2011 NHL Draft- Pre-Pre Season Preview
(Peterborough's Matt Puempel. Photo Credit Aaron Bell/OHL Images)
The Ivan Hlinka and Team Canada U20 camps are over, and the CHL begins pre-season in two weeks. Who are the early names to watch for 2011?
Flying Under the Radar
Successful NHL general managers don’t rely on just one way they find talent for their teams.
The traditional way of drafting players and waiting for them to develop will always remain a fundamental component of a successful franchise, but hockey players don’t always develop at the same rate. GMs and scouting directors who keep their eyes and minds open to watch and reassess players after their draft eligibility are often rewarded.
Top 10 Keeper League Forward Prospects
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 fantasy hockey poolies place an emphasis on youth and prospects over proven veterans with gas still left in the tank. So using my general 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.
Vancouver signs Billy Sweatt
The Canucks have inked free agent winger Billy Sweatt to an entry-level contract.
Do You Now Need Twitter to Win Your Pool?
Believe it or not, fantasy hockey is a bit like scuba diving. The threat of sharks is vastly overrated, sometimes there’s nothing you can do except hold your breath, and for the enthusiasts, both can provide moments of pause, like when first gazing over the far edge of a reef into the dark blue vastness of the open ocean.
Tampa Bay Signs Bergenheim
Fantasy Impact: The Lightning have signed winger Sean Bergenheim to a one-year deal.
Forget Me Not (West 2010)
Following the same footsteps as last year, here’s a list of some of the Western Conference underachieving veterans from last season. Many of them underachieved or were simply injured which resulted in them churning out horrible overall numbers for 2009-10. Those low numbers could lead them to be undervalued, so make sure you make a mental note of these players and don’t fall into the trap of undervaluing them like some of your competitors might on draft day.
The Diabolical Backups
Listen for the soft steps of the Diabolical Backups, lest you fall victim to a sneak attack! Those pesky, conniving, crafty, devious teammates are like a swarm of locusts digging into your skin. They test the patience, irritate the mind and eat away at one’s focus. They pressure starters to play at their best on a nightly basis, and like a virus, can exponentially destroy confidence from within. The diabolical backups - they force other goalies to keep their foot on the gas. The diabolical backups - anything can happen when a starter’s playing time is cut in half.
Ivan Hlinka Tournament Review
The Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament is one of the first tests a draft-eligible prospect will face as they attempt to prove themselves worthy of a pick. Oddly enough, the class’s top two talents- Adam Larsson and Sean Couturier- were ineligible due to age, leaving the field wide-open for surprises. Beyond a Gold Medal game in which one goal made all the difference- literally- who stood out at the Hlinka?
A Short-Term Pickup
Pittsburgh Penguins General Manager Ray Shero chose to use much of his available cap space this summer on defencemen.
Looking at the Penguins roster, they have three spaces to fill and, according to CapGeek.com, have only $724,785 to spend on each opening. That’s not much higher than the NHL’s minimum salary.