April 10, 2007

Dobber Sports

2007-04-10

Those of you that live in the Kitchener/Waterloo or Cambridge or Stratford area, I will have an article in Wednesday's edition of the Record with some last minute tips on each playoff team. Pick it up – and fell free to send them feedback so they'll use me more often next year. 

 

Chicago won the draft lottery. They will pick first, and Philly shifts down to second. Jakub Voracek is the No.1 ranked prospect according to ISS. I will be carrying the ISS rankings (top 30) just as soon as I get a few minutes to put it up. I'll stick it under my "fantasy rankings" table on the left menu. 

 

CLICK HERE to buy the Interactive Playoff Draft List. If you are planning on picking up a summer fantasy guide, you may want to consider getting the Ultimate Fantasy Pack. If you want to see more info on the Playoff Draft List, then CLICK HERE.   

 

Top 200 Fantasy Prospects list has been updated. Not a whole lot of changes, but there are a few new faces. 

 

The Kings signed Marc-Andre Cliche to a three-year entry level deal. Cliche was acquired in the Sean Avery deal earlier this year. He won't make the roster next year. 

 

The Habs signed Carey Price to a three-year entry level deal. He will be an AHLer for at least two years, likely three. He'll be a great one though. 

 

Henrik Zetterberg, who has been out with an inflamed disk since Feb. 24, participated in all facets of practice on Monday and planned to be in the lineup. Zetterberg centered his old line with Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom.

Marcel Hossa, recovering from a sprained MCL, skated with his former linemates Jagr and Michael Nylander. He is a "likely" start for Wednesday. He will line up against his brother – it will be Hossa vs. Hossa.

 

Karel Rachunek will miss the first four or five games of the series, but should be in it at some point.

 

The NHL draft lottery will be conducted today. Philadelphia (25 percent) has the best chance to win the lottery, followed by Phoenix (18.8), Los Angeles (14.2), Washington (10.7) and Chicago (8.1).

 

Todd Marchant's time frame is one month. He had hernia surgery and is looking at the start of the third round at best.

 

Ric Jackman missed practice yesterday with his back spasms and is questionable to play on Wednesday.

 

This offseason, Philly's Simon Gagne will have hernia surgery and Antero Niittymaki will have  that surgery on his left hip that he has waited all year for. Both will have better seasons next year, although for Nittymaki it will be as a backup goaltender.

 

Rick DiPietro will not play in either of the first two games of the series against Buffalo. He is skating on his own, but he did not undergo neurological testing yesterday as that is still 'several steps away'. If I were to guess, I would say he is done until Game 6 at best. 

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Ryan Craig was back in practice for Tampa Bay and looks to be fine for suiting up on Thursday for Game 1.

 

Martin Erat was back in full practice and is a "likely" starter on Wednesday. He had been out since March 13 with a knee injury.

 

Bill Guerin, who sat out three of the final four regular-season games because of a sore groin, is expected to play Wednesday. He practiced on a line with Mark Bell and Patrick Marleau.

 

Atlanta rearguard Steve McCarthy has a back injury that caused him to miss practice. He has been a healthy scratch sometimes lately, ever since the team acquired Zhitnik.

 

Saku Koivu, as a result of that stick to the eye that he took in last year's playoff, will have a cataract removed. The surgery will cause him to miss the World Championship.

 

Both Sheldon Souray and Andrei Markov of UFA's this summer, but both intend to stay put.

 

Glen Murray has a tear in his groin, not a strain. The tear was discovered recently. He'll be fine for training camp, this is just to give Murray owners out there an excuse to keep him. 

 

The Carolina Hurricanes do not plan an extreme makeover this summer. They have most of the team still under contract and plan on bringing back Ray Whitney and Scott Walker, who are UFAs. Carolina's problem has been depth. The year they won the Stanley Cup they had no major injuries. This year? Stillman and Kaberle. Two players and it killed them. If you look at their depth chart and into their farm system, it's about as thin as you can get in all positions. Without a youngster that really impresses in camp and a great draft this year, I think the 'Canes will miss the playoffs for the next several years. Who will they knock out? Consider that Washington will be a playoff team soon and the Panthers are knocking on the door as well.

 

As I posted in the forum yesterday (in the "other" section), Eddie Belfour and Ville Peltonen were arrested. Details are all there. Ah Ville…didn't your mom tell you not to hang around with dubious crowds? 

 

 

 

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