DOBBER? At your draft? It's possible… CHECK THIS OUT  

Shawn Bates is not 100 per cent healthy yet and he will continue to work out on his own. Don't count on 50 games from him this season.

Ted Nolan on Sean Bergenheim and Jeff Tambellini: “Bergenehim was a little bit rusty in the first couple of games, but we’re sure he’ll get better and better as we go,” Nolan said. “Tambellini was the same thing. He played okay, but we’re looking for better than okay. Okay, to me, is not very good. He can play a lot better.” Nolan praised the play of Comeau and goaltender Joey McDonald in the first game.

Ottawa netminder Ray Emery, recovering from wrist surgery, was back between the pipes in practice this morning. It was his first practice in camp. 

Chris Conner had such a strong camp for Dallas last year that he was called up for NHL duty late in the season and did not look out of place. Well, the diminutive forward is looking good again – the team is highly impressed with his speed. The only problem is his 5-8 stature.  That's the only reason he is 164 on my fantasy prospects list. He'll move up, because it looks as if the Stars are going to give him a real shot.

Mike Van Ryn is nursing a sore groin. He's becoming a certified Band-Aid boy at this rate.

Dan Cleary has missed two days of practice with a sore hamstring. "Nothing to worry about" he says. 

Devin Setoguchi picked up three points in last night's loss to the Kings. 

Marc Crawford says that he thought he had a three-way goalie competition between Cloutier, Aubin and Labarbera, however Jonathan Bernier has played so well that it's a four-way competition. Wow! Keep an eye on this. 

Igor Grigorenko picked up an assist last night, but saw just 13:46 of ice time. Jan Mursak only played for 11 minutes.

Byron Ritchie and Brendan Morrison are both suffering from groin injuries right now.

The Thrashers will return Riley Holzapfel to the WHL. Forward Bryan Little, forward Brett Sterling and goalie Ondrej Pavelec, all top prospects, each survived the first round of cuts.

Ruff has a 'rough' idea of opening night lines: Roy, with Afinogenov and Vanek (obviously), Connolly with Pominville and Kotalik, Hecht with Gaustad and Stafford, Mair with Ryan and Paille.

Garret Stevenson impressed Mike Keenan the most last night in their game against Florida.

Winger Justin Williams left Tuesday night's intrasquad scrimmage early in the third period after taking a puck off his foot. Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette said they likely would wait until this morning before determining whether Williams needed an X-ray.

Jonathan Toews picked up two points last night. Patrick Kane did not play, but will debut in tonight's game against Columbus. Jack Skille will also play.

Petr Sykora's facial injury turned out to be a broken nose.

Ryan Stone, Tyler Kennedy and Jonathan Filewich all picked up points last night, so that competition will go down to the wire between the three of them.

Ilya Zubov scored for the Senators last night. He's a long shot to make the team, but if he does he has a ton of offensive skill.

Coyotes left wing Josh Gratton, who broke the ring finger in his left hand during a fight in the team's first exhibition game in Anaheim on Sunday, is also wearing a cast on his right hand. Team officials say it is an old injury, and doctors decided to immobilize it for a week. He is expected to miss about three weeks.

The next two games could determine which of Auld, Aebischer and Tellqvist will make the Coyotes. Both games are against Toronto.

If you haven't selected a site to run your fantasy hockey pool yet, take a look at this:

Cuts of interest:

The Ducks released Tyler Bouck and cut Brian Salcido, Brendan Mikkelsson, Dan Lacouture and Matt Keith.

The Thrashers cut Jesse Schultz, Tomas Pospisil and Joey Crabb.

Chicago cut Maxime Tanguay and Akim Aliu.

Colorado cut Chris Stewart – big surprise since he was doing well in camp.

LA cut Trevor Lewis, Scott Parse and M-A Cliche. 

The Rangers cut Alex Bourret and Joe Barnes.

San Jose cut Jamie McGinn and Logan Couture (!) 

The Caps cut Steve Werner and Scott Barney. 

Anson Carter left last night's contest between the Oilers and Leafs with a concussion. I didn't see the concussion happen, but he was playing a poor game (I did see that) and I doubt he'll make the team. Robert Nilsson was all over the ice and was the third star, despite going pointless.

Mike Johnson accepted a camp invite from the St. Louis Blues. He'll have some tough competition there…I wonder if he'll get to play in the NHL this year?

Mike Rathje's return could be short-lived. He left last night's game in the second period against the Sens and did not return.

Petr Sykora left last night's contest with a facial injury. It is doubtful he will miss regular season games.

Jeff O'Neill will not go to the Sens camp on an invite. He insists on a contract before going anywhere.

Simon Gamache looked good on a line with Stajan and Jeremy Williams last night. He was also out there in the final minute with Tucker and Ponikarovsky in an effort to score the winner in a 2-2 tie when they were on the power play. Tony Salmelainen looked lost out there, fanning on chances and skating in circles.

Patrick Berglund scored a goal for St. Louis on a line with Kariya and Boyes. He just might make this team. Put him on your radar. 

Josef Melichar signed to play in the Czech League. 

The best damn fantasy hockey guide on the web will be updated in…