(Luleå's Daniel Mannberg, one of Sweden's top 2011 prospects)
Although one Swedish skater’s name has been on the tongues of draft-watchers since his Elitserien debut three years ago, the 2011 class is much deeper than just Adam Larsson.
Welcome back to An Expert’s Audit. Every month we’ll take an in depth look at a reader’s keeper league team in the hopes of helping him toward a championship. If you’re interested in getting an audit for your own keeper team you can begin the process by emailing Dobber about it.
The first week of the NHL season is done and near the top of your NHL standings with a 3-0 record... the Toronto Maple Leafs? Should be an interesting year.
It is not often that a defenseman can record 50 points in his first professional season and still fly under the radar at DobberHockey. However, that is exactly what has happened with New Jersey rookie Matt Taormina. He has been playing on the top power play unit with the likes of Ilya Kovalchuk, Travis Zajac, and Zach Parise. It didn’t take long for Taormina’s name to start popping up all over our forums.
It was an ugly scene last Monday with Jason Pominville being escorted off the ice on a stretcher after being hammered into the boards by Chicago's Niklas Hjalmarsson. With the NHL's discipline czar dishing out a two game suspension, all that's left to figure out is who might benefit from Pominville's absence?
It's too early to be making big decisions with your squad, but with the first handful of regular season games behind us, reality has already started chipping away at your draft night brilliance.
Perhaps you've been affected by an early-season injury, or that rookie didn't earn that crucial top-six spot like you hoped, or maybe you were just unfortunate enough to draft Sheldon Souray and your league doesn’t count AHL points. Whatever the reason, you might be considering tinkering with your squad - but if you do, make sure you maintain your subjectivity. That's right, I said your subjectivity.
Angus was on the Team 1040 on (Canadian) Thanksgiving Monday. He chats Canucks, Jeff Skinner, Derek Stepan, and more! Listen here.
The start of the 2010-2011 NHL season is well and truly underway. There have been a few pleasant surprises, as well as few “red alert” moments involving key injuries. The main thing that you need to keep in mind is that the season is still young and there’s still seven months of quality hockey remaining. Similar to last season, I’ll provide you with weekly updates so that you have access to the latest news that’s been happening from the Western Conference front.
When Kyle Okposo and Mark Streit went down with long-term injuries, the weight of Long Island was shifted onto the shoulders of John Tavares. When Tavares sustained a concussion this past week, many wondered if the Islanders would be able to win more than 10-15 games this season. While Tavares isn’t expected to be out for a long time, the lack of talent on the Islanders was a problem even before their three best skaters sustained injuries.
However, the Islanders do have some solid fantasy-relevant players that are worth owning in most fantasy league formats. Scott Gordon has the team playing a fast-paced, aggressive, offensively-oriented style of game. They don’t have a ton of talent, but they are a fun team to watch because of how hard they work and how well they support each other on the ice.
The duality of a goalie’s first game is something I’ll forever battle with internally. On the left side of my brain, it’s merely a single game over the course of a seven-month season. On the right side, however, it’s clearly the most important game in regards to their start. And that’s when the battle ensues, as I must weigh the pros and cons of their success and failure to begin the regular season, and how that might affect their performances in the coming weeks.
