ATD2025 Draft Thread

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Not trying to flood the thread with these types of messages, but depending on the next pick, I would be open to a trade down.

Want to start the process now so I'm not holding everybody up once I'm actually on the clock.
 
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My 1st rounders:

ATD2011: Gretzky + Lidstrom
ATD2012: Kelly
ATD2013: Bourque
ATD2014: Undrafted
ATD2015: Richard
ATD2016: Howe
ATD2017: Harvey
ATD2018: Shore
ATD2019: Harvey
ATD2020: Team 1: Crosby, Team 2: Undrafted
ATD2021: Hull
ATD2022: Hull
ATD2023: Did not play
ATD2024: Richard
ATD2025: Lemieux

Wayne Gretzky was the 1st player I ever drafted.

Because I did 3 repeats with Harvey, Hull & Richard, there's still many players I haven't build around.
A couple of mine are undrafted, but I'll try to remember to do this when they are.
 
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I’m reading Andy O’Brien’s erudite 1960 bio of the Rocket. I didn’t know he was such a good writer- gonna have to look for his newspaper stuff.

Rocket 2nd best VsX goalscorer ever and has to be the most clutch. Ask most Habs fans and they would never have Beliveau and Harvey ahead of Rocket. If this wasn’t also a team building game, I definitely would have taken him.
 
I’m reading Andy O’Brien’s erudite 1960 bio of the Rocket. I didn’t know he was such a good writer- gonna have to look for his newspaper stuff.

Rocket 2nd best VsX goalscorer ever and has to be the most clutch. Ask most Habs fans and they would never have Beliveau and Harvey ahead of Rocket. If this wasn’t also a team building game, I definitely would have taken him.

I've found a lot of great pieces by Mr. O'Brien over the years of researching on the newspaper platforms. I know a good many have made their way into bios.

I do wonder if we'll see more instances of Harvey pushing Mario outside the top 4 given the # of times we've seen Doug on the Milt Dunnell Cup winner.
 
After 20 years i realize the only drafted players this year that i have never drafted are: Harvey, Beliveau, Richard... and i LOVED the Habs as a child. I usually draft several from la belle province. This is the one time when early draft Habs lover moi noticed that value met opportunity (i sent IE several offers for his pick).

EDIT: Plus Mario & Sid 'cuz of every iota of Caps fan in me. Pittsburgh players are off the table for me - unless Mario drops to 8th... er, i'd trade 8th away for a haul, so i'm unlikely to ever draft a Penguin (i mentally blick out Hossa - he is not defined as a Penguin).

Bonus point: who is the one and only Pittsburgh player i have drafted multiple times, building bios of, pounding the table for, from early in his career (MLD material) to his ATD mainstay position. PM me the correct answer to get my 21st rounder for "future.considerations".
 
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I've found a lot of great pieces by Mr. O'Brien over the years of researching on the newspaper platforms. I know a good many have made their way into bios.

I do wonder if we'll see more instances of Harvey pushing Mario outside the top 4 given the # of times we've seen Doug on the Milt Dunnell Cup winner.

Mario is due for a big time ATD championship!
 
Thanks. I'm curious too, haha. I think I have an idea, but we'll see I it works out.
Someone needs to read the Dean Robinson book and update his profile. I think his profile says he didn’t produce in a couple playoff years but he had broken ribs or something and inferred he was overrated or something - that isn’t true. Don’t mean to champion Habs players but I did read the book lol .
 
Is Messier the easiest player to build around that’s a regular 1st rounder (or sometimes early second)?

I've drafted him twice already, once alone and once with VI, but I'd have been hard pressed to look the other way here even if it would have been the "boring" option to run it back yet again. He's just such a great option. Pretty much everything you want in a player.
 
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Is Messier the easiest player to build around that’s a regular 1st rounder (or sometimes early second)?
He's got to be pretty close. I went with him because I feel like I can go in pretty much any direction with my next few picks now.

I was lucky enough to have that luxury with Beliveau last year too. Was shocked he was on the board for as long as he was this year.
 
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Is Messier the easiest player to build around that’s a regular 1st rounder (or sometimes early second)?

My vote would go to Harvey and Howe, but Messier is close.

Potvin is also super easy, even when keeping him strictly at LD, as one should. So many suitable RDs partners for him. Bourque ain't that hard neither.
 
He's got to be pretty close. I went with him because I feel like I can go in pretty much any direction with my next few picks now.

I was lucky enough to have that luxury with Beliveau last year too. Was shocked he was on the board for as long as he was this year.
The two main steals so far to me have been Lemieux and Beliveau. I'm shocked at where both of them went.
 
Just for fun, here's how I would rank the drafted players from easiest to toughest to build around:

1. Doug Harvey
2. Gordie Howe
3. Mark Messier
4. Denis Potvin
5. Raymond Bourque
6. Jean Béliveau
7. Maurice Richard
8. Sidney Crosby
9. Nicklas Lidstrom
10. Red Kelly
11. Bobby Orr
12. Mario Lemieux
13. Eddie Shore
14. Howie Morenz
15. Wayne Gretzky
16. Connor McDavid
17. Bobby Hull

Reason I have Orr and Gretzky low is because of the expectations they come with for the rest of the lineup, even if it's not a hard rule. Not sure on McDavid, but he doesn't strike me as easy to build around.
 
f*** it, never thought I would build from the net out but why the hell not. Feel like changing it up a bit this year.

And if this is the direction I'm taking, The Dominator seems like a pretty damn good choice.

Welcome to Baltimore..Dominik Hasek, G

Dominik-Hasek-Sabres-scaled.jpg


- 2x Stanley Cup Champion
- Olympic Gold Medalist & Bronze Medalist
- 2x Hart Trophies (plus a 2nd place finish and two 3rd's)
- 2x Lester B. Pearson Trophies
- 6x Vezina Trophies
- 6x 1st team All-Star

Hard to pass up on that even if this isn't my style. Look at the goalie TC and I won the Milt Dunnell with. But I feel pretty good with The Dominator, especially in a division that already has Lemieux, Crosby, Shore and Kelly.
 

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