Fill a need or take high ceiling?

During the last few years, between having a poor team and making a few good trades, I have acquired Kane, Berglund, Stamkos, & Filatov. I have some young forwards and could really look into filling a need at defense or in goal.

If this were your team, would you rather fill a need by taking the best available Dman like Bogosian or Pietrangelo or possibly the best available Goalie such as Pekka Rinne or Pavelec or Elliott? Or would you just keep filling up with top talent forwards such as Matthias, Purcell, or Backlund?

I can keep the rookies as long as I want so ti_meta_ble is not an issue here.

Thanks for your help!!

That's tough call Trotz,
It depends on what the rest of your team looks like, what your league point structure looks like and how long you can wait to start climbing.

I'm in the process of rebuilding and looking back my biggest regret was not taking a top offensive defenceman earlier.

Generally good young forwards can start putting up the points sooner than dmen who take longer to develop. I'm happy with the players that I have now but i am missing out on an impact youngster in my D line.

If i were you I'd take the top Dman prospect available even if he won't be playing in the NHL this year.

I already had a decent goalie so that didn't bother to go that route but if goalies are important in your league it's always best to be solid in net.

I'd take the top forwards if they are of Matthias, Backlund, and Purcell's level. Bogosian is going to be good though. Very tough call. I like Elliott in net too out of those 3.

In response to Reprimand:
I have EJ and Brian Campbell as my Dmen currently and also have JSG in goal.

Not exactly bankrupt Trotz. I think EJ is going to be huge and Campbell is not that old. Giggie has lots of miles left on him as well.

With that stable of young forwards I think it makes sense to build the backend up some.

I think Bogosian is going to be special - he had a heck of a development camp.

Agree with Playmaker that Elliott looks good - Rinne also is a solid pick.

I would be awfully tempted to take Pietrangelo since you already have EJ in your situation. They will be a formidable duo for years in STL.

IMO, Pavelec is ahead of Elliot and Rinne in his development. He has dominated at every level and showed he could play in the NHL. He will get another shot this season when Lehtonen pulls a band-aid boy. But we'll also get to see Rinne and Elliot this year as well.

Given your current situation I would rank the players you mentioned in this order:

Pavelec
Elliot
Pietrangelo (because you have EJ)
Bagosian
Matthias
Purcell
Rinne
Backlund

I would go goalie first then if Pietrangelo or Bagosian are not available you can always grab Del Zotto who outscored all this year's CHL defensive prospects.

When the NHL draft comes around, you always hear, "we take the best player available". I believe in this theory. That said, I'm really careful about taking centres. I draft lots of goalies and few defencemen. The pool I play isn't nearly as deep as yours though. So, I took a flyer on Labarbera & S. Mason this year. I figure Labarbera has a 60-70% chance of grabbing the lions share of the starts. If he does I'll trade him. I took the 'best player available'. Defencemen, are really tough to figure out. Then, they take forever to bloom. So, I go out and get what I need, when I need it. I drive old cars (Blake, Bourque - now retired). I paid to get Bouwmeester. I drafted Liles. I happened into Gonchar & I grab spare pieces off the waiver wire (Kalinen, Salo). We have cap, so when things get tight I strip off a d-man. If you really, really like the young d-man, go get him. Those young forwards tend to break in much faster, and therefore tend to have better value.

Thank you all. I appreciate the feedback thus far.

I guess part of the question is how long do you want to wait.

One of the reasons I suggest taking the high end prospect forwards is they bring you return the quickest. Purcell could be 2 years away from 70. Backlund could be a Calder contender.

Defenders usually take time to hit their potential. Goalies are a crap shoot. I thought Elliott was primed for the backup slot in Ottawa, then they signed Auld, setting him back a step.

Guys that are stacked at forward are always able to move pieces for other stuff. Even if you dont move the prospect, at least he is there to fill in for the departed.

I look at you having EJ, Campbell, and Giggy opposite of what everyone else has said. You have two studs up front on D and a "Tier 1" goalie according to Dobber. I don't think you have to look at your situation and say, I need to have another stud defenseman, so I better draft there.

In the end, if you are willing to wait and build through the draft, go the defense/goalie route. If you want to build through trades, grab a forward.

I pretty much always advise going for the BPA.

I think alot depends on how active your league is, in regards to trades. I think alot also depends on how your league perceives value, as it pertains to forwards, Dmen and goalies.

If you know that a majority of managers in your league don't mind swapping players, then I would likely grab the top forwards in your draft. As others have stated, they usually become valuable more quickly than defensemen.

If you stockpile top-end talent at the forward positions, and your league is active in trading, you will be fine in the long run. Of course, I've seen others stockpile defensive talent and trade for forwards later, but I think in general, it's easier to grab the forwards first, and go from there.

Good luck to you.