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Welcome to the first edition of ESPN Fantasy Hockey‘s four-team mock draft? Yes, four teams. Our servers tell us that a growing number of you are playing in four-team leagues, so we decided to put the challenge to our expert panel to see what their strategy would be, and how their teams turned out.

Our experts also contended with the question that many of you have navigated in your drafts so far… when to draft injured star Matthew Tkachuk.

The Florida Panthers expect to be without Tkachuk (groin) until at least December, and he previously was ranked in the top-10 before the injury was known. If your league has IR spots available, he would be eligible to be placed there, opening up an extra roster spot until he returns.

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This draft featured the following participants (in order of first-round selection): Victoria Matiash, Pierre Becquey, Sachin Dave Chandan, and Sean Allen. Scoring is ESPN standard H2H points, see the scoring system here. See their commentary below, and then see how each round played out.

Sean Allen, fantasy hockey analyst: I get it now, the appeal of four-team leagues. Fast draft, every pick a star, no digging through the scraps. I ended up with five of my personally ranked top seven blueliners, including drafting Thomas Harley to a bench spot. Obviously I’ll need these defenders to help prop up a slightly weaker forward group, but to make up for that, I prioritized players who have a high ceiling, rather than safe floor: Macklin Celebrini, Connor Bedard, Dylan Guenther, Wyatt Johnston and Dylan Holloway.

While some of those picks might be a risk over safer options in a standard-sized league, all bets are off in a four-team format. The stats of a replacement level player are through the roof in this format because of the smaller pool of selected talent. Alex DeBrincat, Jordan Kyrou, Nico Hischier and Bo Horvat are on the waiver wire!

Pierre Becquey, fantasy sports editor: I targeted several top goalies because it was a way to build an edge at one of the positions and the draft lent itself to snagging goalies. With a cap of four per roster, having half the top 8 on my squad means I should be able to maximize quality starts every week while streaming forwards and defensemen as I see fit.

I think we were all playing a game of chicken with Tkachuk and this is as far as I was willing to let him drop. He goes straight to my IR, allowing me to pick up another skater and, when he returns I’ve got an extra “first rounder” to deploy for the stretch run and, hopefully, the playoffs.

Victoria Matiash, fantasy hockey analyst: More of a veteran of deeper leagues involving 10-plus teams, I’m a bit blown away by the quality of my roster. And everyone else’s! There’s certainly a fun novelty to challenging a small handful of opposing fantasy managers with my own selected cream versus their also high-quality crop.

Suspecting there might be an early run on top-tier goaltenders, I instead chose to immediately target elite heavyweights up front. MacKinnon, and Pastrnak, and Kucherov, oh my! Now we’ll see if my solid collection of blueliners — fingers crossed Roman Josi remains healthy and active — and group of good netminders can pull their fantasy weight while the best forwards in the biz cook like only they can. I am admittedly bummed about losing out on Tkachuk as an IR stash, waiting one draft round too many.

Staying on top of waiver options, particularly at the goalie position, will be a priority once play gets underway. If one of my full-timers falls flat early, the objective will be to quickly sub-in this year’s Darcy Kuemper or Logan Thompson. Having the likes of Juuse Saros, Thompson, Jordan Binnington, Thatcher Demko, and a self-proclaimed fitter-than-ever Stuart Skinner, available for the grabbing offers safety-net comfort in that regard.

Sachin Dave Chandan, fantasy hockey editor: As with most drafts, I aim to take “best player available” and then figure out positions later on. In doing so this time, I picked perennial fantasy-MVP candidate Connor McDavid as well as a pair of elite goaltenders in reigning top fantasy-point scorer Connor Hellebuyck and Igor Shesterkin. As my forward roster continued to develop, the middle rounds exposed a huge gap in the defenseman available, so I had to reach for five defensemen in my final eight picks — each of whom I would be happy with in a ten-team league.

What I’m most excited about in a four-team league is that every roster spot is going to an all-star quality player, which means higher-scoring matchups. As mentioned by the others, it’s intriguing how many quality starters are left over on waivers.


Round 1

1. Nathan MacKinnon Col, C — Matiash
2. Auston Matthews Tor, C — Becquey
3. Connor McDavid Edm, C — Chandan
4. Cale Makar Col, D — Allen

Round 2

5. Leon Draisaitl Edm, C — Allen
6. Connor Hellebuyck Wpg, G — Chandan
7. Jake Oettinger Dal, G — Becquey
8. David Pastrnak Bos, RW — Matiash

Round 3

9. Nikita Kucherov TB, RW — Matiash
10. Andrei Vasilevskiy TB, G — Becquey
11. Brady Tkachuk Ott, LW — Chandan
12. Kirill Kaprizov Min, LW — Allen

Round 4

13. Macklin Celebrini SJ, C — Allen
14. Artemi Panarin NYR, LW — Chandan
15. Filip Forsberg Nsh, LW — Becquey
16. William Nylander Tor, RW — Matiash

Round 5

17. Kyle Connor Wpg, LW — Matiash
18. Mikko Rantanen Dal, RW — Becquey
19. Jack Hughes NJ, C — Chandan
20. Jack Eichel VGK, C — Allen

Round 6

21. Sam Reinhart Fla, RW — Allen
22. Igor Shesterkin NYR, G — Chandan
23. MacKenzie Weegar Cgy, D — Becquey
24. Roman Josi Nsh, D — Matiash

Round 7

25. Kirill Marchenko CBJ, LW — Matiash
26. J.T. Miller NYR, C — Becquey
27. Alex Ovechkin Wsh, LW — Chandan
28. Rasmus Dahlin Buf, D — Allen

Round 8

29. Zach Werenski CBJ, D — Allen
30. Cole Caufield Mon, LW — Chandan
31. Sergei Bobrovsky Fla, G — Becquey
32. Filip Gustavsson Min, G — Matiash

Round 9

33. Brayden Point TB, C — Matiash
34. Moritz Seider Det, D — Becquey
35. Jake Guentzel TB, LW — Chandan
36. Tim Stutzle Ott, C — Allen

Round 10

37. Sidney Crosby Pit, C — Allen
38. Jason Robertson Dal, LW — Chandan
39. Victor Hedman TB, D — Becquey
40. Quinn Hughes Van, D — Matiash

Round 11

41. Evan Bouchard Edm, D — Matiash
42. Elias Pettersson Van, C — Becquey
43. Tage Thompson Buf, C — Chandan
44. Mitch Marner VGK, RW — Allen

Round 12

45. Dylan Guenther UTA, RW — Allen
46. John Tavares Tor, C — Chandan
47. Matt Boldy Min, LW — Becquey
48. Adin Hill VGK, G — Matiash

Round 13

49. Clayton Keller UTA, LW — Matiash
50. Matthew Tkachuk Fla, RW — Becquey
51. Jesper Bratt NJ, RW — Chandan
52. Jake Sanderson Ott, D — Allen

Round 14

53. Adam Fox NYR, D — Allen
54. Adrian Kempe LA, RW — Chandan
55. Steven Stamkos Nsh, C — Becquey
56. Josh Morrissey Wpg, D — Matiash

Round 15

57. Mark Scheifele Wpg, C — Matiash
58. Dustin Wolf Cgy, G — Becquey
59. John Carlson Wsh, D — Chandan
60. Wyatt Johnston Dal, C — Allen

Round 16

61. Thomas Harley Dal, D — Allen
62. Brandon Hagel TB, LW — Chandan
63. Vincent Trocheck NYR, C — Becquey
64. Darcy Kuemper LA, G — Matiash

Round 17

65. Dylan Larkin Det, C — Matiash
66. Nick Suzuki Mon, C — Becquey
67. Jackson LaCombe Ana, D — Chandan
68. Dylan Holloway StL, C — Allen

Round 18

69. Connor Bedard Chi, C — Allen
70. Nazem Kadri Cgy, C — Chandan
71. Mikhail Sergachev UTA, D — Becquey
72. Martin Necas Col, RW — Matiash

Round 19

73. Rasmus Andersson Cgy, D — Matiash
74. Mike Matheson Mon, D — Becquey
75. Noah Dobson Mon, D — Chandan
76. Aleksander Barkov Fla, C — Allen

Round 20

77. Mackenzie Blackwood Col, G — Allen
78. Charlie McAvoy Bos, D — Chandan
79. Seth Jarvis Car, RW — Becquey
80. Brock Faber Min, D — Matiash

Round 21

81. Mika Zibanejad NYR, C — Matiash
82. Sebastian Aho Car, C — Becquey
83. Erik Karlsson Pit, D — Chandan
84. Frederik Andersen Car, G — Allen

