| When preparing for your fantasy hockey draft, the | | | | In 3 NHL seasons so far, he has yet to reach 35 goals |
| lazy man's plan is to pull out last year's stats and pick | | | | or 70 points. It's no knock on him as a player, he's |
| the guy who had the most points. Many bad | | | | clearly one of the best in the game, but unfortunately, |
| assumptions go into that philosophy. You ultimately end | | | | responsible 2-way play isn't a stat in the fantasy world. |
| up with a roster of one-hit wonders and miss out on | | | | Let someone else overpay for him in the first couple |
| rising players. The players identified below likely peaked | | | | of rounds. |
| last year or had a fluke of a great season. While most | | | | Defense |
| of these are still valuable players, they will get drafted | | | | Stephane Robidas DAL |
| far earlier than they should. Let your buddies make | | | | After nearly a decade of fantasy obscurity, Stephane |
| these mistakes, while you go for value. | | | | Robidas stormed to a 10-goal, 41 point performance, |
| Offense | | | | ranking him in the top 10 in terms of fantasy points last |
| Steve Downie TAM | | | | year. Prior to last season, his cap was 26 points. If |
| Downie stormed the fantasy world by finishing 30th | | | | you're drafting purely on last year's numbers, you'll |
| among forwards in total fantasy points last season. He | | | | surely be overrating Robidas and will likely be |
| did so by piling on the penalty minutes, while riding | | | | disappointed when he doesn't get back to 40 this year. |
| shotgun on the Stamkos bus. With Gagne and other | | | | Let someone else make that mistake and look for |
| new faces coming to Tampa, don't bank on Downie | | | | someone with more upside. |
| repeating his good fortune. He'll surely be overrated at | | | | Goalies |
| your draft. | | | | Nikolai Khabibulin EDM |
| Brooks Laich WAS | | | | The good news is, he's the undisputed #1 on an NHL |
| Laich may be capping out his fantasy potential with the | | | | team. The bad news? Where to begin... First off, he's |
| good year he had in 2009. He obviously benefits from | | | | playing in Edmonton, if he's healthy, and can shake DUI |
| the talent around him, but he's geared more for a | | | | charges. His stats have never been fantastic since |
| 2-way role. The temptation is to jump on anything | | | | leaving Phoenix almost a decade ago. If you're in a |
| wearing a Capitals sweater, but don't jump too early | | | | deep league and desperately need a guy who should |
| on this one. 60 points is a fair expectation. | | | | at least log minutes, keep him on your list. Otherwise, |
| Mike Ribeiro DAL | | | | take a chance on a backup with some upside. |
| Diver. | | | | Miikka Kiprusoff CGY |
| Brad Richards DAL | | | | Kiprusoff had been in a steady decline for several |
| Richards had a surreal season last year. After several | | | | seasons, but redeemed himself a bit last year with |
| years of decline, he was reborn in Dallas with a | | | | some solid numbers, particularly in the 2nd half. He |
| whopping 91 point performance. On the plus side, he's | | | | finished with a strong 2.31 GAA and.920 save %. The |
| got one of the top stable of wingers to work with. On | | | | Flames as a team have been in a freefall, so he may |
| the down side, he's been very inconsistent from year | | | | not get back to 35 wins next season. Kiprusoff |
| to year and it seems extremely unlikely that he'll get | | | | generally gets drafted pretty high, so you may count |
| close to 90 points again this year. He'll surely be | | | | him as overrated. You'll probably find better options |
| drafted way too high by someone else. | | | | later in the draft. He's worthy of a 3rd round selection. |
| Mikael Samuelsson VAN | | | | Roberto Luongo VAN |
| Samuelsson had a career year, potting 30 goals along | | | | It's hard to set expectations for Luongo right now. Last |
| side the Sedins. As long as he gets his minutes with | | | | year, he topped most draft lists; however, if you took |
| the twins, he'll have moderate fantasy value. | | | | him in the first round, you probably cursed his name a |
| Otherwise, he's a borderline roster player. After 8 | | | | time or two. After a disappointing season which saw |
| seasons, he still hasn't topped 53 points, so don't | | | | all of his stats tumble, his value this fall has likewise |
| overvalue him based on one season. | | | | gone down. The question is, how far? He's obviously |
| Jonathan Toews CHI | | | | still a good #1 option. Vancouver will be a Cup |
| Despite having an incredible year, winning the Gold | | | | contender, and he's the undisputed starter when |
| medal and being named top forward, followed by | | | | healthy. If he's around late in the 2nd Round, take your |
| winning the Cup and the Conn Smythe, when it comes | | | | chances. |
| to fantasy hockey, don't let all that hardware blind you. | | | | |