Yahoo Sports 2018 Fantasy Hockey draft tiers: Breaking down the best defensemen
By Kyle Riley, RotoWire
Special to Yahoo Sports
Fielding a strong group of defensemen in fantasy hockey is more important than ever before, as the top options at the position are generally capable of posting offensive totals similar to those generated by top-six centers. However, there’s still a plethora of depth among blueliners, so if owners miss out on an elite option during their drafts, there’s no reason to panic.
The following tiers are groupings of defensemen with relatively similar fantasy expectations for the upcoming campaign. Drafting a player from the first two tiers isn’t necessarily a requirement for success, but owners should plan on assembling a healthy mix of options from the high-end and low-end groupings to ensure they’re fielding a well-balanced core of defensemen with an appropriate mixture of offensive upside and supporting-category coverage.
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Tier 1 – The Elite
Brent Burns, Victor Hedman, Erik Karlsson
Tier 1 is comprised of three players that have proven to be can’t-miss options at their position over the past few seasons. Burns should probably be taken off the board first in most leagues due to his goal-scoring prowess, but it’d be impossible to go wrong with any of these elite fantasy assets, who will provide owners with 70-plus-point upside as well as favorable contributions in supporting categories.
Tier 2 – On The Cusp
John Klingberg, Seth Jones, P.K. Subban, Drew Doughty
Tier 2 includes players that are on the cusp of the “elite” tier, but may not have the track record or offensive upside of the “Big Three.” Nonetheless, Klingberg, Jones, Subban and Doughty are all near-locks for 50-plus points and have the talent and roles necessary to be strong contributors in supporting categories. Burns, Hedman and Karlsson are undoubtedly in a league of their own, but the skaters in Tier 2 are still fantastic No. 1 options.
Tier 3 – The Studs
Dustin Byfuglien, Roman Josi, Torey Krug, John Carlson, Shayne Gostisbehere
Tier 3 doesn’t contain as much offensive potential as tiers 1 and 2. Josi and Byfuglien are probably the safest picks with their double-digit goal and 50-point floors, with Krug coming in as a close second in terms of reliability as a player whose point total has steadily increased over the past four seasons. Carlson and Gostisbehere are the risky options in this group. Both hit the 65-point mark last season, but they failed to crack the 40-point threshold in 2016-17, which makes spending a high pick on them a risky endeavor given the lack of proven consistency.
Tier 4 – The Steady Stalwarts
Alex Pietrangelo, Ryan Suter, Keith Yandle, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Dougie Hamilton, Nick Leddy, Jake Muzzin
Tier 4 includes skaters that have a proven track record of 40-plus point seasons and can be counted on to contribute in a big way in supporting categories, but they don’t have much to offer in terms of upside. These players should be viewed as high-end, low-risk options.
Tier 5 – The Point Manufacturers
Tyson Barrie, Kris Letang, Jake Gardiner, Matt Dumba, Morgan Rielly
Tier 5 has a ton of offensive upside but comes with some risk due to health concerns or an unproven/inconsistent track record. Each of these players has proven they’re capable of eclipsing the 50-point threshold in recent seasons but should generally be paired with a safer pick in case they regress or suffer a significant injury in 2018-19.
Tier 6 – On the Rise
Ivan Provorov, Mikhail Sergachev, Will Butcher, Colin Miller, Zach Werenski
Tier 6 features some of the NHL’s best up-and-coming defensemen that all have enough offensive potential to be valuable fantasy assets this season. These five youngsters all have 40-plus point potential and should be strong contributors in the supporting categories as well, but there’s always the possibility for regression when dealing with players entering their second or third full NHL season.
Tier 7 – The Safe Bets
Ryan Ellis, Kevin Shattenkirk, Rasmus Ristolainen, Mark Giordano, Ryan McDonagh, Aaron Ekblad, Jared Spurgeon, Colton Parayko, Mike Green, Alex Goligoski, Mattias Ekholm, Cam Fowler
Ellis and Shattenkirk both have durability concerns, but they’re included in the “Safe Bets” tier because they both also have 50-point upside and shouldn’t require a high draft pick to obtain. The other skaters in this group are essentially locks to put up 35-40 points, but otherwise don’t have much upside, making them perfect option for owners looking to round out their blue-line depth with conservative picks.
Tier 8 – Youth With Upside
Rasmus Dahlin, Charlie McAvoy, Noah Hanifin, Thomas Chabot, Miro Heiskanen, Vince Dunn
Tier 8 features the NHL’s youngest high-profile defensemen who all have the potential to develop into valuable fantasy assets in the coming seasons. However, since they’re all just 21 or younger, they generally shouldn’t be perceived as anything more than high-upside bench options in drafts this season.
Tier 9 – The Depth Options
Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Duncan Keith, TJ Brodie, Sami Vatanen, Tyler Myers, Hampus Lindholm, Justin Faulk, Olli Maatta, Dmitry Orlov, Jaccob Slavin, Justin Schultz, Shea Theodore, Josh Morrissey, Esa Lindell, Josh Manson, Oscar Klefbom, Brady Skjei
The skaters that appear in Tier 9 shouldn’t be selected until the later rounds of drafts, as they’ll likely be nothing more than injury and bye-week replacements for fantasy squads this campaign.
Tier 10 – Undrafted Guys Worth Watching
Dan Hamhuis, Deryk Engelland, Ron Hainsey, Niklas Kronwall, Samuel Girard, Zdeno Chara
The players that appear in Tier 10 should go undrafted in nearly all fantasy formats. If they surprise and get off to a hot start, they’ll probably be available free of charge on the waiver wire.
