The Mid-Season NationDraft

With the second half of the NHL season well underway it’s time to start preparing yourself for another round of trash talking, rivalry chirping, and, of course, a little bit of fantasy hockey. As per Nation Network tradition, I am here to tell you about a brand new NationDraft for the second half of the regular season.

Play against readers across the Nation Network in the 2016-17 Mid-Season Nation Drafts. Grand Prize is a $1000 Visa Gift Card! Enter your fantasy hockey team at nationdrafts.com for your chance to win and support a good cause! The entry fee is $20, with a portion of all proceeds going to support our charity partner, Earth Group.

Think you’ve got what it takes to beat me? Head over to NationDrafts.com to sign up, build your team, and prove to the world how smart you are. As always, I’ll be putting together my own squadron of ice warlords and I’m feeling pretty confident about my ability to get things done. I finished in the top 10 last year in the second-half draft and I’m looking to repeat my ascent to greatness*. You can find me by searching for “BAGGEDMILK, FANTASY WARLORD” and I encourage you to gaze upon my fantasy team in awe as they are likely better than your team without even seeing who’s on your roster. 

*probably not. 

As per tradition, we’ve made the rules for the draft as simple as humanly possible. All you have to do is make up a roster comprised of players that are included in each draft box. As you can image, the point of the game is to put together the best possible team that you can. 

The draft opened today and closes on February 3rd, 2017, at 3pm MST. No entries will be accepted after this date/time, so I ask that you push aside your urge to procrastinate. After you’ve signed up, drop a comment below with your team name so that we can put citizen handles to draft teams. After all, who doesn’t love to brag about how your brain is bursting out of your skull with hockey knowledge?

If you didn’t already think I’m a nice guy by giving away all of Wanye’s money, then you’re surely going to like some free advice to get your pool started:

The first box should be a no brainer in Oil Country, but it’s a challenge if you look at the stats lines. Do you go with our league leader, McJesus? Or do you concede to Sidney Crosby’s higher points per game rate? Don’t forget Patrick Kane notched 106 points last year. He’s scored 47 points in 47 games but he could just be heating up. In the 5th draft box, you have two young studs and two accomplished veterans. Will you pick your home boy Leon Draisaitl or will you choose the great, Alexander Ovechkin?

In the 13th draft box, will you add Milan Lucic to your squad or will you choose Vancouver’s streaking young star, Bo Horvat? How about Nathan McKinnon who is shackled to a struggling Colorado Avalanche, or Ryan O’Reilly in Buffalo?

Still haven’t gotten over some of last year’s trades? Well, Taylor Hall is listed in the 9th draft box and Stanley Cup Winner Justin “Showtime” Schultz is listed in the 18th box alongside offensive defensemen like Dustin Byfuglien.

It’s been a dim year for the Canuck’s offense but Bo Horvat has been a much needed bright spot. He sits alongside the aforementioned Lucic, McKinnon, and O’Reilly in the 13th draft box.

In the 14th draft box, your boy Henrik Sedin faces off against accomplished veterans Joe Thornton, Henrik Zetterberg, and David Krejci. The first half of the season has been close for these perennial All-Stars. Who has the skill and team chemistry to tally the most points down the stretch?

Johnny Gaudreau was in one of the top draft boxes for our Nation Drafts at the beginning of the season but after a slow start, he finds himself alongside Taylor Hall, David Pastrnak, and Jack Eichel. All of these studs have the ability to score at a point per game pace or more. Do you believe in Johnny?

Aside from drawing penalties at an all-world level, Matthew Tkachuk has found himself in the top five in rookie scoring and he’s slid his way into our rookie draft box. You know exactly who his competition is. Will you pick him?

In the 19th draft box, Dougie Hamilton sits alongside Norris Trophy winner Drew Doughty, offensive dynamo Roman Josi, and New York captain Ryan McDonagh. Check their stats, go to a tall mountain, meditate on it, and make your pick.

Winnipeg may lack some points in the standings but they’re the most popular team in Nation Drafts with five players representing the Jets.

Mark Scheifele sits in the 4th draft box alongside a trio of underrated snipers Joe Pavelski, Jeff Carter, and Cam Atkinson. Do you have faith in Scheifele’s momentum or will you rely on the past success of Pavelski or Carter?

In the 5th draft box, captain Blake Wheeler competes against Brandon Saad and fellow captains Jamie Benn and Max Pacioretty. If he’s not healthy after the All-Star break, you can always trade for Patrik Laine after week one of the draft. He sits in a competitive rookie draft box, while Nikolaj Ehlers is in the 5th draft box and Dustin Byfuglien is in the 18th draft box.

James van Riemsdyk is listed in a highly competitive 7th draft box with noted pigeon caller Claude Giroux, Nick Foligno, and Ryan Kesler.

In the rookie draft box you can find future Leafs captain Auston Matthews alongside future All-Star and future Jon Bon Jovi cover band singer, Mitch Marner. They match up against Patrik Laine and Matthew Tkachuk. Are you picking Marner or Matthews?

In the 21st draft box, Jake Gardiner makes his first Nation Drafts appearance. The fancy stats darling is up against Brent Seabrook, Jeff Petry, and Tyson Barrie.

Captain Henrik Zetterberg is the lone pick for the struggling Red Wings in this season’s Nation Drafts. He sits in the veteran draft box with Joe Thornton, David Krejci and fellow Swede, Henrik Sedin.

We know, Thomas Vanek is hot right now but he didn’t make the cut. Want to channel your season of disappointment into a Thomas Vanek protest? Just tweet @thewingsnation about why you think he should have made the 2016-17 Nation Drafts. If you make a really compelling case, we’ll slide him into our next Nation Drafts.

We wanted to make sure that the draft prizes for the second half of the season are special, and I think we nailed it. This time around, you’re playing for: