Uh oh...now I actually might root for the Sharks and Ducks!
After a grueling and emotionally crippling draft that clocked in at almost four hours, I now have to contemplate my fantasy hockey team. And whether it was fate or just the deck that was handed to me, my team (The Lawn Pigs) is fairly loaded with BoC'ers. Sadly, due to the untimely selection of Alex Frolov, I'm Kings-less.
Here are the Californians that are on my team, pretty much in sequence of when they were picked (not counting guys on non-Cali teams):
Scott Niedermayer
Vesa Toskala
Teemu Selanne
Ilya Brzgalov
My main questions to the masses:
1. Is Vesa Toskala going to be the starter for San Jose?
2. Is Bryzgalov going to start for the Quackers?
3. Will Lightningbeard prosper with Prongher, or will he ease up with the lockbox'd Orbs?
4. Finally, will Teemu Selanne go back into hibernation after his LL Cool J-inspired (Don't call it a) Comeback?
I'd especially appreciate an answer for questions 1-2, folks. Otherwise I'll have to make one or two of my classic early panic add-drops. Last year I briefly dropped Eric Staal for Tuomo Ruutu. Yeah, that could have been bad...
6 comments:
I'll answer those (or try!)
1. I don't think there will be a #1 goalie in San Jose until one of them gets traded.
2. Same as the above
3. Prosper like how? 100 points?
I'd say they both get about 80-85. A minor increase but enough to lead defencemen in scoring this year. They have played together on Team Canada before.
4. With Andy McDonald centering him, Selanne won't slow down. But he won't be any (or much) better either.
1. Couldn't tell you... sorry I'm no help there.
2. Still not settled. I believe they will split until decided, but it is my belief they will stick by Jiggy, at least in the beginning.
3. Scotty-Pronger will work. They're not going to be playing together most of the time except for PP/PK situations. I know Carlyle has used them for both during the preseason, and Chris has been logging 2-3 minutes more than Scotty (30 minutes and 27 minutes respectively in the last preseason game), but I'm sure they'll be prosperous with Scotty's sneaking skating and Chris' wicked slapshot.
4. Teemu's success last year was attributed to the brand-spanking-new knee and the tandem with A-Mac. Since the stop line figures to remain as Kunitz-Mac-Teemu, I see no reason why his production would diminish... unless, of course, he happens to catch any more stick-in-face/any other bodily injury incidents that require more serious repair...
1. The Sharks coach has been adamant about the two sharing time equally. I certainly hope so, because I've got Nabs on my team
2. He may have lost in the inside track during the preseason, keep an eye on it though.
3. Expect an increase in production, especially since he won't have to do it all on defense. In an interview he commented if having Pronger on the squad allows him to have less ice time, he'll be better rested to make plays on offense. A good pick-up, to be sure. I've got Prongs on my squad.
4. If you saw Selanne's stats after he lost his teeth during the olympic break, then take a look at his recent injury, I'd saty he's due for 110 points.
But in reality, expect an increase is Andy mac turns out to be the real deal. Even if it was a flash in the pan he's good for 70+ points on his own
Nabby is damn expensive, though I don't know anything except I have a huge bias for Toskala. If Nabby is pretty decent, I'm sure Toskala's great trade bait.
1. I don't know, but I've got Toskala in a league and I'm excited for the cheap wins.
2. Bryzgalov is a pick for post-Christmas, I think. His new contract means that he won't be traded, all that can happen is Giguere can play himself onto another team (or not). I think Giguere is the better fantasy pick, but Breezy could be good later.
3. I would guess Niedermayer gets the better minutes and the better point total.
4. Selanne looked really good the one preseason game I got to see, but he's had more teeth knocked out since then. He gets stronger the more we doubt him, it seems, so maybe that's a positive.
I'm disappointed, James. My fantasy teams include Frolov, Cloutier, Kopitar, and Dustin Brown. You can't have a battle without the also-rans.
If I was the coach, Toskala and Brzgalov would be my starters. Brzgalov will get better with Pronger clearing rebounds in front of him, and the only reason Toskala hasn't been handed the #1 job is that Nabokov's contract may prevent other teams from picking him up.
Nabokov may be slightly better with the defense the Sharks have in front of him, but Toskala is a top 5 NHL goalie without the price.
As much as it pains me to say it, Pronger will at least carry the Ducks to the Stanley Cup finals. Not sure how you can follow the NHL last year and not reach that conclusion.
One note on Selanne made locally, his resurgance came after knee surgery.
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