Editor's note: Our Ross Devonport and Michael Hurcomb read, write and
analyze everything Fantasy Hockey on a daily basis for CBSSports.com.
They agree and disagree on a variety of subjects on a weekly basis and
will share their opinions on Fantasy-relevant topics each week.
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Will Tim Thomas finish as a No. 1
Fantasy goalie?
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Ross Devonport
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Michael Hurcomb
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With the Bruins locking up Tuukka Rask
for a couple of years last week, thoughts went through my head
that maybe the team isn't as confident in Thomas right now as they
were about the Vezina Trophy winner last season. And rightly so,
frankly, as his GAA and save percentage numbers are down quite a
bit. Maybe last season was a fluke, considering he didn't make 40
starts in an NHL campaign until he was 32 years old. I'm hoping he
isn't done quite yet, but it's certainly not looking good for him
to be a No. 1 goalie come the spring.
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I had ranked Thomas as a low-end No. 1/high-end No. 2 Fantasy
goalie in the preseason and heard a lot about it from Fantasy
owners. My reasoning, however, was that I didn't feel Boston would
be as good this season as last and that Thomas would probably only
see 50-60 starts since Claude Julien likes to use his backup
goalie. Thus far, Thomas is on pace for 55 starts and Boston is
struggling through the early season. Thomas will not rank among
the top 12 Fantasy netminders by season's end.
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Name a defenseman worth adding in Fantasy?
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Ross Devonport
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Michael Hurcomb
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Man, my 0-5 team in our Experts league could certainly use some
help in this category, so maybe I'm not the person to be answering
this question! I'll go with James Wisniewski
though, who has 10 points in 10 games this season, yet is only
owned in 57 percent of leagues. He started to see more time on the
power play at the end of last season and is seeing a decent amount
of ice time with the extra man again to start this campaign. Known
more for his PIMs, maybe Wisniewski has finally figured things out
offensively. Take a shot with him if you need blue line help.
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It's time to start warming up to Anton Stralman. The Blue Jackets tried to land an established
offensive blueliner in the offseason but failed to land the likes
of Sergei Zubov and Marc-Andre Bergeron. In a last ditch effort, they picked up Stralman
in a minor trade with Calgary, but it could end up paying huge
dividends. Stralman has eight points in 14 games and sees a ton of
time on the power play. Columbus has plenty of defensive-minded
blueliners and specifically brought Stralman in for his offense.
Stralman has a chance to be a solid Fantasy sleeper.
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Any minor leaguers Fantasy owners should be scouting?
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Ross Devonport
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Michael Hurcomb
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Sweden's Jonas Junland, a
third-round pick of the Blues in 2006, is off to a scorching start
in his second AHL season with six goals and nine assists in his
first 13 games. -- stats that earned him the AHL Player of the
Month award for October. The soon-to-be 22-year-old leads the
Peoria Rivermen in points, and you have to think the Blues are
paying close attention to Junland with their lack of firepower
behind Erik Johnson at the
defenseman position.
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Hurricanes prospect Drayson Bowman
is an intriguing minor leaguer. The first-year pro is tearing it
up at Albany (AHL). He has four goals and 11 points in his first
14 games. He began his pro career with a three-game goal streak
and continues to shoot up the team's prospect rankings. Bowman is
starting to be talked about as much as Zach Boychuk and Brandon Sutter.
He is coming off two 40-goal seasons as a junior player, and if
the Hurricanes' offense continues to sputter, Bowman is likely to
make his NHL debut in 2009-10.
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Which struggling veteran should Fantasy owners start adding?
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Ross Devonport
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Michael Hurcomb
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Did everyone forget about Saku Koivu?
This is a guy who is only three seasons removed from a 75-point
campaign and is playing a ton with the Ducks since moving to
Anaheim. He's currently playing with Joffrey Lupul and Teemu Selanne on
the second line, is featured prominently on the power play most
nights and has five points in his last five games. If he can stay
healthy, there's no telling just how productive Koivu could be
this season, but he's certainly worth owing in more than 43
percent of leagues.
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A lot of folks jumped off the Ron Hainsey
bandwagon after the veteran blueliner produced just one point in
his first seven games. However, he has a point in five straight
games and the big difference has been power-play time. Hainsey
didn't log a second of power-play time in his first seven games
and has played extensively on the man advantage during his point
streak. Hainsey is battling Tobias Enstrom,
Pavel Kubina and Zach Bogosian for points off the Atlanta blue line, but
Hainsey is a proven offensive contributor and Atlanta is showing
there is plenty of offense to go around.
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Do you agree with Ross or Michael? Send your thoughts to DMFantasyPucks@cbs.com
and we'll post the best responses. Be sure to put Attn: Fantasy
Faceoff in the subject field. Include your full name, hometown and
state.
