* There were only two games on the NHL slate on Saturday, but there was actually a tonne of quality hockey played from Saskatoon to Stockholm. * Let's start in Stockholm, where the Swedes faced off against the Finns in the semi-final of the World Hockey Championships. Amidst news that Alex Edler [...]
What we said about James Reimer back in 2007...
The 2013 Fantasy Prospects Report will be the seventh annual production from DobberHockey. And what better way to celebrate than to take a trip down memory lane at past prospects and profiles?
Ottawa finds another diamond in the rough prospect.
The success of the Ottawa Senators this season has been nothing short of surprising. Injuries to Erik Karlsson, Jason Spezza and Craig Anderson, among others, had many pegging the Sens as a sinking ship, likely to miss the playoffs for the third time in five years. Injuries forced the Senators to dip into their prospect pool in the truncated season, which as it turns out, is quite deep.
Surprises in the form of prospects helped to carry the Senators to regular season and playoff success, upsetting the number two seed Montreal Canadians 4-1 in the opening round. The contributions of Swedish prospects Mika Zibanejad and Jakob Silfverberg helped carry the offensive load in the regular season, scoring a combined 39 points in 90 games. Come playoff time, yet another prospect has emerged in the form of 20-year-old center and Gatineau, Quebec native Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
Briggins lets you know who to watch for at the 2013 Memorial Cup.
This year’s edition of the Memorial Cup features a plethora of players who will hear their names called on the first day of the NHL draft this year. In fact, there is an excellent chance the first three names called will be players from this tournament. Potentially, seven players from the best CHL teams could end up going in the first round. In this week’s article, I examine the top eight ranked players from the Halifax Mooseheads, Portland Winterhawks and London Knights, and get you up to speed on how they performed in the playoffs this year. The host team Saskatoon did not have any players ranked in the top 50. All ranking numbers come from NHL Central Scouting Services’ final rankings.
* Ducks prospect John Gibson may be the best prospect goaltender around. He gets the start for the USA today against Switzerland. The Ducks have two good goalies, but Gibson has franchise upside. They won't rush him, but it wouldn't surprise me to see him Carey Price his way to the NHL (minimal AHL time). [...]
* Some random notes from researching for my top 50 NHL trade value rankings... John Tavares makes $5.5 million for FIVE more years. Wow.... Kane and Toews each have two years left on their respective deals. The Hawks will have to pony up big time this summer with extensions (much like [...]
Daoust provides a comprehensive breakdown of all 30 NHL clubs and their cap situations.
For most keeper leagues the offseason begins as soon as the NHL regular season ends and lasts more than five months. During this time poolies will do a lot of maintenance on their teams to get ready for the next campaign. In fantasy leagues that use NHL salary cap figures the landscape changes in July when a slew of players sign new contracts.
Download the May 2013 edition right here.
Round two of the NHL playoffs is now underway and the players who have excelled in their respective series have had a sudden boost in trade value. Negotiations can sway in your favour by playing on these newly found emotions. The month of May is quite important for keeper leagues, especially for those that had crowned their champion a couple of weeks ago.
* Five core Canucks who could be traded this summer if some big changes are made. * I figure I should probably offer some thoughts up on Detroit and Chicago. The young Detroit defense couldn't handle Chicago's speed and constant pressure. Brendan Smith struggled for much of the game. He's [...]
Five defensive prospects who could help you win your pool in 2013-14.
Many NHL teams are entering this offseason with the mandate to clear cap space, as the salary cap is dropping to $64.3 million for the 2013-14 season. And because of that, there will be a lot of roster openings around the league. Young players are very valuable in situations like these, as their rookie contracts typically carry very low salary cap hits. However, they need to be ready for the NHL game, particularly as defensemen. It isn’t easy to step in and log top four (or even bottom pairing) minutes as a rookie.
Read on for five lesser-known defensive prospects that are primed to make an impact in 2013-14.
