Fantasy Hockey: Why My Team Will Rock...And Why It Will Bite the Dust...

It's that time of year: It's like Christmas everytime I log onto Yahoo Sports to find that my team is ready. This year I started my own league, and because I couldn't find a time for the other 11 managers to do a live draft, I did one of those automated draft where you rank your favorite players and the computer picks your team based on your rankings. Sometimes you get the guys you want, and sometimes you get stuck with sloppy seconds. Here are the winners and losers on my team. The reasons why I will rock this year, and the reasons why I'll be sending out a lot of trade requests...

The Winners

1. Henrik Lundqvist- This guy should do me some good, even though he plays on a team that is just decent. Last season was one of his best, with a 2.23 GAA and a very respectable .912 save percentage. The thing I like about Lundqvist is that he improves every year. For the past couple
seasons he's been right in the middle of the Vezina race (even though he won't win as there's a certain Brodeur still lacing up skates), and he should get me some wins.

2. Hooray for Defense!!!!!!!! - Now I'm the first to admit that defense won't take you too far in fantasy hockey. It's more like Robin to Batman or the rest of U2 to Bono and The Edge: They help out, but they're definitely not carrying that big a load on their shoulders. The defense I was blessed with, however, is nothing short of a miracle. Check it out my top 4:

1. Niklas Lidstrom - Det. (60 Assists, +40)
2. Mike Green - Was. (18 G, 38 A)
3. Duncan Keith - Chi. (+30 on a team that didn't qualify for playoffs)
4. Brent Seabrook - Chi. (not the best, but dependable)

Not too shabby. I should see a lot of powerplay points come from the likes of Green, and my +/- should stay respectable with Lidstrom and Keith in the lineup. Lidstrom just never stops. Despite his age, he just isn't trending down like he should for a guy who's pushing 40. My other 3 d-men are all on a fast climb to stardom. Mike Green led all defensemen in PPGs last season, and should only get better playing on a young, run and gun team like Washington. Same for Keith and Seabrook, who will only get better as they mesh with fellow youngsters Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and the other New Kids on the Hawks (OK, that was bad).

3. Centers - Joe Sakic and Anze Kopitar. Sakic's body is finally starting to feel the effect of giving 100% for almost two decades, but he's still an effective player who should benefit from playing a whole year with the likes of Ryan Smyth and Marek Svatos. I bet we'll see him return to his 30 goal form. I project about an 80-point year from my favorite player. Kopitar, for his part, has everything a hockey player needs: Skill, size, speed, and a good attitude. Expect a breakout year from him in terms of points. The only thing that worries me is his +/-. How could you possibly remain a plus playing for the Kings? We'll get back to LA in a bit here.

4. Ales Hemsky - Have you ever watched this man play hockey? Holy crap he's good. Like, spill the soda all over the carpet good! I dig this guy! Something can be said for his unselfish personality... He seems to insist on passing up the shot to dish to a teammate... Bless his heart. If I could just get Hemsky to shoot more, I'd win this fantasy league right now. I'm expecting big things from him, especially if he can use those nifty puckhandling skills and LSD-like speed to create room for guys like Erik Cole to put the puck in the net. He should be a great asset. And that missing tooth... He should earn fantasy points just for that!



I'm going to have to get back to this later... check in soon for my Fantasy Maybes and all-out fantasy losers...