We’re basically a week into the season and already some players have seen their fantasy value fluctuate, either positively thanks to a great start to the season or on the down side because of early struggles. So let’s separate the Frogs from the Princes as we take a look at the hot and the not after a week of play.
As you might have read about in Dobber’s daily ramblings or on Burnsy’s Keepin’ it real blog, I organize an industry wide fantasy hockey experts’ league. Scott Cullen from TSN.ca is the league’s defending champion and there are 15 experts participating this season.
Some of you might know me for my work at Talented Mr. Roto where I covered fantasy hockey the past two seasons. As you probably know by now, Talented Mr. Roto was acquired by ESPN where fantasy hockey gets barely more coverage than fantasy sheep herding. So I’ve moved on to DobberHockey, which I consider the premier fantasy hockey site on the Web.
Training camps open tomorrow or Friday for most teams so for my first column I’ll focus on things to keep an eye on as the pre-season unfolds. An important factor in evaluating a player’s fluctuation in value from one season to the other and even during the regular season is the players he lines up next to. Any player who had the good fortune of lining up next to Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux saw his fantasy value increase exponentially. So with this in mind, let’s take a look at some players whose fantasy value, and thus draft value, will hinge upon the linemates with whom they are matched during training camp. I won’t cover all teams, focusing only on situations that hold the most importance as far as poolies are concerned.
