’s are Vladimir Tarasenko and Joe Pavelski. There are several RW who could breakout and have really impressive seasons. I predict Nathan MacKinnon and Tyler Toffoli will have great seasons. Wayne Simmonds will be productive if you are playing in a league which counts hits and PIM’s.
Center Rankings
2016 Fantasy Hockey Rankings powered by FantasyProsECR ™ – Expert Consensus Rankings
ADP – Average Draft Position
Sidney Crosby was my top ranked center. The issue with that ranking is that he is now going to miss the season opener with a concussion. I have dropped him significantly to reflect the fact that we have no idea how much time he is missing. I really have yet to figure out the ideal position in which to draft Sidney Crosby. If he misses any sort of stretch of time it could be disastrous to your fantasy season. There are other centers you can draft instead of Crosby include Connor McDavid, Joe Pavelski, Tyler Seguin, John Tavares, and Steven Stamkos.
Defenseman/D
2016 Fantasy Hockey Rankings powered by FantasyProsECR ™ – Expert Consensus Rankings
ADP – Average Draft Position
Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns are the best defenseman in fantasy hockey. Those two truly shine brighter than any of the other defenseman in the NHL. Last season saw Karlsson and Burns put up truly remarkable numbers from the blue line. Other defenseman I like include Dustin Byfuglien, P.K. Subban and Kris Letang. Byfuglien is another one of those players who is really valuable in leagues that count hits and PIM’s.
Goalie/G
2016 Fantasy Hockey Rankings powered by FantasyProsECR ™ – Expert Consensus Rankings
ADP – Average Draft Position
There are typically several elite goalies in fantasy hockey. Braden Holtby and Carey Price are the two goalies who are projected to be truly elite this season. There are several other goalies who can deliver you a solid fantasy performance. I used to believe in drafting an elite goalie in fantasy hockey, but now I feel like that is a huge mistake.
Don’t draft a goalie in the first or second round, don’t be the guy who drafts Price or Holtby (unless they slide in draft position). You do not have to draft a goalie in the first two rounds to get a suitable goalie. Martin Jones, Tukka Rask, Jonathan Quick, Pekka Rinne and Devan Dubnyk are all suitable goaltending options.
The most important part of your fantasy hockey draft could be who you decide to draft in the first few rounds. I believe it is incredibly important to know your leagues scoring settings and format. Do not draft a goalie to early, don’t ignore defenseman and understand value in a drafting context. Good luck in your fantasy draft, I hope these rankings can aide you!
Top Overall 2016 Fantasy Hockey Rankings
2016 Fantasy Hockey Rankings powered by FantasyProsECR ™ – Expert Consensus Rankings
ADP – Average Draft Position
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