z-Archives (other articles)

Welcome once again to “An Expert’s Audit”. This audit will be posted here as well as on my fantasy hockey blog at www.fantasyhockey.hockeyanalysis.com . I also do weekly reviews of teams for people who email in to me for a look-see. These audits will continue to appear here monthly and if you’re interested in having your keeper team “worked over” then you can begin by emailing Dobber (contact link at bottom of website) about it. But send it in by the 15th, as I will be starting on my next one at that point.

When it comes to young and relatively unknown talent in the NHL, it’s easy for a goalie scout to decipher their upside compared to others because it’s visible with the naked eye. Without even trying, I clearly see Pekka Rinne’s quick hands, Jonas Hiller’s awesome lateral movement and even Jaroslav Halak’s great composure. Although their future is still up in the air, recognizing their unique puck-stopping traits proves they have some tremendous potential.

If you were to look back at every prediction I’ve provided for Dobber Nation over the last eight months regarding prospects, it would be tough to find any that would now be considered completely off base. Well, I did go back over the last week while working on the Mid-Season Guide and found one glaring right back at me. Yes, I was wrong about Jimmy Howard’s ability to win at this level, so allow me to be the first in line for 50 lashings with a rusty nail-studded leather strap - I feel like I deserve it.

Fantasy hockey is all about the numbers. Identifying trends, patterns, and making correct projections is usually the difference between consistently winning and consistently losing hockey pools. I like to look for short-term arbitrage (capitalizing on market imbalances) opportunities in order to maximize player values. I rarely win my pools because of strong drafts alone; it is often with shrewd trading throughout the year at certain times that I am able to move up in the standings.

I posted an article a few weeks ago about using the World Junior Championship to your advantage, and the following strategy is somewhat similar. It involves identifying young players and prospects on struggling teams.

Year in and year out, the WHL has produced some of the show's biggest and baddest skaters- many outside the first round. Shea Weber, Milan Lucic, Dustin Byfuglien... the list goes on and on. Who in the 2010 class is a possible second-day surprise?

There’s a lot of hockey about to be played in Vancouver over the next couple of months, but very little of it will be done by the resident NHL club.  Once the Canucks play their final game in GM Place before the Olympics on the 27^th of January, they won’t return until the13^th of March.

That means the Canucks will play an extraordinary 14 games on the road, and in light of the Canucks markedly worse performance on the road this season, there is cause for concern.

What does the Canucks extended road trip mean for your fantasy team?

With all of the great young goaltending talent in the league right now, it’s no surprise that some of the wise and durable veterans get lost in the fantasy mix. Once you look past the popular guys like Martin Brodeur and Tim Thomas, there stands one 40-year-old man fully capable of playing consistent, quality stretches of good hockey.

Dwayne Roloson has performed beyond the expectations of most analysts out there and has become a perfect fit for the New York Islanders. On a team loaded with so much young and up-and-coming talent, Roloson is the perfect type of goalie for these players – one that instills confidence in his teammates simply due to his unyielding work ethic.