Stuff from former regular columnists such as Chris Burns, Eric Maltais, Jacob Status, Jim Gunther and Jeff Angus, as well as guest columnists such as Gus Katsaros from McKeen‘s, Jon Press from Japer’s Rink and more!
For your listening pleasure - put it on your Ipod or just listen in on your computer! Dobber Nation appears on the 25th of every month, except December (Christmas). Let's talk some fantasy hockey!
Another week goes by, another set of prospects get thrown into the NHL fire. On Saturday, it was Braden Holtby shutting down Toronto and receiving high praise from Don Cherry. Less than 24 hours later, Jacob Markstrom made his NHL debut in relief of Scott Clemmensen and suffered the loss. One performance was certainly way more impressive than the other, but the influence each one had on their team’s goalie situation were both massive.
A new year, a new top five? Not necessarily, but that doesn't mean recent events such as the CHL Top Prospects Game and the release of both Bob McKenzie's and Central Scouting's Mid-Term rankings hasn't changed things further down the order.
One of the classes I remember most from college (and I don’t remember much) is Economics 101. The highlight of this course always seemed to be the section on Supply & Demand, and that folks is why I took a hiatus from DobberHockey.com in the first place. I needed to create a demand for my column … I needed to feel the love of the Dobber minions in order to satisfy my ego … and my wife stopped believing that drinking a case of beer was “part of the creative process”.
One of the KHL and RSL plagues has been the overlooking of some of the non-veteran players. After all, most of the players who left Russia for the CHL in recent years actually left because they had no reasonable alternative.
Elliotte Friedman’s weekly 30 Thoughts column on the CBC website is the best read in hockey. Friedman is insightful, articulate, knowledgeable, fair, and most importantly, interesting. He has sources and contacts in the hockey world that most could only dream of. Most importantly, has an ability which is rare in this day and age - providing a balanced and reasonable opinion on the league, the players, and all 30 of the clubs.
Each week I will post my own observations (I couldn’t completely steal Friedman’s idea so I’ll pick a number other than 30) with a heavy emphasis on the fantasy side of hockey, of course. Prospects, goalies, sleepers, busts, it will all be covered each week.
Remember in last week’s School of Block when I mentioned that a legitimate talent rarely struggles for an entire season? From that standpoint, I focused mainly on Martin Brodeur – he was a true workhorse showing the signs needed to reverse his first-half misfortunes. This week’s lesson will again discuss goalies changing their fantasy values, but with a focus on the shifting balance of opportunity and roles.
Buy-Low Goaltenders
With the weekend acting as the NHL season’s midway point, the time has come for fantasy managers to dissect their teams and make adjustments for the second half. And if you’re one of the many managers looking to improve your goaltending stats, finding a buy-low bargain can set you on a course for late-season surges and playoff success.
Elliotte Friedman’s weekly 30 Thoughts column on the CBC website is the best read in hockey. Friedman is insightful, articulate, knowledgeable, fair, and most importantly, interesting. He has sources and contacts in the hockey world that most could only dream of. Most importantly, has an ability which is rare in this day and age - providing a balanced and reasonable opinion on the league, the players, and all 30 of the clubs.
Each week I will post my own observations (I couldn’t completely steal Friedman’s idea so I’ll pick a number other than 30) with a heavy emphasis on the fantasy side of hockey, of course. Prospects, goalies, sleepers, busts, it will all be covered each week.
The U17 is a great tournament to follow to see who just might make an impact in future World Junior Championships. Team Ontario allowed the fewest goals in the tournament's round robin rounds with 7 GA in 5GP. Clearly, they played a strong team system and had good goaltending from their starter Daniel Altshuller.
