Did you know that four-team fantasy leagues are one of the most popular formats here at ESPN Fantasy Hockey? This small league format allows for star-studded rosters and a high-quality of free agents available at any time.
But it's not all a points-palooza, your opponents all have star-studded lineups as well which bring about a different layer of difficulty. Our fantasy hockey staff -- Sean Allen, Pierre, Becquey, Sachin Chandan and Victoria Matiash -- took part in a mock draft with each one taking different strategy. You can see their comments below, as well as how their teams shaped up.
You can create your own league, of any size you choose, right here. After that, you can try out your own mock drafts at the Mock Draft Lobby, where you can practice your draft as often as you want.
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Round 1
1. Nathan MacKinnon, COL, C -- Matiash
2. Connor McDavid, EDM, C -- Chandan
3. Macklin Celebrini, SJ, C -- Allen
4. Nikita Kucherov, TB, RW -- Becquey
An indispensable strategy in just about all redraft competition, the art of streaming is even more important in ultra-tight leagues. Just look at some of these characters still available after our four-team draft: Brandon Hagel, Tom Wilson, Vincent Trocheck, Brayden Point, Victor Hedman etc! Considering the glut of very good players both rostered and still available, flipping them in and out weekly, or even daily, to ice the most active bodies possible makes great sense.
Hacking the schedule obviously plays a big part here. Using my own squad as an example, I'm theoretically happy to bid farewell to Kirill Marchenko in exchange for Point, if Columbus is only playing Tuesday and Saturday, while Tampa Bay is in action Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday (the NHL Fantasy manager's most coveted weekly slate). It's not only about the number of games, but rhythm too. This is a Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday league. Filling a lineup the rest of the week is a greater challenge when fewer teams are in action.
So while there are some untouchables -- no, my No. 1 pick Nathan MacKinnon isn't going anywhere -- the knack of swapping players of similar value in and out in timely fashion is key in compact leagues like these. -- Matiash
Round 2
1. David Pastrnak, BOS, RW -- Becquey
2. Auston Matthews, TOR, C -- Allen
3. Jason Robertson, DAL, LW -- Chandan
4. Matt Boldy, MIN, LW -- Matiash
Round 3
1. Zach Werenski, CBJ, D -- Matiash
2. Filip Forsberg, NSH, LW -- Chandan
3. Leon Draisaitl, EDM, C -- Allen
4. Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB, G -- Becquey
Round 4
1. Cale Makar, COL, D -- Becquey
2. Evan Bouchard, EDM, D -- Allen
3. Cole Caufield, MTL, LW -- Chandan
4. Logan Thompson, WSH, G -- Matiash
Taking a goalie and a defenseman back-to-back was as much a function of being at the bookend than it was a strategic statement. With Werenski already off the board, and Bouchard taken immediately after I took Makar, it was time to get my defensive anchor if I wanted one, and Makar has every chance to be the No. 1 overall defenseman this season.
As for goalie, it is the one position which we capped -- at four -- so I wanted to make sure I had at least two set-and-forget goalies to fill as many starts as possible on a weekly basis, and I'll use the fourth to stream, a "stars-and-scrubs" approach which meant prioritizing at least one of my top four picks for an elite goalie. -- Becquey
Round 5
1. Kirill Kaprizov, MIN, LW -- Matiash
2. Brady Tkachuk, FLA, LW -- Chandan
3. Wyatt Johnston, DAL, C -- Allen
4. Alex Tuch, WSH, RW -- Becquey
Round 6
1. Tage Thompson, BUF, C -- Becquey
2. Moritz Seider, DET, D -- Allen
3. Kyle Connor, WPG, LW -- Chandan
4. Martin Necas, COL, RW -- Matiash
Round 7
1. Nick Suzuki, MTL, C -- Matiash
2. Alex DeBrincat, DET, LW -- Chandan
3. William Nylander, TOR, RW -- Allen
4. Jack Eichel, VGK, C -- Becquey
Round 8
1. Jake Guentzel, TB, LW -- Becquey
2. Matthew Schaefer, NYI, D -- Allen
3. Noah Dobson, MTL, D -- Chandan
4. Roman Josi, NSH, D -- Matiash
Round 9
1. Jake Oettinger, DAL, G -- Matiash
2. Zach Hyman, EDM, RW -- Chandan
3. Connor Bedard, CHI, C -- Allen
4. Artemi Panarin, LA, LW -- Becquey
This is my second year of the four-team draft, and I'm sold on the format. Split the league only four ways and every roster is an all-star lineup top to bottom - no grinding for sleepers or edge-case power-play minutes. Sometimes it's fun to just indulge. This season I'm banking on Macklin Celebrini and a bounce-back Auston Matthews.
And yes, I drafted Connor Bedard knowing he's out a month-plus. A head-to-head league is about peaking, not steady output: weather the storm, make the playoffs, and anything can happen. While that takes on extra meaning in a four-team format with everyone making the playoffs, it can be equally as true in a larger format.
