A look at Matt Niskanen
This week we will open Frozen Pool class with a quick tutorial in definitions.
opportunist
op·por·tun·ist/ˌäpərˈt(y)o͞onist/
Noun: A person who exploits circumstances to gain immediate advantage rather than being guided by principles or plans.
Dobber’s fifth annual Midseason Fantasy Guide – out January 6 with a special addendum update for January 13. 17 days! Right after I say that about Brandon Pirri, the Blackhawks called him up! If he sees more than 10 minutes, it will be itneresting... Here's a promising Alexander Radulov update from Chesnokov. [...]
Cage Match: Jamie Benn vs. Evander Kane
The single toughest aspect of fantasy hockey is analyzing breakouts. Obviously you want to get ahead of the game but pre-season estimates are hit and miss. You just can’t know for sure until you see the product on the ice. Once you see a breakout in action you need to quickly decipher its validity and the future implications. In this week’s Cage Match we look at to players in the midst of breakout seasons and analyze what these breakouts mean going forward. It’s Jamie Benn vs. Evander Kane – and no, it is not a boxing match.
Owning Pittsburgh players on your fantasy roster can be tough at times (interchangeable parts up front), but malkin’ Evgeni for points when he's healthy is as easy as it gets. Malkin has seen a resurgence of sorts after a slow start to the season after recovering from knee surgery. Poolies have been happy to see him return to his dominant ways, one that includes a recent five-point performance and puts him on pace for an expected 103 points over 74 games. If Malkin could ask for anything for Christmas it would be brand new knees, but poolies are already getting what the want from Santa, and that's top-notch production.
After two reports of bad news, this week we'll focus on some good news. Let’s take a look at players who are coming back very soon to provide some fantasy relief, or have recently made their triumphant return.
Mike Colligan takes a look at the evolution of Malkin. "As a center in Bylsma’s system, a player needs to be strong defensively and fast enough to join the rush after his teammates gain possession of the puck. In the diagram to the right, the center (yellow dot) and two defensemen position themselves [...]
Angus here - Merry Christmas (eve). Out doing some Christmas stuff this AM, so the ramblings will be up a bit late. A lot to chew on from a busy Friday night in the NHL. Thanks for your patience! Dobber's THN column on Radim Vrbata is here. Weiss left the game with [...]
A tough decision can be made easier with these charts showing you the best five and worst five schedules for upcoming seven-day periods. Some of you used them last year but for the benefit of new readers here is a refresher. 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.
Since next Friday is the 30th, I figured some people might want to take an early advantage of some games played differences for the month of January.
Projected as a late first rounder or early second rounder, the St. Louis Blues stunned the hockey world when then head scout Jarmo Kekäläinen encouraged President John Davidson to go off the board and nab Jaden Schwartz with the 14th pick.
While it's early to say the Blues got a complete steal with Schwartz, early returns show the five-foot-10 left winger is an absolute keeper.
Happy Holidays to all of our readers. I'll have some rambling updates throughout the day when I get a chance to pop on the computer. Feel free to comment away if you want me to add anything in. Not really a sleeper or an unknown prospect any more, but these WJC will be [...]