Round 22

85. Jacob Markstrom NJ, G — Allen
86. Anthony Stolarz Tor, G — Chandan
87. Kris Letang Pit, D — Becquey
88. Ilya Sorokin NYI, G — Matiash


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Team Matiash

F1 Nathan MacKinnon Col, C (Pick: 1.1)

F2 David Pastrnak Bos, RW (Pick: 2.8)

F3 Nikita Kucherov TB, RW (Pick: 3.9)

F4 William Nylander Tor, RW (Pick: 4.16)

F5 Kyle Connor Wpg, LW (Pick: 5.17)

D1 Roman Josi Nsh, D (Pick: 6.24)

F6 Kirill Marchenko CBJ, LW (Pick: 7.25)

G1 Filip Gustavsson Min, G (Pick: 8.32)

F7 Brayden Point TB, C (Pick: 9.33)

D2 Quinn Hughes Van, D (Pick: 10.40)

D3 Evan Bouchard Edm, D (Pick: 11.41)

G2 Adin Hill VGK, G (Pick: 12.48)

F8 Clayton Keller UTA, LW (Pick: 13.49)

D4 Josh Morrissey Wpg, D (Pick: 14.56)

F9 Mark Scheifele Wpg, C (Pick: 15.57)

G3 Darcy Kuemper LA, G (Pick: 16.64)

F10 Dylan Larkin Det, C (Pick: 17.65)

F11 Martin Necas Col, RW (Pick: 18.72)

D5 Rasmus Andersson Cgy, D (Pick: 19.73)

D6 Brock Faber Min, D (Pick: 20.80)

F12 Mika Zibanejad NYR, C (Pick: 21.81)

G4 Ilya Sorokin NYI, G (Pick: 22.88)

Team Becquey

F1 Auston Matthews Tor, C (Pick: 1.2)

G1 Jake Oettinger Dal, G (Pick: 2.7

G2 Andrei Vasilevskiy TB, G (Pick: 3.10

F2 Filip Forsberg Nsh, LW (Pick: 4.15

F3 Mikko Rantanen Dal, RW (Pick: 5.18

D1 MacKenzie Weegar Cgy, D (Pick: 6.23

F4 J.T. Miller NYR, C (Pick: 7.26

G3 Sergei Bobrovsky Fla, G (Pick: 8.31

D2 Moritz Seider Det, D (Pick: 9.34

D3 Victor Hedman TB, D (Pick: 10.39

F5 Elias Pettersson Van, C (Pick: 11.42

F6 Matt Boldy Min, LW (Pick: 12.47

F7 Matthew Tkachuk Fla, RW (Pick: 13.50

F8 Steven Stamkos Nsh, C (Pick: 14.55

G4 Dustin Wolf Cgy, G (Pick: 15.58

F9 Vincent Trocheck NYR, C (Pick: 16.63

F10 Nick Suzuki Mon, C (Pick: 17.66

D4 Mikhail Sergachev UTA, D (Pick: 18.71

D5 Mike Matheson Mon, D (Pick: 19.74

F11 Seth Jarvis Car, RW (Pick: 20.79

F12 Sebastian Aho Car, C (Pick: 21.82

D6 Kris Letang Pit, D (Pick: 22.87


Made it this far? Create your own league with your own rules and play against your friends today.


Team Chandan

F1 Connor McDavid Edm, C (Pick: 1.3)

G1 Connor Hellebuyck Wpg, G (Pick: 2.6)

F2 Brady Tkachuk Ott, LW (Pick: 3.11)

F3 Artemi Panarin NYR, LW (Pick: 4.14)

F4 Jack Hughes NJ, C (Pick: 5.19)

G2 Igor Shesterkin NYR, G (Pick: 6.22)

F5 Alex Ovechkin Wsh, LW (Pick: 7.27)

F6 Cole Caufield Mon, LW (Pick: 8.30)

F7 Jake Guentzel TB, LW (Pick: 9.35)

F8 Jason Robertson Dal, LW (Pick: 10.38)

F9 Tage Thompson Buf, C (Pick: 11.43)

F10 John Tavares Tor, C (Pick: 12.46)

F11 Jesper Bratt NJ, RW (Pick: 13.51)

F12 Adrian Kempe LA, RW (Pick: 14.54)

D1 John Carlson Wsh, D (Pick: 15.59)

