Welcome back to another exciting edition of The Puck Stops Here. We are about a week into the season and still haven’t seen enough to really make educated decisions on specific players. However, speculation is always fun, just don’t bet your season on it. Remember, as I advised you last week, don’t be so trigger happy that you make a poor decision to pick up a one-week wonder. Too many great teams have been ruined because of anxious owners.Devin Setoguchi, RW, San Jose: Setoguchi is everything I love in a diamond in the rough free agent. He is young, has lots of speed, great hands, has a great pedigree and plays with a top five superstar. Setoguchi is getting about 18 minutes of ice time per game, but what is so important about those 18 minutes is he is playing with Thornton and Marleau. It would almost be impossible for him no to rack up points. San Jose is a great team with solid defense and great goaltending; this means he should also have a pretty good +/-. He won’t contribute much in PIM, but he will surely help in all the offensive categories. Setoguchi is actually my favorite of all the players mentioned in this post and I am kicking myself for not pulling the trigger on him in one of my leagues.
Antero Nittymaki, G, Philadelphia: Nittymaki has been teasing fantasy owners for a few years now and I am getting the feeling this is finally the year he steps up. It hasn’t been his talent holding him back; it has been his injury history. He replaced Biron on Saturday and shut out the Rangers giving Philly a fighting chance. He followed that up with a solid performance against the Penguins Tuesday night. The overtime goal was weak, but he played well the rest of the night stopping 25 shots. He also was the starting goalie for the Flyers AHL affiliate when they beat the pro team during the preseason. He is definitely worth adding in deep leagues and could pay big dividends if he can grab the starting job.
Bryan Little, C, Atlanta: The big question for Atlanta this year is who will center Jason Williams and Ilya Kovalchuk and it looks like they may have found the answer. Little was the 12th pick in 2006 and looks like he may fulfill his draft position promise. Little was mildly productive as a rookie last year and in three games this season he has 3 goals and 2 assists and is a +3. As long as he plays with Ilya, he has fantasy relevance. He is also getting those all important power play minutes with the top line. Don’t expect a point-per-game all season but 50-60 points and a +/- in the positives are reasonable expectations.
Brandon Dubinsky, C, New York Rangers: Chances are Dubinsky has been snatched up in your league, but take a look and make sure. If he is available get him, literally stop reading, get him, and come back (Grab Setoguchi while you are it, see above). He is not the next Gretzky or Lemieux, but he has a lot of talent and plays with a very good team. He should provide good production across the board and will be valuable all season. Hope for a Getzlaf-esque breakout, but be happy with slightly less. He has less offensive upside than Setoguchi, but could provide better production across the board.
Daniel Girardi, D, New York Rangers: Girardi is another young Ranger off to a very hot start. I get the feeling that it is more of a result of the Ranger’s second line being so hot right, but when you see a defenseman with 5 points in 6 games, he is worth a flier. Chances are your 4th defenseman is a riskier player, so take that risk on someone who is off to a good start. He got a boost in ice time Wednesday night jumping from his usual 18 minutes to 24 minutes. This is a sign his coaches are trusting him more. He is young, has a solid pedigree and recorded 11 power play points in his second year. So far this year, 3 of his 5 assists have come while on the power play. Take a chance on him.
Daniel Girardi, D, New York Rangers: Girardi is another young Ranger off to a very hot start. I get the feeling that it is more of a result of the Ranger’s second line being so hot right, but when you see a defenseman with 5 points in 6 games, he is worth a flier. Chances are your 4th defenseman is a riskier player, so take that risk on someone who is off to a good start. He got a boost in ice time Wednesday night jumping from his usual 18 minutes to 24 minutes. This is a sign his coaches are trusting him more. He is young, has a solid pedigree and recorded 11 power play points in his second year. So far this year, 3 of his 5 assists have come while on the power play. Take a chance on him.
Fabian Brunnstrom, LW, Dallas: I was actually disappointed with Brunnstrom until Wednesday night when he showed the world why he was a top free agent without ever playing an NHL game. Brunnstrom began his career with 3 goals, and it would have been 4 had a referee not prematurely blew the whistle. Brunnstrom won’t be a healthy scratch again. Brunnstrom is a rookie, but I view him more as a 2nd or 3rd year player because of his experiences in Europe. With his good head start, 20 goals isn’t out of the question and playing on a very good Dallas team should help him produce a pretty good +/-. If you are going to pick him up, do it soon, he will be the sexy player to add over the next couple of days.
As with any SportsJudge.com article, feel free to post a comment or question. Until next week, The Puck Stops Here.
As with any SportsJudge.com article, feel free to post a comment or question. Until next week, The Puck Stops Here.
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