Fantasy hockey defense tiers: The elite, the roster fillers and everyone in between

Let's get into the nuances of making your ain phantasy hockey draught tier list.

And that's the archetypal cardinal takeawsay: your own is the astir important portion of that sentence. Tiers lone enactment if you're comfy with them. The extremity is to marque definite you consciousness assured and successful power arsenic the unit of your phantasy draught builds.

But possibly you don't person clip to crunch projections oregon statement each player. You tin perfectly heavy dive into the process -- calculating drop-offs, percent fades, oregon projection decay rates -- and it's amusive if you similar that benignant of thing. The bully quality is that if you don't, lone minimal effort is capable to crook a basal ranking database into flexible tiers that accommodate arsenic your draught unfolds.

Even 5 minutes spent drafting dividing lines done a cheat expanse tin crook a elemental database into a almighty draught instrumentality that keeps you up of your competition.

It's easiest to amusement however elemental this tin beryllium by walking done a carnal list:

1. Start speechmaking the names from the top.

2. Picture yourself drafting each subordinate and gauge your comfortableness level.

3. Whenever you consciousness a pang of uncertainty astir the adjacent pick, gully a enactment supra their name. That's a tier.

4. Use roster spots arsenic a usher (No. 1 line, No. 2 defense, etc.).

5. If a definite subordinate truly makes you uncomfortable, conscionable transverse them disconnected entirely.

To cognize however to fto your tier database usher your draft-day strategy, cheque retired the forward tiers.

One speedy reminder earlier diving in: these aren't the rankings oregon projections you'll spot sitting wrong your draught room. Just similar with the forwards, these are my ain numbers built from a premix of customized projections, not the default in-game list.

Note: Points based connected the ESPN modular scoring system.

Tier 1: A tier of one

1. Cale Makar, D, Colorado Avalanche: (projected: 222.6, past season: 235.2)

Notes: It's lonely astatine the top, but Makar has nary equals erstwhile it comes to phantasy accumulation from the bluish line. Since 2009-10, Makar has 3 of the apical 11 finishes successful full phantasy points by a defender, and 4 of the apical 16 finishes successful phantasy points per game.

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Tier 2: If anyone tin challenge

2. MacKenzie Weegar, D, Calgary Flames: (projected: 211.0, past season: 203.0)

3. Zach Werenski, D, Columbus Blue Jackets: (projected: 207.5, past season: 216.2)

4. Rasmus Dahlin, D, Buffalo Sabres: (projected: 203.7, past season: 174.8)

Notes: If -- and it's a large if -- anyone holds a candle to Makar for phantasy accumulation from the bluish line, these 3 are the champion candidates. Weegar has been consistently elite successful Calgary, Werenski showed what his apical cogwheel tin beryllium past play and Dahlin hasn't peaked yet.

Tier 3: Harley, the Guenther of defense

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