Don’t forget to challenge myself and Dobber in a one-day fantasy hockey challenge. Free to join, takes just a minute or two to pick your 10 players (unless you want to really do your homework to try to take us down), and the Top 10 finishers get a piece of the $300 prize. Details here.

 

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The 2013 Hobey Baker was awarded to St. Cloud forward Drew LeBlanc, and he celebrated by inking a one-year deal with the Blackhawks.

 

LeBlanc is a do-it-all forward who had 50 points in 52 games this season (he missed most of his junior year due to injury, so it was nice to see him bounce back).

 

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I love the effect/impact Ray Whitney is having on the young Stars right now – he’s the pulse of that team, and it looks like it took a few trades for that to shine through. In particular, he has been finding terrific chemistry with Alex Chiasson, who continues to play an experienced game well beyond his years. He’s big, gritty, fast, and smart. The total package – well ahead of where I expected him to be in his first pro season.

 

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Jake Allen let in four goals on 19 shots – he was thoroughly outdueled by Sergei BOBROVSKY. The Jackets and Blues both play “heavy” games (lots of dump-ins and hitting, big forwards). The Blues had momentum until the Jackets hit the scoresheet. 

 

Acquiring a player like Gaborik allows the other forwards to relax and focus on other things (not that players don’t always focus on scoring, but it isn’t as imperative now with a legitimate sniper on the roster).

 

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Craig Anderson was great, and the Senators gave him enough goal support – classic “road game” for Ottawa last night. Rookie forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored his first career NHL goal in his first career NHL game – I’d say that’s a good way to extend the call up.

 

 

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A great scouting report on Avs prospect Sami Aittokallio from Justin Goldman. Aittokallio. Aittokallio. Aittokallio. Just working on my spelling.

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Sounds like Tyler Toffoli is going to make the move to left wing on a full time basis – great news for his short term upside, as the Kings are (relatively) thin there compared to C and RW.

 

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Great news out of Boston – Patrice Bergeron is making progress from his concussion and could be back soon. This is the fourth diagnosed concussion of his career, and it would be a shame to see his career cut short in any way – he’s one of the best two-way forwards in the world.

 

He travelled with the team to Carolina for today’s game, but it doesn’t sound like he is going to play.

 

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I didn’t expect Alex Galchenyuk to be this impactful as a teenager – his game has grown and evolved as the season has gone on (he now has points in five straight games). Big time upside… the next Montreal superstar? I’d place my chips on “yes.”

 

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Seahawks All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman paid a visit to the Canucks last week – he’s a funny dude. Check out the interviews here.

 

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He has been solid defensively this season (from what I have seen…), but is Erik Johnson’s offense ever going to come? Four assists in 29 games. I wrote a big piece on him last summer (I started doing research for my own pool, but then turned it into a column after digging up some interesting numbers – really has stalled, and it doesn’t appear to be directly related to the knee injury).

 

Any Colorado fans have more thoughts on EJ?

 

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Not only has Mikhail Grabovski been relegated to a checking/shutdown role this year, but he’s had some health issues this year. May help to explain his drop in production (buy low time):

 

Carlyle: Grabovski has had longstanding GI illness and has been losing weight recently. Is in NYC for testing.

— James Mirtle (@mirtle) April 12, 2013

 

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How are your fantasy league playoffs going? Desperate times right now, I picked up Gregory Campbell off the wire the other day (short a center with the Marchand concussion).

I’ve gotten lucky with Schneidongo’s hot streak lately, too. Having 1.5 starting goaltenders has been really tough all year – my other goalies are Steve Mason and Peter Budaj (I kid you not). 

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Good news on the injury front for the Caps:

 

#Caps LW Martin Erat feeling better, “we’ll see” on playing tomorrow. Going to talk to trainers and coaches.

— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) April 12, 2013

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Today's NHL sleeper roundup – the Buffalo Sabres:

Sleeper – Johan Larsson

 

Larsson is a well-rounded forward who was the centerpiece of the Jason Pominville trade. The Wild were comfortable moving him because of their other prospects (they boast depth that most other teams could only dream of).

Back to Larsson. He scored his first goal with Rochester after the trade the other day, but the Amerks have been gutted with all of Buffalo's defensive woes/injuries.

I could see Larsson stepping in to a second or third line role next year – the Sabres need some two-way stability up the middle, and he could be one of the guys to help provide that.

Here is his DobberProspects profile.

 

Deep sleeper – Joel Armia

 

Armia is a guy who I have gotten asked about a lot over the years (especially in my weekly/monthly mailbags). Big winger with offensive upside, but he has taken the long route with his development.

He's had three really strong seasons over in Finland, and it sounds like he is ready to make the jump over to the North American ranks. His offensive ability is really impressive for a 6-3 forward – I could see him making quick work of the AHL and playing big minutes for the Sabres really soon.

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Erm… what?

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The Flyers have signed former Columbus prospect Petr Straka. Straka had a great year in the Q in 2012-13 (albeit as an overage forward).

Here is Straka's DobberProspects profile. Brendan Ross's most recent thoughts:

Straka posted 41 goals and 41 assists for 82 points for the Baie-Comeau Drakker. He has dominated the QMJHL playoffs producing eight goals and 18 points through eight games. Straka enters a Flyers organization that is relatively shallow so he will be presented with a good opportunity.

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