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!
Summer is officially over, and while pro camps in North America are just around the corner, pre-season overseas is well underway.
Who doesn’t love Olympic hockey? Besides the NHLPA, most of us who call ourselves hockey fans love cheering on our countries in international tournaments…and this one is the biggie.
Yet, it’s been repeatedly argued that Olympic hockey affects the NHL season.
Time to look at a few fantasy-relevant situations in the East. Sometimes all it takes is for the right opportunity to come along for a certain player to have a breakout season. There is a big difference between lining up with established scoring-line players instead of playing defensive minutes on a checking line, just as there is a big difference between receiving first-unit power-play time compared to skating with the second unit.
When it comes to drafting goalies in a simple one-year fantasy league, ranking your top goalies of choice is a routine tradition. It’s fairly easy to slot guys like Roberto Luongo, Marc-Andre Fleury and Martin Brodeur high on your pre-rankings. But with all of the unproven and relatively unknown “starters” this season, what direction do you take for the second and third goalie on your team?
This week I am going to look into the players that had the strongest finishes to the 2008-09 season, putting the most emphasis on guys who showed the most improvement in the final 20 games of last season.
For your listening pleasure - put it on your Ipod or just listen in on your computer on the 25th of every month. Let's talk some fantasy hockey!
Walker talks with Carolina scout Ron Ferguson about 'close' prospects Drayson Bowman, Zach Boychuk, Jamie McBain among many others, and their chances of making an impact this year in the NHL; DobberHockey's Stu McDonald, who pens Stu's Slant, jumps on to discuss prospects such as Cal O'Reilly, Jiri Tlusty (bold prediction here!), Bowman and more; A new feature on fantasy hockey keeper leagues is introduced.
You can download the file in our Dobber Nation page (click HERE) or on ITunes
Taking a break from the ‘Summer Sleeper Series’. I want to review some significant fantasy opportunities in the Western Conference. Next week same thing for the East. As you have read many times here, preparation is only half the battle. An opportunity needs to present itself for a player to really break out or produce at a level above what they have shown.
I hate the dog days of summer. They breed suspicion and skepticism in my mind about even the most elite NHL goalies. I’ve discussed the likes of Turco, Elliott, Mason, Ward and Fleury over the last few months and all I’m left with are even more questions. Sure, some are easier to solve than others, but somehow it’s always you and I getting stuck with the “damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t” ones.
Every Wednesday this summer, I will bring you a sleeper to watch for the 2009-10 season (and potentially beyond). Released in no particular order, I will refrain from picking sleepers that have already shown glimpses of breaking out in the past – the obvious candidates. Time to go beneath the surface for a couple of sleepers from the Detroit Red Wings…
Do you remember the kid in high school that was way too “book smart” for his own good, but because he was never really challenged in class, would just sit there and cause trouble in really ignorant ways? Well, despite being labeled by many as one of the smartest goalies in the world, I kind of see Marty Turco as the NHL’s troubled goalie genius.