One wild thought to close: Does anyone else think I have an outside chance of having four of the top-six fantasy defenders? Evan Bouchard, Moritz Seider, Matthew Schaefer and Lane Hutson wouldn't be a shock to group at the top with Cale Makar and Zach Werenski. I'm just saying. -- Allen
Round 10
1. MacKenzie Weegar, UTA, D -- Becquey
2. Matthew Tkachuk, FLA, RW -- Allen
3. Adrian Kempe, LA, RW -- Chandan
4. Cutter Gauthier, ANA, LW -- Matiash
Round 11
1. Tim Stutzle, OTT, C -- Matiash
2. Jakob Chychrun, WSH, D -- Chandan
3. Juraj Slafkovsky, MTL, LW -- Allen
4. Rasmus Dahlin, BUF, D -- Becquey
Round 12
1. Scott Wedgewood, COL, G -- Becquey
2. Jack Hughes, NJ, C -- Allen
3. Quinn Hughes, MIN, D -- Chandan
4. John Carlson, TB, D -- Matiash
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Round 13
1. Clayton Keller, UTA, LW -- Matiash
2. Karel Vejmelka, UTA, G -- Chandan
3. Lane Hutson, MTL, D -- Allen
4. Mika Zibanejad, NYR, C -- Becquey
Round 14
1. Mark Scheifele, WPG, C -- Becquey
2. Mackenzie Blackwood, COL, G -- Allen
3. Filip Gustavsson, MIN, G -- Chandan
4. Kirill Marchenko, CBJ, LW -- Matiash
Round 15
1. Jake Sanderson, OTT, D -- Matiash
2. Steven Stamkos, NSH, C -- Chandan
3. Ilya Sorokin, NYI, G -- Allen
4. Rasmus Andersson, VGK, D -- Becquey
Round 16
1. Darren Raddysh, TOR, D -- Becquey
2. Dylan Guenther, UTA, RW -- Allen
3. Jeremy Swayman, BOS, G -- Chandan
4. Brock Faber, MIN, D -- Matiash
Round 17
1. Dylan Larkin, DET, C -- Matiash
2. Nico Hischier, NJ, C -- Chandan
3. Mikko Rantanen, DAL, RW -- Allen
4. Sebastian Aho, CAR, C -- Becquey
Round 18
1. Mitch Marner, VGK, RW -- Becquey
2. Aleksander Barkov, FLA, C -- Allen
3. Elias Pettersson, VAN, C -- Chandan
4. Sidney Crosby, PIT, C -- Matiash
Round 19
1. Pavel Dorofeyev, NYR, RW -- Matiash
2. Sam Reinhart, FLA, RW -- Chandan
3. John Tavares, TOR, C -- Allen
4. Igor Shesterkin, NYR, G -- Becquey
Round 20
1. Linus Ullmark, OTT, G -- Becquey
2. Adam Fox, NYR, D -- Allen
3. Thomas Chabot, OTT, D -- Chandan
4. Josh Morrissey, WPG, D -- Matiash
Round 21
1. Connor Hellebuyck, WPG, G -- Matiash
2. Erik Karlsson, PIT, D -- Chandan
3. Miro Heiskanen, DAL, D -- Allen
4. Bo Horvat, NYI, C -- Becquey
Round 22
1. Jackson LaCombe, ANA, D -- Becquey
2. Gavin McKenna, TOR, LW -- Allen
3. Brandon Bussi, CAR, G -- Chandan
4. Bowen Byram, CHI, D -- Matiash
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Team Matiash
C1 Nathan MacKinnon COL, C (Pick: 1.1)
LW1 Matt Boldy MIN, LW (Pick: 2.8)
D1 Zach Werenski CBJ, D (Pick: 3.9)
G1 Logan Thompson WSH, G (Pick: 4.16)
LW2 Kirill Kaprizov MIN, LW (Pick: 5.17)
RW1 Martin Necas COL, RW (Pick: 6.24)
C2 Nick Suzuki MTL, C (Pick: 7.25)
D2 Roman Josi NSH, D (Pick: 8.32)
G2 Jake Oettinger DAL, G (Pick: 9.33)
LW3 Cutter Gauthier ANA, LW (Pick: 10.40)
C3 Tim Stutzle OTT, C (Pick: 11.41)
D3 John Carlson TB, D (Pick: 12.48)
LW4 Clayton Keller UTA, LW (Pick: 13.49)
LW5 Kirill Marchenko CBJ, LW (Pick: 14.56)
D4 Jake Sanderson OTT, D (Pick: 15.57)
D5 Brock Faber MIN, D (Pick: 16.64)
C4 Dylan Larkin DET, C (Pick: 17.65)
C5 Sidney Crosby PIT, C (Pick: 18.72)
RW2 Pavel Dorofeyev NYR, RW (Pick: 19.73)
D6 Josh Morrissey WPG, D (Pick: 20.80)
G3 Connor Hellebuyck WPG, G (Pick: 21.81)
D7 Bowen Byram CHI, D (Pick: 22.88)
Team Chandan
C1 Connor McDavid EDM, C (Pick: 1.2)
LW1 Jason Robertson DAL, LW (Pick: 2.7)
LW2 Filip Forsberg NSH, LW (Pick: 3.10)
LW3 Cole Caufield MTL, LW (Pick: 4.15)
LW4 Brady Tkachuk FLA, LW (Pick: 5.18)
LW5 Kyle Connor WPG, LW (Pick: 6.23)
LW6 Alex DeBrincat DET, LW (Pick: 7.26)
D1 Noah Dobson MTL, D (Pick: 8.31)
RW1 Zach Hyman EDM, RW (Pick: 9.34)
RW2 Adrian Kempe LA, RW (Pick: 10.39)
D2 Jakob Chychrun WSH, D (Pick: 11.42)
D3 Quinn Hughes MIN, D (Pick: 12.47)
G1 Karel Vejmelka UTA, G (Pick: 13.50)
G2 Filip Gustavsson MIN, G (Pick: 14.55)
C2 Steven Stamkos NSH, C (Pick: 15.58)
G3 Jeremy Swayman BOS, G (Pick: 16.63)
C3 Nico Hischier NJ, C (Pick: 17.66)
C4 Elias Pettersson VAN, C (Pick: 18.71)
RW3 Sam Reinhart FLA, RW (Pick: 19.74)
D4 Thomas Chabot OTT, D (Pick: 20.79)
D5 Erik Karlsson PIT, D (Pick: 21.82)
G4 Brandon Bussi CAR, G (Pick: 22.87)
I waited pretty late to start loading up on my defensemen and goalies. My strategy in most drafts is to simply start with "best player available" and then figure out the weak points in the second half. I loaded up with high-scoring forwards early on -- Cole Caufield, Brady Tkachuk, Kyle Connor -- and that's when I started turning my attention to defense. Noah Dobson and Jakob Chychrun were solid picks, and then the offensive-minded Quinn Hughes fell to me in the next round.
In an eight-, ten-, or 12-teamer, I would aim for goalies much earlier, but knowing that there would be plenty of fine netminders available in the free agent pool, I felt confident knowing I can stream the position as the season goes along. Especially, as Victoria mentions earlier, on slower nights when there are fewer options. Leagues like this may be chaotic, but I like the steady, every-night production from my core of forwards to compensate for taking every other position late. -- Chandan
Team Allen
C1 Macklin Celebrini SJ, C (Pick: 1.3)
C2 Auston Matthews TOR, C (Pick: 2.6)
C3 Leon Draisaitl EDM, C (Pick: 3.11)
D1 Evan Bouchard EDM, D (Pick: 4.14)
C4 Wyatt Johnston DAL, C (Pick: 5.19)
D2 Moritz Seider DET, D (Pick: 6.22)
RW1 William Nylander TOR, RW (Pick: 7.27)
D3 Matthew Schaefer NYI, D (Pick: 8.30)
C5 Connor Bedard CHI, C (Pick: 9.35)
RW2 Matthew Tkachuk FLA, RW (Pick: 10.38)
LW1 Juraj Slafkovsky MTL, LW (Pick: 11.43)
C6 Jack Hughes NJ, C (Pick: 12.46)
D4 Lane Hutson MTL, D (Pick: 13.51)
G1 Mackenzie Blackwood COL, G (Pick: 14.54)
G2 Ilya Sorokin NYI, G (Pick: 15.59)
RW3 Dylan Guenther UTA, RW (Pick: 16.62)
RW4 Mikko Rantanen DAL, RW (Pick: 17.67)
C7 Aleksander Barkov FLA, C (Pick: 18.70)
C8 John Tavares TOR, C (Pick: 19.75)
D5 Adam Fox NYR, D (Pick: 20.78)
D6 Miro Heiskanen DAL, D (Pick: 21.83)
LW2 Gavin McKenna TOR, LW (Pick: 22.86)
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Team Becquey
RW1 Nikita Kucherov TB, RW (Pick: 1.4)
RW2 David Pastrnak BOS, RW (Pick: 2.5)
G1 Andrei Vasilevskiy TB, G (Pick: 3.12)
D1 Cale Makar COL, D (Pick: 4.13)
RW3 Alex Tuch WSH, RW (Pick: 5.20)
C1 Tage Thompson BUF, C (Pick: 6.21)
C2 Jack Eichel VGK, C (Pick: 7.28)
LW1 Jake Guentzel TB, LW (Pick: 8.29)
LW2 Artemi Panarin LA, LW (Pick: 9.36)
D2 MacKenzie Weegar UTA, D (Pick: 10.37)
D3 Rasmus Dahlin BUF, D (Pick: 11.44)
G2 Scott Wedgewood COL, G (Pick: 12.45)
C3 Mika Zibanejad NYR, C (Pick: 13.52)
C4 Mark Scheifele WPG, C (Pick: 14.53)
D4 Rasmus Andersson VGK, D (Pick: 15.60)
D5 Darren Raddysh TOR, D (Pick: 16.61)
C5 Sebastian Aho CAR, C (Pick: 17.68)
RW4 Mitch Marner VGK, RW (Pick: 18.69)
G3 Igor Shesterkin NYR, G (Pick: 19.76)
G4 Linus Ullmark OTT, G (Pick: 20.77)
C6 Bo Horvat NYI, C (Pick: 21.84)
D6 Jackson LaCombe ANA, D (Pick: 22.85)
