Notable Pre-Season Players (Oct 4)

With the regular season officially getting under way for a couple of days, then taking a few days off, then starting again in North America, there is still some room for pre-season games. Since I haven't held my draft as of yet, there is still some news that could be useful from the pre-season that can be published, so I guess I should.

With no Wade Dubielewicz in the picture on Long Island, there is a battle going on to be Rick DiPietro's back-up this season. Yann Danis had made good use of his starts in the pre-season, but on Saturday, it was Joey MacDonald's turn to shine and he put up a 28-save effort in a 3-1 win for Boston. If you're going to need a back-up goalie in your pool, you may want to wait until the last minute before you make the call for the Islanders.

Another in the sleeper category may see some quality minutes for quality points. Ville Leino, Finnish prospect, had a pair of assists for the Red Wings in their 4-3 win over Toronto on Saturday night. Leino has had a pretty good pre-season for Detroit, but since spots are quite limited, his chance is pretty slim to make the team, but a close eye should be kept on him, just in case.

Niklas Backstrom looks to make your goaltending decision in the Northwest Division all that much more difficult, as he put together a 25-save shutout against Montreal on Saturday night. Backstrom has tried to keep himself in the same sentence as Roberto Luongo or Miikka Kiprusoff and he likely should be. He'll be a good pick-up for any fantasy team in a draft.

If Brian Rolston is going to give enough back on his new 4-year deal he received this summer, he'll have to produce a fair few evenings like tonight in the pre-season. Rolston had a goal and an assist in New Jersey's win over Philadelphia, earning him another look on my list for the draft. Rolston finished last season with 59 points in 81 games, which may need to be adjusted for his projection.

Lee Stempniak makes a return to the notable pre-season players, as he records another 3-point night for St. Louis, which has his stock going in the upward direction this pre-season. Three assists on Saturday against Atlanta should be enough to move him up a little further on the priority list. St. Louis has been playing pretty well in this pre-season, which leads me to believe that they could be an okay team to pick from, unlike recent years.

The Coyotes continued their scoring ways against their division rivals, the Kings. Phoenix beat LA 5-2 on Saturday night and it was 2004 draft pick, Kevin Porter, leading the charge with a goal and two assists. Porter is still in camp and may find his way onto an already young roster, keep an eye out for him on the final roster.