The Fantasy Guide can be picked up online in pdf form for $9.99 – it comes with an updated spreadsheet – free. Updates are all free, download as often as you’d like. Last update was Sept. 14 – and it was a big one (relatively speaking).

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Tim Thomas has arrived in Florida and will report tomorrow on a tryout agreement. The goaltender will probably win a contract and I would speculate that he will end up playing upwards of 55 games. Jacob Markstrom owners can cringe, but your future is still bright.

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Regarding the below Dobbernomics contest – only 11 people have entered so far. So feel free to participate. Join my league in Dobbernomics. It’s easy – just mention on Twitter Dobbernomics.com and #FantasyHockey and how you’re looking forward to the game. I’m taking the 24th person to do this (so 13 to go as of 3:35pm ET)

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Preseason action, folks! Working on getting the Frozen Pool up and running for preseason data (line combos, full stats). I’ll let you know when it’s up.

It was a split-squad game (or ‘games’, I guess) Saturday between Oilers and Flames, but it was nice to see Mark Arcobello and Jesse Joensuu on the board. They need to produce early and often to make the decision difficult. For Arcobello, not only does he need to stick with the team – but he needs to have wingers such as Nail Yakupov on his line. Stick pluggers on his line and he might as well go back to the minors, because there’s no point. The guy is 5-9, 165. It’s just unfortunate for him that the team is trying Taylor Hall at center. Arcobello had a goal, Joensuu went one and one.

Joensuu, an underrated potential power forward, also had five shots on goal.

Not the greatest start for Linus Omark, although to put it in perspective – this is Preseason Game 1 – so nobody panic. He was minus-2 and missed his shootout attempt. But despite my ‘perspective’ talk, keep in mind that Omark is on thin ice. It’s a deep team in terms of his skill set and management is already pigeonholing him as a minor-leaguer and part-time fill in. Us fantasy owners, and Omark himself, believe differently. But he’ll need to prove it and he’ll have to do it in the six or seven exhibition games that he plays. This is one down.

I didn’t see the game, I had a birthday party to go to and you people know where I’m coming from – at a party you should be able to get them to put on the hockey game, but  not if it’s exhibition and not if it doesn’t include the local team.

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But the stats can tell a story and it was nice to see Reto Berra do alright in net for Calgary (one goal allowed, 14 shots). He’ll start the year in the minors, but Joey MacDonald gets hurt at inopportune times. So Berra could get his shot sooner than you think.

Sven Bärtschi had two points and the shootout winner, picking up where he left off at the end of the last season (nine points during a seven-game points streak).

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It was interesting that Coach Eakins split Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle up for the two SS games – one playing each.

In the other game, the big story, to my eyes anyway, was Jason LaBarbera stopping all 12 shots he faced…while Richard Bachman stopped just eight of 10. It’s only Game 1, but Bachman’s my underdog and I’m hoping he shows the Oilers that he’s the better of the two and that we see him again midseason.

Sean Monahan played in that other game, but was pointless and minus-1 for the Flames. I think he gets just the nine-game trial run this year, but he can change everyone’s mind with a strong three weeks here.

Emile Poirier had a strong preseason game – and apparently continued his impressive stuff Sunday in the inter-squad games. The promising right winger was drafted 22nd in the summer and is ranked pretty high on my Fantasy Prospects List (84th). Obviously making the team would shoot him up into the Top 25, but I don’t expect that.

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Ryan Callahan is shooting for a return to action … for Game 1. That would certainly change up some things in the Fantasy Guide. But regardless of if he is successful, it’s looking very likely that he won’t be out for as long as I had projected. I had him missing about 12 games (plus another five for little, nagging stuff throughout the year). I’ll be adding a few games to that projection in the next update.

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I’m not really paying much attention to the minor injury stuff we’re seeing. It will just cause us to over-think things at the draft table. So minor injuries to the likes of Dustin Brown, Jonathan Toews, Jaromir Jagr and Jiri Tlusty gets ignored unless I catch a whiff of a rumor that any of them will miss all of training camp.

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The Jets are trying Michael Frolik on a line with Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler. He’ll be left wing, as opposed to his usual right wing. The line combination doesn’t matter, especially not right now. But the thought process here is oh so important – it tells you what the Jets would like Frolik’s role to be. And it won’t be as a checker. He didn’t pick up any points Sunday, but it sure must have felt good to play 20 minutes. In Chicago it would take him two games to play that many minutes.

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The sixth and 24th people to Tweet how much they’re looking forward to playing the new Dobbernomics.com #FantasyHockey game gets invited to my personal league. I’ll be looking for the terms “Dobbernomics.com” and “#FantasyHockey”.

Thanks for helping me spread the word! I feel like I’ve over-explained the concept and scared some people off. Maybe some think it will require a time commitment. Or it’s too complicated. But I guarantee you this – it’s not complicated and you don’t have to play every day. And it’s quite possibly the most enjoyable fantasy-hockey game that I’ve ever played. Take a look here.

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There are already some cuts in camp, but the one that interested me the most was Carolina’s Sergei Tolchinsky. Not that he was going to make the team, but I thought with his impressive rookie camp that he would be a late cut not an early one.

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Mike Babcock is already disappointed in how the line of Stephen Weiss, Daniel Alfredsson and Johan Franzen are meshing. He isn’t sure what isn’t working, but I think I can put my finger on it. You see, Alfredsson is 41 soon. You guys signed him after his worst ever NHL numbers. And if you expect him to slot into the second line nicely, you may be disappointed. This message was brought to you by the Gustav Nyquist Cheerleading Association.

One other thing that Babcock is trying is Justin Abdelkader on the first line. How that will work out when they have 17 NHL-caliber forwards remains to be seen.

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Taylor Hall isn’t the only young winger being tried out at center for the first time. The Hawks are doing it with Brandon Saad. This would hurt Brandon Pirri. But also keep in mind – Michal Handzus has been hurt, and Pirri can play the wing if need be.

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I’m looking for volunteers for two things. Hopefully you can help. Neither would take much of your time and often it’s stuff you’re doing anyway – you’d just have to type (or copy/paste) a sentence for your fellow poolies to read:

1. A few people are needed to help the team at Goalie Post. Just basically help keep the grid updated and/or send out email notifications. It’s a very easy system where you just type stuff into a box and click submit. Straightforward. Email Justin if you can help out this year.

2. Hey, if you click on a player name here in the ramblings you are taken to his player page (Sidney Crosby – click it. See?). Notice at the top there are several news items. We need help chipping in with news items. Could be as simple as linking to the ramblings here, or TSN. Once again, this is just another box where you paste and click ‘submit’. Email Gates if you can help out.

In both cases you would be one of a couple of people covering a day each week. And you can literally bang out five or 10 items in five minutes. Thanks!

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On Sunday, Beau Bennett got some time with Malkin and Neal, as expected. But it was Chuck Kobasew playing with minor leaguers who stepped up with a pair of goals. He’s in tough to make the team, but scoring twice is a great start. Not draft worthy, but worth monitoring.

Cam Atkinson was actually moved to the left wing. He played with Anisimov and Gaborik – and from my fantasy league standpoint that line couldn’t be any better (I own Cam and Artem). Atkinson has the respect of the coach and as long as he doesn’t start the season with a brutal two points in 12 games…or get hurt… he’ll take off this year in a big way.

Highlights of the Pens/Jackets second period Sunday.

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The buzz in Leafs camp is that Paul Ranger is looking strong. At this point I have him as the seventh defenseman, with T.J. Brennan as the extra…and Holzer out of the mix. I won’t even consider Rielly until some room clears up here.

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Neither Jake Allen nor Jack Campbell were brick walls last night. Allen gave up five goals on 37 shots from Dallas and unlike most of the preseason games so far, he actually played the entire game. Campbell stopped 13 of 16.

But the buzz in Dallas is all about Valeri Nichushkin. Two goals for the 18-year-old. I think he’ll make the team and not because of that game. But because he’s a stud. And a 6-4, 200+ pound one. NINE shots on goal last night though. That beats the Russian on the other side of the rink Vladimir Tarasenko who had no points and one shot.

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Zemgus Girgensons scored twice for Buffalo. The 19-year-old isn’t making the team this year and don’t overrate his upside, but he’s a surefire NHLer likely destined for third-line duty. He’s ranked 151 on my Prospects List. Should be on the team for 2014-15.

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Jordan Nolan hit Rostislav Klesla shoulder to chin. Klesla was taken off the ice on a stretcher but as of my bedtime Klesla remained in the arena (i.e. not the hospital), which is a good sign. Update: he was indeed brought to hospital for evaluation with his head immobilized.

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Get my new app (free) and have these ramblings stream to your phone. Details here.

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I thought this was funny and if you haven’t seen it – here is Bobby Ryan interviewing Ottawa people about Bobby Ryan:

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From Saturday – Evander Kane and Devin Setoguchi working together.