10-Team Fantasy Hockey Mock Draft

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Members of theScore staff conducted a 10-team fantasy hockey draft in preparation of the 2016-17 fantasy hockey season. It is best to leave drafts right up until the start of the new year in order to have a better understanding of player roles and in an attempt to avoid any preseason injuries.

The members of the draft were: Esten McLaren, James Bisson, Josh Wegman, Jason Wilson, Neil Parker, Michael Clifford, Chris Meaney, Andrew Reid, J.P. Balladier, and Topher Smith.

The scoring categories for skaters are: Goals, Assists, Points, Power-Play Points, Shots on Goal, Faceoff Wins

For goalies: Games Started, Wins, Goals Against Average, Saves, Save Percentage, Shutouts

Positions are: 2 C, 2 LW, 2 RW, 4 D, 2 G, 4 BENCH

Round 1

Analysis: No surprises in the opening round. Stamkos remains a major risk due to issues with blood clots. The upside remains for him to pose the greatest threat to Ovechkin's Rocket Richard Trophy defense. Seguin ranked sixth in points per game and was on pace for 83 points before his season was cut short by injury. He and Benn remain the best duo in the league.

Round 2

Analysis: Parker won the Karlsson sweepstakes. Not only did he secure the best offensive defenseman by a considerable margin, he landed a player in the second round with a legitimate shot to lead the league in assists, points and power-play points. Tavares has similar upside, but he'll have to adapt to a new batch of complimentary wingers once again.

Round 3

Analysis: Schneider will provide excellent ratios in SV% and GAA, but he'll struggle to record wins in New Jersey. Malkin is an interesting pick, as he's likely be forced in the third-line center role for the Penguins. He'll still heavily feature on the power play. The battle between Kuznetsov and Backstrom will come down to who centers Ovechkin. Kuznetsov is the better goal-scorer.

Round 4

Analysis: Some interesting goalie selections here. Crawford may not be guaranteed his lofty win totals of years as depth at both forward and defense is a concern for the Blackhawks. Rinne will need to bounce back from one of his worst seasons, but the Predators' skaters will provide plenty of goal support. Gibson will finally have a full workload, but can he handle it?

Round 5

Analysis: After scoring 24 goals and 63 points in his rookie season, MacKinnon has totaled just 90 points over 136 games in his past two campaigns. Expect a bounce-back with new Avalanche bench boss Jared Bednar. Marchand was the final player on the board with 40-goal potential. He lacks in assists but still tied for 35th in points last season.

Round 6

Analysis: Having the opportunity to pair Klingberg with Letang was too good to pass up. My back end is coming together well with the players who ranked fifth and third, respectively, in defenseman scoring last season. Reid made his second gamble in net, pairing Rask with Rinne. The upside is incredibly high, but both are coming off disappointing seasons.

Round 7

Analysis: Josi was an absolute steal. He ranked fourth in defenseman scoring last season while paired with Weber. He'll now skate with Subban at both 5v5 and on the power play, and was bargain going five rounds after his partner. Krug still tied for 19th in defenseman scoring in 2015-16, despite converting just 1.6 percent of his shots. He will score double-digit goals this season.

Round 8

Analysis: I waited far too long on goaltending and am left hoping the Red Wings follow the trend of last season and give Mrazek the majority of starts over G Jimmy Howard. This was a dangerous strategy with games started as a weekly category in a head-to-head league. Faulk was a power-play monster last season, scoring 12 of his 16 goals at 5v4. It'll be difficult to repeat.

Round 9

Analysis: With Yahoo! cutting back on positional eligibility this season, it's surprising to see O'Reilly still listed as a left wing. It's Clifford's gain, as he'll be able to plug the third-ranked player in FOW from last season as a third center. Elliott moves from a stout defensive system in St. Louis to a Flames team which had the worst overall goalie statistics in the league last season.

Round 10

Analysis: Nash's tenure with the Rangers has been lackluster, but he is just two years removed from 69 points in the only season in which he played at least 70 games. Anderson started 60 games last season and managed to win 31 games. His .916 save percentage was right on his career average. He's a stable, but mediocre option.

Round 11

Analysis: Drouin has potential, as always, but he's a risk. He'll need to carry last season's playoff success through a full 82-game schedule. He's back in better favor in Tampa Bay and should have a spot on the left side of Stamkos. A pair of Senators' first-line wingers wrapped up the round. Stone is likely the safer option, but Hoffman has more upside.

Round 12

Analysis: Matthews has plenty of talent, but the 2016 No. 1 pick is likely being drafted too high. He isn't the same caliber as McDavid, and he won't have as good of a supporting cast. He has 60-point potential, but Johnson has already had a 72-point season. Radulov is another big risk budding with potential. He had 26 goals and 58 point in his last full season in the NHL back in 2007-08.

Round 13

Analysis: Andersen, Lehner and Bobrovsky have more talent than their teams will likely allow them to display. Murray plays for the defending Stanley Cup champions, but he'll miss the start of the season and will need to fight for playing time with Fleury. Ehlers totaled 38 points in a 72-game rookie season; he'll start the year on the Jets' top line with Schiefele and Wheeler.

Round 14

Analysis: Talbot has a firm grasp on the starting job in Edmonton, but he'll still struggle behind a still porous defense. Hellebuyck has the inside track at the Jets' starting job, but it isn't yet guaranteed. He is the superior talent to Ondrej Pavelec and Michael Hutchinson.

Round 15

Analysis: Hertl had a career year in 2015-16, totaling 46 points with 21 goals. He'll center the Sharks' third line this season, between rookie Timo Meier and RW Joel Ward. After campaigns of 28 and 27 goals, Nyquist regressed all the way down to 17 last season. He has still shot over 13 percent for his career, and he should have more opportunities within the Red Wings' top six.

Round 16

Analysis: As team's rounded out their defense corps or their bench, safe plays were made at defense. Larsson will have to prove himself in Edmonton, but he'll log big minutes with the best forward corps he has ever had. Phaneuf is expected to be paired with Karlsson on the power play, after failing to tally a power-play goal last season.