Hall Fan

"Oilers and More"

Canada • 2013 Years Old • Male

GBYSKL Pre-Draft Power Rankings

Ranked 1st

DGW
It goes without saying that Crosby anchors this team but he is far from the only talent. This team lacks real question marks, instead it has a group of players on teams that all did large make overs over the summer. The question mark will be how their supporting cast will affect them but for the most part these guys are the talent of their respective lines.

Datsyuk has moved from being an easy top 20 player in the league to most likely a top 10. He has become elite and better yet he has become consistent. Detroit will put to the ice one of the weakest teams it has in years adding yet another piece of fodder in Ablkebeker to his line rather than Brunner but this hasn’t seemed to phase him in the past. Look for him to be the second best player on this packed roster.

Kadri and Zajac are both expected to play large offensive roles on their teams this year. Zajac is expected to be starting center on a team that lost its only real talent and is trying out a new goaltender. If New Jersey can do anything this year it will come from Zajac’s line. Kadri will play on what should be an improved Leafs team. A little bit older with some matured defense. Clarkson doesn’t replace the offense they lost so Kadri will be needed to bring in that secondary scoring.

Byfuglian, Doughty and Letang are all great players for fantasy defense slots. Byfuglian usually plays forward and brings points and hits to the table. The other two offer an offensive side on two strong teams. They are both number 1 dmen on their team and all stars in the game. They will see lots of PP time with some of the league’s best offensive players. This builds a huge foundation for this team going into the draft.

Last Rinne is ranked in the top 5 goaltenders by yahoo going into the season. Nashville might have the most question marks in terms of their team this year. They have added a number of talented young players through drafts and trading (such as Filip Foresberg). They have the potential to go far if these once highly ranked players turn out. Either way, Rinne was good without them so look for him to be better with them

High rank due to the consistent play of Crosby and Datsyuk, one of the top goalies and 3 strong defensemen

Ranked 2nd

Cockroach

An all-around solid team with no weak links; again the question mark will be in whether the changes to the teams these players are on will have an effect on their output. Despite St. Louis being the point leader from last year, Malkin has been the person drafting higher in most drafts I have seen so far. Malkin will look to be paired with James Neal and for the start Jussi Jokinen. This line has been tearing it up in the preseason. I would expect, despite the loss of their hired wingers last year that Malkin should lead this team in most categories.

Martin St. Louis is a little bit of a question mark. The 38 year old winger will be playing hard for a spot on Team Canada and all evidence points to him having lots left in the tank. Paired with Stamkos is going to help this duo put up big points. The question is their other wingman. Until this year they haven’t really had an amazing player. During the preseason they have been toying with Purcel and Drouin. If Drouin stays and if he makes a run at the Calder Trophy, this might be the most dangerous line in the league.

Erickson has always been a good player but taking over Hortons spot alongside Bergeron should increase his numbers substantially. Yandle is one of the best dmen in the game however with all the changes to the Coyotes this year it will be interesting to see how this affects him on the score sheet. Evander Kane is a great pick for Fantasy hockey. The team lost key players and is not better for it. However Kane has one of the highest SOG numbers in the league. He also has huge Hits and PIM for a player that can put up as many points as he can. Plus he has not reached his potential, if he breaks out this year, he could make the difference for this team.

Quick is a highly ranked goalie with a strong team in front of him. With young dmen like Voynov, Muzzin and Doughty improving last year he had an amazing playoff run; easily a huge anchor for the goalie categories.

The final two players are where some of the question marks come from. Hall and Eberle are both elite talents; often underrated by some because of how the team finishes each year. Hall emerged last year and has proven him to be the future of the team. An amazing player that unfortunately is burdened with having to play center under a new coach for the start of the year. This so far hasn’t helped his point totals in the preseason and if it shakes his confidence, this won’t be a great start for the Oiler team. Eberle on the other hand is not one of the Oilers first round picks and this summer was often considered tradable in rumours as the Oilers were in search for the almost impossible to acquire 1-2 dman. However Eberle’s amazing accuracy, clutch playing ability and quick release has allowed him to dominate the game both in the NHL and on the World stage. Leading the team in Preseason points, expect big numbers from him this year. Both these players are affected by a new head coach and the fact that both their first and second line centers are injured. However once they are back, this team will be amazing. A healthy top 6 at Yahoo playoff time might make Cockroach’s team impossible to beat.

High rank due to lack of any inconsistent players and one of the best goalies as well as Malkin who is drafted in the first round in almost every yahoo draft to date.

Ranked 3rd
Red Rockets

Look to have the foundation of an extremely tough team to beat. Despite obvious stars this team is led by defending Stanley Cup champion Toews. His ability to play any role, win record face offs and put up points always makes him a fantasy pool favourite. Kopitar, Richards and Getzlaf will remain top line players on possible playoff contenders. Each will see lots of power play time and all have shown in the past that they are a point a game player.

