GMG s Market Buzz presents

GMG s Market Buzz presents The Top 100 Roto Keeper Players July Edition Vol. 1 / Ed. 6

Table of Contents July Edition GMG s Introduction... 2 PG Advised: Top 100 Roto Keepers... 3 Monthly Movers... 8 Market Buzz : RKM - Top 10 D Hits/Blocked Shots - Gates Imbeau... 9 Market Buzz : RKM - Top Shot Blocking Forwards - Gates Imbeau... 14 Praba s PG-13 - Brandon Praba... 16 Poolie Journals : Hockey Analytics - Doran Libin... 19 UHL Draft Journals : Colorado Avalanche - Carcillo... 22 IDHL Draft Testimonials - Daniel Morin & Jay Margolies... 26 Who are the Black Aces?... 28 GMG s Introduction July Edition This offseason edition brings you hockey enthusiasts an excellent new series: Hockey Analytics by Doran Libin. Better known as Big_DL on the DobberHockey forums, Doran delivers a quality piece (and introduction) on the benefits of advanced metrics. Under the Poolie Journals title, we are handed a chance to explore a new side of analyzing statistics, giving us a great advantage over our fellow managers and competition. Be sure to check it out on page 19. In other news, DobberHockey forum member Sudden Death has taken the task of covering the Los Angeles Kings. If you haven t checked out our Team Coverage section s talent, make your way over and be sure to ask the contributors a question or two! Have you ever wondered what it is like to be in a 24-plus team Dynasty? If yes, members from both the United Hockey League and International Dynasty Hockey League give interesting insight through journals and testimonials on their respective roster drafts and its results. In case you missed it, our regular contributor and OHL expert, Brendan Ross, has been promoted to the DobberHockey front line, along with former Dub and Chase writer Tim Lucarelli. Tim now covers Russ Miller s Eastern Edge, out every Thursday, while Brendan humbly takes a load off of Matt Bugg s plate, and will soon publish frequent in-depth prospect reports. Congrats to both, well deserved. Finally, as always, Brandon Praba delivers an unreleased PG-13, which is arguably his best one yet! Be sure to leave Brandon some much appreciated feedback. All the best, Gates @GM_Gates Imbeau 2

PG Advised Top 100 Keeper Rotisserie Players Skater Categories : M = Monster P = Profiled Player Dual Eligibility = Bonus Month Dud / Month Stud R = Rebuild / W = Win Now Moved Down / Moved up Full Tier 3 Half Tier 2 Faded Tier 1 Goals (Monster = 45 +) 30 20 10 Assists (Monster = 75 +) 60 30 15 +/- (Monster = 30 +) 20 10 0 PIM (Monster = 150 +) 100 60 30 PPP (Monster = 40 +) 30 20 10 SOG (Monster = 350 +) 300 200 100 GMGates Top 100 Skaters PG Roto Score: The following lists are GMGates and Praba s representations of the Top 100 Roto Keeper Players. Age, upside, value, team and positional requirements, among other influences, impact where players are ranked. As expected, those who continually hit multiple Roto categories are favoured and active roster players are the focus. Salaries and contracts are not in effect. Players are graded on a three-tier scale based on their recent achievements, current pace and two year upside. (See left panel for legend.) This is not a player to player draft guide simply because the flow of draft, positions required and many other needs come into play. We also chose not to include goaltenders due to the fact that The Goalie Guild and Dobber s Top 100 Goaltenders are already great references. Praba s Top 100 Skaters 1. Alex Ovechkin, LW WSH M M M Sidney Crosby, C PIT M M 2. Sidney Crosby, C PIT M M Alex Ovechkin, LW WSH M M M 3. Evgeny Malkin, C/RW PIT M Evgeny Malkin, C/RW PIT M 4. Steven Stamkos, C TBL M M P Steven Stamkos, C TBL M M 5. Daniel Sedin, LW VAN M M M Corey Perry, RW ANA M M 6. Corey Perry, RW ANA M Daniel Sedin, LW VAN M M M 7. Zach Parise, LW NJD M M Mike Green, D WSH 8. Nicklas Backstrom, C WSH M M P Jeff Carter, C/RW CBJ M 9. Jeff Carter, C/RW CBJ M Nicklas Backstrom, C WSH M M 10. H. Zetterberg, C/LW DET M Henrik Sedin, C VAN M M 3

MOV SOG PPP PIM +/- A G MOV SOG PPP PIM +/- A G +4 M +1 R Tier 3 Tier 2 Tier 1 Tier 3 Tier 2 Tier 1 11. Henrik Sedin, C VAN M M P Zach Parise, LW NJD M M 12. D. Heatley, LW/RW MIN H. Zetterberg, C/LW DET M 13. Ryan Kesler, C VAN Ryan Getzlaf, C ANA 14. Pavel Datsyuk, C DET Pavel Datsyuk, C DET 15. Mike Green, D WSH Eric Staal, C CAR 16. A. Burrows, LW/RW VAN Ryan Kesler, C VAN 17. David Backes, RW STL Bobby Ryan, RW ANA 18. Patrick Sharp, C/LW CHI Patrick Sharp, C/LW CHI 19. Ryan Getzlaf, C ANA Jarome Iginla, RW CGY 20. Ilya Kovalchuk, LW NJD M D. Byfuglien, D/RW WPG M 21. Bobby Ryan, RW ANA P D. Heatley, LW/RW MIN 22. Eric Staal, C CAR Alex Semin, LW WSH 23. Alex Semin, LW WSH P Mike Richards, C LAK 24. Mike Richards, C LAK P Rick Nash, LW CBJ 25. Daniel Briere, RW PHI Brad Richards, C NYR M 26. Jarome Iginla, RW CGY Anze Kopitar, C LAK 27. Marian Gaborik, RW NYR M Jonathan Toews, C CHI 28. (R) Claude Giroux, RW PHI (W) M. St. Louis, RW TBL 29. D. Byfuglien, D/RW WPG M -5 Patrick Marleau, C/LW SJS 30. Loui Eriksson, LW DAL Dustin Brown, LW LAK 31. Kris Letang, D PIT (R) Claude Giroux, RW PHI 32. Dustin Brown, LW LAK (R) Chris Stewart, RW STL 33. S. Hartnell, LW PHI M Zdeno Chara, D BOS 34. Brandon Dubinsky, C NYR Ilya Kovalchuk, LW NJD M 4

