Waiting For the Drafts

Yes, it's been a little while since I've posted about my entrance into the keeper pool, the QMHL. Quite a bit has happened since the last blog post about it. It's been a very disorganized float through the past couple of weeks, which is one of the reasons why I didn't post anything about it. I don't think I wanted to rant and rave about the mis-direction and lack of firm rules, but nonetheless.

The league did pick up a couple more expansion teams, besides myself (the Sherpa's Yaks) and the KHL All-Stars. We also have the Colts and the Brown Hornets in the league. The draft order was also updated for the entry draft and I ended up with the third pick in the first round, which won't be an easy pick to work with, but I'll do what I can.

There have been plenty of trades since the draft order was determined, as some of the expansion teams have been moving their picks for qualified superstars. Not me though. I would rather see some of these established teams have to drop their players for nothing and then be available for me to pick up in the Supplemental Draft, which occurs after the Entry Draft. I want to maximize my entry into the pool and then clean up the scraps afterward.

Jarome Iginla, Jeff Carter and Paul Ranger would be okay pick-ups for a team, but I'm not wasting the ability to possibly pick up some of the good young talent available on the list for these guys. Especially since there will be a number of these type of guys available Supplemental Draft.

I've still got my fingers crossed that Steve Mason will be available in the third spot, as I think he's the guy I would like to build around. According to my own personal list, I have Zach Parise and Tim Thomas ranked just below Mason, as available players for this draft. Jonathan Toews is ranked fourth and Bobby Ryan is sitting in fifth, so I might have a little extra thinking to do, if Mason isn't there in third. Looking down the list, there is a lot there that I would really be happy with, so my plan to not move my draft picks could be quite successful.

As I'm writing this, I had an offer for my first round pick (3rd overall) for Quasimodo's Revenge's first rounder (7th overall) and Thomas Vanek. No dice. My first pick is going to be very important.

The draft for this pool goes on Friday, hence all the frantic motion. There's a good chance that I'll be tweeting from the draft (@opiatedsherpa).