We were dealt some… not so good news on Tuesday morning. As I settled into my desk chair with a cup of hot coffee this morning all set to watch Canada White vs Red at the WJC camp, word came down that the scrimmage and camp were on hold. The reason? Two positive COVID-19 tests amongst the participants.

This is coming from a hermetically sealed bubble camp. That’s troubling. However, the team has said they will re-test everyone, isolate the sick (obviously) and follow Provincial protocols. Then, they’ll get back to the month-long training camp.

As cases continue to spiral out of control in Alberta – home of the 2021 WJC, we can only sit around and hope that things break right for this event. I don’t know about you, but if we’re unlikely to have a normal Holiday season with our families, I sure as hell need some World Junior action to help ease that loss.

Attempting to win my second DobberForum WJC pool is also at stake.

(PS. I know there are far larger issues associated with this pandemic. Just let me have this)

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Cole Caufield is finding his sea legs in his sophomore season. The Wisconsin winger was snakebitten to begin the NCAA season, failing to bend the twine through his first four games. He did have four apples though.  The lack of goals was not for a lack of trying though. He had multiple grade-A chances but just couldn’t get it done.

Well, he scored one the other night and grabbed a couple of beauties plus an empty netter on Tuesday against Penn State. That puts him in second place in NCAA scoring with eight points in six games.

To find some even more positivity about his start: this is a player who has been pegged as a pure goalscorer. If he’s not finishing off plays, he’s not doing much at all. Well, early on in 2020-21, the 19-year-old has been very strong on both sides of the puck. He’s been a terror on the backcheck and consistently in the right position.

These are excellent signs for his long term viability as a fantasy asset. If he can find a way to be a competent two-way player at his size in the NHL, he’ll be afforded a great deal more opportunities. The type of opportunities that goalscorers need when the stick gets icy cold – as it absolutely will.

I remain extremely high on Caufield. I expect he’ll play out this season with the Badgers and give the Hobey Baker a run. Then, he’ll turn pro and slide right into the Habs lineup down the stretch. His upside remains as a kid with 40 tuck upside. There aren’t many of those out there.

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At this point, I'm not sure what Dougie Hamilton has to do to be recognized as one of the top defenders in the league. Yes, this is in response to Dom Luszczyszyn’s tweet on Tuesday. 

Now, don't get me wrong, Seth Jones is a quality player. He plays hard minutes and can do a lot of good out there. However, his value in real life appears inflated. He had the one extra-large season in 2017-18 when his shooting percentage ramped up on route to 24 power-play points. He's a year younger than Hamilton and saw an average of about 40 seconds fewer of PPTOI than the Carolina rearguard last season. But his overall impact – including in the fantasy world, pales in comparison to Dougie. It's not even close despite Hamilton somehow losing that poll at the time of writing. 

You don't necessarily think defensive stalwart when you think Dougie Hamilton, but that's exactly what he is. Toss in a 70-point pace in 2019-20 while racking up a very sustainable shooting percentage, secondary assist rate, and Individual Point Percentage and it's really nothing but roses.

If you're selecting a defender in a one-year league, I'd be hard-pressed to recommend too many above Hamilton for 2020-21. The Hurricanes are a team that has built their wow pressure to a boiling point. That team is ready to burst. Hamilton has just one season left on his deal before a monstrous UFA contract will surely kick in.

The ingredients for a massive season are all ready and waiting.

Hot take time: Hamilton is your 2020-21 Norris Trophy winner after sniffing a point-per-game season. 

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Over at DobberProspects, we have been cranking out our annual 31-in-31 series. November focused on Offseason Moves, Draft Recaps and how the Euro kids are producing early on this season. Next month we'll tackle the Top-20 Fantasy Rankings, Risers, Fallers, and a whole lot more. 

You should be all over this ahead of draft times. You should also be all over the Dobber Fantasy Hockey Guide (available for order here)

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Who the heck is going to start for the Blackhawks this season?

I think we all know Chicago is going to be bad, but just how bad will depend on the crease. I think we can reasonably expect the forwards to produce a decent amount of goals. Patrick Kane is remarkably consistent in his greatness. Alex DeBrincat should bounceback. Kirby Dach is likely to be leaps and bounds better which is a scary proposition. Additionally, we’re likely to see some open-offence strategy as the team will need to outscore their deficiencies. The forwards should still hold value.

Those deficiencies are a soft backend and woefully inexperienced goaltending. Tough combo.

Personally, I wouldn’t want to draft Malcolm Subban or Collin Delia onto my fantasy team. However, either could be strategic waiver stream options. Catch a little heater and you could have something there for a week or two. When the schedule comes out, finding stretches with a bit of rest will be key. If one guy gets hot, it won’t matter with all the back-to-backs that will surely be prominent this season. That will be an important aspect in all of the likely timeshare gigs.

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I opened up the Twitterverse to a little AMA on Tuesday morning. One question, in particular, deserved a bit more time.

Minnesota is in an interesting position. They’re an older team (albeit a bit younger for this coming season). But they’re undoubtedly going to be attempting a playoff run. At the same time, they do not have a top-line centre. They have, what appears to be, four bottom-six centre options in Joel Eriksson-Ek, Marcus Johansson, Nick Bonino, and Victor Rask. That’s no bueno.

What they do have is a rockstar of a prospect who fell into their laps at ninth overall this past draft.

I’m of the mind that the Wild should absolutely hand the keys to the kingdom to the 19-year-old Marco Rossi. Pair Rossi up with fellow rookie, Kirill Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala and see what’s up. Those three will be an incredible fast, offensive and creative line. Will they take it on the chin some nights, especially on the road? Yup, they will. Is that okay? Yes, it is.

Minny will have three other lines that could be deemed ‘shutdown’ types. They don’t have the horses to spread it out and hope to score by committee. They need their talent to shine. If it’s me running things, I put them all together.

Hot Take: If this does come to fruition – which I think there is a very real chance of happening, then I’m ready to say that Rossi and Kaprizov will outscore every other rookie in the league. Yes, that includes Alexis Lafreniere.

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Stay safe out there. @Hockey_Robinson