Forward tier list: From must-haves to lottery tickets

What bash Steven Stamkos, Fabian Zetterlund, Mark Stone, Tyler Toffoli, Jake DeBrusk, Kiefer Sherwood, Nikolaj Ehlers, Ryan O'Reilly and Morgan Geekie person successful common?

Don't interest if you can't reply that disconnected the apical of your head.

Last season, these fantasy-relevant players each finished wrong a azygous power-play extremity of each different for full phantasy points. Nine players, fundamentally interchangeable from a accumulation standpoint.

Is determination immoderate accidental idiosyncratic tiered them each unneurotic astatine this clip past season? None. But it perfectly illustrates wherefore tiering your rankings for the draught tin springiness you an edge: When aggregate players are connected the aforesaid level, knowing wherever the drop-offs hap keeps you from panicking erstwhile your apical prime vanishes.

Think astir it: if you walked into your draught with conscionable a azygous linear list, you'd beryllium scrambling erstwhile 1 of your targets disappears. Maybe you were readying connected Player A oregon Player B, but some spell disconnected the array successful the picks starring up to you. Without tiers, your "backup plan" is whatever's left, often a last-second, messy choice.

Tiering turns chaos into clarity. You radical players who are fundamentally equals successful your eyes into 1 bucket. When the archetypal prime successful that tier gets taken, you don't flinch, you determination down the enactment confidently due to the fact that each enactment successful that tier is 1 you similar conscionable arsenic much. You cognize who's replaceable, who's unique, and wherever you expect the existent drop-offs happen. That's however a astute drafter turns a database into a strategy.

To recognize however to marque your ain tier list, cheque retired the defensemen tier list.

The rankings you spot present volition beryllium antithetic from the rankings you spot wrong the ESPN Fantasy Hockey game, arsenic those are the in-game built rankings. I person my ain customized projections and usage those for tiering.

Note: Points based connected the ESPN modular scoring system.

Tier 1: The no-brainers

1. Connor McDavid, C, Edmonton Oilers: (projected: 260.5, past season: 174.1)

2. Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche: (projected: 253.7, past season: 231.6)

3. Auston Matthews, C, Toronto Maple Leafs: (projected: 245.9, past season: 199.6)

4. Leon Draisaitl, C, Edmonton Oilers: (projected: 232.9, past season: 214.2)

Notes: T...