Welcome back to another exciting edition of The Puck Stops Here. Summer has ended, days are getting shorter and the Detroit Lions are eliminated from playoff contention. That can only mean one thing; hockey season is around the corner. That’s right, in just over a week the first pucks of the NHL season will be dropped. The season kicks off with the Penguins battling the rival Senators in Sweden and the Rangers meeting the Lightning in the Czech Republic.
At this point fantasy hockey players fall into two groups. One group has drafted and should be keeping an eye on players who weren’t drafted but could do big things. The other group is preparing for their draft and should be getting a list of players they want to get, want to avoid and what sleepers to take and when. Nobody needs my help figuring out when to take Ovechkin or the Sedin twins, so this article will focus on more of the later-round players.
Most leagues are not won in the first rounds, rather the later ones where the next set of superstars are waiting. I won my league last year even though I drafted Ryan Smyth in the 6th round, Kari Lehtonen in the 7th round and Patrice Bergeron in the 9th round. I won by drafting Bryan Rafalski in the 10th round, Ales Hemsky in the 17th round and scouring the waiver wire for players like Pascal Leclaire, Andrei Kostitsyn and Johan Franzen. Finding those value picks and waiver wire sleepers is what wins leagues.
If you take 4 or 5 risky, high upside guys late in your draft, chances are that 1 or 2 of them will work out and help carry your team. With that said, these are some players I am targeting later in drafts.
Kris Letang (D, Pittsburgh Penguins): I have seen Letang drafted as high as the 14th round and as low as the 18th round, both in 12-team leagues. People should take more notice of Letang, especially with Sergei Gonchar’s injured shoulder. If Gonchar is out long term, Letang will man the left side of the Penguins umbrella power play to take advantage of his right-handed shot. Malkin is reportedly the umbrella quarterback giving him freedom to fire at will. Because Malkin is left-handed his one timers will be coming from the left wing. That’s right, Letang will be feeding Malkin all day. Expect big numbers. Letang will be the next big time offensive defenseman in the NHL.
Claude Giroux (RW, Philadelphia Flyers): Most people don’t know who Giroux is, those who have heard the name mistake him for the Claude Giroux who was Dink the Clown from the WWE. He is a riskier pick but his ceiling is as high as it gets. To say Giroux dominated the Q (Quebec Major Junior Hockey league) is an understatement. He had 106 points in 55 regular season games and 51 points in 19 playoff games. Not quite Lemieux but much better than Francois Leroux. He is small, but lightning quick with great vision and soft hands. He should be given every opportunity to get quality ice-time in Philly. Pass on dinosaurs like Brendan Shanahan and Keith Tkachuk late and pick up Giroux, he won’t disappoint.
Jason Williams (RW/C, Atlanta Thrashers): If you followed my articles last season, you know I am a fan of Williams. He’ll give you solid production in all categories. If he could ever stay healthy he could turn out to be a top 100 player. He broke out with Detroit in 2005-06, but has struggled to match those numbers due to injuries and lack of talent around him. However, don’t mistake his injuries for those of the tweaked groin variety, he has had bad luck with broken bone type injuries. He will find himself playing alongside Ilya Kovalchuk on both the first line and top power play unit. Williams has been productive and has never played with a player of Kovalchuk’s caliber. William’s will give you 10th round production at 17th round price.
Joni Pitkanen (D, Carolina Hurricanes): Pitkanen has been on the fantasy landscape for a while but has yet to fulfill the promise he showed in his early years. This has led to him being drafted in the 15th to 18th round. I know we’ve been down this road before with Pitkanen, but the situation is different. Two years ago, he played for one of the worst Flyers teams in recent history and, this past season, he was battling injuries and playing for the underwhelming Oilers. Pitkanen will get a clean slate in Carolina, who should be better than the teams he played for the past two years, and he should get significant power play minutes. Remember, he is only 25 and three short years ago he had 46 points and 78 PIM in only 58 games. Pitkanen could end up being your #2 defenseman, well above his current draft value.
Jack Johnson (D, Los Angeles Kings): Johnson brings hefty risk, but the reward could be immense. Johnson hasn’t shown that he is ready to be an elite defenseman but he has the pedigree, will get every opportunity to showcase his talents and has a pretty good supporting cast. The Kings got rid of both Rob Blake and Lubomir Visnovsky, as a result Jack Johnson is now their go to defenseman. He will work with the top power play unit, which has the talent to be very good. Just remember, his +/- will most likely be in the negatives. However, Johnson is going to be the face of the King’s organization for years to come and will get every opportunity to produce. I expect about 25 minutes of ice-time per game and won’t be surprised to see him get about 45 points and 120 PIM. Again, this is high risk high reward.
Erik Cole (LW, Edmonton Oilers): Let me preface this by saying I am very high on the Oilers this year. Cole will join Shawn Horcoff and Ales Hemsky on Edmonton’s top line and power play unit. Both Hemsky and Horcoff were just under point-per-game players last year and I predict both will be point-per-game players this year. Cole’s production will be a byproduct of playing with these two talented forwards. Cole is being drafted higher than the players previously mentioned in this post, but he should provide very good production across the board. I expect about 80 PIM along with 70 points and very good power play statistics. You could do a lot worse than Cole in the 10th or 11th round.
Check back here over the weekend for draft strategy and post-draft advice. Until then, The Puck Stops Here.
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