Pick Trends Between Last Year and This Year

In this year's edition of the hockey pool draft, there was a major run on goaltending and defense in the early rounds, which set a different pace to the picking momentum.  Last year, with a record of 24 teams in the pool, there was a fair bit of anxiety on some of the more limited positions and I think that carried over, thanks to a bit more homework, into this year's pool, where there is 23 teams.

Last season's winning side, belonging to Allan, had the strongest goaltending in the pool in the year, 71 points better than the average team picked.  Allan's side had average forwards and average defense, so it might be safe to say that goaltending was key.

In the first three rounds of the draft, 31 of 46 goalie spots (67%) were filled, which meant that there was a pretty good premium on points from the crease, especially compared to the draft last year, where (48%) of goalie spots were taken by the end of round three.

In both years, the 2nd round has been the round of goaltenders, 15 being taken out of 24 picks in 2013 and 16 of 23 in 2014.  A lot of teams want to make sure that they have at least one number one goalie on their side, not being left out, after picking a significant forward in the opening round.

Remarkably, five out of the seven teams that picked goalies in the 1st round this year (including our reigning champ), had their pairing set by the 2nd round.  An onus on goaltending, indeed.  Only four more teams had their pairing set by the end of the 3rd round.

Only one team in the draft failed to pick up a goalie in the first three rounds, as Wyllie didn't pick his first keeper until the 6th round, getting Los Angeles back-up Martin Jones, and then his pairing was set in the 11th round, snagging Michal Neuvirth, a potential starter in Buffalo.  Bold moves.

Mike led the pool last year in defensemen points, 48 points better than the pool average, but he had below-average goaltending and slightly below-average forwards, so his 10th place finish didn't seem too far out of whack.

Defense had a slight increase in popularity in the first five rounds as well, as 22 of 92 spots (24%) were filled in the first five rounds, whereas last year saw only 18% filled by that time.  Last year, we did see a defenseman taken in the 1st round, Erik Karlsson, and none taken in the 2nd round, where there were none taken in the 1st round this year and three taken in the 2nd round, including Karlsson.

One of the most noticeable difference to how popular the defense was in the draft this year is in the number of selections in the last four rounds.  In the 2013 draft, there were more teams filling up their defensive vacancies with the depth defenders, as 43 of 96 spots (45%) were filled late, while 27 of 92 spots (29%) needed to be filled in the same time this year.  By the end this year, most teams had done their defensive and goaltending shopping, filling their boots with the remaining forwards.

Finally, putting a premium on forwards didn't do much of anything for Clayton last season, as his team had 102 points more than the pool average in forward points, but was below average on the blueline and horrendous in goal.  He finished in 8th place, as the support he received beyond the forward lines was abysmal.

The last four rounds actually saw more forwards being taken than the first four, 59-47 the margin, but the 47 in the first four rounds will likely come up with a boatload more points, given the talent that was taken.

With so many teams, however, taking forwards late, this may even out the competition through the pool, assuming they took the right defenders and goalies earlier on in the pool.