Monday Ramblings - Draft edition

Welcome back folks. I’m Logan Clarkson and I'm excited to continue bringing you guys content throughout the year. It's coming up on the start of a new NHL season and there’s no better way to tell than a fantasy draft packed last weekend. I personally had a draft Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Friday was quite boring as I won this league last year and had to expend every pick before the 8th round to do it. This always sucks come draft day but in my mind it's win over everything. My other two drafts went very well and I hope many of you are feeling the same!

A quick note, as of today there have been some more digging in type comments between Jeremy Swayman and the Boston Bruins. Slide Korpisalo up your rankings and Swayman down a bit.

Ramblings Draft

This year me and my GoaliePost Monday Ramblings counterpart Mike Ouellet have a bit of a surprise to start the year and have decided to do a friendly little competition. We each drafted 16 goalies in a classic draft formation (picking in order 1 for 1). I will list down below who the 16 goalies I have taken and under these guys I will give a quick blurb on why they were valued to me in this position of the draft. Mike was gracious enough to give me the first pick. It ended up being far more valuable within the flow of the draft to have first pick so in the 9th round we allowed him to pick two players in a row and also at the end of the draft he took one of my top 5 picks outside of number 1 and I replaced that guy with someone in his bottom 5 picks. Made things come out pretty even (if you’re the kind of guy who thinks they can predict goalies that is). The scoring settings for this little dust up are going to be Wins and Shutouts only. Simple. Let’s check out my squad.

1 Igor Shesterkin/New York Rangers

With Mike throwing the first pick at me like a grenade citing indecision as the main reason, I happily took Igor Shesterkin as the main man. Number one consensus goalie in most draft formats this year and in the past. Needs almost no explanation, but with Shesterkin going into a contract year as well I certainly would not want to be the guy trying to rip shots by him in this 2024-25 season.

2 Juuse Saros/Nashville Predators

My number two pick was also a pretty easy one to make. Saros has been a big bang in a small package for the entirety of his career. He has once again gotten the vote of confidence from a Nashville GM, this time Barry Trotz as he signed an 8-year, $7.74 million average cap hit contract to start next season. He’s reliable.

3 Stuart Skinner/Edmonton Oilers

Easy to justify these first 6 picks or so, and Stuart Skinner is no different. While he rests behind a still questionable Oilers right side, he has shown that for extended periods last year he can not only bear the load, but lift it. Skinner finished last year with one of the highest win totals in the league and Edmonton has only added a net positive for firepower upfront.

4 Sergei Bobrovsky/Florida Panthers

Not a ton to say about the defending Stanley Cup winning netminder. He’s gotten the job done for longer than I’ve been talking about goalies and although there may be a bit of a Cup hangover considering they went deep to the finals the year before, there’s going to be a good amount of wins to come in Florida.

5 Alexander Georgiev/Colorado Avalanche → Arturs Silovs/Vancouver Canucks

So I selected Georgiev here and as last years league leader in goalie wins and goalie starts, I was extremely happy to get him at five. That was until Mike came along with his steal and lifted him out of my back pocket. I was left with a decision and took Silovs back. I have a soft spot for Silovs with his playoff performance for Vancouver, and I hope the Canucks organization feels the same way this year with Demko being such an uncertain commodity early on.

6 Ilya Sorokin/New York Islanders

Sorokin is a tier two goalie in my books but the back surgery this offseason has added a bit of risk to his name. He has thus far into his career been a capable backstop but has had his bumps along the ride. I would value him far higher with his skill if he wasn’t tending goal for the Islanders. Can a hockey team get less sexy?

7 Joseph Woll/Toronto Maple Leafs

This young man I have high hopes for and I targeted in a few of my drafts. With a strong showing in limited games last year before getting injured I hope he can begin where he left off and do what 20 odd goalies before him could not, stick in the Leafs net. I cannot imagine the pressure that comes along with playing in Toronto and would not wish it on anyone. But pressure makes diamonds so they say, and here’s to hoping Woll ain’t just coal.

8 Thatcher Demko/Vancouver Canucks

Demko was hard to pass up at this spot in the draft even if he is a giant question mark heading into this season. The ceiling is or was high enough to justify a bit of risk later on in drafts. Up to you to decide how much risk to take by weighing who you already have, and who is left out there.

9 Linus Ullmark/Ottawa Senators

I think Ullmark will be a bit of a calming force for Ottawa this year. He has had a few good preseason performances (means next to nothing, I know). The Ottawa D corps has been underwhelming for years and I don’t think that necessarily changes drastically this year but Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson are a year older, so here’s to hoping. Ullmark will have to steal some games this year but going 17th overall reflects that.

10 Adin Hill/Vegas Golden Knights

Not much to say about Hill other than, the man got paid last year. Follow the money. If he didn't get injured last year who knows what he could have done as he was steamrolling the league early on.

11 Tristan Jarry/Pittsburgh Penguins

I’m betting on a bit of a bounceback from Jarry. The BC boy turned Alberta hops farmer had an up and down campaign in 2023-24. Coming off of a year prior to that where he would string together shutouts like tying shoe laces, it was tough to watch at times. Cheering for this guy extra hard this year.

12 Connor Ingram/Utah Ice Hockey Club

I have a bit of a soft spot for Ingram, I grabbed him last year in a few leagues and let go of him before the freefall near the end of the season. Utah will most likely try to split starts until somebody takes the reigns and makes their way to the front of the line. My bet is its him.

13 Frederik Andersen/Carolina Hurricanes

I was happy to take Andersen here as he will start at least half the games for Carolina if he can stay healthy, in my mind. That’s a big if as Andersen has only played one full season out of the last four. Despite this, he finished last year with a 13-2-0 record and a .923 save percentage. Worth a late bet to me easily.

14 Sam Montembeault/Montreal Canadiens

This pick was me taking a starting goalie. That’s about it. He will get the bulk of the starts, and in this points formation, we won’t be taking a hit on save percentage by having guys on losing or mid teams. As always, I hope i'm wrong and he shoves it down my throat with a great season.

15 Darcy Kuemper/LA Kings

Another starter on a mid team. This time, I can’t even say I hope it works out being an Oilers fan and all. But, there’s plenty of opportunity here and that’s what you’re looking for in the closing stages of a draft.

16 Jesper Wallstedt/Minnesota Wild

Last but not least, the future of netminding in Minnesota (hopefully). Wallstedt struggled a bit last year in his call up but the snow is being cleared from the driveway after this year
(Marc-Andre Fleury retires) and he's holding a bucket full of sidewalk chalk. That one was a bit of a stretch, I know. Huge prospect on the cusp. Lots to be excited about.

In Conclusion

This is the end of my part of the Ramblings draft and I hope you guys can continue to follow along throughout the year! Come back next week for Mike’s team reveal. You can find me on Twitter/X @LOGoalz for any questions at all including information on not just goalies, but skaters as well. Good luck with your first few weeks guys!