MOV SOG PPP PIM +/- A G MOV SOG PPP PIM +/- A G +2-2 +3 R Tier 3 Tier 2 Tier 1 Tier 3 Tier 2 Tier 1 35. (W) M. St. Louis, RW TBL Kris Letang, D PIT 36. Brad Richards, C NYR M Ryane Clowe, LW SJS 37. (R) Chris Stewart, RW STL James Neal, LW PIT 38. Keith Yandle, D PHX Joe Thornton, C SJS M 39. Zdeno Chara, D BOS Alex Burrows, LW/RW VAN 40. Anze Kopitar, C LAK Scott Hartnell, LW PHI M 41. Patrick Kane, RW CHI Patrick Kane, RW CHI 42. Rick Nash, LW CBJ Daniel Briere, RW PHI 43. Patrick Marleau, C/LW SJS Keith Yandle, D PHX 44. Milan Lucic, LW - BOS P Shea Weber, D NSH 45. Joe Thornton, C SJS M (R) Jeff Skinner, C CAR 46. Duncan Keith, D CHI (R) Matt Duchene, C COL 47. Jonathan Toews, C CHI (R) Evander Kane, LW WPG 48. Ryane Clowe, LW SJS (R) John Tavares, C NYI 49. (R) John Tavares, C NYI Jason Spezza, C OTT 50. (R) Matt Duchene, C COL Joe Pavelski, C/RW SJS 51. Tomas Plekanec, C MTL David Backes, RW STL 52. Vincent Lecavalier, C TBL Thomas Vanek, LW BUF 53. James Neal, LW PIT Milan Lucic, LW - BOS 54. Jason Spezza, C OTT (R) Kyle Okposo, RW NYI 55. (R) Taylor Hall, LW EDM Marian Gaborik, RW NYR M 56. Mikko Koivu, C MIN Mikko Koivu, C MIN 57. Shea Weber, D NSH Vincent Lecavalier, C TBL 5

MOV SOG PPP PIM +/- A G MOV SOG PPP PIM +/- A G -3 R Tier 3 Tier 2 Tier 1 Tier 3 Tier 2 Tier 1 58. Thomas Vanek, LW BUF Tomas Plekanec, C MTL 59. Marian Hossa, RW CHI Dan Boyle, D SJS 60. M. Cammalleri, LW MTL (R) Phil Kessel, RW TOR M 61. (R) Logan Couture, C SJS (R) Taylor Hall, LW EDM 62. Paul Stastny, C COL Nathan Horton, RW BOS 63. (R) J. Eberle, C/RW EDM (R) Logan Couture, C SJS 64. Travis Zajac, C NJD Mike Cammalleri, LW MTL 65. Derek Roy, C BUF (R) J. Eberle, C/RW EDM 66. (R) Phil Kessel, RW TOR M Johan Franzen, RW DET M 67. Johan Franzen, RW DET M Duncan Keith, D CHI 68. Drew Doughty, D LAK Loui Eriksson, LW DAL 69. (R) Jeff Skinner, C CAR P Drew Doughty, D LAK 70. Nathan Horton, RW BOS (R) J. v. Riemsdyk, LW - PHI 71. Joe Pavelski, C/RW SJS P Brandon Dubinsky, C NYR 72. (W) Chris Pronger, D PHI Jamie Benn, LW DAL 73. Mike Ribeiro, C DAL Marian Hossa, RW CHI 74. Jamie Benn, LW DAL (W) B. Morrow, LW DAL 75. Patrice Bergeron, C BOS Patrice Bergeron, C BOS 76. (R) J. van Riemsdyk, LW - PHI Paul Stastny, C COL 77. Ryan Malone, LW TBL Alex Edler, D VAN 78. David Krejci, C BOS David Krejci, C BOS 79. Jordan Staal, C PIT (R) P.K. Subban, D MTL 80. Steve Downie, RW TBL M Mikhail Grabovski, C TOR 6

MOV SOG PPP PIM +/- A G MOV SOG PPP PIM +/- A G +5-2 -5-3 -10 R Tier 3 Tier 2 Tier 1 Tier 3 Tier 2 Tier 1 81. (R) Kyle Okposo, RW NYI Jakub Voracek, RW PHI 82. Rene Bourque, RW CGY Ales Hemsky, RW EDM 83. Martin Havlat, RW SJS Derek Roy, C BUF 84. (R) Evander Kane, LW WPG (R) Erik Karlsson, D OTT 85. Justin Williams, RW LAK Tobias Enstrom, D WPG 86. (R) Derick Brassard, C CBJ P Martin Havlat, RW - SJS N 87. Tobias Enstrom, D WPG Mike Ribeiro, C DAL 88. (W) Shane Doan, RW PHX Ryan Malone, LW TBL 89. Jakub Voracek, RW - PHI N Dustin Penner, LW LAK 90. Stephan Weiss, C FLA (R) Justin Williams, RW LAK 91. Dustin Penner, LW LAK Patric Hornqvist, RW NSH 92. Kris Versteeg, LW FLA R.J. Umberger, C/LW CBJ 93. Michael Grabner, RW NYI (W) Shane Doan, RW PHX 94. (R) Tyler Seguin, C BOS (W) Chris Pronger, D PHI 95. Dan Boyle, D SJS Rene Bourque, RW CGY 96. Ales Hemsky, RW EDM Jordan Staal, C PIT 97. Jussi Jokinen, LW CAR (R) Derick Brassard, C CBJ 98. Patric Hornqvist, RW NSH A. McDonald, C/LW STL 99. (W) B. Morrow, LW DAL Steve Downie, RW TBL M 100. Mikhail Grabovski, C TOR Travis Zajac, C NJD Feel free to counter a player s position or lack thereof and category weight in the Top 100 Roto Players. Send in your thought or feedback to gates via email - gatticus@gmail.com or twitter - @GM_Gates 7

Monthly Movers July Edition GMG s List Up June July Mov Down June July Mov Mike Richards 28 24 Plus-4 Dustin Byfuglien 24 29 Minus-5 Claude Giroux 29 28 Plus-1 Milan Lucic 42 44 Minus-2 Rick Nash 44 42 Plus-2 Shane Doan 83 88 Minus-5 Martin Havlat 88 83 Plus-5 Kris Versteeg 89 92 Minus-3 Jakub Voracek Out 89 In Ryan Smyth 92 Out Out Praba s List Largest Gains Mov Largest Lost Mov Martin Havlat +14 Derick Brassard -10 Marian Gaborik +3 Thomas Plekanec -3 Ryan Malone -2 Michael Grabner Out 8

