z-Archives (other articles)

How important is the first five games for starting goaltender these days? Maybe not so important when it comes to their technical game, but thanks to the tight races in all six divisions in the NHL, it’s almost vital to their overall success and their mental game. Think about the momentum gained by winning their first five games. Think about how it can set the tone for a career-setting season. Mentally, coming out of the gates on a tear will raise their confidence level and their abilities to make the big-time saves at big-time moments. So yes, with a great start to the season comes truly great reward for fantasy owners. 

Les combinaisons de trios sont intéressantes. Pour moi, si je vois un joueur doté d’un potentiel offensif promu sur le premier trio, il justifie ma réflexion et je vois une lueur d’espoir.

Ceci affecte rarement mon intuition par rapport à la performance d’un joueur au cours d’une saison.

Dans l’univers volatile des poolers, plusieurs participants changent leur opinion aussi souvent qu’un entraîneur change ses trios. Avec certains entraîneurs, ceci pourrait dire essayer d’obtenir désespérément un joueur et l’échanger aussi vite avec le même désespoir – avant la fin de la première période!

The season got off to a slow start last weekend in Europe. Despite the quality of the four teams involved, the games lacked in quality and entertainment value. But hey, it is early in the season and all the kinks aren’t ironed out yet for several teams. However, despite the limited action there was some important information coming out of last weekend’s games plus the late training camp cuts and here is an overview of the impacts on fantasy hockey.

Where is the love? Jakub Voracek may be the safest prospect to snag this season and in many leagues he is waiver fodder. Steven Stamkos gets all the attention. He is supposedly the superstar top pick to which we've become accustomed. With the success of past first overalls in their first years, you can't blame poolies for going after this kid. We have been truly spoiled by instant-impact rookies from the number one slot. It should happen for Stamkos, but Voracek may be an even safer prospect for this season.

Is there a team more desperate for competent goaltending other than the Los Angeles Kings? Is there a worse situation for future star Ondrej Pavelec than what he’s going through in Atlanta? Has there ever been another Stanley Cup winning goalie that has been forced to deal with waivers besides Nikolai Khabibulin? Is there really a goalie controversy in Ottawa after just two measly games?

The NHL pre-season is now in full swing, and astute fantasy poolies are doing their best to pay attention to as many teams as they can. There have been many surprises so far, and equally as many disappointments. Now is the time that coaches are trying to find the right chemistry with their forward lines. There have been countless combinations thrown together that have shown a lot of promise to click once the regular season begins. Here are a few of them…

It's October, and that means the 2009 NHL Entry Draft is just nine months away. Each month in this space until June, Bugg Bytes will toss up a brand spankin' new mock draft. Prepare for a bumpy ride as the regular season, international tourneys and playoffs wreak havoc on the stocks of players.