March 23, 2010

Dobber Sports

2010-03-23

Luca Caputi will be back in the lineup tonight for the Leafs, having recovered from his stomach ailment. Wayne Primeau will be scratched.

 

One thing I overlooked with regards to Carter – Ville Leino. I will be interesting to see if he gets a bump in ice time and takes advantage.

 

Angus here – pop over to the message boards if you have a fantasy hockey question on your mind.

 

Milan Michalek will be out for “a couple of weeks” with a knee injury. They are hopeful that rehab will be all that is needed for a speedy recovery.

 

Brooks Laich took a puck off the crossbar today at practice and left to get stitches.

 

I don’t know if some people want me to start censoring myself or what, but whenever I ramble off on a tangent, I have things misinterpreted and then somebody gets their panties in a knot. If anyone feels I’m slighting TSN in any way (I’m not – reread what I said) they are wrong. Real hockey analysis vs. fantasy hockey analysis are two different animals. Any TSN analyst – and truth be told I was singling out “the journalists” Damian Cox, Steve Simmons, etc and not Pierre McGuire and those guys – would kick my ass on TV and they already do kick my ass on the radio. But stick them in my keeper league and they would get embarrassed. Not just by me, but by a dozen other quality owners. And that’s just in my league. All I was saying is that if you want to follow their “reality” opinion for your “fantasy” league, you will probably be led in the wrong direction. You are better off listening to half the people that contribute to the forum then a TSN or ESPN or Sportsnet expert when discussing the fantasy value of a lesser-known player. Is that clear? Hope so! I am not slighting Cox, Simmons, McGuire, or anyone else for anything other than their fantasy hockey skills. And I’m sure they don’t care about that. They don’t put on the Trade Deadline program for us poolies, they put the show on for regular hockey fans.

 

Daymond Langkow was released from hospital and will be okay. He’s wearing a neck brace and is out indefinitely, but from a life standpoint from what I’ve read in a couple of newpapers he will be just fine. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in a couple of weeks.

 

Grant Clitsome has been recalled by the Blue Jackets. Any time Clitsome does something, I feel I need to comment on it. So Clitsome has been recalled. The 24-year-old had two points the last time he was up, but he’s a 25-point guy at best. So Clitsome is back in the NHL. If they dub Antero Niittymaki as “Nitty” in the dressing room, what’s Clitsome’s nickname?

 

Sigh. Sometimes I wish I was seven again.

 

Vancouver signed college free agent Aaron Volpatti to an entry-level deal. He strikes me as a lesser Alex Burrows in that he would provide you with PIMs, but could produce points if he clicks somewhere in the top six. He is less likely to ever get into an NHL top six, however. For now he will play for Manitoba of the AHL.

 

Kevin Porter has played six games for the Avs now, but is still looking for his first point for them.

 

I’m still shaking my head at the TSN experts for spending so long discussing the merits of Jeff Halpern, but not giving Teddy Purcell any play when the two were swapped on deadline day. Halpern is pointless in eight as a King, while Purcell has six points in 10 games for TB. The experts on television can only look at so many things related to hockey, so drilling down on depth players or young players is not their forte – and this is an example of it. But there are thousands of fantasy managers who know all about every player in (or near) the league statistically. Bottom line – you know who to listen to when it comes to a player’s potential and on TSN that list is one person long. Bob McKenzie. The rest of them are charismatic, but they really couldn’t tell you anything more about the lesser players than your grandma can.

 

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So Drew Doughty is going to finish with 60 points and plus-20 at the age of 20. When Dion Phaneuf was that age he had 49 points and was plus-5. Tomas Kaberle finished with 22 points and was plus-3 just turning 21. Doughty is really going to be something. And it will go down in history as my greatest fantasy blunder when I made a last minute “audible” in taking Tom Gilbert over him in one of my drafts last summer. It’s a keeper league, so I’ll be reminded of that collossal error for another 18 years or so. Each time I see him in the scoring summary, I feel a sharp pain. At first I thought it was too many chicken wings, but now it’s happening no matter what I eat.

 

For my THN fantasy mailbag tomorrow, I could use a few more questions. If you would like something answered over at thn.com, just fill out their mailbag form and fire away!

 

This coming Saturday is the Marlies game where 50 kids are attending courtesy of the community here at DobberHockey. Early next week I will post the feedback that I get from the Children’s Aid Society. Thanks to all who donated!

 

Jeff Carter has a broken bone in his left foot and will be out for 3-4 weeks. The freed up PP time should give Claude Giroux and Danny Briere the biggest boost. Carter had played 286 career games. In other news, Tim Connolly still hasn’t missed a game.

 

Erik Karlsson bounced back from a brutal stretch that saw him go pointless and a minus-9 in five games. He posted two points in Ottawa’s 2-0 win. That gives him four points in 10 games since the Olympic break. I think he’ll produce in the high 30’s next season, and work his way up from there. In his prime he has the talent for 60.

 

Alex Kovalev – 10 games without a point now.

 

Evgeni Malkin did not play in the game against Detroit as he reinjured his foot Saturday. Max Talbot took his spot centering the second line… which kinda makes it the third line now. No word on how long Malkin is out – you know teams and injury info these days.

 

St. Louis prospect Ian Cole, ranked 42 on my prospects list (defensemen), has signed with the Blues. He will report to Peoria and while he may have a shot at a spot in the fall, it’s a long long shot. Alex Pietrangelo and Jonas Junland are ahead of him on the depth chart. The latter is ranked 32 and A.P. is ranked 7.

 

Tim Kennedy has played the last couple of games with Derek Roy and Tomas Vanek. He scored Sunday and I have a hunch you may see a small run from him. I think he’ll get 35 to 40 points next season and by his third season he’ll break out.

 

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I’m seeing a surge in activity over at DobberBaseball. The forum is really picking up, so if you are in any baseball leagues, you may want to bounce some ideas off of the growing community over there. And of course, you should consider picking up the fantasy baseball guide.

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