Roto Keeper Monsters : Top 10 Hits / Blocked Shots by Gates Imbeau - Tuesday June 28 th Hits and Blocked Shots are two rotisserie categories that have been thrown into the limelight of fantasy hockey as of late. This edition of Roto Keeper Monsters allows you to experience a different mindset of category evaluation. By taking a proactive approach and diving into the world of extended categories, I hope to provide you with an alternative way of building a winning team. This combination of categories accentuates the value of physical defensemen. Thus, added importance must given to the few defensemen who willingly throw their bodies in harm s way for the good of their team. In fantasy hockey, commissioners tend to use Hits and Blocked Shots for several league specific reasons: 1) It can bring balance to category weight between Forwards, Defensemen and Goalies, 2) It rewards players that would otherwise have no fantasy value (especially some fan favourites), 3) It bridges the gap between real NHL value and fantasy league value, 4) It adds different layers to team building and creates more ways to win. Before reading, keep in mind that Hits and Blocked Shots are the only statistics in focus; all other categories have zero influence over the rankings shown below. 10. Theo Peckham Last season, Peckham was arguably the best bang for your buck player in leagues with extended peripheral categories - he finished with a very respectable 196 hits, 123 blocked shots and 198 penalty minutes... all while making only $ 550,000. At age 23, Theo s star is shining bright and is a fan favourite in the making. Should Peckham repeat last year s performance, your chances at acquiring him cheap will be slim to none. Kudos to the fantasy managers who caught on early and acquired him last season he will not disappoint. To all others, the word is out. One Year Upside : 225 Hits, 125 Blocked Shots Three Year Upside : 265 Hits, 150 Blocked Shots 9

9. Brooks Orpik Arguably one of the best hitters in the game, Orpik has undoubtedly been a key component to the Penguins blue line for the better part of the decade. Over the last four seasons, Orpik came three shoves shy of a thousand hits, including the massive 309 hit showing in 2008-09 (1 st among defensemen, and 2 nd league wide behind Minnesota s Cal Clutterbuck). Yes, Orpik s totals have been slightly decreasing since that power season, but don t sweat it. In the 63 games he did play last season, the lowest of his NHL career, Brooks posted up 194 hits and 94 blocked shots putting him right on par when prorated to 82 games. While reaching the 300 hit plateau might have been a career season for Orpik, at 30 years of age, Brooks can still be very efficient in keeper leagues. One Year Upside : 240 Hits, 125 Blocked Shots Three Year Upside : 275 Hits, 140 Blocked Shots 8. Matt Greene When a player clocks in a combined 683 hits and 398 blocked shots over their last three seasons, they deserve to be on this list. If your league counts Hits and Blocks, Matt Greene makes a great categoryspecific solution. With the proper entourage, the Mean Greene Hitting Machine is bound to finish top five in hits every season - giving you a decent chance at winning the category weekly. A pattern to track with Greene is that the more he hits, the less he blocks. To back that up, in 2008-09, Matt recorded 202 hits and 167 blocked shots. The following season he put up 36 more hits, but blocked 41 less shots (a ratio of 238 : 126). This past campaign, Greene finished the season with the second best hit numbers among blue liners (243), to the expense of lower shot block totals (105). Will that trend continue in 2011-2012? One Year Upside : 250 Hits, 115 Blocked Shots Three Year Upside : 275 Hits, 140 Blocked Shots 7. Dennis Seidenberg Dennis Seidenberg has a knack for giving teams a hard time getting pucks to the net. Admittedly, not a lot of poolies know of Seidenberg s extra efforts - it is time to give some long overdue credit. The fact that Seidenberg is only 28 and signed long-term with the Bruins, fantasy owners should expect strong peripheral numbers with confidence. Look no further than the eventful 2010-11 post-season, where Seidenberg finished as the shot block leader, padded by a couple of beauties in the Stanley Cup Final. 10

While Seidenberg challenges to be top shot blocker yearly (like in 2008-09 with 215), it is his consistency that makes him so worthwhile. Take hits as example; Seidenberg accumulated 146, 166 and 161 hits in the last three seasons, an average of 158. In that same span, he averaged 183 shot blocks. Put those two averages together and you have yourself a quality workhorse d-man that will hit multiple categories for any fantasy squad. One Year Upside - 170 Hits, 180 Blocked Shotsz Three Year Upside - 185 Hits, 230 Blocked Shots 6. Stephane Robidas Stephane Robidas is a player who any GM would love to have on their team. He never quits on any play, and even at the age of 34, his devotion is clearly seen through his repertoire of selfless acts. In 2008-09, a loose puck had broken his jaw. Robidas missed just one shift following the incident, on route to playing more minutes than any other skater in that game. Moral of the story? He will do the same for your fantasy squad. Over the last six seasons combined, Robidas has registered 1318 hits, an average of 220 per season. Don t worry about his age, there is plenty more left in the tank for at least three more seasons. One Year Upside : 230 Hits, 150 Blocked Shots Three Year Upside : 260 Hits, 175 Blocked Shots 5. Mark Giordano Giordano is a rising star - time lapse his rookie season to now and witnesses him break out of that cocoon. Sooner or later, fantasy owners are going to start realizing his multi-cat potential and this may very well be your last offseason to draft him under the radar in some cases it is already too late! In three short seasons, Mark Giordano has gone from 55 hits and 39 shot blocks to 140 and 193 respectfully. Look for Giordano to build off those numbers next season. One Year Upside : 155 Hits, 210 Blocks Shots Three Year Upside : 200 Hits, 250 Blocked Shots 11

4. Greg Zanon If you need a fix in these categories, Greg Zanon has your back, leg, arm and so on. Zanon will ring you up to two million in salary cap leagues, but he is money in the bank. In the last three years, he finished third, fourth and second place among defensemen in the blocked shots department. That deserves some love! Zanon, who has a thing of always finishing in between 160-190 hits and 180-220+ range, is the definition of dependable. One Year Upside : 170 Hits, 210 Blocked shots Three Year Upside : 190 Hits, 235 Blocked Shots 3. Brent Seabrook Seabrook is another defenseman who likes to bang the body, highlighted by an impressive three season total of 659 hits. This past season, Seabrook brought home 227 hits. To put that into perspective, the combined effort of all other Chicago defensemen skating in 2010-11 (eight total) was 307 an 80 hit difference. Of those defensemen, Nick Boynton was the closest to Seabrook with 50 hits, followed by Duncan Keith with 45. On the bigger stage, Seabrook is a likely candidate to repeat as one of the top three defensive performers in the hits department. That is surely worth the price of admission, especially when you receive a voucher for 150 blocked shots - renewed yearly. One Year Upside : 235 Hits, 155 Blocked Shots Three Year Upside : 275 Hits, 175 Blocked Shots 2. Luke Schenn Inexperienced hockey poolies will look at Luke Schenn s point totals and write him off. Let them. He is without a doubt Toronto s hardest working blue liner. Yes, often times that doesn t translate into good fantasy numbers, but if your league counts Hits and Blocked Shots, he instantly becomes a monster. Luke Schenn, 20 years old, not only lead all defensemen last season with 251 bruise inducing hits, but managed to throw himself in front of 168 shots as well a combined total of 419 defensive plays. Schenn will eventually reach 300 hits and 200 blocked shots, just maybe not in the same season. A good rule of thumb would be to expect a combined total of hits and blocked shots ranging from 400 to 450 yearly with the odd 475. One Year Upside : 255 Hits, 160 Blocked Shots Three Year Upside : 300 Hits, 175 Blocked Shots 12