F13 Brandon Hagel TB, LW (Pick: 16.62)

D2 Jackson LaCombe Ana, D (Pick: 17.67)

F14 Nazem Kadri Cgy, C (Pick: 18.70)

D3 Noah Dobson Mon, D (Pick: 19.75)

D4 Charlie McAvoy Bos, D (Pick: 20.78)

D5 Erik Karlsson Pit, D (Pick: 21.83)

G3 Anthony Stolarz Tor, G (Pick: 22.86)

Team Allen

D1 Cale Makar Col, D (Pick: 1.4)

F1 Leon Draisaitl Edm, C (Pick: 2.5)

F2 Kirill Kaprizov Min, LW (Pick: 3.12)

F3 Macklin Celebrini SJ, C (Pick: 4.13)

F4 Jack Eichel VGK, C (Pick: 5.20)

F5 Sam Reinhart Fla, RW (Pick: 6.21)

D2 Rasmus Dahlin Buf, D (Pick: 7.28)

D3 Zach Werenski CBJ, D (Pick: 8.29)

F6 Tim Stutzle Ott, C (Pick: 9.36)

F7 Sidney Crosby Pit, C (Pick: 10.37)

F8 Mitch Marner VGK, RW (Pick: 11.44)

F9 Dylan Guenther UTA, RW (Pick: 12.45)

D4 Jake Sanderson Ott, D (Pick: 13.52)

D5 Adam Fox NYR, D (Pick: 14.53)

F10 Wyatt Johnston Dal, C (Pick: 15.60)

D6 Thomas Harley Dal, D (Pick: 16.61)

F11 Dylan Holloway StL, C (Pick: 17.68)

F12 Connor Bedard Chi, C (Pick: 18.69)

F13 Aleksander Barkov Fla, C (Pick: 19.76)

G1 Mackenzie Blackwood Col, G (Pick: 20.77)

G2 Frederik Andersen Car, G (Pick: 21.84)

G3 Jacob Markstrom NJ, G (Pick: 22.85)


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Rising son: Gators task Spurrier Jr. to help QB

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Rising son: Gators task Spurrier Jr. to help QB

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators are turning to Steve Spurrier to help fix the team’s floundering offense.

Steve Spurrier Jr., anyway.

Interim coach Billy Gonzales said Wednesday the younger Spurrier, who was hired as an offensive analyst earlier this year, will be more involved with quarterback DJ Lagway when the Gators (3-4, 2-2 SEC) play No. 5 Georgia (6-1, 4-1) in Jacksonville on Nov. 1.

Gonzales will have tight ends coach/offensive coordinator Russ Callaway organize the offense alongside quarterbacks coach Ryan O’Hara in the booth. O’Hara will be on the headset calling plays to Lagway.

Spurrier, meanwhile, will be on the sideline working directly with the sophomore quarterback.

“What we’re trying to do right now is tweak a couple things so we can put our players in a better situation to go out and make plays and perform at a higher level,” said Gonzales, named the interim after Billy Napier was fired Sunday. “We all understand that’s what we need to do. So that’s the No. 1 goal for us as a coaching staff right now.”

Napier was dismissed, in large part, because he failed to get Florida’s offense on track in his four seasons. The Gators totaled a combined 50 points in losses to South Florida, LSU, Miami and Texas A&M this fall, and they rank 15th in the league in scoring.

Facing the Bulldogs without Napier could show how much of a hindrance he was to an offense that believes it has enough talent to compete in the SEC. Gonzales has made it clear he wants to open things up more and get the ball down the field to receivers.

Spurrier is a part of the plan. The 54-year-old son of a Hall of Fame player and coach who is a living legend in Gainesville, Spurrier spent the past two years at Tulsa. He also worked at Mississippi State (2020-22), Washington State (2018-19), Western Kentucky (2017) and Oklahoma (2016). Before that, he spent a decade working under his famous father at South Carolina (2005-15).

“Whenever you’re around one of the greatest offensive minds in history, it’s obviously going to rub off on you as well,” Gonzales said. “He’s been involved, but now he’s going to have more of a role because he’s going to be down there on the field with the quarterback looking in his eyes and getting a chance to talk to him and review the film that’s being relayed.

“It’s going to put us in a great situation to help DJ and the quarterbacks perform on the football field.”

