Change in Status
Jim Gunther
2007-03-29
I do not know who to quote; Van Halen, Kriss Kross, or the House of Pain. There are several players in the NHL who made a big “Jump” this season. In terms of fantasy, these are the types of players that everyone wants to draft or pick up.
LY | TY | Inc |
Other |
||
Vanek | Buf | 48 | 74 | 26 | |
Pominville | Buf | 30 | 62 | 32 | |
Frolov | LA | 54 | 69 | 15 | 13 more goals |
Blake | NYI | 57 | 65 | 8 | 10 more goals |
Huselius | Cgy | 39 | 74 | 35 | |
Cammalleri | LA | 55 | 73 | 18 | |
Whitney | Car | 55 | 78 | 23 |
We all know Buffalo is having a fantastic season. Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville are just two guys among many on their roster that have turned-up their game this season. Speed, skill, and hard work are certainly an integral part of Buffalo’s game. Will both of these guys keep it up next season or will they be one-hit-wonders? Vanek is talented; he will likely repeat his performance. As for Pominville, his likelihood of repeating these stats rely heavily on whether his line mate, Daniel Briere returns to Buffalo. Briere will be a free agent. Many have rumored Philadelphia to be a possible destination for him.
Alexander Frolov and Michael Cammalleri both play on the Kings. While the Kings this season did not do so well, they do have a bunch of offensive minded talent that includes; Anze Kopitar, Patrick O’Sullivan, Lubomir Visnovsky, and Rob Blake. Next season they will be more experienced and should continue to develop.
Like many of these guys, Jason Blake has speed and he hustles. It is impressive to see his goal-total jump especially considering his number one center and line mate Alexei Yashin was injured for many games. If Blake had a consistent, great passing center like Joe Thornton, he could put up very high numbers.
At +35, Huselius has to be the most improved player in the league. How many people saw that coming? It is great news for Calgary and his teammates. Expect him to play a strong, consistent game next season.
In Carolina, Ray Whitney has several talented forwards to play with. Do not be surprised if Whitney’s numbers jump a little bit higher next season.
Do some of these old guys still have game? Compare last season to this season:
Player 2005-2006 pts/game 2006-2007* pts/game Teemu Selanne 40g, 50a 1.125 44g, 42a 1.131
📢 advertisement:
Jaromir Jagr 54g, 69a 1.5 26g, 61a 1.129
Joe Sakic 32g, 55a 1.060 34g, 56a 1.18
Brendan Shanahan 40g, 41a .987 28g, 31a .951
Rod Brind’Amour 31g, 39a .897 23g, 52a 1.041
Mats Sundin 31g, 47a 1.114 27g, 41a .985
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