1. Dan Girardi Here we are, down to number one. Realistically, any one of the top five could have taken top spot. The reason why Dan Girardi takes top honours, in my books, is because he is arguably the most balanced blue liner when faced with the dual categories. Girardi has consistently hovered around the 200 hits mark the last few seasons. While that is an impressive feat, it is Girardi s newly found dedication and willingness to block shots that saw his stock rise. Three seasons, three huge leaps. In 2008-09 Girardi blocked 82 shots. The next season, he stepped it up big time adding triple digits to that total (182). This past season, Girardi managed to finish top of the league with 236 blocked shots. Girardi, received a nice raise from the New York Rangers last season and is still signed for three more years at 3.325 million. At 27, it is safe to say that he has only begun his bruised filled journey. Expect big things from Girardi - he will deliver. One Year Upside : 210 Hits, 220 Blocked Shots Three Year Upside : 235 Hits, 250 Blocked Shots RKP Top 10 Hits / Blocks Combo Player Name 1 Year Upside 3 Year Upside Hits Blks Hits Blks 10. Theo Peckham 225 125 265 150 9. Brooks Orpik 240 125 275 140 8. Matt Greene 250 115 275 140 7. Dennis Seidenberg 170 180 185 230 6. Stephane Robidas 230 150 260 175 5. Mark Giordano 155 210 200 250 4. Greg Zanon 170 210 190 235 3. Brent Seabrook 235 155 275 175 2. Luke Schenn 255 160 300 175 1. Daniel Girardi 210 220 235 250 13

Roto Keeper Monsters : Top Shot Blocking Forwards by Gates Imbeau - Thursday July 14 th Now that you got your fill on defensemen, it is time to showcase a few deserving forwards who excel in the combined Hits and Blocked Shots department. Forwards are a very different breed than defensive defensemen and blocked shots are not very forward friendly. On the front line, reaching 100 blocked shots should be considered a rare feat. In fact, the last forward to record 100 or more blocked shots was Ryan Johnson with 109, in 2007-08. One season later, Chris Drury posted 97, but only finished 67 hits not exactly monster worthy. Since then, few forwards have stood out of the pack, and only a handful have been as consistent in blocking shots as they are in hits. With that in mind, Roto Keeper Monsters presents to you three shot blocking musketeers: the veteran, the graduate and the breakout. The Veteran Over the last four years, only one forward has averaged 74 or more Blocked Shots - Mike Fisher. The former Senators forward has flourished in the block shots department, finishing top five in three of the last four seasons. Usually, when a player moves to a new franchise (and system) mid-season, you expect an adjustment period, but Mike Fisher s change in team did not affect his on-pace totals. When prorating both sets of numbers to 82 games, the results show 88 (Ottawa) and 91 (Nashville) Mike finished the 2010-11 season with 89 blocked shots, topping all other forwards. It is not recommended to draft Mike Fisher as your first line center, because on most other teams, he wouldn t be. More specifically, those drafting him expecting heavy production based on goals and assists have been misled. Reality check! What best suits Fisher for your fantasy squad is his ability to put up high combined totals of hits and blocked shots (shots on goal as well). Fisher should consistently finish top fifteen in hits and top five in blocked shots yearly, hovering just over 200 and 80 respectively. Although, like seen this past season, expect the odd off year. One Year Upside : 202 Hits, 87 Blocked Shots Three Year Upside : 223 Hits, 99 Blocked Shots 14

The Graduate Welcome to the shot blocking show Ryan Callahan, and congratulations on posting back-to-back top five finishes! With the departure of Chris Drury, Callahan becomes the likely candidate to turn Captain a seamless transfer in the eyes of many. It is evident that Drury was invaluable to Callahan s learning curve, as the young 26 year old seems to have taken many pointers from this veteran s game. Over the last three seasons, Callahan recorded 774 hits, an average of 258 per campaign. However, this past season, Callahan was poised to shatter career highs in both hits and blocked shots; unfortunately it was cut short to 60 games due to injury. Even then, Ryan finished the season posting a remarkable 224 hits and 77 blocked shots. A deeper look will reveal that when prorated to a full season, those same numbers leap to 306 and 105, respectively. When the New York Rangers needed a spark, he showed up, and he will do the same for your fantasy team. While he remains a Restricted Free Agents, it would not be wise for the Rangers to lose their team s heart and soul. What Callahan brings to the game is truly intangible. One Year Upside : 292 Hits, 93 Blocked Shots Three Year Upside : 318 Hits, 107 Blocked Shots The Breakout One offseason ago, who would have guessed that a player named Brian Boyle would finish the season with 240 hits (one hit behind Ovechkin) and 86 blocked shots (three blocked shots behind Fisher)? For those counting, he also recorded 21 goals, 14 assists, 74 PIMs and 218 shots, all while making $525,000. As seen in Tim Lucarelli s Late Blooming Brian Boyle, Brian s career path was a rollercoaster ride filled with obstacles. Despite this, the Rangers have shown confidence in him, dishing out a stellar three-year, 5.1 million dollar contract extension. Good term, great contract. Sitting behind newly acquired centerman Brad Richards and sophomore Derek Stepan on the depth chart should not be of concern - third line duties serve Boyle best. Until puck drop, the thought of the former first round draft pick being a one season wonder will undoubtedly linger. However, Brian Boyle may have finally found his niche, and we should expect similar peripherals from him in 2011-12. One Year Upside : 237 Hits, 78 Blocked Shots Three Year Upside : 249 Hits, 90 Blocked Shots 15

