JD Fantasy Hockey 2005

[Rob]

I'd prefer we don't - I'm a complete amateur when it comes to NHL so any extra time I'd have to react and research would help me a lot.

[JesseVader08]

Don't worry Jesse, if you exceed the 12 hour draft rule, we'll pick for you.  First guy up is Domi. 

Well then I propose we get 1 point for every penalty minute.   

[Morgbug]

Don't worry Jesse, if you exceed the 12 hour draft rule, we'll pick for you.  First guy up is Domi. 

Well then I propose we get 1 point for every penalty minute.   

That can be included if we want it in there.

As for the live draft on yahoo, it wouldn't bother me and would make it very quick.  But I do understand Rob's point.  I sure wouldn't have liked it for football or baseball.

[JesseVader08]

As for the live draft on yahoo, it wouldn't bother me and would make it very quick.  But I do understand Rob's point.  I sure wouldn't have liked it for football or baseball.

I agree with Rob, I really like to take my time picking.  Not that it'll probably matter in the end for me.   

[Holographic Elvis]

I'd hate to see the draft held up like that.  I'm in for a live draft.  We could do it one nite next week before you head out of town.  Researching players really doesn't take weeks, especially if you follow the game.  I say live draft next Thursday nite.  Anyone else?

[Morgbug]

The problem though Jason is that there are at least a couple of guys in the draft that don't follow hockey closely.  For them it's unfair to draft that quickly.  A live draft on Yahoo with 12 teams takes less than 2 hours.  You only get 90 seconds per pick.  At least that's the way one football draft I was in was set up. 

I don't want it held up or to drag out either.  And I'm a little leary of starting the draft quite so soon.  I don't want any overlap with the football draft, though that should finish in 4-5 days.  I'd also like as much of the free agency to be wrapped up as possible though I know not everyone will be signed soon, or even by the start of the season necessarily. 

I think we can balance it out around JesseV's schedule but I'd also like Scott to chime in regarding his move.  Starting ASAP might end up being the best option. 

While there are some newbs to hockey, I think this season is going to be a bit unusual because of the lockout, rust and all the moves.  Because of that I think everyone is on nearly even footing.  I know I haven't been checking any sites yet because of the football draft. 

We are looking at 16 rounds, only one less than the football draft which is somewhere near it's third week.  We'll figure out the starting point of the draft after Scott chimes in with his moving schedule.  If anyone else has some conflicts that will keep them away please say so now.  I'd rather not have 12 hour waits (or more) like we're seeing with football so let's resolve any problems ahead of time. 

Let's leave the start and time/type of the draft for now. 

Let's settle the following questions:

1. +/- what value do we want presuming you can lose points (be assigned negative points) leave it at 1 or 0.5?  Anything other than that will render it meaningless.  If anyone needs +/- explained, please say so.  My vote is to leave it at 1.

2. Do we want to add in penalty minutes (PIM)?  I don't care either way, but I will delete points that Ber*******tuzzi gets with his next (non)assault charge.

BTW, for what it's worth, here are all the potential categories:
Skaters
 Goals (G)
 Assists (A)
 Points (P)
 Plus/Minus (+/-)
 Penalty Minutes (PIM)
 Powerplay Goals (PPG)
 Powerplay Assists (PPA)
 Powerplay Points (PPP)
 Shorthanded Goals (SHG)
 Shorthanded Assists (SHA)
 Shorthanded Points (SHP)
 Game-Winning Goals (GWG)
 Game-Tying Goals (GTG)
 Shots on Goal (SOG)
 Faceoffs Won (FW)
 Faceoffs Lost (FL)

Goaltenders
 Games Started (GS)
 Wins (W)
 Losses (L)
 Goals Against (GA)
 Shots Against (SA)
 Saves (SV)
 Shutouts (SHO)


I selected what I did because I wanted to keep it relatively simple for guys that may not be so familiar with hockey.  I don't see the need for additionally rewarding PP or SH points.  Same for goalies, lots of stuff that's pretty unpredictable in most cases and not necessarily reflective of the player himself - eg. shots against is a reflection of crappy D but doesn't say much about the quality of shots the goaltender faced. 

[Holographic Elvis]

I think we should leave the points as is and not get too complicated if we have some hockey newbies. 

As for the draft, I just would hate to have us start so late and have it finish right as the season is starting.  I'd really like to see us keep the league at 10 teams and draft one nite during the week and just knock it out in one sitting as opposed to having to work around everyone's work schedules.  That is how you end up with marathon drafts.

[Ryan]

The nice thing about a live draft is if someone isn't there or doesn't pick in time it will pick for you and it will fill your roster out evenly and usually gives you the highest ranked players it finds. So if you don't really know what you are doing it can help you out.

[Morgbug]

Can we do that?  Can we sit down all together on one night and get it done?  In August I can still be fairly flexible about it. 

[Morgbug]

Player lists are up in Yahoo.  Some guys, unsigned as yet, are marked NA. 

Most interesting aspect is that unlike baseball there are no multiple positions.   Guys only have a single designation.

[Holographic Elvis]

I'd really like to do this draft one nite next week because once business college is done, I'm no longer on the M-F 8-5 shift.  My schedule will vary (days, nights, weekends). 

[JesseVader08]

What the hell, I'm game for a live draft.  I'll just have to be a little more prepared to make a pick in 90 seconds.  Like I mentioned before, I'm gone Aug 25 - 29 and Sept 6 - 12.  Anyone game for a draft on, say, Aug 30?

Yahoo's Fantasy Hockey still seems to have some bugs in it.  I try and "watch" a player and instead in brings me back to the main Fantasy Hockey page and tells me that I have no teams.  Sometimes it does this, then other times it works fine.   

Anyone else having problems?

...edit: It seems if I just hit the refresh button, it takes me back to the player list.  Weird.

[Morgbug]

I  think it's mostly not working well because the season hasn't started and I've not input teams.  I believe the watch feature is meant more for in-season than preseason. 

August 30th is the first suggested date.  Does this NOT work for anyone?

[JesseVader08]

What do you guys think of the +/- category being worth 0.5 point instead of 1 point?  I kinda think it should have a little less impact than the actual goals and assists.

[Holographic Elvis]

Might not work for me.  I propose the 24th.  With all the changes being made this year, even veteran fantasy hockey guys like myself are gonna be wondering who to draft.