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Draft Central is live — start plotting your keeper

Welcome to the new home base for We The Hockey People. It doesn't replace our ESPN league page — think of it as the film room next door. This first stop is Draft Central, and it's already stocked with the two things you need before the draft: a full keeper value analysis of all 12 rosters and the complete rulebook.

What's inside right now

How the keeper math works this year

Your keeper costs the round the player was drafted in 2025-26. Three wrinkles decide most of your call:

Rounds 1-3 aren't keepable. No player three-peats. And re-keeping the same guy costs you three rounds earlier than last year — a R9 keeper becomes a R6.

That last rule is the quiet killer. It means the "obvious" keep — the star you protected last season — is quietly getting more expensive every year you hold him, while a mid-round breakout you drafted fresh is pure profit.

Early value board

A few names jumping off the analysis as the best-value keepers on their rosters:

TeamBest-value keepCost
The Boldy and the BeautifulMacklin CelebriniR14
Pit - i - fulDustin WolfR15
Pasta My PrimeNick SchmaltzR18
Chris's Calculated TeamMatt CoronatoR15

Full rankings, every team, and the eligibility flags are in the keeper analysis.

The decision every GM is sweating

Two managers don't even get the easy button: District 5 Ducks (Bobrovsky) and Team not Josh Allen! (Reinhart) both rode the same keeper two years running, so the no-three-peat rule forces them onto a new plan. Everyone else: is your star worth the escalating price, or is the smart money on a cheap breakout you can keep for basically nothing?

Poke around, argue in the group chat, and check back weekly. Puck drop is coming.

— Commissioner