The Score's 2009 Fantasy Guide

Another good magazine that I've used in the past couple seasons for getting some good hockey pool drafting ideas comes from The Score, by the way of The Sports Forecaster. Last season, it was a pretty good publication and this year seems to be about the same. The best part of the Score's fantasy guide is that they provide a Draft Day Cheat Sheet pull-out that gives you an idea of the top 500 skaters and the top 50 goalies.

So far, I've already looked at the Hockey News (THN) and Hockey - The Magazine (HTM) and their respective pool guides and now I'll have a quick look at the things I wanted to see in the first two and see how the Score's matches up.

First off, the Score continues the trend that Sidney Crosby will be the best skater in the bunch, with a whopping 127 points. The second best player remains Alexander Ovechkin at 117. Five skaters eclipse the 100-point mark, while only three players will beat the 50-goal mark. The new name that's in the top 10 players from the other two publications is Anaheim Ducks forward, Ryan Getzlaf. A bold prediction for the 23-year old.

In the interesting points of note category, those near retirement or un-signed at the moment, Mats Sundin, Teemu Selanne and Joe Sakic. Sundin and Selanne are both pegged to have big seasons, provided they sign on in time to have a complete season with their respective new teams. They are both scheduled to have a 75-point seasons, which is theoretically good enough for a second round draft pick. Would you take them that high? Sakic, on the other hand, is the only one who has signed, but is scheduled to only have a 60-point season.

The next section of interest goes into the rookie campaign. The Score's guide has Kyle Turris taking the rookie scoring crown with 55 points this year. First overall draft pick, Steven Stamkos, is forecasted for 48 points in his rookie campaign, while Bobby Ryan is pegged for 42 points and Kyle Okposo is up for 41. A very limited rookie class, by the Score's measurement. In the way of Swedish free agent signing, Fabian Brunnstrom, the Score has him down at 39 points in Dallas.

In net, it's another conservative set of prognostications, as Marty Turco leads the pack with a miniscule 86 points, which would put him at a lower first round spot. The Score doesn't predict a single 40-game winner or 100-point goalie, so you'll have your hands full with this set of numbers. Henrik Lundqvist comes in second in points with 84, while Marc-Andre Fleury rounds out the top three with 82.

On the blueline, the top scorer comes from Calgary, Dion Phaneuf. The Score has him pegged for a huge year with 72 points in 80 games. Sergei Gonchar will do well with 69 points, Nicklas Lidstrom should register 67 points, while Mike Green could be a 20-goal scorer with 63 points.

The guide also has some pretty good articles to point you in the right direction for some sleepers, which is a little more helpful than the other two publications. They will also have an updated cheat sheet online which you can print off at the end of September. Very helpful!