PG-13: Free Agency Edition, by Brandon Praba This month s PG-13 will focus on the free agency period. There are several key players that have yet to be given a contract for the upcoming season, and I have provided my take on the most fantasy relevant players. 1. I decided to change up the PG-13 this month. Instead of just listing 13 different players and talking about them, I thought it would be more beneficial to actually give my thoughts as well as possible fantasy ramifications. I d appreciate it if I got some comments/pm s letting me know what you think of the change. 2. Steven Stamkos (4): Yzerman will not let his franchise player leave Tampa Bay, even if it means signing him to the league maximum and trading Lecavalier (57). However, I m still surprised why he hasn t received an offer sheet. There are more than a few teams that could use a number one centre, so why not sign Stamkos to a ridiculous offer sheet, and when Yzerman matches, gun hard for Lecavalier (57). Stamkos fantasy value shouldn t change much regardless what team he plays with, but owners should hope he stays in Tampa since his point totals will likely drop a bit without St. Louis (28). 3. Drew Doughty (69): If it wasn t for Stamkos, all the offer sheet talk would be about Doughty. However, there is a smaller chance Doughty leaves the Kings than Stamkos leaving the Lightning. The Kings already have all their core players locked up next year, while Hedman and Downie still need to be re-signed. They also have over ten million dollars in cap space, which almost all can be allocated to Doughty. Los Angeles is one of the favourites in the West next year, and will be for the next decade, while Tampa s window closes as soon as St. Louis loses a step. Doughty is almost a lock for a career year with the additions of Richards (23) and Gagne. 16

4. Shea Weber (44): No chance he gets traded as the Predators filed for arbitration. Nashville has to do everything in their power to keep Weber, or they will find it quite hard to attract any quality players (unless they have a few more Underwood s lying around somewhere). It would be interesting to see Weber s production on a team that could actually score, but it seems more than likely Weber will flirt with 50 points unless he somehow learns the Russian words for Dear Radulov: Either play for Nashville or I ll suffocate you with my beard. 5. Zach Parise (11): The Devils also took their star player to arbitration, removing any possibility of an offer sheet. New Jersey went super-saiyan during the second half of the season, and adding a healthy Parise to the mix would only strengthen their odds of competing for a playoff spot. The problem is, the devils don t have much cap space, so if Parise garners more than $7 million, something will have to give. The chances of Parise hitting his upside with Kovalchuk around are minimal, but he should still be a threat for 85+ points regardless. 6. Brandon Dubinsky (71): Chances are he will remain on the same line with Anisimov and Callahan, since they played together 35% of the time during the regular season and were fairly productive together. On paper, it would be a good fit to slot Dubinsky on the left side with Richards and Gaborik, but he is more suited to the second line. While his even strength production should increase slightly, his power play points should rise dramatically with Richards quarterbacking. 7. Dany Heatley (21)/Martin Havlat (86): It s funny how a trade made in real life could be so lopsided in fantasy hockey. I m sure there are those that disagree, but there can t be many poolies out there that would swap San Jose Heatley for Minnesota Havlat straight up (unless your league counts salaries and your team s cap situation was as bad as Philly s was two weeks ago). The fact is, a lazy Heatley equals a healthy, productive Havlat (give or take a few points here and there). It s highly possible that Havlat will outscore Heatley this upcoming season, but the chance that Heatley hits 90 again is well worth the ten points you might lose out on if he still lacks the motivation. 8. Jeff Carter (8)/Rick Nash (24): Two 40+ goal scorers on the same line? No wonder there was so many Kaberle-to-Columbus rumors; they had to find a guy to play on that line who wasn t a shooter. Carter has finally left the logjam at center in Philly, and could be the one who helps Nash eclipse 80 points. It s highly possible that the two have no chemistry and are split up, but the chance that they stick together is worth overpaying to land the pair. 17

9. Mike Richards (23): It seems unfair that a team can have Richards as their number two centre. The Flyers went from an annual playoff contender to a team that might not even make the playoffs next year. There is a good chance that Bryzgalov was a product of Phoenix s system and buckles under the pressure of signing a contract worse than Luongo s. The Kings on the other hand, could be the first team other than the Sharks to win the Pacific division since the Ducks won the cup in 2007. Richards is now cemented as the number two center (1A/1B at best), which is a huge improvement over the 1A/2B/3C/4D he was in Philadelphia. There is only one puck, and now that he is locked in a more offensive role his production should increase. 10. Andrew Cogliano (N/A): Apparently if you are an excellent skater you are worth a second round pick. Unfortunately I am a terrible skater, so chances of getting drafted are slim, unless I can somehow convince Brian Burke that I am oozing with pugnacity, truculence and belligerence. All jokes aside, best case scenario is Cogliano will be Koivu s replacement as the second line centre. More likely he ends up playing more of a penalty killing role on the third line. Since Kessel can only shoot and skate, then all Cogliano needs to do is work on his shot and he ll be worth Seguin and Hamilton, right? 11. Nikita Filatov (N/A): If he was a cat, he would be on his 8th life already. Failure to put up points on a line with Spezza would lower his value tremendously, considering at one point there were those (including me) that thought his upside was higher than Stamkos. Although I m not convinced it is a smart idea to put a rookie who didn t earn the trust of his defensive coach (Hitchcock) with a turnover machine (Spezza), it could work out. The Sens were the winners of the 2011 Draft, and will be a very exciting young team to watch considering Filatov could lead the team in goals next season. 12. Player Contracts: Absolutely despise front loaded contracts. When a player like Ehrhoff is set to earn $10 million next season, it s no surprise that Doughty hasn t been signed yet. After all these obvious attempts at circumventing the salary cap (find me one person who truly believes Brad Richards will play during the years he makes $1 million), Talbot s contract is the one deemed illegal. What player will want to re-sign with their team when they can just hit UFA and wait for some team to overpay for their services? I understand that some teams need to overpay to land players (Montreal) or reach the cap floor (Florida), but it really distorts the true value of a player. 13. Some goalie tidbits I don t understand: Bryzgalov is set to earn $8.5 million more than Vokoun next season. The Devils did not draft a single goalie this year. Brodeur has clearly lost a step, and the team will either have to overpay in a trade or dollars to get a replacement. The supply and demand for goalies last summer compared to this summer has changed dramatically. How much would the Habs have gotten for Halak if their magical playoff run was this year instead? 18

