Every dynasty league has two kinds of draft strategies.
One involves layered spreadsheets, cross-referenced scouting reports, and players tracked since their U17 tournaments.
The other involves taking one elite winger you like, then letting the “Best Player Available” list handle the middle rounds while you occasionally nod as if you also had that guy ranked highly all along.
New Jersey Devils GM Ken Hogan opted for a hybrid approach—one part conviction, one part delegation, and one part quietly hoping the rankings know more than he does.
In a 32-team dynasty league, that’s not unusual. In fact, it might be optimal. Once you get past the top tier of prospects, certainty disappears quickly, and even NHL organizations are mostly working in probabilities rather than predictions.
Round 1, Pick 10 (10th Overall)
Alexander Zharovsky – RW – Montreal Canadiens
NHL Draft: Round 2, 34th Overall (2025)
This was the one pick where Hogan clearly made the decision himself—and it’s the kind of swing that defines a draft.
Montreal saw enough in Zharovsky to trade up and secure him early in the second round of the NHL Draft, betting on a highly skilled winger with legitimate offensive upside. In the KHL, he responded with a 42-point season in 59 games, immediately flashing why evaluators were intrigued by his long-term potential.
The offensive toolkit is obvious: soft hands, manipulation skills in tight areas, and the ability to create offense off the rush when given space. But the profile is not without risk. His skating lacks separation gear, his pace can drift when plays don’t come to him, and there are real questions about how consistently his game will translate against NHL structure and physicality.
He’s not a finished product—far from it—but players with his level of puck skill and offensive creativity are rarely available outside the top tier of drafts.
Fantasy Take
This is a classic upside-over-floor selection.
Zharovsky has clear NHL middle-six floor risk if development stalls, but also legitimate first-line scoring upside if his skating and pace improve. In a 32-team format, that kind of range is exactly what justifies a top-10 prospect pick.
Fantasy Upside: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
NHL Ceiling: First-line scoring winger
Round 5, Pick 19 (147th Overall)
Samuel Meloche – G – Buffalo Sabres
NHL Draft: Round 4, 116th Overall (2025)
At this point in the draft, the reality is simple: most names are being selected because they appear on lists, not because anyone in the room has a meaningful scouting dossier on them.
Meloche falls into the standard goaltender prospect bucket—drafted by Buffalo in the fourth round, given time to develop, and immediately placed into the long, unpredictable pipeline that all young goalies enter.
Goaltenders are notoriously volatile assets in both NHL development and fantasy hockey. Even highly drafted netminders frequently stall, plateau, or take years longer than expected to reach NHL relevance—if they arrive at all.
Fantasy Take
This is a long-shot organizational lottery ticket.
The logic is straightforward: you need goaltending depth in a 32-team league, and any goalie taken in the NHL Draft with at least a developmental runway is worth a late swing.
There is no expectation of certainty here—only probability and patience.
Fantasy Upside: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆
NHL Ceiling: Fringe NHL / AHL starter with long-shot NHL backup potential
Round 6, Pick 1 (161st Overall)
Carter Klippenstein – C – Minnesota Wild
NHL Draft: Round 4, 123rd Overall (2025)
Klippenstein represents one of the most common archetypes in mid-round drafts: the “does enough things well” center.
Minnesota’s draft history leans toward responsible, structured players who project into depth roles, and Klippenstein fits that profile. He isn’t driving offense at an elite pace, but he plays a reliable two-way game and has enough foundational habits to keep himself in consideration for future professional opportunity.
Players like this rarely generate excitement in prospect rankings because they lack standout tools, but NHL organizations still value them because they can stabilize a lineup in bottom-six roles.
Fantasy Take
This is a depth projection, not a breakout bet.
If everything goes right, Klippenstein becomes a serviceable middle-six NHL center. If development stalls, he tops out as organizational depth. Either outcome is far more likely than any meaningful scoring upside.
Fantasy Upside: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆
NHL Ceiling: Bottom-six/middle-six NHL center
Round 6, Pick 10 (170th Overall)
Maxim Agafonov – D – Seattle Kraken
NHL Draft: Round 5, 134th Overall (2025)
Defensemen in this range are almost always projection plays rather than evaluation wins.
Agafonov was drafted by Seattle as a long-term defensive project, likely based on a combination of physical tools, puck-moving potential, and developmental upside. Playing in the KHL provides a structured environment, but also slows visibility for fantasy evaluation compared to North American prospects.
At this stage, defensemen are rarely close to NHL readiness. Most are still years away from meaningful roles, and many never reach fantasy relevance at all.
Fantasy Take
This is a pure projection swing.
There is some theoretical top-four upside if development goes well, but the more realistic outcome is a depth defenseman or organizational player who never fully breaks into fantasy relevance.
The pick is less about confidence and more about maintaining exposure to a position that is difficult to fill in dynasty formats.
Fantasy Upside: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆
NHL Ceiling: Depth NHL defenseman
Round 7, Pick 10 (202nd Overall)
Bennett Schimek – Vancouver Canucks Organization
Signed: NCAA Free Agent (2026)
Unlike the previous selections, Schimek enters the system not through the draft, but through free-agent evaluation after earning a contract with Vancouver and assignment to their AHL affiliate.
That distinction matters—mostly because it means an NHL organization saw enough to invest development resources in him, even if he was bypassed in multiple entry drafts.
However, at this stage of a fantasy draft, expectations must remain realistic. College free agents often become organizational depth players, and only a small percentage develop into NHL regulars.
Fantasy Take
This is a classic late-round lottery ticket with slightly better odds than a pure draft dart throw.
The appeal is not certainty, but pathway: he is already in an NHL system, which is more than most players available at 200+ overall can say.
Still, the likely outcome is depth development rather than fantasy impact.
Fantasy Upside: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆
NHL Ceiling: Bottom-six NHL forward / AHL regular
Final Thoughts
The reality of this draft is straightforward: one premium swing at the top, followed by a series of probability-based selections once the draft moved into its middle and late rounds.
Zharovsky represents the only true upside-driven conviction pick, and even he comes with clear developmental risk despite his offensive ceiling. The remaining selections fall into the more familiar dynasty territory of organizational depth charts, long-term projects, and players who are far more likely to become AHL regulars than NHL fantasy assets.
That isn’t a criticism—it’s simply how 32-team dynasty prospect drafts function. Once the elite tier is gone, even NHL teams are operating on long-term projection rather than certainty, and fantasy managers are doing the same with far less information.
Ken Hogan’s draft reflects that reality clearly: one high-end swing, followed by disciplined adherence to consensus value and positional depth.
In that sense, it’s a very accurate snapshot of how most successful dynasty drafts are actually built.
Final Grade: B+
The draft is anchored by a legitimate high-upside winger in Zharovsky, but the remaining selections carry long odds of becoming meaningful NHL fantasy contributors. In a league this deep, that balance is acceptable—but it also underscores how important the first-round decision was in shaping the entire class.
If Zharovsky hits, this draft looks significantly better in hindsight. If he doesn’t, it becomes a fairly typical outcome: one premium swing and a series of long-shot depth bets.
Either way, the process reflects a realistic and defensible dynasty strategy.