May 21, 2010
Jeff Angus
2010-05-21
More wallpapers! Toews, Alfredsson, Spezza, Tavares, and Frolik!
The fantasy guide is less than two weeks away! If you haven't already, check out more information about it here. Dobber, Matt Bugg, Ryan Van Horne, and Justin Goldman are all contributors. I am sitting this one out!
The team audits have been a lot of fun and I'll be continuing with them throughout the summer. Already have a bunch in queue, but flip me an e-mail with your sob story and I'll see what I can swing!
James Mirtle with a fantastic piece on the rise of European goaltenders. "And while Europeans make up only a quarter of NHL players as a whole, this season they accounted for 42 per cent of goaltenders who appeared in 30 or more games." Interesting stuff! I wonder how much of this has to do with the focus many teams in Europe are now placing on the position – often times kids as young as six or seven have exclusive goalie coaches.
Nashville goalie coach Mitch Korn (who used to coach Hasek in Buffalo) agrees with me. "Those guys have had goalie coaches since the day they were born," Korn said of Finns in the NHL.
Great feedback in yesterday's ramblings, guys! I am looking for a way to accurately create a top 10 list featuring PIM/points combo players, and I am also now interested in compiling a list of the top 10 special teams (power play and shorthanded production) players in the league. I am unsure of how to weigh the statistics – looking for advice/suggestions/recommendations!
Down Goes Brown fills us in on what a typical day for Gary Bettman looks like. Warning: extremely funny.
DobberHockey member Horrorfan had a fantastic post on the message boards a few days ago – glad I caught it so I can share it with you. A lot of it is standard and common knowledge to poolie veterans, but it is concise and clear information that is very useful for those who are new to fantasy hockey.
Who are the top 10 OHL draft-eligible players? Brock Otten weighs in with his thoughts, and his choice at number three may surprise you. The more I read about Jeff Skinner, the more I like (especially from a fantasy hockey perspective).
Brock and I agree on the Hall/Seguin debate (if there still is one). “While I agree that Hall and Seguin are close, if I’m picking first overall, I take Hall 100/100 times.”
Chris Bourque scored the OT winner last night for Hershey. The series has featured some stellar goaltending from Neuvirth and Bernier as well. He had 70 points in only 49 AHL regular season games (I don't have the stat handy but I'd be surprised if there was a better point-per-game mark in the entire AHL), and bounced around in the NHL as Washington and Pittsburgh played waiver tag with him. I like his chances at cracking Washington's roster next season – I wouldn't be surprised to see them add a few younger guys for both salary cap and energy purposes. Mathieu Perreault is another who should be in the mix for a roster spot.
After struggling during the first two games in Philadelphia, PK Subban bounced back for Montreal in a big way last night. He finished the game with three helpers, a plus-3 rating, a shot on goal, and close to 20 minutes of ice time.
Jamie Benn has 11 goals in 14 games for the Texas Stars in the AHL playoffs. Although most DobberHockey readers know about him, I still find him to be undervalued by the general population. It will be interesting to see where he lines up (center or wing) next season in Dallas.
Sticking with the Texas Stars, Aaron Gagnon has also had a very impressive postseason to date. He led the Stars in points, power play goals, and plus-minus during the regular season, and has continued his strong play into the playoffs. I found the following quote interesting, ""I have (been working at being a solid two-way player)," Gagnon confirmed. "I think, every league that I came into, starting in junior, I was a defensive guy to start, then I became an offensive guy. And in the American League, I started as a defensive guy and this year, I started to score some goals, and just provide some energy to the team."" Reminds me a bit of Alex Burrows (not as a player, but Burrows had a similar development path, developing his defensive skills before the offense came).
More on Gagnon here.
Ole, ole, ole ole… I wonder if Michael Leighton is sick of that song?
The Sedin twins were on ‘The Hour’ (a CBC talk show, I enjoy it from time to time) two nights ago. Henrik, when asked how he handles playing without his brother – “I get better.”
Maxim Lapierre truly is a man with many faces: