The Union and Blue staff held its first fantasy hockey draft Monday evening. The five members did a 28-round snake draft, giving us all plenty of time to pick up our favorite Columbus Blue Jackets.
Ten Columbus Blue Jackets were taken in total, making the CBJ the most selected team in the entire draft, just ahead of teams such as the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Blackhawks.
The draft order was random, and in no way was set up so I would have the first pick. FOR REAL! I didn’t even set the draft up; that was all Lansing. Since the order snaked, I had the first pick of one round and then the last pick of the next. Mike had the second pick of the first round, Will got the third, Lansing picked fourth and Tony went last.
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With the first selection, Preston’s Pucks (my team, obviously) took reigning Hart Memorial Trophy winner Connor McDavid. Hart runner-up Sidney Crosby was then taken second by Dirty Mike And The Boys (Mike’s squad). Wild Westpy’s Dubious Dubois (Will) then took Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Brent Burns was then taken by Lansing’s team, the Arch City Army. And to finish out the first round, Always Sonny in Columbus (Tony’s team) selected Patrick Kane.
Highlights
I’m not going to go through every round and pick, so here’s some of the highlights.
- Sergei Bobrovsky was the first Blue Jacket and first goaltender taken, selected with the ninth overall pick by Dirty Mike And The Boys.
- Artemi Panarin was selected by Arch City Army with the 17th overall pick.
- Matt Murray and Carey Price were both drafted by Preston’s Pucks (Murray went 20th overall while Price was selected with the 31st).
- Wild Westpy’s Dubious Dubois selected Jeff Carter with the 33rd overall pick.
- Despite being injured, Erik Karlsson was the 46th pick, taken by Always Sonny in Columbus.
- #CBJagr is no longer a possibility, but that didn’t stop Wild Westpy’s Dubious Dubois from selecting him with the 73rd pick.
- Oliver Bjorkstrand was the final Columbus Blue Jackets player selected, taken 135th by Always Sonny in Columbus.
- With the final pick, Preston’s Pucks selected Jake Gardiner.
Explanation: Why We Love Sergei Bobrovsky
Notable Free Agents
With only five teams in the league, there is obviously some good talent that is left without a home. Evander Kane, Kyle Palmieri and Patric Hornqvist are still on the free agent market.
On top of the outsiders that are still available, quite a few Columbus Blue Jackets were not selected in the draft. Boone Jenner, Brandon Dubinsky, Josh Anderson and Sonny Milano–despite Tony naming his team after Sonny–were not chosen by any team.
Schedule
The first matches will go from Oct. 4 to Oct. 8. Arch City Army will take on Preston’s Pucks while Always Sonny in Columbus battles Dirty Mikes And The Boys. Wild Westpy’s Dubious Dubois has a bye for the first match.
Most of us have never done fantasy hockey, so expect us to be very stupid and do some weird things with our rosters. If you would like to view the league, our full rosters, schedule and more, click here.
How do you think we did in the draft? Who did the best? Who did the worst? Let us know below in the comments and on social media!