March Mock
The stretch drive is on in both North American major junior and pro hockey. What- and who- will the NHL's playoffless teams have to look forward to in June should they fail to find that extra gear in time?
Lightning Striking in Prince George
In three successive seasons, future #1 NHL draft picks John Tavares, Patrick Kane and Taylor Hall were named CHL rookie of the year. The following season, the winner was Brett Connolly. So the Tampa Lightning product certainly has the pedigree to become a major stud in the NHL.
Saturday’s Picks – March 12th
Greetings Hockey Fans! After a rough Saturday night two columns ago where my streak of continually improving on my prior week’s record ended, I rebounded quite nicely choosing four of six winners two weeks ago. (Although I went five for six (83%), if you count my selection of the Bruins in SO, despite them getting the job done in regulation.) I also wanted to give Marty a standing O for his dead-on call last weekend of the Oilers impending repeat whipping of the Avs. He even nailed the score! Anyhow, here’s to a 3rd straight impressive week from the Dobber 6-Pack Saturday night crew!
Looking Ahead – Week 23
I wanted to take a look back at the spread done during Week 19 that outlines team’ matchups during the fantasy playoffs this year. Keep an eye out for the teams that are only playing two game weeks throughout these playoffs as some of them are fairly big fantasy performers (they’re in bold). Here is a quick rundown of the two and four game weeks throughout the playoffs for the Monday – Sunday week:
The AnaCondra
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.
Home Run Thinking
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.
Changing Your Fantasy Fate
We’re turning the final corner of the fantasy season and depending on your league settings you could be heading down a few different paths. Let’s look at those who are gunning for a money spot in Roto leagues, or those entering the playoffs in H2H leagues. If you are in a tight league where every little stat matters, making the smart adds/drops could determine whether you are the league champion or just another one of the 10 or 12 disappointed losers. At this point of the season it’s not about what your players have done for you all season long, it’s all about what your player will do for you in the next four weeks that will determine your fantasy fate.
Early-Bird Specials
Regardless of age, experience, or skill level, an NHL goaltender must always prove themselves on a nightly basis. Failure to do so results in an open door or an extra start for their counterpart. From there, the potential for a goalie to collect rust or lose their rhythm and confidence grows. Such is the life of a goaltender, where every minute matters.
Watch Out For That Re-Coyle
Like the kickback on a gun, Charlie Coyle has gone and smacked the hockey world right in its face. Coyle didn't receive much hype leading up to last summer's draft coming out of the relatively unknown EJHL but he showed enough promise for the San Jose Sharks to pick him up in the first round (28th overall).
Top 10 Keeper League Forward Prospects
The first edition of this list was put together last August, and it is something I am going to update at least once each season. I have a few general rules when it comes to building a team in a fantasy hockey keeper league. One of the more important ones is to not plan beyond a two or three year window. You are not building a real NHL club, and too often I see poolies place too much of an emphasis on youth and prospects instead of trying to add players who could help them win now. Using this rule, take a look at your team(s). Can you realistically say you will have a shot at winning the league at some point within the next two or three seasons? If not, time to scrap the rebuild and start adding proven NHL talent.