Top Shelf Eastern Talent – Part 1 of 3
Following the lead of my western counterpart, I’ll give you the Eastern Conference slant on each team’s top six forwards and four defensemen and guys that might challenge them for a spot in the coming season.
Summer Sleeper Series – Brandon Dubinsky
Every Wednesday this summer, I will bring you a sleeper to watch for the 2009-2010 season (and potentially beyond). Released in no particular order, I will refrain from picking sleepers that have already shown glimpses of breaking out in the past – the obvious candidates. Time to go beneath the surface for some sleepers that you may have not thought about…
Earmarked for Success Part 1 of 3
What it boils down to is optimal playing time. A top-line player will get the best of everything, while a top-six player will receive decent even strength/second unit power-play ice-time. A bottom feeder will most likely receive checking line ice-time and less optimal scoring ice-time, which will hamper their scoring ability during the season. Their big break will only come if there are injuries or big sophomore slumps from their team’s top-six. There really isn’t a sense in projection 80 points for a player who isn’t even on a team’s top-line let alone top-six. Note: Take the line combos with a grain of salt. They are just arbitrary and are used primarily to separate a team’s top-six from the bottom-six. I really don’t want to get into arguments about how Bobby Ryan is going to line up alongside Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry instead of Joffrey Lupul. Anyways, onto the good stuff.
Immaculate Perception
Being able to perceive a player’s true fantasy value is an elusive sense every fantasy manager covets. Who wouldn’t want to know exactly what Jonas Gustavsson’s save percentage or John Tavares’ average shifts per game will be? Alas, as more cognizant managers continue to hone their fantasy skills on DobberHockey, so too does your sense of perception become more of an important x-factor in the season-long battle.
Under the Radar – Marc-Andre Gragnani
The Buffalo Sabres have one of the deepest pipelines of skilled defensemen in the NHL. From NHL stalwarts, Henrik Tallinder, Toni Lydman, Nathan Paetsch and Andrej Sekera to prospects Chris Butler, Tyler Myers, T.J. Brennan, Drew Schiestel, Dennis Persson, Alex Biega and Vyateslav Buravchikov, the Sabres defensive depth is immense. Despite the abundant skill, none of these prospects has the offensive upside of Marc-Andre Gragnani.
A+ Recruits
The summer of 2009 will be known for two things: the flight of the Penguins and the rise in prominence of college free agents. Once considered long-shot projects at best, over-age NCAA products like Tyler Bozak and Matt Gilroy are proving that investing in an education can still lead to a first round pick's pay cheque. So which recruits should you be on the look-out for next season?
Capitals Sign Brendan Morrison
Washington has signed Brendan Morrison to a one-year contract worth $1.5 million.
Third Degree Burns
First off I would like to send a shout out to all the Dobber-Maniacs out there who are still around and may remember my humble postings from the early days of DobberHockey.com. It seems what was once just a dirty thought in Dobber's mind has developed into something very successful, despite the fact that meatheads like me are involved. When Dobber asked me to do a guest column, my first reaction was to blow your mind with some Jedi-like insight into the upcoming season, however after putting back eight or nine Bud Light Lime on my deck, I have decided to give you some old-school rumblings ... Third Degree Burns style .... so here goes ...
Anaheim Signs Saku Koivu
The Anaheim Ducks have signed Saku Koivu to a one-year deal worth $3.25 million.
Summer Sleeper Series – Matthew Corrente
Every Wednesday this summer, I will bring you a sleeper to watch for the 2009-2010 season (and potentially beyond). Released in no particular order, I will refrain from picking sleepers that have already shown glimpse of breaking out in the past – the obvious candidates. Time to go beneath the surface for some sleepers that you may have not thought about…