In the September 2011 edition, Josh Yohe of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review fills you in on what's been going down at Pens training camp. Brian Kom discusses some mistakes poolies often make, and Dobber himself comes on at the end to answer phone calls, e-mails, and tweets from you!
Ed. Note: This is the first installment in a series in which we’ll look at different aspects of the NHL game and how to value them appropriately in your fantasy league scoring, with the objective of creating scoring systems that reflect real life value as closely as possible.
In the last decade there have been a number of elite forwards who were slow developers. They either got stuck in deep organizations, suffered injuries or simply needed more time to produce. These late bloomers didn't emerge as potential stars until their early twenties. They are hard to distinguish from players who go on to have average careers or no careers at all. Some recent examples of late blooming forwards include Logan Couture, Michael Grabner and Bobby Ryan in 2009. In the last 10 seasons there has been roughly one late blooming prospect per season. These players emerge on average at age 22 and all have gone on to some variation of fantasy stardom. Who is going to be this season's Logan Couture or Bobby Ryan? Here is a list of candidates, their age this season, and their point predictions.
The 2011 prospect tournaments are all wrapped up and several key recent draft picks certainly made their marks on management and their fan base. The NHL pre-season schedule is underway and now is the time for the prospects to prove their readiness in hopes of earning an extended stay. The Dean’s List takes the opportunity to address those 2011 NHL Draftees who have performed well at their team’s prospect events and are showing signs of life in exhibition play as well. There are plenty of draftees who enter camp full of piss and vinegar but cracking the opening day rosters takes more than a few good shifts.
It’s unlikely that Frans Nielsen will be drafted in any of your leagues unless it is an extremely deep league, but he is a guy that has raised a few eyebrows over his short career. Even in Long Island of all places, Nielsen has certainly shown promise. I don’t want you guys to go out and draft him right away, but I do want you to keep an eye on him. Chances are everyone else in your league isn’t paying attention to him, so if he starts to take off, you’ll be a step ahead.
Confession time guys. I’m still way into the 90’s. Seinfeld re-runs still crack me up, my favourite bands are mostly grunge, and my fashion sense is still awkwardly horrible (probably because my clothes from grade six still fit me). Beyond my cell phone (which I abhor) and high speed internet I really haven’t moved on from that decade. I know this because over a decade later I still don’t find it the least bit weird that I still have an Austin Powers “Oh Behave!” poster hanging above my bed. The irony has never ceased to crack me up, just like I’ll never get over the awe I feel for players who played back then. I don’t know if it is nostalgia or if I am a complete loser, my friends won’t tell me.
The addition of peripheral stats, such as HITs and BS, has become more prevalent amongst fantasy hockey pools this season. Although there are plenty of similarities between drafting in a standard settings league (G, A, +/-, PIMs, PPP, SOG, W, SV%, GAA and SO) and a league that includes HITs and BS, the addition of two extra stats could really throw a curveball in how you approach the draft.
In terms of sheer depth at the 2011 Colorado Avalanche Training Camp, I can safely say it was the most talented group of defensemen and goaltenders I have seen (since 2006). With a star in Semyon Varlamov and a mentor in J-S Giguere, this new tandem, if they stay healthy, will be flat out sick. But by adding the steady Jan Hejda, the burly Shane O’Brien, the healthy Kyle Quincey and a fully acclimated Erik Johnson into the mix, both fragile goalies are bubble wrapped and on their way to being potential fantasy darkhorses.
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Probably the most in-depth fantasy team analysis tool available. Nobody knows better than I do the amount of different league formats that are out there. And the cookie-cutter rankings systems that are available are great as a "guide", but they don't do the job needed. With thousands of different possible combinations - not just statistical, but positional...or even weighted stats - it's impossible.
Well with HPG - problem solved.
Before we get started on the inaugural Q&A with Nichols here, I wanted to pass along a little info.