Poolie Journals Hockey Analytics by Doran Libin As fantasy sports progresses, it only makes sense that the tools used to evaluate those players progress as well. This series journeys deep into the world of hockey analytics examining a number of new statistics, such as Corsi, GVT and Fenwick, along the way. We will find out exactly what they measure and whether they can be used to benefit, all in an attempt to be more like Pete than Andre. Whereas my first hockey pools were points only and position did not matter, there are now a multitude of pool scoring systems and even more point categories. I know of one pool that deducts points for player bathroom breaks; I have yet to ask how that category is tallied not sure I want to know either. The emerging inclusion of face-offs, blocked shots and hits is placing value on players that previously only Brick Tamland would have drafted. This series is an attempt to find out whether hockey analytics can help us all avoid trading Doug Gilmour for Gary Leeman (DAMN YOU DOUG RISEBROUGH!). Hockey Analytics Ancestry The fact that the field of hockey analytics warrants examination can be attributed to the efforts of Bill James. His books, The Bill James Baseball Abstracts, looking at how best to win baseball games and the best ways for a player to contribute launched the sabremetrics revolution. The conclusions James reached from challenging conventional baseball wisdom were originally scoffed at but are now gospel. James is now looking into crime and murder; if he does for criminal masterminds what he has for baseball GM s we re all in trouble. Michael Lewis chronicling of Billy Beane s use of statistics to make the Oakland A s competitive in Moneyball propelled sabremetrics into the mainstream. The story was all the more intriguing because Beane succeeded in making the A s relevant by capitalizing on the new statistical approach. This approach has since been used by Red Sox GM Theo Epstein to break a longstanding curse in capturing 2 World Series. Sabremetrics and sports analytics have now reached such mainstream appeal that new statistics can now be used in baseball pools. Furthermore, Felix Hernandez, a 13-12 pitcher, recently won the AL Cy Young based largely on baseball analytics stats. Further proof of its mainstream appeal is that MIT now hosts the Sloan Conference, the equivalent of bringing together the Tri-Lambs and Alpha-Beta of Adams College, in order to better sports and talent evaluation. If you doubt that hockey analytics is gaining similar prominence note that at the most recent Sloan Conference GMs Stan Bowman and Brian Burke were both featured on panels. 19

Analytics Today The presence of NHL GM s at the Sloan Conference should confirm that hockey analytics are firmly entrenched in NHL front offices. In baseball, analytics has been used to identify under-valued players and under-valued attributes. Initially this manifested itself in a focus on players that got on base a lot, and now can be seen in a renewed focus on defense. The individual nature of baseball, every play starting with a 1 on 1 confrontation between batter and pitcher, means that it is perfectly suited for greater statistical analysis of performance. Hockey, basketball and football have taken slower to analytics because it is significantly harder to measure an individual s impact on the play of an entire unit. Shane Battier has recently become the poster boy for basketball analytics as a player who is more valuable than his traditional statistics suggest. Players like Battier can have fantasy ramifications as he improves the overall statistics of the unit and allows teammates to flourish in other areas. A hockey example of this effect can be seen in Dave Semenko s presence on a line with Gretzky and Kurri. Semenko, while not being as offensively gifted as his linemates, brought other attributes that are thought to have created more space for the more finesse Gretzky and Kurri. Similarly, the presence of Manny Malhotra on the Canucks third line is thought to have freed up Ryan Kesler for a more offensive role. Thus while Kesler scored 2 fewer points this year he saw 45 seconds more powerplay time per game, going from 8 th to 2 nd on the team in PP TOI. In basketball this has resulted in a focus on how units play together and evaluating players based on more than just points. On the individual end, John Hollinger s PER (Player Efficiency Rating) has become a major factor in ESPN s NBA coverage. PER takes into account both the positives and the negatives each player brings to the floor. Going further, on a recent BS Report Bill Simmons and Henry Abbott (ESPN s True Hoops basketball blogs) talked about the lack of a trade market for Monta Ellis. Ellis is a dynamic guard who averages 24 points per game, with a PER around 18 (Durant and Nowitzki are around 23, Brian Cardinal is around 9), suggesting that he is a valuable player. Further examination of Ellis stats suggest that he s a tremendously inefficient scorer as suggested by his PER versus his extremely high usage rate (% of a team s plays a player uses when on the floor). Ellis, a player who once would have been a hot commodity, is now a pariah largely because his seemingly significant individual contributions are more than countered by his negative team affects. On the team side, the New Orleans Hornets, a team that finished 7 th in the West last year, had the most prolific clutch offense in the NBA. Since 2005-2006, the arrival of Chris Paul, the Hornets offense runs at an offensive efficiency clip of 104.4 as a whole, but at a 115.9 clip during clutch periods of the game. By comparison, the 2009/10 Phoenix Suns operated at 115.3 as a whole, the highest rate since Steve Nash s arrival there. The Hornets clutch offense is especially unusual for a team that in recent years has only won 55% of its games. While Chris Paul is often recognized as one of the best PG s in basketball, he generally hasn t been recognized as one of the best clutch players in the game. That perception is in stark contrast to the fact that the only team better in the last 3 minutes of a game since Paul s arrival is the Spurs. Neither team, however, contains the player conventionally thought to be the best clutch shooter in the game, Kobe Bryant (the Lakers aren t in the top 5). This development can only lead to a re-defining of what it is to be clutch. 20

Relevance to Fantasy Sports Understanding, hockey analytics has the potential to be relevant to fantasy hockey in 2 ways; evaluating and projecting players and understanding how players will be used by their teams. The provision of 2 baseball examples of player evaluation, BABIP and Heath Bell, of how analytics have aided fantasy baseball poolies, and a brief discussion of the role of the closer in baseball should illustrate this potential. BABIP - BABIP measures a player s batting average on balls in play and can be useful in understanding how much of a player s success is a result of luck. A player who sees an inordinate jump in BABIP above their career BABIP can be assumed to be having a lucky season. Similarly players experiencing a career low BABIP such as Jose Bautista in 2010 can be thought of as having bad luck. The fact that Bautista thrived should have told you that he was the real deal, and possibly allowed you to foresee his success this season. Heath Bell - Heath Bell is emblematic of how sabremetrics can be used to identify a player who, despite struggling, has all the signs of a player ready to break out. While with the Mets in 2005/6 all of Heath Bell s peripherals were outstanding. He averaged a strike out per inning, had low walks and only gave up 2 HR s every 5 games yet he sported an ERA over 5. His ERA can be seen to be artificially high as almost 40% of balls put in play against him ended up as hits. In 2007, after the Padres acquired him, his opponent s BABIP went from 40% to 27% and his ERA dropped under 3. Bell is now considered one of the best closers in baseball. Knowledge of sabremetrics and the application of these stats to players on your team and players you may acquire could help you identify the next Jose Bautista or Heath Bell. Analytics is also informing how players are utilized; most recognizably the best relievers are now more frequently being kept out of the closer spot and being used to put out situational fires. Thus Daniel Bard, who 10 years ago would have been a sure thing to close for the Red Sox, barely sniffs a save. While hockey analytics has the potential to help you evaluate players. It is important to remember that even in baseball where the study of analytics is far more advanced there isn t one stat that alone will predict a player s production. If hockey analytics proves to be useful as a tool for better evaluating players it will likely be a matter of looking at a number of different metrics that together provide an in-depth picture. Conclusion Hopefully the examples provided make it apparent how hockey analytics have the potential to help in your fantasy hockey exploits. While it is not certain that hockey analytics has progressed far enough to yield the next great fantasy hockey microscope, it seems to be a step in the right direction though. As a poolie looking for an edge it s important to explore hockey analytics in order not to be the Bernie Lomax of your pool. This series will explore the world of hockey analytics in order to understand the various metrics, both positive and negative, and hopefully find the best ones to project a player s future production. 21

