NHL 2010 Draft Weekend Musings

Dobber Sports

2010-06-27

Jarnkrok

 

Not a lot of impactful events happened in the 2010 version of the NHL Entry Draft. Then again, it's the little things that make a difference and there sure was a lot of tweaking, not to mention the draft picks themselves. Here are some of my initial thoughts…

 

I had Calle Järnkrok ninth on my list of 20 prospects (forwards) I would like to own in a keeper league. The fact that the Swede went to Detroit makes him a can't miss. However, again because it is Detroit, we won't see him for four years. Long wait, with sure-fire results…

 

With Carolina owning Joni Pitkanen, Jamie McBain, Alexandre Picard, Bryan Rodney, Anton Babchuck and now Bobby Sanguinetti – something will give. There is no need for six offensive defensemen. Look for one of Rodney or Picard to be in the minors, and at their age it could make them career minor leaguers. Also look for Babchuk to possibly be traded early in the season. McBain is a lock for the team and he will flourish, and I also believe they will make room for Sanguinetti…

 

Henrik Karlsson's deal to Calgary may have looked like a minor swap and will most certainly have been forgotten by September. But I have a hunch that every media outlet that covers hockey will have their memories refreshed by December. Karlsson was pegged to have the potential of an "average NHL starter" in our Fantasy Prospects Report (by Justin Goldman). But sometimes, in the right system, an "average" starter can be a star. And it's not unheard of for a no-name goaltender to steal the job from a highly-paid, established netminder (see Antti Niemi, Niklas Backstrom, Ilya Bryzgalov, or any Nashville goalie of the last four years for details). The situation in Calgary is perfect. The odds, of course, are against this happening, but the situation is as good as it is going to get and every bit as good as Backstrom's situation in Minnesota when Manny Fernandez was the No.1. If you have the bench space for a fourth goaltender, Karlsson makes a dandy pickup. Bet you thought you'd never see the day that Dobber would use the word "dandy"…

 

Both T.J. Hensick and Vladimir Sobotka are Blues. Each of them needed a trade to have a chance at reaching their potential. Neither of them went to the right team, although their situation is much better than it was where they were. The Blues are already flush with talent up front, so they'll be in tough. At least Sobotka can hold his own on a checking line. In the right situation, he could be a 65- to 70-point player. I can see him emulating Alex Steen – a season of toiling on the third line and then eventually get hot and work his way onto a scoring line by the middle of 2011-12. As for Hensick, he'll need a monster camp and the odds are stacked against him. He has no place on the third line, he needs an injury to someone in the top six to get a realistic shot…

 

The Blues did extremely well drafting offensive prospects Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko. It says here that by the middle of the 2011-12 season, these two will be in the Top 20 on my Fantasy Prospects list…

 

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Mikael Granlund couldn't have went to a better team. He'll be rushed into the NHL – and by "rushed" I mean in two seasons. But the Wild need home-grown offense and he immediately becomes "it". No other team would lean on him as much as Minnesota…

 

The best late-round flyer, from a fantasy standpoint, was Nashville's seventh rounder Joonas Rask. This was his third eligible draft. Now 20, he's a pure sniper with some hockey sense who is only now starting to come into his own. He could Patric Hornqvist his way onto our radars by next April with stellar numbers in Europe. He needs to add strength though, which puts him at least three years away…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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UPCOMING GAMES

Nov 23 - 13:11 PHI vs CHI
Nov 23 - 16:11 CGY vs MIN
Nov 23 - 16:11 L.A vs SEA
Nov 23 - 18:11 FLA vs COL
Nov 23 - 19:11 T.B vs DAL
Nov 23 - 19:11 CBJ vs CAR
Nov 23 - 19:11 OTT vs VAN
Nov 23 - 19:11 WSH vs N.J
Nov 23 - 19:11 MTL vs VGK
Nov 23 - 19:11 DET vs BOS
Nov 23 - 19:11 NSH vs WPG
Nov 23 - 19:11 PIT vs UTA
Nov 23 - 19:11 NYI vs STL
Nov 23 - 20:11 S.J vs BUF
Nov 23 - 22:11 EDM vs NYR

Starting Goalies

Top Skater Views

  Players Team
KENT JOHNSON CBJ
VALERI NICHUSHKIN COL
JOSH MANSON COL
DMITRI VORONKOV CBJ
WYATT JOHNSTON DAL

Top Goalie Profile Views

  Players Team
DUSTIN WOLF CGY
JOHN GIBSON ANA
TRISTAN JARRY PIT
ALEXANDAR GEORGIEV COL
UKKO-PEKKA LUUKKONEN BUF

LINE COMBOS

  Frequency SEA Players
19.2 CHANDLER STEPHENSON DANIEL SPRONG JADEN SCHWARTZ
17.6 JARED MCCANN ANDRE BURAKOVSKY MATTY BENIERS
17.5 EELI TOLVANEN YANNI GOURDE OLIVER BJORKSTRAND

DobberHockey Podcasts

Keeping Karlsson Short Shifts – Regicide

Jeremy and Shams are here to break down all the new injuries and update timelines as well. After all the injury news they close out the show covering all the cold Kings players giving actionable fantasy advice on each one. Lastly, they close out the show the latest hot Russian forward for Columbus that is only 1% rostered on Yahoo right now.

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