Spezza lost time last year due to injury but is coming back to a confident young Senators team. Adding Ryan to his line to replace the aging Alfredson should bring up his point totals. Spezza look for this line to put up big numbers.

Gaborik’s change of scenery seemed to be working for him at the end of the season last year. Add Horton and other pieces and the CBJ seem like an all new team this year. Dubinsky and Gaborik have been putting up good numbers in the preseason. Whether Dubinsky has impressed coaches enough to move from line 3 to 1 is yet to be seen but Gaborik will definitely see plenty of ice time.

Look for Price to play at the top of his game this year. Especially since he is trying to get the starting role at the Olympics in the spring. He has a strong team in front of him with developing defense and forwards. Plus the addition of new players; Montreal might be a hard team to compete against.

Suter and Cammeleri remain the question marks on this team. Both highly skilled players but both with something to prove this year. Cammeleri needs to show that he can produce like his use to and remain consistent. Suter will be big in blocked shots but the Wild need to get more scoring from Heatley for their top two lines to remain effective. The addition of Pomminville might help, plus Brodin or Dumba might be good enough this year to partner with Suter and add more offense on the PP but Suter needs to provide more points and the team’s needs to get more results as they have a lot of talent. Both these players are good but they could be amazing.

High rank due to Strong overall players throughout the team, plus their ability to perform not only in the point categories but other areas like Face offs and an elite goaltender trying for the number one spot on Team Canada’s Olympic roster.

Ranked 4th

Ben

Ben keeps most of the players that got him to the finals last year. His team is definitely led by Ovechkin and Stamkos who are both ranked in the top 5. With a slight improvement to Washington and Tampa’s team, look for both players to continue the way they have played consistently for the last few years.
The other big plus is that he has his goaltending secured having two goalies ranked in the overall top 15. Rask who is arguably a top five goalie in the league and Niemi who is good in fantasy play due to the lack of backup on the normally strong SJ team. These two carried him to the playoffs last year and will make the draft easier this year.

Marleau and Keith are proven veterans. They will add points and see lots of ice time. Marleau’s ability to play in many roles will help in numerous categories and Keith’s checking and blocked shots will help in its own way.

The gambles on this team are Christ Stewart and Landeskog. Look for the last placed Avalanche to improve this year but that does not necessarily mean that the Calder trophy winner from two years ago will go back to playing the way he did his rookie year. If he does he could be a big boost as he plays PP and PK. Stewart looks to start the season as a big part of the Blues offense. He will finally have the chance to play large ice time on the PP. However his history with management and his inconsistency makes this his position to lose. Predicted by many analysts to do well, the large winger could put up big numbers in many categories or he could get buried on line 3 again.

Ranked high due to the performance of Stamkos and Ovechkin who are both ranked in the top 5 by yahoo. Also having two of the top 5 ranked goaltenders in the league with neither having strong backups to shorten the number of games they will play.
Ranked 5th

East Infections

By Yahoo draft rankings this team is led by all-star Patrick Kane. The Stanley Cup champ from last year has no need to prove he to make the USA Olympic team but that won’t stop him from putting up large points. Not to be out done and also drafted high by most is Zetterberg. Offensively gifted he will be expected to be seen on the score sheet consistently.

Eric Staal and Duchene both had amazing performances at the worlds last year. Arguably they are both on the bubble for spots on the Olympic roster. Duchene might have been the best player for Team Canada last year and emerged as star among stars in international play. Both are on teams that didn’t finish well last year but expect each player to show what they can do. They both add value in numerous categories and should be huge pluses to East’s team.

Perry and Brown are both highly competitive players that are great for fantasy teams. Both add grit and hitting with the potential of points. Perry will also be competing for a spot on the Olympic team and has a good shot. Expect them both to help out in numerous categories and be very versatile wingers on this team.

Lupul has the potential and the likely hood of putting up good numbers this year. He is a safe bet to be a good secondary player with the potential to surprise people. Hubradeau did an amazing job on a team that is not great last year. He has proven he can play with little help. This might not be the year he makes his biggest numbers but expect him to improve and be a valuable player.

Ranked high due to the strong ability of wingers that can perform in numerous categories coupled with two solid centers that are competing for roles on team Canada. A team with no real weak spot with maybe the inconsistent play of Lupul.

Ranked 6th


Armed and Hammered

A team that relies heavily and the strong and consistent play of the Canucks, who is led by Daniel and Henrik. Both players have shown that they can create opportunity out of nothing and despite how the team does, look for both of them to put up good numbers. Kesler missed most of last season with an injury. He doesn’t have a strong line but he is a good player. He will lead the second power play unit for Vancouver which is going to have to rely on playmaking from their dmen.

