October 01, 2014
Dobber
2014-10-01
Lots of prospect chatter, the magic of Lehtera and Tarasenko, Matt Read’s sleeper potential, Grigorenko’s camp and more …
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Fantasy Guide updated as of Monday night with latest cuts/injury info. Expect another update later today. Just login, go to your downloads and re-download it to get the update. Also – I have to remind you of the awesome deal – get my Guide, Draft List, Prospects Report, Midseason Guide that comes out in January AND the Playoff List for next April – all for just $10. Details here.
And if you bought the Guide already, you can still get the deal and I’ll refund you. Yep, if you paid $11.29 (includes tax), I’ll refund the $11.29 and you pay $10 to get the Guide back. So you already profit. And then you get the Prospects Report free. And the Midseason Guide. And the Playoff List.
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So much to cover. The opposite of three weeks ago, wow. Let’s start with camp cuts, then we’ll get to the games. The Sabres cut Nathan Lieuwen and Andrey Makarov, meaning Matt Hackett is still in camp. They’d love to see Hackett step up and reach his potential, but I’ve lost faith. And with Michal Neuvirth such a Band-Aid Boy, I wouldn’t be shocked if Makarov makes his mark this season for a couple of games. Winger Joel Armia was also among the cuts.
Dallas cut John Klingberg, which disappointed me. I was pulling for him, he would have been a nice dark horse. I still think he plays the second half with the team, but he definitely needed some more AHL exposure. Radek Faksa and Julius Honka were among the other cuts.
The Oilers cut Dillon Simpson and Mitchell Moroz, among others. Moroz could see some spot play this year and if he does – he’ll help your HITS and PIM league. Last year he had 35 goals and 156 PIM in the WHL.
Florida cut/waived Dan Ellis. Colorado waived Stefan Elliott (already noted here Monday). Vancouver waived Jacob Markstrom. Minnesota waived Jordan Schroeder. All have cleared except Schroeder, who will probably clear later today.
The Devils released Tomas Kaberle and Ruslan Fedotenko from camp. I’m a little surprised that Kaberle didn’t stay until the final cuts. I know he has nothing left, but still – the Old Boys Club that is the NHL tends to give the name players (or ex-players) a lot of leeway. He was potentially a No.7 defenseman and power-play specialist. And he’s Czech (i.e. Havlat, Jagr, Elias, Zidlicky).
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The Oilers signed Vladimir Tkachev to a three-year ELC. The problem is, he wasn’t drafted and he’s still draft eligible – so the NHL voided it. Why him, but Sergey Tolchinsky was okay last year? Well, because Tolchinsky played the entire prior season in the CHL, whereas Tkachev played 18 games in Russia last year. You’d think the Oilers knew that rule… or maybe they did and tried to sneak it. So now the entire NHL has seen Tkachev in training camp and will definitely have him on their list. Tkachev is 140 pounds but he tallied 39 points in 26 games for Moncton of the Q last season.
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Ryan Johansen idiotic agent has been back in discussions with the Blue Jackets. Word is that he is focused on a two-year deal. I get the sense that this one will be signed after all, just prior to the season starting. May not result in missed games…but missing training camp often leads to early injuries, so be prepared for that.
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If you get through my long-winded fantasy hockey chatter, there’s still more – Rossy has another kickass one right here. You want the latest prospect chatter to give you an edge for your draft.
Both Sam Reinhart and Mikhail Grigorenko are still in camp and the team plans to play both of them in the final two preseason games. Grigorenko, by most accounts, has been the most improved Sabres prospects. Drew Stafford on Grigorenko:
"He's gotten better and better. They're definitely giving him a fair shot and it's up to him to take advantage of it. If I had to pick one guy, he's definitely improved from last year.”
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Cory Conacher finally got his audition on the John Tavares line. He scored, which is good. But two goals were scored against his line, which isn’t as good. Then again, Kevin Poulin was his goalie. He saw over six minutes of PP time, so getting a goal is almost a given. I still give the edge to Anders Lee for this job.
The Isles were also auditioning TJ Brennan as the power-play quarterback. With Visnovsky out (back spasms), Brennan certainly has a better chance of making the team now. Brennan led the team in PP ice time and scored a goal with four shots.
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Matt Read had three points for the Flyers last night. Now this is a guy who I like for a big year. He’s my top Sleeper in the Flyers section of my Fantasy Guide (20% confidence for 60 points) and I have him penciled in on the top line. He just needs to stop with the poorly-timed injuries. They always seem to strike when he’s posted something like seven points in five games.
Anthony Duclair scored again for the Rangers. He was also the third star of the game. He was a plus-1 in a game in which many of his teammates were minus-2. I really hope he gets a nine-game trial. I want to see what he does in real NHL games.
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Apparently Jori Lehtera and Vladimir Tarasenko combined on a sweet goal last night. I didn’t see it and couldn’t dig up the highlights. But those two were magic together in the KHL a few years ago so it may be that we see them play together in the season ahead. If so, Lehtera could be a 50-point dark horse.
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J-G Pageau was just 13% at the dot last night. It’s doubtful that he wins a spot with the Sens to begin with, but if he’s not winning draws it certainly doesn’t help matters. Especially when Curtis Lazar, who he’s competing with, was 86% at the dot and third star of the game. I don’t think Lazar makes the team either, though you may see a nine-game trial.
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For those of you who still believe in Mark Barberio (not me), he barely saw any PP time last night while the likes of Sustr and Garrison saw plenty. Radko Gudas, on the other hand, had five shots on goal, three hits and two blocked shots – already showing us his multi-cat potential.
Barberio saw plenty of PK time though. With so many PP options, I wonder if TB is re-molding him into a stay-at-home guy…
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So with Kari Lehtonen out with a concussion, suddenly Jussi Rynnas is not being sent down after all. He was Lindback’s backup last night and Lindback was torched for five goals. Lindback and Lehtonen are both Band-Aid Boys, so perhaps I was too hasty in downgrading Rynnas’ projection in the Guide.
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Bodog posted their over/under player props. I made 50% return on my wagers with these last year. If you want to see what I did this year, take a look here.
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Ohhhhh Johnny – disgusting!