UHL Draft Journals: Colorado Avalanche 1st round (#24) - Jonathan Quick - Since there was a goalie run in the 1 st round before my pick and the skaters I hoped to get with this pick (Kesler, Toews, Duchene and Giroux) were gone I felt I had no choice but to take the best available goalie. Quick s age and contract placed him over the likes of Bryzgalov, Niemi and Hiller on my list. Quick's got arguably the best contract amongst all starting goalies which is a huge asset to the team and allows me to spend more money on skaters. With this pick the goaltending situation was settled and I could concentrate on skaters from here on. 2nd round (#25) - Bobby Ryan (Franchise player) - Ryan was the guy I was targeting all along with either of my first two picks and I am very happy to have him as my franchise player. I expect Ryan to have a similar breakout season next year as Perry had this year. Safe to say Ryan will be a member of my team for a long time. 3rd round (#72) - Jordan Eberle - All the guys I was originally targeting at this point went in the 3 rd round before my pick but surprisingly Eberle fell to me. After seeing Skinner and Couture getting drafted already in the 2 nd round I didn t expect Eberle to fall this far. But since that happened I was more than happy to take Eberle to my team. Eberle s cheap rookie contract will be a huge asset to the team. 22

4th round (#73) - Jarome Iginla - Iginla was the BPA at this point and couldn't let him slip any further. Still plenty of miles left in Iggy. 4th round (BUF) (#90) - Alex Pietrangelo - With the pick acquired from Buffalo in January I took AP. Very happy with the trade as I'm sure Pietrangelo wouldn't have lasted all the way to #120. Pietrangelo will be the cornerstone of my D for years to come. 6th round (#121) - Jordan Staal - Staal was another guy I was targeting all along and I am very happy to have him on my team. I expect big things from Staal next year as hopefully he'll be playing with Geno on the 2nd line. In any case Staal will offer solid all across-the-board contribution to the team. 7th round (#168) - Blake Wheeler - Wheeler was great after getting traded to the Thrashers and I'm banking on that to continue next year as he'll be playing on the 1st line with Ladd and Little. 8th round (#169) - Devin Setoguchi - With the later b2b pick I took yet another RW at this point and with that my RW was pretty much set. Setoguchi finished the season on a high note (29 points in the last 33 games) and I'm hoping that to carry on to next year and Setoguchi to bounce back to being a 60+ point guy. 9th round (#216) - Matt Calvert - Lots of cheap young guys were taken right before my pick but suprisingly Calvert slipped through the cracks. Couldn't let this top-10 keeper league prospect according to Jeff Angus slip any further. Like with Eberle, Calvert s cheap rookie contract is invaluable asset to the team. 11th round (BUF) (#247) - Mike Fisher - I had my eyes on Fisher for a long time before this pick. Fisher was the BPA at this point as far as I'm concerned. Fisher is player who's made for this kind of league. Fisher offers great production to each and every category. Very happy to have Fisher on my team. 11th round (#264) - Chris Kunitz - With the b2b picks I decided to strengthen my LW at this point. Since Kunitz was still on the board I had to take him. Physical LW who has good chemistry with the best player in the world. I'll take it. 23

12th round (#265) - David Booth - Along with Kunitz I took Booth at this point. 30 goals, 250+ SOG and 100+ hits upside was something I just couldn't pass. 13th round (#312) - Fedor Tyutin - I had waited long enough to take my second D-man and Tyutin was the best affordable option left. Tyutin is an underrated D-man who offers very solid all across-the-board production. 14th round (#313) - Bryan McCabe - I'm counting on McCabe to sign a cheap contract in the summer which is why I took him. McCabe still offers great multi-cat production. 15th round (NJD) (#341) - Joffrey Lupul - I traded up to get this pick as I wanted to get either of Lupul or M.Michalek to bolster my LW. Ended up taking Lupul as I think he can have a great season next year while playing with Kessel. That is if he stays healthy. I've got my fingers crossed. 17th round (#408) - Saku Koivu - I had been looking at Koivu since the 13 th round and was happy to see him fell to me at this late in the draft. I m going all and Koivu helps me win right away. S.Koivu was the best C available at this point and is a very solid choice to be the 3rd C in this deep league. 18th round (#409) - Derek Joslin - Had to take a cheap depth D-man at this point and there was nothing better left than the guy who's ranked amongst the top-35 D-men prospects by no other than Darryl Dobbs. 19th round (NJD) (#437) - Jonas Gustavsson - Monster had the highest upside of remaining players and wanted to give him a chance. Just a year ago he would have went a lot higher in this draft. Hopefully he'll be able to get his game together next year - either with the Leafs or somewhere else if the Leafs decide to trade him. Low risk high reward pick at this point. 24

19th round (#456) - Nate Thompson - Thompson's been top-3 in blocked shots by forwards the past two seasons and offers solid contribution to hits, GV/TK % and to FO% too. Thompson even had a 25 point and 100+ SOG season this year. Thompson is simply a very solid depth guy on a cheap contract. 20th round (#457) - Nick Spaling - Spaling had a very good rookie season (technically it was his sophomore season though) and has some upside to develop into a great depth guy. Spaling is very good at faceoffs which is a big bonus. 21st round (#504) - Patrick Kaleta - Had to have one pest on my team. Kaleta will give the team some PIM, lots of hits and an occasional goal or assist here and there. All the more known pests in fantasy hockey were long gone but Kaleta can be just as effective as they are. Kaleta is a solid #5 RW for my team. 22nd round (#505) - Jared Spurgeon - Spurgeon is a small offensive D-man with great hockey sense. Impressed every in Minnesota in his first year as a pro. Spurgeon has a solid upside and his contract is dirt cheap. 23rd round (#552) - Brian Lee - With the last pick of the draft I took Lee as my 6th D-man. Former top-10 pick who solidified himself as an NHL D-man in the 2nd half of this year. Maybe he still finds some offensive game but if not atleast he brings some hits and blocked shots with a cheap salary. Some final remarks: - The team doesn't exactly look like how I envisioned it to be before the draft had started but I'm still very happy with the outcome. Got many players I wanted to have on my team. I feel like I got a nicely balanced team that should competitive in each category. Salary situation is under control and I achieved one of my key goals going into the draft: not to take any bad contracts. There's a good mix of younger and older players so the team should be ready to compete not only next year but in the future too. Having solid wingers was something I wanted and I think I managed to achieve that goal pretty well. Goaltending should be strong and the centers are solid enough in a deep 24 team league. Defense was all along going to be a work in progress but still got a great piece in Pietrangelo to build it around. Overall the draft was very competitive as expected with lots of knowledgeable GM's so there were not many steals to be made. Unfortunately lots of GM s had the guys I was targeting high on their lists too and they were quickly taken. So taking that into account I'm very pleased with how my team shaped up to be. Colorado Avalanche is ready to challenge every team next year and being the first ever champion of UHL is my one and only goal for next year. 25