Jamie Benn and Seguin are both extremely underrated players. Just recently gaining recognition as the stars they actually are. Paired together on Dallas’s top line they are dominating in the preseason. They will be a dangerous pair this year. Seguin finally gets his chance as the number one guy at the dot and Benn the recently named captain both have a lot to prove this year as they try to lead a team with a fair number of new faces. Look for them both to put up career numbers.

RNH, Ward and Jussi both have question marks to them. Jussi will do great as long as he remains paired with Malkin or Crosby’s line. If he is traded or slips to line three then he goes from a possible 60 point player to maybe a 30 point player. RNH is injured with a predicted return date sometime in November. This will mean he has missed games in all 3 season he has played. If he comes back healthy and can remain that way he will be a huge asset. If he can’t then he might find his spot replaced by Hall or Gagner. Ward has not progressed the way people had hoped since winning the Conn Smyth. He has the talent and the ability. The addition of defensively minded Hainsey will help but with the loss of veteran Pitkanen on the point can’t be a good thing. He has potential but is a question of whether he rises to it or keeps underperforming.

Ranked in the bottom five due to the injury to RNH and the question mark regarding the line mates surrounding Kesler but still a strong team.

Ranked 7th

TeamMex

The Power behind the returning champs is going to come from Claude Giroux. Already an amazing player, look for that to improve as he tries to secure himself a spot on team Canada’s roster. Also Lucic should be a safe bet for some good points this year. Coming off a good playoff run, he should be charged and ready to put up some good numbers. The question mark lies in the rest of the team however GM Ivan is the luckiest man in the world, so I recommend putting money on all these players whenever possible.

Backstrom, Skinner and Nash are all elite players. Backstrom has been fairly consistent but he has the potential to be amazing. I think the right line mates and motivation are all he needs to become a 90+ point player. Skinner has proven to be a great player but there are some question marks with the loss of their only offensive dman and some of the line combinations that could leave him relying on players that aren’t as consistent as he is. Nash ended last year well but he showed a side that fans had never seen before, an unmotivated player. Some wonder if the “culture change” that management is calling for is directed at him. He has the ability but an unmotivated player playing with an aging Richards isn’t going to do much.

Couture has emerged as a great secondary scorer for SJ. No longer relying on the talent of the centers Marleau or Thorton, he has proven that he is a star player on his own. SJ looks strong again this year and this preseason so he should do well for TeamMex. However I have learned to never bet on SJ. Moulson has also developed into a star player in his own right. His problem will be that the NYI are still a young team. If they improve, which they should, then Moulson should have a better season than the amazing one he did last year. Even though he is slotted in the second line, I would look at him to challenge for first line minutes alongside Tavares this year.

The last wild card is Hemsky. Injured early in the first preseason game his health is the question mark. There are some people that believe he wouldn’t have missed as many games if the Oilers had a chance at the playoffs over these past years. Last year he was playing decent with a broken foot until the oilers had no chance of moving on and then the team took him out. Had they had a chance he probably would have played a full season. With Gagner and RNH injured, Hemsky will get his chance to play top line minutes. It will be his spot to earn and he will have over a month to do it. Few remember that he led the team for half the season last year. With MacT’s strategy of not getting any forwards and signing 6 extra dmen that won’t get ice time, we might see him partnered on a line with Smyth taking the draw. He has his work cut out for him unless goalies start falling for really slow wrap arounds.

Ranked in the bottom five due to Nash’s inconsistent play last year and NYR Management’s comment about a need for a “change of culture” maybe affecting his ice time. Also Hemsky was injured in the first game of the preseason and looks to be on the third line this year with no other players that can keep up with him. As well Skinner, Moulson and Backstrom are on teams that are giving good odds to not make the playoffs this year in Vegas.

Ranked 8th

DDW

On paper this is a team of role players, for our league this is a team that contributes to all categories making it a dangerous team to compete against. Lundqvuist is arguably a top 3 goalie in the league and with the strong defense on the Rangers, look for him to be a solid anchor for the goalie stats. Everyone in our league knows the value of Hartnell. Playing top line minutes with Giroux he offers PPPs but also gives huge PIM, making him a rare find. Adding hits this year only makes him more valuable.

Marchand, Franzen and Elias all offer stats in a series of categories. Elias is putting up big numbers this preseason and looks to remain consistent in points. Marchand and Franzen are expected to add big numbers both in points and on the PP as well.

The teams foundation is in 3 offensively gifted dmen. Timmonen, Pietralegelo and Voynov. All predicted to have strong years, these players should have some huge TOI numbers. Look for them to add to the PPP, Points, SOG and blocked shots categories. Also with the teams they are on they have a good chance at being great for a high +/-.

