z-Archives (other articles)

Try as you might, there’s simply no way of stopping the inevitability of a goalie’s sudden failure and surprising success. Every season, nay, every month, an unsuspecting group of them spring forward, while a few of the more valuable ones fall back and almost single-handedly crush your chance of winning it all.

But as I have come to learn over the years, it’s not the goalies you draft that make or break your season. Rather it is the ones you acquire through a trade, or the ones lost on the free agent wire that you are able to project correctly before everyone else.

The pet store - you know the one.  The one that you somehow hit up every time you’re at the mall. I’m guilty, too.  You’re not alone. I blame my wife, but who’s kidding who? I’m a sucker for puppies. And then came the day.  Two weeks ago, I got roped into buying a beagle puppy. Her name is Ruby. I love animals more than anyone, but Ruby has the Lord to thank that I don’t own a firearm.

First let me start by congratulating Dobber on five great years of providing the best Fantasy Hockey Resource available. What started as a dirty thought in Dobber’s mind has evolved into a virtual thesaurus of fantasy geek gold, and I’m proud to say that in some small way I helped contribute to the humble beginnings and also believe my departure had led to many less complaints over articles that were less than politically correct.

  DobberHockey's Fifth Anniversary - Sponsors Thanks to some awesome sponsors, we have some sweet prizes to give away to our loyal readers and members.   Easton Hockey has kindly sent us some sweet toques and jackets. Musty Putters has supplied us with some top-of-the-line golf putters. We have some fantastic DobberHockey swag (hats, shirts, [...]

While the echo of the sensational hat trick by Maxim Kitsyn still goes on, this week let’s try and track down Russian players in the CHL. Many players from the Motherland crossed the ocean this summer and it’s interesting to see how they are doing.

Now that we’re three solid weeks into the NHL season, I’ve been able to re-affirm a number of trends I’ve witnessed and better understand another puck-stopping dynamic that separate a pro goalie from an elite goalie. Today’s lesson should go a long way in acting as a theoretical guide for what I’ve learned and truly help you make better fantasy decisions with your own goaltenders. It will also teach you how the brilliant Tim Thomas shatters this dynamic to the point he’s once again the best goalie in the NHL.

The St. Louis Blues are a team rich in offensive talent. They lack a high end superstar, but they have seven or eight quality top six forwards. As a poolie looking to draft or trade for a St. Louis forward, the depth is both a good and bad thing. The positive aspect is that the quality of linemates is high for the top three lines. The negative aspect is that there is only so much ice time to go around. If there are two or three equal offensive units, no player on the team is going to see the kind of minutes required to produce at an elite level in the NHL (19+ minutes with ample power play time). For those of you who either own Blues forwards or are looking to acquire one, figuring out how the lines and roles break down is the key.

How have the top seven forwards faired to date?

Zach Bogosian: Has His Time Come?

With Steve Stamkos and Drew Doughty, two of the top-three picks from the NHL's 2008 entry draft, already lighting the fantasy world on fire, its natural to wonder what's happening with Zach Bogosian, the number three pick from 2008.

A starter loses a game. The backup wins the next one. Almost instantly, the word controversy seeps into my e-mail inbox, Twitter feed and Center Ice package. The term overwhelms my brain and pushes me to the edge of insanity. Only three weeks into the season and this trend has already happened with so many teams that I’m feeling nauseous, frustrated and annoyed.