IHDL: International Hockey Dynasty League From GM Daniel Morin of the Washington Capitals Adams Division 28 teams? I thought surely there would be a lot of Patrick Eaves and Taylor Pyatts as 2nd Line Centers. My strategy has always been to pick the best players available in any draft to win now rather than in ten years. So armed and ready, I plunked Parise with the 10 th and Zetterberg at 47 th. By the 3 rd round, I started to doubt my strategy. Can t really win with 2 star forwards, no goalie, so-so D and a string of Patrick Eaves. So had to think for the future like the other smart GMs. But by my next turn all the good goalies and young and future superstars were gone. One has to be astute enough to stack up hidden gems somewhere, and I thought I was astute enough. Did it work? Hell no. Saw my list disappear from my board in front of my teary eyes, and faster than I could devise a Plan F! But when looking at other team rosters, I realized that we were all in the same boat about to sink. A few GM s rosters caught my attention enough to proclaim myself as one of the dumb ones. Those smart GMs may not win this year, but will become superpowers in a year or two. For this season, here s how I see our Division standings: Adams Division - Atlanta Scary and productive line up, strong enough at D and Dubnyk might surprise. The team to beat in this Division. Nashville Excellent corps of F s, one of the top G s, but weak D. Still enough to scare the hell out of the Caps. Tampa Bay Best D of the group and one of the top G s in the league, but weak core of Fs. Washington Very decent core of talent, but a bunch of underchievers with upside. Old but productive D. Pavelec a question mark. You can't really argue Bernier's upside... Dallas Arguably the best G of the group, albeit a big mouth. Astute GM with a good mix of youth and producers. Columbus Best player in the world in Sid and a winning G won t be enough especially if Sid s concussion symptoms recur. St. Louis will be singing the Blues, as this will be a long season, unless Tkachuk steps it up 26

From GM Jay Margolies of the Quebec Nordiques Norris Division Being this is a very deep league and 28 teams my draft strategy was to get a top 10 goalie and a top 5 defensemen in the first two rounds. I accomplished that with Weber and Kipper. After that I was looking for young forwards and defensemen so I can build not just for this year but for many years to come and not worry about 30+ year old guys breaking down. I got a few solid young guys and some older guys too all in all a lot different then who I had originally thought I would end up with. My defense is a bunch of question marks after Weber as I gambled on Quincey and Campoli. I didn t expect an all star team at all and right now I m happy with this team as I have a picture of who I am targeting in the prospect draft to fill my weaknesses. Here is my take on the Norris Division which I feel is wide open : Norris Division Chicago Strong forwards with Duchene Toews and all average Defense and for this moment 2 question marks in goal as we still don t know how great Varlamov can be and if he is the starter ahead of Giguere a nice solid team though. Detroit Decent Forwards with Kane and JVR. Decent Defense and average Goalie with Mason. Another solid team though in this tight division. Minnesota Strong Forwards Giroux and Vanek are a very scary 1-2 punch. Average Defense but could be a lot better if Bogosian finally has his breakout year. Below average Goalies as both goalies are now backups. Montreal Strong Forwards with Ryan, Doan and Voracek - all are potent. Decent Defense with Letang and Hainsey and decent Goalies with Neuvirth, now the Caps #1 - another solid team. [before Vokoun trade to Caps] Ottawa Strong Forwards, Kovalchuk, Setoguchi & Penner are lethal. Strong Defense, Chara, Goligoski great 1-2 punch. Strong Goalies as Vokoun is a top 10 goalie in this tight Divison. They are the favorites in my opinion to win the division Quebec Decent Forwards, Filppula and Pavelski primed for breakout years. Cammalleri is a sniper who needs to stay healthy. Average Defense, after Weber there are question marks and Strong Goalies, Kipper is a Top 10 goalie and is the best goalie in the division based on he plays 70 games every year it seems very solid team as well. Toronto Strong Forwards Backstrom, Couture, Ribeiro, St. Louis all lethal and scary. Decent Defense, Boyle is Top 10. Below Average Goalies as both are now backups. Thats my take on the division and I tried to be as honest as possible so not looking to offend anyone. Please feel free to rebut anything you do not agree with. Can t wait for the prospect draft and then the season to begin. It will be a fun league. 27

Who are the Black Aces? Featured Contributors - Gates Imbeau - @GM_Gates Brandon Praba NHL Team Coverage - Shakedown - Chicago Blackhawks TK12555 - Toronto Maple Leafs littleranger - New York Rangers donions - Edmonton Oilers Big Ev & sovietcanuckistan - Ottawa Senators ericdaoust - Montreal Canadiens Dean Youngblood - Detroit Red Wings Mikerocksthered - Washington Capitals Flyer Fan - Philadelphia Flyers Kudelskis Krushers - Carolina Hurricanes AtlantaSportsFan - Atlanta Thrashers bballplyr321 - San Jose Sharks Bomm Bastic - Buffalo Sabres ridinryan44 - Vancouver Canucks newper114 - New Jersey Devils 4T2 - Boston Bruins mapletreemarty - Colorado Avalanche Excelsior - Pheonix Coyotes Sudden Death - Los Angeles Kings Regular Contributors - Steve Laidlaw - @SteveLaidlaw Brendan Ross - @Rossy_youngblood Garrett Matthews Tyler K. Sponsored Dynasty Leagues - UHL Dynasty League - lead by Dyzfunctioned IHDL Dynasty League - lead by Shakedown ASKL Dynasty League - lead by Playmaker26 Other Features [Past, On Hold and Coming] - GMG & DY's 2011 ASG Mock Draft DY s Daily Fantasy Points Pick-a-Player Challenge Dean Youngblood s Hockey History Studs & Duds Write a Caption Team Audits Polls, Contests & Challenges Fantasy Mailbag / Submit a Player Hit or Miss A GMG Challenge OHL News and Discussion - lead by Brendan Ross On the 15 th of every month, Gates Imbeau releases the Top 100 Roto Players Exclusive. In addition to this, he runs the Black Aces, otherwise known as the DobberHockey farm team. Hamilton bound this summer, Gates was born and raised in Sudbury, ON, and holds a B.A in Communications specialized in Advertising. He can be found on twitter (@GM_Gates) or in his Office on the DobberHockey forums. 28