There are eight or nine situations around the league that have a pair of established star forwards on the first line and a spot up for grabs. Needless to say, if a player with any skill can grab a hold of that spot, he’s in for a huge jump in production. Let’s take a look.
Taking nine players from the DobberHockey Top 10 Prospects list, and tossing in goalie Simeon Varlamov...let's take a look at how camp is progressing.
1) John Tavares - New York Islanders
He has only played two pre-season games but Tavares has a long way to go. He appears lost on the ice at times and although he clearly belongs in the NHL, he is not close to his upside as a first-line center. He has scored one routine assist in two games. It's very early but it looks like it's going to take some time for him to adapt. Expect a season similar to Steve Stamkos' rookie campaign. Tavares' Calder chances will depend on how quickly he adapts to the NHL game and how often he scores once he does. Tavares is handicapped terribly with an incredible lack of offensive support. Tavares should score at least 45 points.
For your listening pleasure - put it on your Ipod or just listen in on your computer on the 25th of every month. Let's talk some fantasy hockey!
Walker talks with Detroit's Valtteri Filppula about his potential to breakout in his fourth season and who he has been playing with, as well as what we can expect from him; Dobber jumps on to answer some of the questions posed in the forum, including outlooks for Varlamov, Ryan, Setoguchi, sophomore slumps and more; Walker asks Adam Proteau of The Hockey News about the Olympic break and how it will impact NHLers in the second half, Phil Kessel's potential in Toronto, Artem Anisimov in New York, and more; Curtis Glencross jumps on quickly to discuss his hopes of a top six spot; as well as continuing with our feature on keeper leagues.
You can download the file in our Dobber Nation page (click HERE) or on ITunes
Same as what was posted here last week - but the chart has been fixed to better reflect what Tom Reeve was doing a year ago. If you are in a rotisserie league with weekly changes, this tool is priceless.
The number next to the team indicates the 'multiplier' to use on a player's point-per-game pace to give you an idea how many points to expect for that week. Example:
For the week starting on October 1st the Vancouver Canucks have a rating of 4.10. That means that if you think Ryan Kesler is a 0.70 point-per-game player then you should expect about 2.87 points from him (4.10 X 0.70).
Anaheim has a 1.69 rating over the same period. If you think Ryan Getzlaf is a 0.95 point-per-game player then you should expect about 1.61 points from him. So even though Ryan Getzlaf is a better player you may choose to go with Kesler over Getzlaf.
After a much needed short sabbatical from my Eastern Edge articles (thanks Dobber!), I’m back and can’t wait for the season to finally get going. I’ve been lucky enough to participate in four Yahoo drafts already, with three more to go!!
I’ve scoured the players list in Yahoo for guys that are not ranked where I expected them to be. If guys in your pool pay attention to the Yahoo rankings, you might be able to forecast some potential steals in your draft. Conversely, there are also guys that Yahoo has ranked way too high. I’ll give you those as well.
Since the shootout debuted back in 2005, there has been much more parity among NHL clubs (due to the arrival of the three-point game). Although some will argue that this parity is artificial, it has increased the competition for playoff spots in both conferences. The Florida Panthers missed the playoffs last season, even though they had an identical record to eighth-seeded Montreal (41 wins and 93 points). Buffalo was only two points back of Florida, and they had 41 wins as well. In the West, Anaheim finished in eighth with 91 points, two up on Minnesota, and three up on Nashville. As the above situations illustrate, there is not a whole lot of difference between making and missing the playoffs in today’s NHL. Montreal was buoyed by late-season acquisition Mathieu Schneider and Anaheim rode the hot goaltending of Jonas Hiller. Who will be the difference maker(s) for the bubble teams in 2009-10?
With only ten days left before the regular season begins, you should have a solid grasp on which two goalies will act as the foundation for your fantasy teams (or have already drafted them). And even though there’s really no such thing as an “easy” pick these days, it’s fairly straightforward as to which goalies will be taken through the first ten rounds.
Toronto trades a first and second rounder in next summer's draft, as well as a first round pick in 2011 to Boston for the rights to winger Phil Kessel. The Leafs promptly signed Kessel to a five-year deal worth $27.5 million.
The puck has dropped world-wide on a new season of junior and European hockey. Who's the surprise name at the top of the KHL scoring race, and who has three hat tricks ALREADY this young season? Find out more in this week's Bugg Bytes.
