Yesterday and today, training camps all around the league open up and we are finally privvy to the possiblities of line combinations and health issues of our future picks. Also, as these guys hit the ice, players who are on the outside looking in are more likely to accept their contract offers to make sure that they don't miss out on any hockey.
The Panthers will open up camp with the general starting line-up all signed and ready to play this season. Centre Olli Jokinen and defensemen Jay Bouwmeester & Mike Van Ryn were locked up for the year yesterday. Jokinen and Bouwmeester are pillars of the team and will be looked upon to put out some serious production for the year.
This morning, Mark Parrish accepted a 1-year deal to make sure he's in camp today for the Islanders. Parrish is a good candidate for a pick in the draft... if he stays healthy, he's a 60+ point player. In 59 games last season, he scored 24 goals... not bad production. Seeing as though the time-off should help most guys, I would assume that he'll come to camp fairly healthy and should be good for 70+ games this year.There are still some guys who need to be signed for their teams, fans and potential poolies to feel a bit more comfortable...
Ilya Kovalchuk, F, ATL
Andrew Raycroft, G & Nick Boynton, D, BOS
Ryan Smyth, F, EDM
Kenny Jonsson, D, NYI
These guys are all good pool picks for the upcoming season... but I would only have them pencilled in, because it isn't very wise to pick unsigned players in the pool. You'll miss out on games, no matter what their production is. You're bound to find someone of equal talent at the same time rather than taking a gamble on these guys.
1 comment:
Sherp, you rock. Unfortunately, I hate fantasy sports, which have all but ruined the once great team sport of NFL Football. I can only hope hockey players' natural humility and love for the game doesn't sully their team spirit. After all, you can't win the Cup without a good team around you -- and what else is there (at lesat you put team logos on your site and not players' mugs -- you seem to understand the importance)?
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