Ranked in the bottom 5 due to the lack of real offensive power. Voynov had a breakout year last year but has yet to prove he can maintain it (although I don’t know anyone that doubts he can). Franzen is playing on a team with a lot less depth which is not going to help his point totals. This team is going to rely on all-star goalie Lindquist and the offensive points it gets from its defense. The problem is that the defense on the team doesn’t put up big numbers in hits, PIM and blocked shots which are where other teams are going to be looking to get their defense to perform in. However Hartnell will be able to help in two of those.

Ranked 9th

Canuckleheads

This might be the most interesting team to watch in terms of the potential these players have. Karlsson is the highest drafted player on this team, in the TSN draft he was picked in the top 4 by their analysts. Defensive players that add points like a forward, he is second to none in value for what he does.

Turris has proven that he is an elite center to take notice of. Emerging last year from what some would argue as some nights a third line skilled player to what now people are considering a first line center. He will get large TOI and second unit PP on what should be a much improved Senators team.

Fisher has always been a decent player but he has finally found his role and team. With a much improved team added around him in the offseason, look for him to put up even larger numbers than he has in the past. Oshie has shown signs of potential the last couple years and appeared to break out last year. If he can continue this, he will be relied upon to provide much needed offense on what will be a strong Blues organization. Brower as well came out of the shadows last year to show that he was not just a secondary player in Washington. He has been rewarded in the preseason with more ice time and he has dominated with it. Look for him to play a big role on one of the top two lines.

Vinny’s move from a questionable Tampa team to a normally strong flyers organization should help him a lot. The flyers aren’t packed with amazing wingers but he should be part of a hard hitting line that can put the puck in the net. This could mean that Vinny will be put to the test by line mates like Simmonds. If he rises to the challenge, he could add some value in numerous categories. With injuries to the Oilers it is hard to know where Yakupov will play. Last year he had limited ice time on line 3 playing with Smyth. Again this year there is room of Smyth playing larger minutes than he should. A healthy team would put the first round pick paired with a winger like Perron who is proving he might have been the best trade the Oilers have done in years, Eberle who might be the most gifted winger with the puck or Hall who he has shown to have great chemistry with. Centering would either be RNH or Gagner who are both great players. If the team is healthy Yakupov is going to be amazing. If not, he does have the ability to make plays on his own, however he proved that last year and was still moved to the third line. His fate is in a rookie coaches hands.

Last is Schneider; a fairly decent goalie from the looks of it, however he has only be shown with strong defense in front of him. He now is on a team that lost its best player and a couple others. A team that scrambled even this week to add players to its roster to try to put together a competitive team. Cory will be tested and we will see if he is actually an elite goalie or if he was good because he was on a strong team.

Ranked in the bottom 5 due to the lack of a consistent star player. Karlsson is great but coming off his injury he is not the same as having an elite forward on the team. Most likely looking at 4 second line centers which mean limited ice time. A goalie that has not proven himself as a starter, playing on one of the weakest teams in their division and Yakupov’s uncertain role in his sophomore year leaves a ton of uncertainty for this team.

Ranked 10th

The Eskimo’s

A team with few question marks the only sure things Kessel and Neal. Kessel will be part of the top line on an improving Toronto team. He can put up big numbers in numerous categories. Normally very consistent, he has the potential for a career high year. Neal will be playing, hopefully, with a Pens team that has both a healthy Crosby and Malkin. Allowing him to work his chemistry with Malkin and again put up big number both 5 on 5 and on the PP.

Parise and Parenteau are not huge gambles and are likely to be great players for this team. Parenteau emerged last as one of the best players on the last place Avalanche team. However this is a team with a lot of players that under performed last year and he will have to share some of that ice time this year. With that said, if the Aves improve, Parenteau will probably also have a record year. Parise hasn’t really played to his potential since moving to the Wild. A lot of that has been due to injuries with Koivu and the inconsistent play of Heatley. However a healthy Koivu and the addition of Pomminville should allow him to get back to where he should be on the scoreboard.

Fillpula’s change of team is probably for the best. Small minutes in Detroit was not helping his numbers as they are a very defensive minded team with all lines minus Datsyuk and Zetterberg. Often they rely on winning games by trying to keep the SA below 20. Valeri is now on an offensive minded team but the question is still who will he be lining up against. All indication is that he will be on the second power play which should translate into points but until the line combination are set; it is tough to gauge his fantasy value.

Havlat and Fleury’s value is in decline. Havlat has been looking less and less likely to perform each year. Despite his potential he is not likely to put up the big numbers he has in the past. Fleury was replaced last playoffs by backup goalie Vokoun. It is not certain who will start but most likely they will compete for the role. Fleury still has a lot of value and can easily steal his job back but with less game played his saves and wins will suffer.


Ranked last due to having one less player, the uncertainty of who Fillpula will play with, whether Fleury is a starting goalie, a question as to whether this is the year Havlat finally makes a comeback or becomes a has been and what the Ave’s new lines will look like and how that will affect Parenteau’s ability to continue his amazing play.