May 25, 2011
Dobber Sports
2011-05-25
Answer: Brett MacLean. And a new member joined the forum to submit his answer, well done! And kudos to the mods for approving him quickly so he could get the win
The first person to name this player in the “Lounge” section of the forum wins a free copy of an older Fantasy Prospects Report, the year of their choosing. This is straight out of this year’s version – with the key names censored out. Here it goes:
Who is this?
A DobberHockey favorite for over three years now, even though we knew that the wait would be this long, (he) has held steady to our projected hopes/goals as a pro. A 40-point AHL debut, a 30-goal and 65-point sophomore campaign and then a point-per-game performance in Year 3 combined with impressive cups of coffee with the (NHL team). He is a hard worker, he has added strength and he is consistent with his scoring. He saw minimal ice time with (Teammate 1) and (Teammate 2) and the line really flourished during those shifts. (His) goal-scoring fits nicely with (Teammate 2)'s speed and hockey sense and (Teammate 1)'s slick passing. That's the No.1 line of the future in (this city). And by the way – the wait is over. (He) has a spot to lose in camp and at worst he's a midseason call up.
Upside: Bobby Ryan (45-35-80, 60 PIM)
Certainty (NHLer; Upside): 95%; 40%
3YP: (33-31-64, 38 PIM)
Boy, did Luongo ever choose the right time to start dominating. Just four goals allowed on 91 shots in the last two games, stealing the win(s). That's what was expected of him – steal games, not win them because your team is so good. And finally Bobby Lu delivered. With interest.
Analysts, fans, media…we're all so funny. Had the refs made the right call with 28 seconds left and negated that icing, San Jose would have won. Had SJ won, perhaps they would have gone on to win the series (doubtful, but bear with me). Win the series, look good for a Cup, everything is golden. But now? Oh, tear it down, rebuild, retool, this team can't get it done, trade everyone!
Henrik Sedin – a league-leading 22 points now. Has he snatched the Conn Smythe away from favorite Ryan Kesler?
Kesler, by the way, was a warrior. He pulled something and was clearly hobbled. I don't doubt he took some freezing in the intermission to numb the pain.
Speaking of warriors, Joe Thornton played that game with a separated shoulder. He led both teams in shots with seven. Will we remember that next April? Nope. We'll all yap about how much he sucks in the playoffs. He was pointless and minus-2 last night. What we'll see next year is how he had just three goals and was minus-5 in 18 games. We'll forget all about the 14 assists and the separated shoulder thing. That's sports for ya – we're all fickle!
But in all seriousness – Thornton has played six of the last seven postseasons with various injuries, some even more serious than last night's. And do we hear about that, or do we hear about how he "doesn't want it enough"?
Kudos to Antti Niemi as well, who I was impressed with in last night's contest.
Despite 90 minutes of action, both teams went with three lines. The Sharks played their fourth line for about 10 minutes (Mayers, McGinn, Desjardins). The Canucks played theirs for about four minutes (Hodgson, Oreskovich, Glass).
Dany Heatley – nine points in 18 games. And Ottawa lost that deal? Hell, Cheechoo would have done better than that. Okay, now I've gone too far. I didn't mean that.
My Hockey News article yesterday focuses on the World Championships and some of the more impactful performances that could help shape your fantasy decisions…
Calgary prospect Max Reinhart had four assists to lead Kootenay to a life-saving win last night in the Memorial Cup. Reinhart has been ridiculous in the postseason – 27 points in 19 games, and now this. He's surging up the prospect rankings.
The Avalanche should sign Vokoun. With Elliott as the backup. That would be solid. The Coyotes should re-sign Bryzgalov. The Flyers should make a move to land Schneider. The Panthers should try and trade for a goalie with just one/two years left on his contract – buy Markstrom another year or two. Just some quick thoughts on goaltending situations.
Liam Reddox has signed to play in Sweden next season.
The Wild signed one of their second rounders from a year ago, Johan Larsson. He's ranked 183 on my FPL and moves up slightly with this news.
David Perron is "feeling better", but still has a ways to go yet. Here's the article…
No Dobber Nation this month. We’ll be back next month strong with a kickass draft edition. Would you rather see a pre-Draft primer? Or a post-Draft recap? Sorry, I mean “hear” not “see”.
We’ll also have a Live Chat for the draft. Matthew Bugg will be on it, live from Minneapolis.
Kesler takes a huge hit:
The winning goal – I lost the damn thing myself, even when he said "he scores!". I had to wait for the replay to see what the hell happened…