Lagway has thrown for 1,513 yards, with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions, this season while playing behind a shaky offensive line. He has looked better of late as he moves closer to fully recovering from a derailed offseason that included core-muscle surgery, nagging shoulder pain and a strained calf muscle.

“It’s been a long journey, and I’m thankful for the good and the bad,” Lagway said. “God doesn’t make any mistakes. I’m just excited to see where my journey continues and how I can continue to get better.”

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Norvell vows to ‘get it right’ after 3-4 start

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Norvell vows to 'get it right' after 3-4 start

Florida State coach Mike Norvell vowed Wednesday that he and his team “are going to get it right,” as questions swirled about his long-term future following a 3-4 start to the season.

In his first comments since athletic director Michael Alford issued a statement Monday that said there would be a full program evaluation when the season ends, Norvell said he knows the results have not been good enough.

The low point came last week in a 20-13 loss to Stanford, the ninth straight ACC loss for Florida State. After opening the season with a win over Alabama, the Seminoles are now in danger of their season snowballing for a second straight year. Florida State went 2-10 in 2024, a year after winning the ACC championship.

“I know and understand the expectations. There’s no higher expectation than what I have,” Norvell said. “I know it’s not been good enough.”

Florida State is on an open date this week, trying to correct the mistakes that have plagued them in four straight losses — all by one possession. Norvell said different issues have cropped up in each game that have cost them — from penalties, to blown assignments on defense, to turnovers, to an inability to sustain drives and score.

“The team, the staff we’re working extremely hard to get it right. We are going to get it right,” Norvell said.

He added that the statement Alford issued did not come as a surprise, because he is in constant contact with him, university president Richard McCullough and other decision makers on campus.

“I know we have to win games,” Norvell said. “I take great ownership in our results. It’s not been good enough. I hate it for Michael. I hate it for our players. I hate it for the program. I hate it for everybody. That’s on me and this staff and this football team to get that right.

“We’re going to get it fixed, and we’re going to get better.”

Norvell revamped his roster and coaching staff after what he called a disastrous 2024 season, hiring Gus Malzahn as his offensive coordinator and Tony White as his defensive coordinator and going into the transfer portal to add starters across the board. But the recent results harken back to the problems Florida State had a year ago, only adding to the frustration among Seminoles supporters.

Asked how his team could go from dominating Alabama in a 31-17 victory in the opener to losing on the road to Stanford, Norvell said, “It’s college football. There’s great parity. Every team, if you give (them) opportunities, they’re all capable. It’s a weekly focus. Is your best going to show up? If you’re not able to execute to your best, if you’re not able to respond, if you have a bad play or a bad moment, anybody can give you challenges. I believe in this team. I believe in the talent that we have, the way that we will finish. I know what we’re capable of.”

Norvell was also asked whether finishing the season strong will be enough for him to return for a seventh season at Florida State.

“I have a lot of confidence in the long term of what this will be. Until somebody tells me different, I have the absolute belief in the long term,” Norvell said.

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Toronto’s NHL, NBA teams adjust times for Jays

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Toronto's NHL, NBA teams adjust times for Jays

TORONTO — The Maple Leafs and Raptors are changing the times of their games this weekend and next week to avoid overlap with the Blue Jays‘ World Series games.

“Toronto sports fans are undeniably some of the most passionate fans in the world, and we are proud to have the city’s teams come together and give these fans an opportunity to experience a significant moment in our city’s and nation’s history,” said Keith Pelley, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Maple Leafs and Raptors.

Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto will host Games 1 and 2 of the World Series on Friday and Saturday. Each game in the best-of-seven series is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.

The Raptors’ home opener against Milwaukee on Friday was moved from 7:30 p.m. to 6:30, and the Maple Leafs’ game against Buffalo on Saturday was moved from 7 p.m. to 5.

The Leafs have also adjusted the start time of next Tuesday’s game against Calgary to 6 p.m. The Raptors will host Houston at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 29. Games 3-5 of the World Series are scheduled for Monday, Tuesday and Oct. 19.

“Each of these game time changes are quite complicated and represent the co-operation of many stakeholders, including the respective leagues, coaches and players of the Leafs, Raptors and opposing teams and broadcasters,” Pelley said. “We are grateful to them all for their assistance as we work to make this a very special moment for Toronto fans as we come together to support the Blue Jays.”

The Maple Leafs and Raptors will also show the World Series games on the Scotiabank Arena videoboard following their games.

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