The Hockey News: Fantasy Pool Look Column: Fantasy Pool Look: Ottawa, Philadelphia off-season report

Fantasy Pool Look: Ottawa, Philadelphia off-season report

Dany Heatley checks Randy Jones during a game. (Photo by Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images)

Darryl Dobbs
2008-08-14 12:12:47

As the number of keeper league hockey pools increase each year, fantasy junkies are becoming more active in the off-season as they prepare for the coming year. Rebuild? Retool? Tweak? Whatever your intentions, it helps to get all the information you can about your players. Fantasy Pool Look will examine at a pair of teams each week and give you the fantasy lowdown. This week, we’ll look through our fantasy hockey goggles at the outlooks for Ottawa and Philadelphia.

Also – don’t forget to send your off-season questions to the THN Fantasy Mailbag, which is posted the last Wednesday of each month during the summer.

Ottawa Senators
Gone – Cory Stillman, Wade Redden, Randy Robitaille, Ray Emery, Mike Commodore and Martin Lapointe.

Incoming – Alex Auld, Jarkko Ruutu, Jason Smith and Brendan Bell.

Ready for full time – Nick Foligno is a gritty, hustling, two-way winger who will stay with the big club for the duration this time around. Also, young rearguard Brian Lee has proven he can handle the rigors of the NHL. He has a lot of offensive potential, but will probably need a year or two to get used to the size and speed of the competition before putting up big numbers.

Cody Bass and Jesse Winchester are next on the list of youngsters ready to make the jump. Bass is a hard-working forward who will probably never crack an NHL team’s top-six forwards. Winchester is an undrafted former college player with a lot of hockey sense. He does have upside, but the best you can hope for this season is 30 points and rave reviews from coach Craig Hartsburg. If he gets those, then perhaps he can be a solid fantasy player in 2009-10.

On the outskirts are forwards Ilya Zubov and Alexander Nikulin. Zubov has high-end skill and first-line potential, but looking at his performance in the American League last season it is clear he needs a miracle to make the jump this season. Nikulin is more of a two-way player likely destined for the third line in a couple of seasons, but he has second-line upside. He, too, could use one more year in the AHL. The problem with both of them is they are from Russia. Will they put up with a demotion? Drafting them could prove tough in your keeper league if they flee to the Kontinental League.

Fantasy Outlook – This is still a good team that can score a lot of goals. Antoine Vermette will take the next step in his development, giving the team a second-line presence. However, there is still little in the way of offense in the pipeline. Still a Cup contender, but the window for making that statement is closing.
Fantasy Grade: C+ (last year was C+)

Philadelphia Flyers
Gone – R.J. Umberger, Vaclav Prospal, Jason Smith, Stefan Ruzicka, Patrick Thoresen, Ryan Potulny, Sami Kapanen and Jaroslav Modry.

Incoming – Arron Asham, Glen Metropolit, Steve Eminger and Ossi Vaananen.

Ready for full time – High-flying junior winger Claude Giroux has a spot already waiting for him on the third line. If he plays the way the Flyers (and his fantasy owners) think he can, he’ll be up on the second line by Christmas. He is a Calder candidate.

Defensive rearguard Ryan Parent probably had a spot locked, but then the team acquired Eminger and Vaananen and suddenly Parent is on the outside looking in.

James van Riemsdyk, although ready for the NHL, has not signed a contract and barring something unforeseen, he will play another season of college hockey.

Fantasy Outlook – As Mike Richards and Jeff Carter develop into stars, the Flyers continue to develop skill around them. Simon Gagne is also ready to return from his concussion. This squad is good right now and the pipeline also boasts JvR and Andreas Nodl. What a great team to build your fantasy roster around!
Fantasy Grade: A- (last year was B+)

Darryl Dobbs’ Fantasy Pool Look is an in-depth presentation of player trends, injuries and much more as it pertains to rotisserie pool leagues. Get the edge in your league - check out the latest scoop every Thursday through the off-season. Also, get the top 300 roto-player rankings on the 1st of every month in THN’s Fantasy section.

Do you have a question about fantasy hockey? Send it to the Fantasy Mailbag.

Want more fantasy insider information or to contact The Dobber? Check out dobberhockey.com.

COMMENTS (11)

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game on Posted
(2009-04-30 06:50:59)

Hockey is a physical game. People will get hurt. Boulerice is an idiot, and an obvious mistake to put on the ice. The rest just play hard the way the game should. Sewing class and figure skating is down the street if it is too tough for you. Stop crying and grow a pair.

whatsthatsmell Posted
(2009-04-30 06:49:02)

I kinda think C+ is a little low for Ottawa.

Flyerfan52 Posted
(2009-04-30 06:49:01)

smell, Simon Gagne plays for the Flyers. Sam Gagner is an Oiler. He was a rookie last year and I haven't heard of him having any concussions. Definitely not any because of "Philly's style of play". Those Little Leafers! Wish they'd know what they're talking about.

moonknight Posted
(2009-04-30 06:48:53)

the flyers are such a skilled team they shouldnt have to rely on goon tactics to win games. here's hoping they play cleaner this year. i mean, it must be embarrassing for a classy player like Timonen to have to put up with people calling his team dirty.

whatsthatsmell Posted
(2009-04-30 06:48:42)

Boulerice (25 games), Downie (20 games), Hartnell, Jones, Cote. I think There are lots others that should have gotten a suspension , I figure the refs may have just finally given up. How can you defend these guys?

Flyerfan52 Posted
(2009-04-30 06:48:41)

So smell, you want teams to get "fines and suspensions" if one of their players get hurt. Players are the most important asset any team outside the triangle has. They don't want to lose any of them. Players and teams have their own style of play. Anyone that ever played knows that.

whatsthatsmell Posted
(2009-04-30 06:48:38)

The flyers don't give a crap who gets hurt, as long as they hurt more players on other teams than ones on their own.

whatsthatsmell Posted
(2009-04-30 06:48:36)

Gagner's career is finished. Another head case courtesy of Philly's style of play. If it's not the other teams head they are taking off, it's their own players. Philly is everything wrong with the NHL today in terms of cheap shots and concussions. Another season like last season and I think it's time the NHL starts looking at handing out fines and suspensions to upper management and the coaching staff who are obviously encouraging the young guns to go out and "finish checks".

Gagner 89 Posted
(2009-04-30 06:48:20)

if giroux plays good enough to earn that third line spot and gagne gets back from his concussion to start scoring those Briere set-up goals, the flyers are gonna be scary good and give pittsburgh a run for their money for the division crown. if everything goes right for them, the flyers could get to the conference final or the cup final. the sens dont look all that improved except for smith and ruutu adding a bit more grit so id say they'll finish 6th in the east