Week Nine Waiver Draft (Dec 3)

Well, this week's Waiver Draft has been a bit of a chore, but that definitely comes with the territory of doing this part of the hockey pool.  You really hope that it is all going to change this year, but it really doesn't.  As of 9:41am MT this morning, the compulsory part of the Waiver Draft has been completed and with the publishing of this post, I would say that the free-for-all, that is the bonus round, can now begin.  A text message/e-mail will have been sent out to say just that.

But first, let's go over what has been done here on Saturday afternoon/evening and Sunday morning and then off we go!

It all kicked off in the middle of the afternoon on Sunday, with Wilton, up in Edmonton, picking up the former Oilers player, Andrew Cogliano and dropping Paul Byron in the process.  Byron said goodbye to this team with a celebratory hat trick against the Red Wings on Saturday night, which isn't a bad departing present.

Stuart, forever the risk-taker, has opted to take the still-not-quite-healthy-yet Ryan Kesler out of Anaheim, who underwent hip surgery back in June and is scheduled to come back sometime in December here.  Word is that he has been skating and there is a chance that he could be back as soon as Tuesday.  Coming out of Stuart's lineup is Jason Spezza of the Stars, who has been the subject of many trade rumours, due to a slow start.

Both Benson and the duo of Kristy & Don opted to pass on their 2nd round picks, which should come as no surprise, both teams have been fairly solid through the first nine weeks, with no glaring holes that needed filling with their second move.

After cycling through a number of defensemen that were already taken, mostly in the original draft at the beginning of the season, Jeremy finally settled on picking up Chicago's Gustav Forsling, who has found a regular spot on their blueline, thanks in part to his entry-level contract not being such a burden on their cap-strapped ways.  Jeremy was hoping to drop Trevor Daley in the bonus round this weekend, but Daley returned to action too soon for his liking or the Waiver Draft went too slow... one of the two.

There's another gambler in our midst, as Brian has been keeping a close eye on Zach Parise in Minnesota, seeing that he has started to skate, as he tries to come back from a significant back surgery.  The initial belief is that Parise isn't going to be ready until the New Year, which is still four weeks away, but Brian seems to think that he is ahead of schedule and could make an impact for the Wild and his pool team.  Out the door in the process was Long Island's Brock Nelson, who has also been somewhat underwhelming on a decent Islanders team.

Finally, we all awoke to Dale B.'s pick to round out the 2nd round of the Waiver Draft and he dropped Arizona Coyotes rookie Dylan Strome, who has just returned to the lineup this week for the Coyotes, scoring his first NHL goal last night, but that wasn't enough for the reigning champ, as he opted to take one of the top forwards available in Los Angeles' Trevor Lewis.

So, with all of this being said, the website will get its reset for the players dropped in the 2nd round, they are now available to be selected and we'll begin the free-for-all right away.  If you're reading this already, feel free to send me a message with your drop and new pick.