In the weekly piece “Eastern Edge”, TJ Branson breaks down the latest fantasy information from the standpoint of the Eastern Conference – the streaks, the slumps, the line combinations and much more.
This week I will follow the lead of my Western Conference counterpart and take a look back at the season that was.
Eight years ago, NHL GMs consulted with their scouts and chose from a talent in pool in what is now considered one of the deepest drafts of all time. One player chosen in that 2003 draft (26th overall) is often overlooked. Brian Boyle is taking longer than expected, but many forget that he was drafted just two spots behind Philadelphia’s Mike Richards and three spots behind Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler.
With the end of the 2010-11 season in sight, it's time to gauge who's going to be amongst your keeper selections heading into next season. Of course which players end up staying on your rosters depends greatly on your league make up, number of keepers and your own personal risk tolerance. I’ve compiled a list of players that may have some question marks as protectable players in limited keeper leagues heading into next season.
Let me get this out of the way right now, I hate fishing. The score card is simple here; Fish means I find the player in a favourable light as a keeper for next season. Cut Bait means I'd rather throw this one back into the water and hope for a bigger catch. Be aware that I tend to be quite conservative with my protected players, preferring the vast majority of my keepers to come down on the proven side of the ledger. Here is Part 2:
With the end of the 2010-11 season in sight, it's time to gauge who's going to be amongst your keeper selections heading into next season. Of course which players end up staying on your rosters depends greatly on your league make up, number of keepers and your own personal risk tolerance. I’ve compiled a list of players that may have some question marks as protectable players in limited keeper leagues heading into next season. This is part one of two, with the second one coming tomorrow.
Let me get this out of the way right now, I hate fishing. The score card is simple here; Fish means I find the player in a favourable light as a keeper for next season. Cut Bait means I'd rather throw this one back into the water and hope for a bigger catch. Be aware that I tend to be quite conservative with my protected players, preferring the vast majority of my keepers to come down on the proven side of the ledger.
Cal O’Reilly’s road to the NHL has been nothing short of a struggle. Cal was selected in the fifth round of the 2005 draft after finishing up a strong season with the Windsor Spitfires in the OHL. While Cal posted 73 points in 68 games, the Spitfires most alluring prospect that season was Steve Downie, who posted 73 points of his own in seven fewer games, not to mention the 179 penalty minutes he added. With the focus on Downie, O’Reilly flew well under the radar.
This week we'll take a gander at each of the Eastern Conference teams remaining games and opponents and try to identify which players (marks) might give you an added edge down the stretch. The games remaining include Thursday nights games.
There used to be a time when power forwards were not deemed necessary for a championship fantasy hockey roster. But with post-lockout rule changes aimed at opening up the game, power forwards have become increasingly attractive. However, with the prototypical power forward taking longer to develop, we often give up too early.
A few days ago we took an inside look at players who have performed significantly better at home over the season and have more home games left on the season than road games. This information could set expectations for your playoff run and reveal who is worth playing or benching, depending on which town they're skating in. To build on that logic, I will now look into the road warrior, a player who has performed better on the road than at home this season.
I was going to title this article Flight of the Condra as we might be witnessing Erik Condra's career starting to take off, but when I heard that some are calling him AnaCondra, well that's golden.
There are a few players in the league who are dominant no matter where they are playing. Jarome Iginla is a good example. He has 66 points in 68 games this season and of those, 33 have been recorded both at home and on the road. Another example is Rick Nash, who has 29 points at home and on the road, but not every player is wired this way. Many perform either better on the road or better at home and in this two part series, I'll look at both.
